When the final whistle went on Tuesday night, my initial feelings were not despair or anger but a numbed kind of acceptance.
“This is where we are now,” I thought. “Time to start getting used to that fact.”
It’s that idea that makes me feel angry, not the performance as abject as it was.
This notion that we now need to narrow our horizons and think small.
That we have to “adapt” to being Champions League also-rans.
Yet it’s an inescapable conclusion to have to reach.
We’ve failed to get to the Groups Stages two years in a row now, and we’ve never looked entirely comfortable in our skin trying to reach them.
In hindsight, this was coming, as sure as Glasgow rain.
Signs of life from Celtic Park are rare enough at the best of times, but had we gone through Peter Lawwell’s smug face would be everywhere as he sought to take credit for the latest piece of brilliance in “the strategy.”
That strategy is a shambles.
It has been for years, and all the excuses – and I consider them just that; about being based in Scotland, about being “unable to compete with the big sides”, about “living within our means” – do little to hide that simple fact.
I know it won’t change as long as the present incumbents are at Celtic Park.
I know too that there’s no appetite amongst the supporters for seeing them removed.
We are, in the eyes of many, a “well run club.”
I agree, if that means a healthy balance sheet and no fireworks behind the scenes.
If it means competently run and professional then I cannot argue.
We are most certainly all of those things.
Our directors and senior staff are exactly the kind of people you want to see working down at your local credit union.
Safe pairs of hands.
But we’re a football club, not a corporate entity.
The team sheet ought to take precedence over the balance sheet.
We are supporters, not stock analysts and although some of us are shareholders too the notion that this board is maximising income on our behalf is ludicrous.
The last two years, we’ve lost an estimated £30 million out of failures which can be traced all the way from the boot-room to the boardroom.
If we were an EPL club a hit like that would hurt like Hell.
As a club playing in Scotland that’s money we certainly cannot afford to lose.
In strictly business terms, think of it like twice failing to land a major contract.
When this happened the first time, a company in any other field would have conducted a business review.
Things would have changed behind the scenes, perhaps even radically.
For that not to have happened, and for us to be back here as a result of that is an abrogation of responsibility at the top so staggering it would have resulted in a proposed shareholder vote of confidence in the CEO and others in any company of comparable size.
Last season, on or about the exact same date, Peter Lawwell told the media that he would give them some insight into what Celtic’s long term strategy was going to be.
He didn’t, and he had not intended to, although he was happy to give that impression.
What he did, instead, was give an interview to CelticTV, where he was asked softball questions by one of his own employees.
He then distributed the video to the media, who accepted it without question.
That was a shameful thing for them to have done and it was an appallingly brazen, Murray-Lite thing for Lawwell to have done.
That interview haunts me a year on and should haunt us all.
In it he made the spurious claim that the absence of a team called Rangers in the top flight had cost our club £10 million.
He actually, at one point, suggested that they had been “sent down” to the lowest tier of the game instead of actually stating the simple truth that Sevco are a liquidated club that started where all football clubs should start.
And he defended the strategy, the one that sees him out on his own as the highest paid person at Celtic Park, which limits our transfer policy to “projects” and loanees. The one that saw us suffer a shattering series of defeats and reversals the last time we did make it to the Groups because the side from the previous year had been dismantled and the proceeds banked. The one that saw Lennon leave in disgust.
All of this seems to have been forgotten now, by those who’re telling us that our club is hamstrung by circumstances and geography.
It’s nonsense.
We are here because of decision made inside our own walls, and a policy that will not allow us to grow.
Is it too much that we ask, now, facing another year in the second tier of European football, for some kind of honesty out of Celtic Park?
If Lawwell has a vision, then let him get in front of the actual press – lets face it, we know they won’t make it easy for him – and articulate what that is.
Why aren’t they clamouring for it?
Why aren’t more of us clamouring for it?
Where is our club going?
Where does its ambition now lie?
Are the board satisfied with the performance of the manager?
Do they think they’ve done enough to support his ambitions? What are those?
Does he see us a Champions League team or does he think the Europa League is the level at which we ought to be competing?
These are only some of the questions that need to be asked.
Who the Hell is asking them?
Most of the Celtic blogs in the last 24 hours have suggested that this is a time for rallying around the flag.
Seriously.
For the third year in a row those of us who’ve been asking just what in the Hell is going on at Celtic Park have been told the time is not right for that conversation.
When will it be right?
What, exactly, are we waiting for?
What are the circumstances under which some of our supporters will snap out of the lethargy and start asking questions of those who are running us at the moment?
Even if those people are right – and this is all nothing more than a consequence of being stuck in Scottish football – where are the moves to change that?
What’s happening behind the scenes?
Are we lobbying?
Are we building alliances across Europe?
Are we considering legal avenues?
Or are people at Celtic Park sitting staring at the phone, waiting for the call from the EPL to tell us, a club that has spent less than £3 million trying to build a team to challenge for a Champions League place, that our presence is required in their league to make it whole?
I’m fully prepared for the inbox of vitriol for this article.
For all the stick I get from Sevco fans, the worst abuse that comes my way is always strictly reserved for those times I write negative stuff about my own club.
So, I’ll keep it simple.
This “faithful through and through” stuff is for mugs.
It’s a free ride to the people who are taking us backwards.
It’s dangerous and damaging to Celtic.
It’s the same mentality that had Rangers fans sleeping at the wheel when their club was speeding towards the abyss.
Unquestioning. Uncritical.
Accepting of any nonsense that comes through the official club channels.
And before someone starts foaming at the mouth, I’m not suggesting Celtic is heading that way.
I’m saying that real and lasting harm is being done to us and our reputation.
I know nothing will change.
I know this article is a waste of my time and energy.
I know the board considers us nothing more than customers who are entitled only to the answers they think we should have, and I know a lot of our fans are comfortable with where we are.
But silence isn’t an option here.
We deserve a vision.
We deserve those answers.
Celtic is something we love, and that we might be so cavalier in watching it lose its way appals me.
I’m damned if I’m sitting through it and keeping my mouth shut.
There’s an old aphorism that comes to mind today.
“It’s better to have tried and failed than to have failed to try.”
If only that mentality were alive inside Celtic Park, this article wouldn’t be necessary.
(I published my feelings in a longer article for On Fields of Green. You can read it here.)
They are running our club like a business (which it is) but sometimes in business you have to take risks, there is an old saying “you have to spend money to make money” we should have spent £15 million on players and even if you allow a further £7million for wages we would still have had around £8 million profit as we have lost around £30 million from champions league revenue. I do not like lawell mainly because of his attitude towards our own fans but we must not forget he is only Dermott Desmonds puppet and i feel the buck stops with Desmond he is the majority share holder it is him that has to answer the questions and as for “faithful through and through” that only applies to the team not the suits in the stands.
Great article!!! Well done
Couldn’t agree more … this article has it spot on. On one hand I’m grateful the club is in a good financial situation but this is an entertainment business. The CL is really all the fans have to look forward to. But then I think, do I want to see my team get hammered every Tuesday/Wednesday night and end rock bottom with 2 or 3 points. I sincerely don’t think, as a fan, we are any worse off being knocked out. Not one penny of the £20m would have been spent on the team, and it would have argued that the ‘strategy’ is working. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good strategy that we should continue with but it has to be part of the strategy. We need good CL quality players, to compliment the team. Guys like Rosenberg who wouldn’t cost the earth. If the strategy continues, we’ll remain where we are for ever, selling our best players, spending a pittance, and starting all over again. No progression. I don’t blame Delia or the players, they are what they are, working with what they’ve got. But where is the money going? We earned £40m+ from CL, Wanyama, Forster and Hooper over a year or so and we’ve spend around £6m since. The problem lies firmly with the board. PS I would suggest a boycott of Europa League games to get our point across … the fans don’t think we should be a Europa League team.
I have no problem with buying potential. That is the market we are in – all we can afford. We cannot compete with the English championship, never mind the top leagues in Europe. What I do have the problem with is buying potential with the specific purpose of selling it on after one/two seasons.
All talk of European leagues or joining the EPL is gone now.
The death of Rangers should have been the opportunity for us to jettison the ‘old firm’ nonsense and to progress on our own merit, without being associated with their ugly baggage. However, the strategy of Desmond and Lawwell has been to simply make a snide comment about the state of Sevco when anything goes wrong with us. Unfortunately there is an element of our support who buy into this. Being better than Sevco should not be our ambition. They should not even feature in our thinking.
You are 100% correct. We are entitled to a vision. We are also entitled to know what the strategy is to realise that vision.
Keep up the good work.
Spot on James, well written, a blind man could see that all our problems are emanating from the one place, the office of 1 More than a club Mr Peter Lawell. He is laughing, literally, all the way to the bank, at our expense. Rich law Poor law, highest paid employee at Parkhead, downsizing our beloved hoops at every turn, cutting the wages bill year on year, bringing in kids to try & do a mans job, turning what were one time European giants into Southampton reserves, (Wanyama, Foster , Van Dijk ? ) while the gate numbers fall away at an alarming rate. Why?, I wonder what could be the problem there eh, who eats Spam, when they are used to eating Steak. It is high time the Celtic support woke up & addressed the Elephant in the room, this board & their total lack of investment in our football side, don’t think I am wrong, but I don’t see a balance sheet, in any list of Champions League winners.
I am following the Hoops, since the late sixties & while I must say , I have witnessed some absolute shockers over the years, that absolute garbage that we had to endure on Tuesday night, must enter the charts at number 1 position. I seem to recall that most of our previous bad spells, were under the old regime, the clowns that ran us way down the park & into near extinction, because of inactivity, bad boardroom decisions etc., all true hoops fans know the story, they all know the price that was paid, when the fans had had enough, lets hope that Mr Lawell & company, oh sorry, we are not a business, we are a football club, supposedly, remember the same tale, because as time goes by, I can only see more & more of the Celtic Faithfull waking up to the fact that our board are possibly our biggest opposition & competitors, season on season.
Come on now, Mr Lawell, haven’t seen much of you in the press in recent times, let the fans, the fans who are Glasgow Celtic, don’t forget, lets hear you words of wisdom & let us all in on the secret of what your long term vision is for Celtic Football club, I repeat, Football club & lets finally see if you share any of our aspirations?
A lot of valid & justified points in this article
Expecting to compete with elite of European Football like Barcelona or Bayern Munich is one thing but disposing of Malmö a lesser club than us in many ways is expected
Our financial plan seems to be spend enough to secure winning the SPL & secure CL playoffs but nothing more that would give us a chance to be a regular in the groups stages let alone advance from there.
We must all hold our hands up for blame in various degrees of accountability
1. Board – Too cautious & more ambition required for such a big club
2. Management : Naive tactically but handcuffed by the Board to achieve required player targets
3. Players – Not mentally tough enough , lack of commitment & average ability for the most part
4. Fans – Yes Us ! Too accepting of the mediocrity on offer by the Board. Being vocal regarding poor performances isn’t treason it shows you care & want Celtic to be the best we can within reason Yes we are handicapped by playing in the SPL due to financial restraints & competition but it also affords us CL opportunities which is up to Celtic what we do with them
Malmö was another opportunity lost financially & a chance to restore the reputation of Celtic
KTF
Well said I couldn’t agree more 100% accurate in my opinion HH
Total agree with everything that has been said…… Time for explanations……. What plan has P.l. Got. We are not an Europa league club never have been and never should be!!! A club with the best and loyal fans in the world should be repaid by chasing top class players and settling for nothing less than group stages of the champions league. I think R.D. Could lead us to the champions league if the board support him with what all our previous managers needed MONEY to bring top class players to paradise. I’ll take a manager with passion for the club any day you cant buy passion. So peter listen for the pop that’s your head coming out your a@se time to front up of close the door behind you!!!!!HH
I watched the game live. I thought we started quite lively,and I thought we always had a chance. But it wasn’t to be.In the end we had lost,I was in shock ! I could not bring myself to read the next day how we lost ? What the players performance points where, I didn’t care, or want to hear what Ronny had to say. I WAS IN FUCKING SHOCK ! Luckily I have come across James’s article. And I know We will NEVER walk alone. HH.
Agree with the comments about Boyata….not a player for Celtic, Ciftci will be a fine player for us
IN Scotland…he will come good.
The board have a lot to answer for with the current team and the transfer policy is all wrong ,maybe a good look at the scouting system would also not go amiss,millions wasted on duds.
We are not a champions League club .
The Champions League is designed to keep the top four Englisg Germany Italy and Spanish teams earning massive money . In order to keep these clubs happy , other teams from the smaller leagues are allowed to fight it out for places to put a bit of numbers into the Champions League .
Chris Sutton is a failed manager and is no better a judge of what Celtic is than any of us .
Thinking we are a champions League club is stupid , we need to ensure the team and the manager do enough to qualify .
i sat choking on tuesday night how could my team play so bad i even watched a rerun of it and turned to drink but the manager and players did not hide afterwards they could not explain why it happened then the media the next day telling us what we should do spend spend and spend big nobody says who to buy or who would come when was the last time 6 celtic players were picked for scotland the treble last year but for referees more scots in our team now than for years we will get better and younger so they can stay together as for where the money went the books are open as for lawell if he does not bring money in his wages goes down he could treble them in england and would not go tell me any player we sold for good money that did not want to go we might not like were we are but thats the differance between a supporter and a fan ynwa
“they ” will be back soon,and we should be out of sight,but we’re not,we’ve lost 5 years of progress, I am and always will be a Celt, but I refuse to accept that my season is to look forward to 4 matches against “them ” your article is 100 percent correct
This is my letter to Lawwell ( from https://www.facebook.com/TheCelticFamily )
Dear Celtic FC
Win, Lose or Draw: Faithful through and through!
The above line is something Celtic fans do, we don’t take it for granted. It’s something we hold dear, it’s something we pride ourselves with.
However there comes a time when our loyalty comes into question. Celtic fans around the World actively plan their time around Celtic and support the team both in time and money.
We as Celtic fans feel that Celtic plc haven’t been giving the team and manager the support that is required from a Celtic board.
Last night’s results against Malmo wasn’t a one off, but has been occurring year in year out. Celtic have the money to get to the highest level of European football, the Champions League. However if you don’t plan and actively want to get there it’s never going to happen.
The complacency shown on the pitch stems from the higher echelons at the club. ‘We should be good enough to reach the Group Stages of the Champions League’. Should is not good enough for a club like Celtic. The Celtic support demands better than this.
Celtic have a massive budget. Bigger than the likes of Malmo, Maribor and Legia Warsaw so this is not an excuse to the Celtic support. We have so much money that £35m of Champions League money wasn’t grabbed with both hands over the last two years. No real backing of the manager has been evident over the last few years to grab this football windfall.
Planning for our biggest games of the season has been shown as flawed. Not just this year but nearly every year. Every supporter was embarrassed with the Legia Warsaw and the Maribor debacle. However this wasn’t a a sudden and ignominious failure, it’s a long term fiasco! And failure to plan has meant failure to progress. Celtic have not progressed as a team.
Ronny Deila and the rest of the Celtic family deserve much better than this from the management at the top. And this is why I’m asking for the resignation of you Peter Lawwell.
The man at the top. The buck stops with you. You have done a great job in balancing the books on the sales of our top players over the years, but the team should be financed through success on the park. Players leave football clubs for various reasons but a huge club like Celtic should be planning team development months if not years in advance. A team built around loans and players with their eyes else where is doomed for failure.
Peter Lawwell you have become complacent and it’s a evil cancer within our club. A club like Celtic should be able to attract the best Chief Executive in the game, a Chief Executive who will fund Celtic through success on the field. Something you have failed to do. Success on the field in turn leads to success on the balance sheet. A Chief Executive should be rewarded for success on the field not success on the balance sheet. Celtic is not about just success in Scotland, we expect more. Celtic should be competing with the best every year when we have the opportunity. The last few seasons we have had the opportunity, but as a club we haven’t been hungry enough for success.
The temporary loss of our fierce rivals has made our club a stagnant beast under your watch. This is something Celtic fans can not and will not tolerate. We pride ourselves in watching our club play in the top European competitions. Win lose or draw this is where we have to be.
I hope that you get to read this and act on it accordingly. The Celtic fans thankyou for your effort and time over the last 10 years plus and wish you all the best in the future.
The Celtic Family.
The world of football has moved on since the Celtic golden years of the sixties and seventies and fans and directors have to make a choice once for all. 1/ Is dominating Scottish football enough or 2/ do you want to be successful in the Champions League?. If it’s 1/ you already have it, if it’s 2/ you will never again get that as long as you play in the Scottish league. We have the fan base, the stadium and the world wide brand and fame. We need to do whatever it takes to move to the English League no matter how long or how much it takes, that and only that would provide us with the finances necessary to compete with the European big teams. We would lose our domestic dominance but within a couple of years we would be competing as what we are, one of the biggest football clubs in the world. That is what I want to see.
Absolutely spot on Lawwell and co are treating the fans with utter contempt. Complacency and acceptance of second best permeates the Boardroom and Management at Celtic Park We sw the results on Tuesday. If Van Dijk goes in the next couple of day we are faced with having the centre back pairing from hell i.e. Ambrose and Boyata and we have a manager who is supposedly considering signing a striker from Aston Villa reserves who has hardly played for two years because of injury. We are being kidded here and it is time some Celtic fans woke up to that fact. We have been in a downward spiral for the last three years at least.
how true , this board has been inept for two long, said it for years lawwell not the man for us, keeps getting all the plaudits what a great man he is for the club, rubbish we are going backwards with this man in charge he has to go for the good of the club.
I cant even summon the words to articulate how f***** off I am with the state of my club. A shambles from top to bottom, my real gripe is with Dermot dessmond, a so called fan, majority shareholder and BILLIONAIR. He has no passion, love or ambition for my club. Him and his ” ah that’ll do” attitude can f**k right off
Total agree.get desmond&lawwll out.time for change.so celtic fans stand up &grow&pair
Brilliant piece and their is nothing there that I disagree with.
Totally disallusioned Celtic fan and have been for some time.
Celts for change CSC.
Absolutely brilliant responses guys.
Your passion for our club shines through.