Wow … Our supporters are truly an odd bunch.
Since Thursday night I have seen so much anger and bile about the manager, about the coaching staff (even our non-existent defensive coach) the players and obviously the board.
I wish I could say it was some of the worst comments I’ve seen in a long time, but it’s the same comments I’ve been seen just over a week ago, slaughtering Lennon and especially Duffy.
So low and behold, the shock and indignation shown by our support, when someone decided to put up that banner, when all it does is hone in and epitomise what seems to be the most central message of so many Celtic fans, and which they put it all over their socials, be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or whatever, under their own or some fake name with a pic of some random Celtic player or Celtic image.
Now I know James wrote a piece saying that he didn’t believe that banner was he work of Celtic fans, and he laid out his case in a very humorous way … but he knows as well as I do that the words on that “bedsheet” would not be inconsistent with some of what we’ve already seen online.
Across much of Celtic social media now there seems to be a disgust, or a knowledge that what was either written on that banner was wrong … or maybe, having that message put out there actually embarrassed the fans?
Well I say embarrassed the fans, but I actually mean a section of the fans, because anytime something like this happens a section of our support jumps straight into blaming fans elsewhere, as if they aren’t already enjoying this fan implosion enough already.
But it doesn’t take Colombo to see that they don’t need to put up that banner to make us look bad; we are handling that well enough on our own with the way some of us have turned on each other and the whole of the club.
One look on social media would be all the evidence you need to know it is was 100% a Celtic fan who put that banner up, who finally took the messages on social media to the natural next step of putting it outside our stadium for the world to see.
Because the indignation from our support is what truly shocks me, with the flood of abuse and “Lennon out” “send Duffy packing” messages that have been nonstop since Thursday night. To pretend that the banner was anything other than a reflection of that … I genuinely cannot wrap my head around how the selection of support putting out that constant negativity are also shocked at that banner. I would love to know what truly shocked them about the banner.
The message on the banner is putting out in public what many of them have said in private, and having that mirror turned back on them might – just might – have had a positive impact. It will maybe make some folk understand how bad that messaging is.
Especially when you know the manager and Duffy will see it.
Maybe the scale of this will hit home?
I genuinely don’t know.
I did have a rant and rave on Thursday after the game, like every fan, but come Friday I moved on and I thinking about the next game; that’s just me, but some of our fans are increasingly unable to debate and discuss things constructively.
Nobody is suggesting that criticism is wrong … but bile and venom targeting our own is not criticism, and that’s what I’m seeing constantly right now.
Ross McAtasney is a regular contributor to The CelticBlog and one of our social media admins.