Shareholder focus at yesterday’s AGM, the first in a decade without the Premiership trophy, concentrated less on the football situation than how the board were connecting with the wider support.
Brian Wilson, former MP and Celtic historian, was called to account for writing in an obituary that Rangers were “demoted” to the fourth tier of Scottish football. Such a demotion is not possible within the rules. He should, perhaps, have known Rangers were liquidated.
This mattered little to his Scotsman reading audience, but if you were a Celtic fan throughout the last 30 years, it counts. Despite some historic success, Celtic were often subjugated during the 90s and first 11 years of this century by an opponent that care little for the rules of the game or our tax laws. It is inconceivable I would write that word in this context, Brian needs to reconnect.
A perennial AGM favourite, the role of the non-executive directors (NEDs) was raised. NEDs are important to a business, they ensure the interests of all stakeholders are heard, not just major shareholders. There is a wealth of talent within our community, some global leaders in their industry. This is a reasonable expectation from small shareholders.
If after Ian Livingston’s experience any of them were mad brave enough to take the task on, I have no doubt Celtic would benefit from fresh NED eyes.
As you would expect, the board were unable to comment on speculation they were considering employing Police Scotland chief, Bernard Higgins, who appears to have worked closely with the Scottish Government on their incredible treatment of Celtic. I have no information on this, but the speculation, together with Brian Wilson’s obit piece, had many in the room perceiving a gap where none should exist. Some retro work here, please, Celtic.
Financial director, Chris McKay, and chairman, Ian Bankier, both informed the room that Celtic were one of 10 clubs working with Uefa to implement improved Financial Fair Play regulations. Let’s hope that is fruitful.
The away ticket allocation issue was brought up. In short, most of us do not get a sniff of a ticket, unless we pick up one of the many never used by an exec holder with rights. This is how getting a ticket for an away game works at Celtic, it is not satisfactory or good for the club.
Interim chief exec, Michael Nicolson, received a comparatively supportive reception, although no questioner asked about the board’s long-term plans for this role. Michael informed the room they were working with Ange Postecoglou on building up the football department, including potentially appointing a director of football.
219 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- »
AN TEARMANN @ 8:22 PM,
………
===============
1.Resigned 26 feb
2.Announced to lse. 29/2
https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=1323-13982764-4RP8H3R5HI2UT8HT3MTP963JV9
4.Chairbhoy there was also a dated letter outlining the £9m i can’t access at mo
3.Your telegraph article 13/3
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fourfourtwo.com/amp/news/full-amount-compensation-revealed-leicester-take-brendan-rodgers-celtic
Hi Chairbhoy.had a wee check there.
I broke it in 4.
1.BR resigned 26/2
2.announced to lse.29/2
3.telegraph article 13/3
4.letter informing of capital injection(9m BR compo)
I can’t access my celtic investor at mo for exact date
Your article(3) will be right,I don’t see any big delay on the BR process(it consists of two parts 1 and 4) ie-Celtic informed markets when things occurred ie points 2 on BR leaving and 3 when compo agreed.
From memory the amount was unsurprising in the city tho meeeja here gawped unsurprisingly.
9m as against 2m+ shows it was a sound professional deal and handled in that manner by the club
I agree with SFTB in that BR intimating to Dermot about advances from China is a denoter/indicative
that he was not happy.i would suggest from that moment and from a DD perspective his relationship for all intents was ended in a business context and when the leicester job came it fitted(move in the night scenario),the personal one and the respect carries on from both DD and BR.it was a wrong move in the Celtic chess game.:-)
It is interesting chat in the ‘opportunity’ economics behind it.what if? What if? My take is it is a while ago now,as I said at time BR is part of Celtic history.not the other way around.It showed a lot of what the club is and where we can step forward to .
Anyways.
Keep well and keep Celtic close :-)
Thanks for the update, that’s as I remember it.
It seems to me that we are pretty much all on the same page or as close to it as we’re going to get.
Have to disagree on the professionalism though, it was anything but.
Take your points 1 through 4 – in between that time a huge amount of CCP shares were traded (relatively speaking) it was very tardy.
Also having two Business Bruisers such as DD and PL running amok in the Boardroom is no good at all.
These events would not happen under Brian Quinn.
I’m content that my monkey mind now has got it now and I can rest easy in that respect.
As I said in the summer of 2018, for these guys to put their egos ahead of Celtic FC was a disgrace – my feelings are more so now.
Peter Lawwell showed from the BR rug pull in June 2018 until he resigned in June 2021 what he was all about.
Three years that absolutely trashed his reputation – the tide went out and we saw he was swimming naked.
And remember the damage it has done, it left the Celtic brand toxic – we had to go to the other side of the world to attract a decent manager.
Many long standing season book holders walked away and an opportunity for a wonderful golden era was lost for the sake of the old firm.
I don’t like old firm Celtic, the Celtic supporters on the deludomal can o/d to their hearts content I’m done with the shady business practices and bigotry.
I will however always love the Glasgow Celtic.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail from a rainy Denia-
Dom McKay said Ange was 100% his appointment, Bankier said it was Lawwell’s………i know who i believe….
!!BADA BING!! on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 12:39 PM
Dom McKay said Ange was 100% his appointment, Bankier said it was Lawwell’s………i know who i believe….
__________
Actually Dom side stepped the question at the time.
He said he knew of Ange as spent time in Japan and was looking forward to forming a parternship with him.
He repeated the answer twice never actually saying he identified, targetted recruited Ange.
If he was Dom’s man he surely would have just said so when asked. He didn’t.
I very much doubt that one person was responsible for the recruitment of Ange.
Between selecting him as a candidate, interviewing him, and then offering him the job, perhaps more than one person had input into Ange’s appointment.
HH
As a wee aside, Ronald Koeman is on holiday here in Denia at the moment. Has been spotted in a few of the local restaurants. I´ll ask him about the Sevco rumours if I get a chance . . .
!!BADA BING!! on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 12:39 PM
Dom McKay said Ange was 100% his appointment, Bankier said it was Lawwell’s………i know who i believe….
==========
Agree.
Watched Ange’s interview with his Aussie journalist last night. Again, excellent. Ange is hugely impressive whenever he speaks, and is a real treat to listen to.
We are asked to believe that the outgoing CEO was entirely responsible for the appointment of the most key post in the Football Club. Lets look at the facts:
Ange signed for Celtic on 10th June
Lawwell handed over the CEO role formally to McKay on 1st July – barely three weeks later.
McKay left SRU three months earlier to begin the transition to the new CEO at Celtic.
McKay knew all about Ange from his time in Japan and was inordinately pleased at being able to bring him to Celtic.
We are asked to believe that – having spent three months handing over the reigns to the incoming CEO, that the new CEO had no say in the appointment of the key employee he would have to work with to take the club forward? That the selection and appointment was by the outgoing CEO – not known for his recent presence in the sporting life of Japan?
And we should swallow that bullshit?
No thanks – I’ll have some roasted cheese instead.
HH
BGFC
And that comment is aimed at Bankier, NOT Martim1980 :-))
BIG GEORGES FAN CLUB – HAIL, HAIL, WEE OSCAR on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 12:56 PM
We had tracked the progress of Ronny Deila for over a season…..
So you think it was the three months then from when Dom arrived.
I think you are just adding to the feeding frenzy.
For what it’s worth, I believe our Chairman’s version, as he said so, as part of our AGM process on camera.
Weird huh?
Used to like Brian Wilson. He doesn’t need to reconnect. He needs to step down.
What are we without our shared values? How do Bankier and Livingstone reflect our shared values.
The PLC’s problem is that it long ago decided it’s business model demanded a functioning ‘Rangers’ even if they had to hold their noses.
The fans see the consequences of that for what they are. Connivance in a rigged game. The PLC can try to gloss over it with their PR, but it’ll never work. The resentment runs too deep.
BIG GEORGES FAN CLUB – HAIL, HAIL, WEE OSCAR on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 12:58 PM
No worries, you got my usual style in response but it’s not aimed at you either.
On this I just believe them as Dom had the chance and was asked twice by the msm and fans media, and twice never took credit.
Either humble or he was involved.
Personally I think Dom’ failure (i have no basis for this) was holding out for Eddie Howe.
It embarassed DD and our club reputation hence the parting of ways.
Pure speculation on my part.
MARTIM1980 @ 1:01 PM,
Ronny Delia was not recruited as Celtic manager.
He was tasked with modernising and upgrading the professionalism of our football department.
We were supposed to implement a 4-2-3-1 system throughout our teams and improve dietary, fitness, sports science etc etc.
It was only because this was among other things too much for Lenny that he left.
We did the usual lazy knee jerk and made Ronny manager – no, that was PL’s decision.
Hail Hail
Martim1980- McKay told Celtic fans media, AP was 100% his appointment.
When P67 is openly critical of the boards relationship with the fans that shows how
poorly things have gone.
The only people on the site still openly supporting Wilson are doing it for political reasons
they don’t care about Celtic.
I don’t care about his politics, when he speaks on behalf of Celtic it should be just that, no other political side show.
I do hope Wilson’s abilities as a director are considerably better than his abilities as an historian.
Probably worth mentioning the absence of Dermot Desmond for the 15th consecutive year as well.
MARTIM1980 on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 1:05 PM
BIG GEORGES FAN CLUB – HAIL, HAIL, WEE OSCAR on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 12:58 PM
…Personally I think Dom’ failure (i have no basis for this) was holding out for Eddie Howe….
==============
That’s an interesting take on it, and would be a good one to hypothesise about over a pint. Whether correct or not we might never be told, but it is certainly a plausible theory.
Bankier is now taking on a bit of a persona of a pantomime villain and may, as a result, attract the blame for some things unfairly.
However, he has brought that on to himself – for a Chairman of a company to be so out of touch with his core ‘customer base’ is a sign that he probably shouldn’t be there.
The appointment of Higgins, if it were to go ahead, would be an utter disgrace. Anyone involved in such an appointment would have no place at Celtic IMO.
HH
BGFC
Chairbhoy 12:34
Yeah – a real fork in the road moment. Get in a couple of quality players and make progress in Europe or retreat back (further back!) into old firmery.
Four Champions League exits to clubs who won one point out of 72 and losing the league by 25 points. Not exactly hard to see if the right route was taken!
If anyone needs a bit of cheering up after another performance of the `Gap Between Fans and Board Extravaganza`, than have a wee look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=562fFEH3-b8&ab_channel=AdamLynch
!!BADA BING!! on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 12:39 PM
‘Dom McKay said Ange was 100% his appointment, Bankier said it was Lawwell’s…’
##
What’s the old saying? Success has many fathers, but failure is a bastard.
The Green Brigade are preparing two tributes to Bertie Auld for Saturday. As always, the cooperation of the support is key.
TIMMY7_NOTED on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 1:16 PM
‘The only people on the site still openly supporting Wilson are doing it for political reasons
they don’t care about Celtic.’
####
A director stating at an AGM that it was wrong to describe what happened to the huns as demotion marks a change of direction for Celtic.
And directly contradicts what TGD has said on a previous occasion.
This should not be difficult to understand.
Dermot Desmond is the guy who is holding back all things Celtic,If he was to be replaced with his son Ross ,things won’t change,can one of you bhoys put a figure of how much it would take to get rid of Desmond,as for Bankier and Wilson at least they turn up at the. AGM and take all the flak that Desmond hides from.
The Green Brigade are preparing two tributes to Bertie Auld for Saturday. As always, the cooperation of the support is key.
=====================
Bertie once quipped, “we thought Hampden Park was our training ground
we played there that often”, As fans return to Hampden for the first time in
almost two years, Bertie will be at the forefront of our thoughts.
Two special tributes have been arranged to celebrate this Celtic giant. The
first will be a pre-match mosaic to welcome the Celtic team to the park-
leaving them in no doubt of whose shoulders they stand on.
The second tribute will take place on the 67th minute. A number
synonymous with Bertie and Celtic, supporters are familiar with the routine
on this minute,
We ask supporters in the East Stand for your full cooperation
with both tributes, which we hope will befit Bertie’s stature.
Timmy 7
“The only people on the site still openly supporting Wilson are doing it for political reasons”
I supported him because of his past record as a Celtic supporter and writer in an environment (Ayrshire) where it would have served him better not to be. Some of that support is because of his political stances, (there is much to admire in those, even for an SNP supporter who hates him for his stance on Independence) but a lot os for his personal qualities.
I don’t support him on his Obituary comments though I don’t think he should lose his NED position because of that, especially after an apology.
I am, however, quite comfortable in seeing a shake up of the NED positions which sees someone new replace Brian Wilson (and others) as NEDs. He is an elderly gent these days and fresh blood would be welcome.
I have no doubt that BW , as a bogey figure for the SNP voter, has played larger on the minds of those opposed to him than it does on those who can accept a fellow Celt even if they have not caight the new fad for SNP voting. A ploughmans Lunch Tradition for Celtic Supporters.
Paul67
Brian Wilson ?
God only knows CSC
!!BADA BING!! on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 1:15 PM
Martim1980- McKay told Celtic fans media, AP was 100% his appointment.
———-
Just skimed through (time restraints) the interview. Doesn’t say it as far as I can see.
Happy to be corrected.
https://youtu.be/lSYP3G0xbtc
Ange Postecoglou says Giorgos Giakoumakis will be out for at least another week with a knee injury. League Cup semi likely to be too soon for Carl Starfelt & Tom Rogic.
Ian Bankier (behave yourselves) should have been gotten rid of when he made that absolutely derogatory statement to a room full of Celtic adults. He has no clue what it means to be a Celtic supporter. You don’t have to be born a Celtic supporter to be genuine, many of our supporters became supporters as they grew into adulthood. Our most famous manager, Mr. Stein famously said that while Celtic was not his first love, they would be his last. The same could be said for many of the Lisbon Lions. My point all of the above, except Bankier, developed a love for Celtic which lasted a lifetime. When Bankier, ahem, steps down as Chairman, do any of you think he’d ever put his hand in his pocket to buy a ticket to see Celtic? Me neither
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL @ 1:22 PM,
Yes a real fork in the road, we were on the way to reestablishing Celtic, we were close to punching our weight (its not as if we were excelling for a Club of our size) and we were deliberately taken on a detour.
It’s now been established beyond doubt what PL’s role has been.
He left the CEO role a wealthy man, so you can understand his motivation.
What I can’t understand is Celtic supporters defending him now. Fifteen wasted years to find ourselves in the shadow of second hand, second rate Rangers.
Getting regularly skelped by the minnows of Europe.
Ange and Dom McKay has laid low the myth of how difficult the Celtic job is. In a few short months they’d brought in players and put a workable structure in-place.
Fifteen year ago Peter Lawwell shelved phase two of the Lennoxtown development, remember in the previous decade we’d built a new stadium and had set up the Lennoxtown initiative.
We now have Barrowfield back on the agenda again. That’s great but as I say, fifteen wasted years.
Hail Hail
Ian Bankier stated at the AGM Celtic liked to work away from the public glare of the press.
The Metro said he said ” Nicola cost us the the Ten ”
Boom CSC
MARTIM1980 on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 1:01 PM
“For what it’s worth, I believe our Chairman’s version, as he said so, as part of our AGM process on camera.
Weird huh?”
Very weird given previous at these events, e.g. “I never saw the 5 way agreement” etc.
Most of the board members speak like politicians with several faces depending on the audience; I would trust very little of what any of them say.
OnceBittenCSC
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 18TH NOVEMBER 2021 1:51 PM
“Brian Wilson ?
God only knows CSC”
Thanks for the ear worm! Lol :)
Prefer the Biffy cover but love the original too
QB
Not the faintest idea about who recruited Ange,nor do I care.What I will say is ,he showed no great displeasure at the sacking,or whatever reason for his abrupt leaving.I would find that a bit strange if Dominic was the guy who had courted him to join.
But,as in everything regards the Board,agendas come to the fore.Is Bankier telling Porkys.H,mmm,that’s a tough one !!!!!!!.Who cares,Ange is here,and looks quite happy to be.
I think the Board’s general level of competency was more in question than their connection with the support, Paul.
Unsurprisingly Bankier shaped the narrative that failing to do the 10 was a disappointment but people should look in the context of the previous 9 seasons.
Their arrogance is unbelievable. Winning the league against Motherwell while turnover slipped below what it was 10 years prior, is hardly a resounding success, save for from the Board’s perspective.
Chairbhoy,
You see,these are the kind of statements,yourself,and the rest of the Board haters make,that just makes me stop reading,
“What I can’t understand is Celtic supporters defending him now. Fifteen wasted years to find ourselves in the shadow of second hand, second rate Rangers.”
15 wasted years?Try selling that to the vast majority of the support,who witnessed 9 in a row,quadruple Treble,and many glorious whuppings of that mob.
Yes last year was a disaster, it happens,but you cannot use 1 year,to wipe out the previous 9.
Did you say the same in 2003,when the best team since the Lions,won nothing?Did that wipe out MONS legacy?
Just sounds like the ravings of an entitled fan with an agenda against PL.
So much of what you write is true,we all know it,but it’s nonsense like this,that diminishes the truth.I don’t know any Celtic fan who would agree these were “Wasted years”.
TURBULENT AGM
————————–
Turbulence seemingly unable to deflect the many “angels dancing on the head of a pin”.
“A house divided cannot stand”
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what we think of Bankier, Nicholson, Wilson, or anyone else at the top table with the club tie and blazer. And, when the dust settles and the support has left the building, they won’t be too flustered either. Another AGM successfully negotiated will be the message sent to the golf course in the Caribbean.
Whilst the moustachoid Irishman with 46 million shares up his sleeve holds all the aces, all the cards, all the power, nothing changes. Nothing. Profit dividend, profit dividend, those are the only Celtic results that DD looks out for. Perhaps that’s not how Fergus intended things to go, but that’s just how it’s gone.
If Dermot Desmond wishes to pass his shares to sons Ross, Brett, and Dery then he will be following in the footsteps of those before him. From Bob Kelly to Michael and Kevin, from Desmond White to Chris.
Celtic and nepotism go hand-in-hand.
I wouldn’t say handing your own shares onto your children is nepotism, its just an inheritance.
the floor show of hands says the majority of individuals want wilson and bankier gone.
the count of shares though gives 98% to 2%.
nothing will ever change now.
Dermot did his own switcheroo , not when he bought Ferguses shares, but when he underwrit the 2nd share issue.
TURKEYBHOY @ 2:23 PM,
Thanks for that, often we post a comment and we fail to put context on it, or at least I do.
The fitteen years does not refer to the last fifteen or so seasons.
We’ve seen some great games and I’ve had some brilliant times in the company of great Tim’s, made lots of real long term friends of Celtic fans.
No, it was from a business and club perspective I was looking, not to write off the last fifteen seasons.
Remember the years before that had seen us make great strides, a new Stadium, an Elite Football Academy initiative, great technology strides (including a state of the art Web site and Celtic TV) great progress on merchandising. The MO’N and Henrik seasons.
All in all we had made great progress both as a Club and as a business.
We have had no big initiatives in the last fifteen years and relatively speaking we have gone backward. We’ve had excuses instead of progress.
Hail Hail