Celtic Fans Are Right To Be Furious, And They Are Fully Entitled To Vent That Fury.

This morning, I watched all the main video reviews of the game at the weekend, and in particular I listened to those on The Celtic Way and ACSOM, because you always get intelligent and measured discussions on those, particularly when they involve Tony Haggerty. One of the phrases that I heard over and over again was how the atmosphere at the weekend was “toxic.”

I agree. It was. I used that word myself, I think, in one of the articles. It’s an accurate description of what the atmosphere was like, especially in the second half.

The mood was ugly, it really was, and it’s probably going to be ugly against Livingston and even against the Ibrox club, especially if the results do not go as planned. This is just the start of this.

At long last, the mood in the stands has turned decisively against the people who use our club as their personal plaything. It is long overdue.

Those who are lamenting the atmosphere shift, from one which was about backing the players to one that is now attacking the board have a point, but only up to one.

Fans shouldn’t be expected to continue swallowing the contempt with which they are treated by these people and Celtic Park is the only place where they can express their dissatisfaction.

Nobody wants an ugly atmosphere at games. It’s the last thing we need during a close title race.

But for far too long, these people have gotten away with their grotesque cronyism and nepotism because fans don’t want to disrupt things on the pitch. They know we are incredibly loyal to the club and to the team, and they take full advantage of that fact.

It’s high time support for the players was separated from our relationship with those who run Celtic from the boardroom. The fans who sang those songs against the directors at the weekend know exactly what has gone wrong here and where we should point the finger of blame, and my sincere hope is that we continue to do so, and loudly.

We have that right, and I fully expect all the usual suspects to “appeal for unity” and whatever else, but what they are really telling the rest of us to do is to sit down and shut up and that’s just another expression of contempt.

This club needs gutting out and that needs to start at the top of the house, and unless we’re willing to express that view in the clearest terms the people whose selfish decisions have gotten us here are going to continue doing it their way until the damage they inflict is too great to easily repair.

We are at a crossroads here.

The fury is palpable. It must be harnessed and channelled and directed where it belongs, until the strategy is made to serve the team rather than the balance sheet and Lawwell Jnr is removed from the job that is way too big for him and his daddy realises that there’s no rehabilitating his own reputation with fans, when most of us made up our minds on that subject a long time ago.

He should never have returned to a senior position at Celtic Park and he should not be allowed to continue kidding himself that he holds it with the backing of those in the stands.