Celtic are apparently set to ignore the concerns of a growing number of fans by retaining the services of manager Ronny Deila until the end of the season.
The BBC has learned this morning that Celtic’s “leaders” are intent on keeping the boss in the dugout for the remainder of the campaign, in spite of mounting evidence that the club is now in freefall and a growing discontent in the stands which thus far has been ignored.
This removes, at a stroke, any opportunity for a new manager to come in with any chance of getting his ideas across in games before next season’s Champions League qualifiers. The decision to retain him past the January window had already narrowed our options on that front; now they’re going to be exhausted completely.
No-one really expected Celtic to fire the manager this morning, although there is a large and vocal – and growing – group which does not believe he should have another day in the job. Celtic has not made any official statement, but this is now standard operating procedure for the club as it echoes similar silence on a host of other issues.
It has been increasingly clear for months now that there is a deep-rooted disconnect between what happens in the boardroom and the aspirations of the people in the stands. The club takes their money and ignores them at every step. That’s been apparent for a while, but it has never been clearer than it is this season.
At times, they treat the fans with open contempt, such as when a group of shareholders proposed a motion to remove Ian Livingstone from the board.
That the club’s own chairman called our fans racist should be an indication of exactly how we’re viewed.
Concerns over the Living Wage are waved away. Fan questions about our continued silence on issues such as Resolution 12 and SFA reform aren’t even properly discussed; instead, the board discusses these matters only with select supporters reps and websites and leaves them to tell the rest of us.
Football Operations are a joke, and have long been a joke, but this utter contempt for supporters is new, and dangerous.
It’s one of many reasons for empty stands, a problem that’s only going to grow more acute unless this reversal is halted.
There is no sign that this process is going to start any time soon.
At best, we’re still weeks if not months away from a resolution and in the meantime season ticket renewal forms are going to be getting sent out, urging fans to back a glorious future without even the smallest hint of what it is that we’re being asked to “invest” in.
They are treating ours fans like mugs.
Whether or not our fans behave like mugs is something each and every person has to decide for themselves, but Faithful Through & Through is what’s led us to this sorry pass, and no-one should expect that it will result in a drastic change of course now.
The decision to carry on with Ronny Deila past yesterday’s debacle has clearly been made. As fans have zero faith in his ability we’ve now made the last six games – and our title bid – a lottery akin to yesterday’s penalty shoot-out. It is inconceivable that he can survive beyond the end of this season – but our board may surprise us yet with an even greater display of contempt – but should we now also fail to win the SPL there is no doubt at all where fans will apportion the blame.
The lack of leadership at our club is disgusting.