My friends in Celtic, you and I have often said that losers get the chance to rip everything up and start again. Winners can be burdened with the belief that sticking with a successful plan is the best bet. As we gather in the afterglow of the most improbable title win of the modern era, it is our responsibility to acknowledge a few truths.
The Celtic team who won the SPFL title last season was the weakest side to take the trophy in the 21st century. I do not say that without appreciating that they found something when it mattered most. But we were eliminated from the Champions League by a side weaker than any of the several weak teams who have done so across the last 20 years. Our Europa League campaign fell short of the previous season’s results in the Champions League. And we were pushed to the last week of the campaign by a Newco side who were nine points behind and out of the race, having sacked their manager in October.
The transfer window of summer 2025 will go down in history as an abysmal wasted opportunity. Brendan Rodgers pursued Kasper Dolberg, then 27, for £10m. The player kept Celtic on the hook before opting for Ajax, where he scored three league goals in 22 league appearances since. Rodgers was unable to solicit a payoff and eventually walked in October. The club then made a remarkably wise decision to bring Martin O’Neill back after a 20-year absence. That wisdom was short-lived, as Martin was replaced by a man destined to be remembered as the worst manager in our history. So far.
I was slower than some to lose faith in Wilfried Nancy. I wanted the outside-the-box appointment to work. But even I could see after four games, the defeat at Dundee United, that he had to go. Celtic held on for another four games before deploying the hook. Martin returned again to produce a miracle, again.
The drama of those final weeks will live long. The 97th-minute Scottish Cup equaliser against Dundee came seven days before the 96th-minute league winner at Kilmarnock. Two goals down at Ibrox and playing truly terrible football, the players got off the canvas to secure a point in the 92nd minute. It felt like a win and proved to be crucial.
Late victories over Dundee and Hibs kept us on the coattails of those ahead. Then the final week of the season produced three unbelievable games. Behind against Newco, Motherwell and Hearts, Celtic rallied to score fantastic goals, win all three, and take the most dramatic title in world football last term. We gathered at Hampden a week later to decompress with some more silverware.
Paul Tisdale was escorted off the premises with his protégé Wilfried. He was not the worst Head of Football Operations Celtic have had, but he has a decent claim to the title. We currently do not have a Head of Football Operations. Recruitment is being done nonetheless, but this is a worrying sign.
Nor do we have a permanent chairman. Brian Wilson acts in an interim capacity, without the authority or knowledge to impose the oversight I would like. At least he stepped forward when no one else wanted the job. We are also short of non-executive directors. I am aware that approaches have been made, but the lack of appointment reflects how unattractive the role has become to anyone suitably qualified to be offered it.
Non-executives should be hands-off. They are there to decide strategy and hold executive directors to account. If the executives fail, or a significant event happens — and this includes the replacement of a manager — they step in. None should be involved in day-to-day operations or contract negotiations with coaching staff. Then there is the toxicity of being a Celtic director in recent years. We are never going to win more than we do. God knows how this sentiment changes, but it needs to, or we will fail to attract top talent.
Martin O’Neill is about to undertake an enormous physical and emotional challenge for a 74-year-old. He is more intelligent, experienced and probably fitter than you or me, but do not underestimate the enormity of what lies ahead. There were points dropped during his time last season, but all had mitigating factors apart from a single defeat at Tannadice. He never faced conflict among coaching staff, squad or supporters. It would be miraculous if that state continued for another 10 months.
He has also never recruited in the modern game. Martin watched players and bought them. The data model is not how he operated. He goes into a new way of working short of people whose job it is to prepare options for him. I hope we have signed well and continue to do so, but to paraphrase the old joke, if you want to have a great transfer window, I would not start from here.
My greatest concern about our board is their last two permanent managerial appointments, both of whom were disastrous. The Nancy appointment was (I believe) an attempt to find another Ange Postecoglou. Ange was a serial winner, Nancy won one Covid-era cup. The re-appointment of Brendan Rodgers defies belief. I know people at every level of the club who had to work with or deal with him during his first stay. It was unfathomable that he talked his way back into the job.
We are now in a process not just trying to recruit board members, but bring in new recruitment people to work on a shortlist for a permanent manager, to be appointed by largely the same people who brought you the Brendan and Wilfried Show.
The 21st century has been ours. We have enjoyed enormous privilege, watched our side win more trophies than anyone else in the world. This drove our oldest rivals into liquidation and has reset many facets of Scottish life. As a Celtic fan walking through the streets of Glasgow or Lanarkshire in the 1990s, you felt like you were living in a foreign land, we were so marginalised.
Never underestimate what has been achieved or fail to appreciate this privilege. We now have fans who did not walk those streets in the 90s, or did and no longer remember. The squad, which Martin got over the line in May with, requires a complete rebuild and we do not have a fully constituted recruitment team. I don’t want to bang on forever about the bringing Brendan back in 2023, but it was the most disturbing decision I have known Celtic to make this century. The bitterness of its ending was predicted on these pages and should have been predictable by all inside Celtic Park.
At halftime during the aforementioned draw at Ibrox I thought it was over. I expected Newco to win the league, income to fall, Celtic to respond by splurging ill-considered money on poorly-scouted players, our fans to turn inwards while Newco fans to unify behind the club. Celtic’s privileged position would have ended right there.
We have won five titles in a row, 14 out of 15, but all dominant empires fall for the same reason. A succession of poor decisions, are masked by times of plenty until it’s too late to stop the rot. I can see this happening in real time.
I think we will struggle to appoint the non-execs we need. Our recruitment reputation will take years to rebuild and will only happen through rare and exceptional performance. Fans will absolutely turn inwards at any and every trophy loss; it is counter-productive, but try telling people that! We will spent plenty this window, but the trading model that has supported our success for so long has to be established again.
I am very pleased that Newco took a manager and two players from Hearts. They weakened the side who finished second to us last term, but brought in players with no developmental roadmap and a manager who is no more than a good SPFL boss. This is not the data-first response I expected from US sports investors.
Had Danny Rohl left sooner, they would surely have gone for Jens Berthel Askou, the prospect of which would have concerned me. Why we did not move for him is an inexplicable worry.
So, I expect us to win the league this season and make it six-in-a-row. If we do, I will celebrate as much as any of you. But, I have enjoyed being a Celtic fan this century too much, and disliked aspects of living in Scotland during the 90s enough, to let the big picture slip. I want the next 26 years to look like the last. We have work to do.
Enjoy the season. Paul67.
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Sobering stuff. My only criticism would be there are no suggestions how to fox it.
It strikes me as a ‘chicken & egg’ problem: eradicate toxicity to attract good people or attract good people to eradicate toxicity?
You need not stray too far from the pages of CQN to see there is a MINORITY of our support who will never, ever be happy and will go out of their way to cause trouble. So for me you deal with the mob first and the rest will hopefully follow.
The Battered Bunnet on 31st July 2026 12:47 pm
That first reason is very revealing moreover doesn’t come as a surprise!
Saint Stivs on 31st July 2026 12:34 pm
So nobody will take a senior role at Celtic,
I personally do not believe it.
There are hundreds of non-execs Linkedin that are easily suitable for the roles.
But for some reason we dont cast the net wide enough , or even do a proper recruitment.
Advertise the roles, they would be flooded with applications.
_____
Agreed
(Answer to poser
SS….yes Paul Lambert and opposition as well.
Oh the green and red of Ma….yo
The Battered Bunnet on 31st July 2026 12:47 pm
Interesting to see how these things actually play out, but not a great surprise
Bhoyjoebelfast on 31st July 2026 1:09 pm
(Answer to poser
SS….yes Paul Lambert and opposition as well.
————–
very co-incidental but the run to seville was being discussed at a family funeral yesteray in the port town hall. the perenial V question, and that led on to but who scored the goals.
as we loss our parents, anties and uncles from the wartime generation, we have been getting together for these sad occasions, and realise time has went by so quickly.
seville was our highpoint and it is quite remarcable how many of our family were actually there, i make it over 20 of us were there.
The club is toxic under Desmond, and won’t change until he’s away
Celtic 3 Benfica 0 69/70
https://x.com/i/status/2083076034774044725
HH
Heav’n has no Rage like love to Hatred turn’d…
Nor Hell a Fury,…
Like a bit part player scorned….
HisMastersVoiceNoMoreCSC
Bhoyjoebelfast on 31st July 2026 12:41 pm
●Who was the only Scots born player to score for Celtic in their 2003 Road to Seville campaign?
—————
I had a wee doubt over the lambert and sudova answer ……….
so went and checked, paul actually scored against Stuttgart as well.
Celtic have renewed their interest in £8m-rated Algerian winger Fares Ghedjemis.
The Frosinone attacker was heavily linked with the club in January, though a deal could not be agreed with the Serie A newcomers.
📝 Exclusive from @mcgowan_stephen
Ziggydoc1, Saint Stivs…
Back in the day we did a project for Russell Reynolds Associates in St James’ Square.
They are recruiters, headhunters for the highest level Organistations.
As I often say, it was the technology that I was involved in…
But being project manager gives you access to the partners of these firms and they are normally more than happy to give you an insight to what they do….
The C-suite and the PLC Board are normally a set of hugely talented people.
Maybe not the most lovable but certainly highly functioning, high achieving people.
We had people like Brian Quinn, Lord Livingstone, Lord Reid on our Board…
Obviously not the sort of NEDs an autocrat principal shareholder wants around.
We haven’t had a C-suite worth the name for over two decades…
A chartered accountant and a sports lawyer who have handy skillsets for the principal shareholder to personally “mine” and conveniently paid for by the club is all he seems to want…
The type of skillsets, personalities and the level and variety of executives it takes to run an elite modern football are not even close to being in the building….
Nor, like high regarded NEDs, are they ever likely when DD&Co run the joint.
BTW Saint Stivs, Seville was the high point and glad your “clan” was there but it should have been the new normal…
Hail Hail
Good afternoon all from Heraghtys. Galway and Goodwood on TV. It’s a hard life but I shall strive to persevere.
bloody hell my memory aint as good as it used to be, maloney scored against stuttgart as well.
I have read/heard Celtic supporters here and elsewhere state that a footballer is only worth what teams are prepared to pay for them.
That thought occurs to me every time I hear Celtic supporters say “Pay them what they’re asking for their player.”
Celtic, like any club, are entitled to stick to their valuation of a prospective recruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijNZmbUQ3t8
A balanced article fairly describing the current issues facing us.
More hints about the destructive character of Rodgers, finally some scrutiny of some very highly paid individuals on the Board, and even tacit comment on non-execs should not be involved in the day to day running of the club.
Cutting through everything else, this is the core issue holding the club back and that is frustrating so many. Why are the non-execs being allowed to meddle in the day to day running of the club?
Is it because they don’t trust the people placed in important positions?
Is it because those people are “Yes” people incapable of doing the job assigned to them?
Every other problem can be fixed, although it will take time, if these issues are resolved.
I don’t believe for a minute that it is fan unrest that is preventing competent people filling the current vacancies but rather the corporate straight jacket that the Celtic Board operates in.
Why would someone risk their corporate reputation that has been established over decades to sit on our Board?
Until these fundamental questions are addressed and people’s attitudes changed, Celtic will continue it’s inevitable decline.
Paul states that we must get back to tried and tested recruitment policy and in some ways I agree however that policy has failed to survive contact with reality for far too long. Football is, or has, changed where the super vlubs sponsor or have multiples of feeder clubs throughout their region. I believe Motherwell recently picked up a player who was playing for one of twenty-nine feeder clubs that Spurs have in London alone.
We pay lipservice to our own youth development to the point the young players don’t really have anyone their own age to play and while the lack of opposition isn’t Celtic’s fault it is an issue nonetheless.
Our recruitment model can no longer allow us to buy players in the £2M-£3M bracket and crow about the one guy we sell for £20M while ignoring the other six guys who have failed at the same price. That ultimately means you have to sell one asset just to break even. Put simply, the hit rate has to double at least and treble if possible.
That will only change when the Club led by a corporate body that is fit for purpose. Everything else will ultimately fail if that is not the case.
All empires eventually crumble from within, whether this is the beginning of our collapse will unfold over the next two years.
In my mind the Board needs cleared out and the new one allowed to operate independent of any non-exec interference. Martin O’Neil should be asked to draw up a list of possible new head coaches with a view to a seamless transition possibly even before the seasons end as I fear the current stress may be detrimental to his health.
Ultimately, until the Corporate culture changes Celtic are headed for decline and we can all point to the trophies but as usual everything is alright until suddenly it isn’t. The old Celtic Board won a Centenary double but were still living off that two years later as everything began to crumble around them. That is our warning from history.
The disgraced Hull funeral director sentenced to 20 years.
Saint Stivs @ 1:40 pm,
Truth, but Maloney wasn’t born in Scotland
TrickquestionCSC
Hail Hail
● Hard enough one●
Name the Celtic goalie (1950s) that played in goal in an All Ireland Final for Armagh.
Re Paul Lambert poser…I did say Scots- born.
Chairbhoy on 31st July 2026 1:33 pm
I agree with much of what you say there.
with one caveat, the board, and sequence of chairman put in place by Fergus and then for a few years under dermot were indeed hard hitters, big thinkers, top level and indeed capable of saying no.
but this led to the financial downsizing and sustainability put in place by Brian Quinn.
so no more seviles.
i say it often, why doesnt Keane, Lindsell Train or Traynor put representation on the board themselves, they are allowed to do this.
and my answer i come back to all the time, till now , they are content with DDs policies.
On that, nothing to stopp DD getting another couple of placement NEDS from his multiple other business interests.
The bashing of one of our most successful managers continues unabated. Obviously a few had their noses put out of joint.
WeeBobbyCollins@12.59
I hold one billionaire in particularly high regard.
However he was a Motherwell born billionaire.
Chairbhoy
Malaysia?
Joe
Alex Rollo?
I’ll get one right yet. 🙄
BRRB
Was that you offering Bhoy Joe your last Rollo?
GGH
You are getting worse. 🙄
When Celtic showed ambition in the early 00’s I accepted defeat with appropriate disappointment.
When Celtic show limited ambition, a reactive way of running a business, take the fans for granted, barely communicate with them and refuse to sign players until they know others are being sold I and many others show our frustrations.
The overall majority of our support would be reasonable if and when we fall short, if we had any kind of clear recruitment strategy, spent money that we have to try and improve on our status as a football club and treated the fan base with some respect. The people or person that runs the club doesn’t do that. The CEO bumbles from one frustration to another and the chairman continues to treat us like peasants.
The club does not have to be this way. What other club with our success has the majority of fans unhappy with how they’re run
There are several massive reasons.
It’s a ventriloquist act where both dummies are him.
Bhoy Joe
Eamonn McMahon for the goalie?
“Nobody told me there would be days like these, strange days indeed and Champions again”.
John Winston Lennon 1980.
BRRB
Could be even worse. I could be live in the Shipbank.
GGH
Ffs Wee Frank would be bankrupt.
philcool on 31st July 2026 12:04 pm
I hope Sevco dont win the league tonight….
——-
🤣🤣🤣
You really need help re Brendan Paul, it’s not healthy your obsession with him.
lionroars67 on 31st July 2026 7:14 am
Sad news from Italy as Franco Baresi has passed away this morning at 66 years old. An absolute legend of the game with AC Milan and Italy, marking an era for different generations. Thoughts and prayers with the family and the friends. Rest in peace, Franco. ❤️🕊️
*Now as you all know I live 3.5k miles away fae hame and have done for over half a century but on one trip hame a good few years ago I was led to believe that Franco had a picture on his wall of his favourite player – wee ten thirty, that might be a myth though.