Over the weekend, we saw clear evidence of Dermot Desmond’s arrogance and contempt for the ordinary fans of Celtic.
Indeed, we saw his contempt for anyone who isn’t Dermot Desmond.
I thought the story about him which appeared in an Irish newspaper, in which he grilled a journalist on his knowledge of Celtic to embarrass the guy and so he could justify rejecting his own questions, was absolutely horrific and painted an horrendous picture of our biggest shareholder, which only confirmed what we already knew.
I don’t know if Desmond imagines that kind of crude dismissal of legitimate scrutiny makes him sound tough or strong but I didn’t think it accomplished either. I thought it made him sound like an egotist who doesn’t believe he should ever be put on the spot.
This is not shock news to us, of course.
Celtic fans have already experienced Desmond’s contempt in the face of scrutiny o more than one occasion during the last 12 months.
He can ask all the questions he wants about our club in the hope of shaming his inquisitors but we could all ask Desmond some questions of our own, such as when was the last time he attended an AGM?
We have a guy here who runs our club from afar, and through a man who will soon be leaving his post. He never goes to board meetings. Yet the perception that he is the most powerful person at Celtic persists, although it’s not clear what function he fulfils.
But reading the interview at the weekend he sounds like a typical bully, trying to intimidate people with threats and bluster. It’s not a good look. The idea that he has no questions to answer about the way our club is being run right now is preposterous.
Let’s be honest, the guy wasn’t going to do a full inquisition on him. The guy was probably going to lob some softballs.
That Desmond can’t even front up for those is pretty damning.
He should be subjected to the harshest scrutiny imaginable at the moment.
That he won’t answer any questions at all makes me wonder what he’s trying to hide. His own lack of a plan perhaps.
The dearth of any vision for our football club maybe.
I don’t care how many trophies have been won on his watch.
The managers and players won those, not some director sitting in Ireland who couldn’t find Celtic Park without his Sat-Nav. The board is great at taking credit for everything that goes well.
When it goes wrong they can always sack coaches and managers.
Last season was a calamity. Lawwell knows his position is untenable and has fallen on the sword. Lennon knew his was untenable although the club had to terminate his contract, whatever the “official” word on it was.
But not one board member has done enough self-analysis to consider offering his resignation.
Desmond won’t even sell up his shares although he is clearly out of ideas about where we go next as a club.
Directors never pay the price for mistakes, and Desmond doesn’t want to answer questions far less admit that he’s gotten it wrong.
The public image of him hiding behind legal threats rather than give a jobbing journalist a hearing is appalling, whatever smart image of himself it’s given him.
It confirms that it’s him, and not the writer, who is all out of answers.