A few people have commented on my last piece, suggesting that there’s been a lack of activity on Celtic’s part on the issues of SFA reform. They’ve pushed some of the old lines about our club being complicit in much of what has gone on.
I agree with them that we’ve not done enough, but on the issue of our complicity I have to take issue with them. First, what exactly is Celtic complicit in? On Resolution 12, we’d be complicit in denying ourselves access to a multi-million pound fortune.
On the Rangers situation? Did we save them, or try to? We didn’t do either. They weren’t saved and back when they were on their knees the only thing that would have helped them would have been for us to write a cheque to their creditors. Did we do that? No.
Were we in favour of them skipping the queue and getting into the top flight upon their founding? Again, no. We were one of the clubs – one of the first clubs – to publicly state that we’d be voting for Sevco not to be admitted to the SPL.
We did protect Neil Doncaster’s job, for reasons I cannot understand, in particular as he is implicated in one of the biggest scandals in the history of the game. His knowledge of, and his involvement in, the Craig Whyte car-crash is a documented, undisputed fact. The case against Doncaster is one of the great triumphs of the Internet Bampot era. That he remains in post is a travesty. That Lawwell stood side by side with him and saved him from the sharks is baffling and infuriating and is one of the great “irredeemables” of our CEO’s tenure.
But I’d caution anyone who looks at the stagnant nature of the rules and regulations and who draws the conclusion that Celtic has done nothing, and that’s a stick some of our own fans are beating us with, for sure, but that has nothing on the way the fans of other clubs – many of them too lazy to do anything at their own – are smashing us with it.
And I’m tired of it.
Partly because it’s nonsense.
It’s one of those “Old Firm” conspiracy theories fans at clubs outside of Glasgow believe in implicitly, and it makes no sense when you look at and it is flatly contradicted by a phone book full of facts, some of which I’ve stated above. We did nothing to prop Rangers up and we’ve done nothing publicly to benefit Sevco. There’s been talk about us playing pre-season friendlies abroad with them and other such nonsense, but none of it has ever come to anything, partly because the club knows how the fans feel about it.
Believe it or not, our club is well aware of our deep loathing for the OF tag – even back when it was valid, because the second club was – and would never alienate us by pushing commercial deals which were based around it.
Resolution 12 is different; it’s a complex issue which most of our fans only half understand, and the media hasn’t even tried to unravel the threads of it. The club has concerns. I think some of them are nonsensical but then I don’t get to make that call. I don’t have to meet its responsibilities or its commitments either financial or legal, so if people within Celtic seem not to want to do this there could be many reasons why which have nothing to do with complicity.
It is my understanding that they made a commitment to the Requisitioners that they would take the matter up if information came to light which was useful in building a case. I have examined the evidence collected by those guys and I think they’ve conclusively demonstrated the SFA’s failures in the matter. I think it warrants a fuller inquiry and I urge our shareholders to push for one and keep the pressure on the club until it’s called.
But on other issues I am more circumspect, and I understand why the club is too. Reform of the SFA is something we should be committed to and the shareholders should be trying to push our club to make those commitments in public. This is the crucial issue.
If we go public, that changes the game. Aberdeen have published their accounts and talked up financial fair play; we should declare our support for the same. No more hiding our light under a bushel. There’s nothing wrong with us telling the fans what kind of reforms we’re in favour of, and publishing our voting intentions for SFA and SPL meetings where they don’t conflict with commercial confidentiality. Our shareholders have a right to that information.
But I am not suggesting for one minute that a public announcement of our intentions should automatically translate into action. It doesn’t and it won’t until we can bring the rest of the clubs with us. Celtic has one vote. A lot of people, Celtic fans and those of other clubs, often forget that. For all we know, our club has pushed for reforms in the governance of the game; on our own we’re wasting our time. The game is bigger than we are.
It is not a dictatorship. We cannot act alone.
Tomorrow could be a step forward, but it’s only a step. Our club can try to lead, but we need to take other clubs with us or we’re simply a guy taking a walk on his own. We need to reach out and to work with others and to compromise at times.
There’s too much secrecy in our sport; the fans are excluded from too many key decisions. The announcement that the board will support a Trust resolution to create a fan forum is enormously positive, and we have to think that it will bear fruit and do some good.
Our club can – and must – take a lead in the game here. We are the best placed to do it, indeed I think we’re the only club who can.
It’s up to us to give the club our support if they want to try.
It’s up to us to make them want to try.