In the aftermath of the interim accounts being published, the Usual Suspects in the media were promoting the idea that Lawwell and the board are getting ready to spend big.
Shame that it will make no difference whatsoever to this campaign. Coincidently, it’s just in time for asking for the fan’s money prior to the next one.
And, of course, we are supposed to take this on faith.
The lead story to this end was published in The Record, headlined “Peter Lawwell WILL crack Celtic transfer kitty open as Brendan Rodgers makes spending admission.”
There are two writers’ names on this, both of them known to be regulars at our version of the succulent lamb table; Ross Pilcher and, most importantly, Michael Gannon. He’s certainly close to the club.
With their names connected to it, this is very obviously a story with a little spin applied to it. Hey, if these guys are content to be used as shills that’s up to them.
The problem with the strategy is obvious; as has been pointed out many times, Lawwell is a toxic presence at this club. The mere mention of his name is enough to make some people doubt every word that comes out of Celtic Park, and this has never been a secret. Lawwell is loathed by a section of our fan-base, and a growing section at that.
He has been for years. His return was an open insult to us all.
On top of that, this is not a new tactic. These people have been getting away with this rubbish for years now. When Lawwell was the CEO, this used to get trotted out as regular as clockwork and we can count on one hand how many times the club followed through. Even if they were willing to do so this time, do we really trust that the money will be spent well?
The summer was an absolute mess.
Even if you believe Lawwell, that the club tried for players in the January window, they didn’t get the ones they wanted. We remember him as a dreadful negotiator, willing to tank deals for good players over the most pointless nonsense and moderate sums of money.
Is his son any better? It doesn’t look like it, does it? This is their way of saying they failed, which all of us knew already. It’s the one contention no-one will dispute.
The combination of having seen and heard all this before and the guy who put his name on the bottom of that release is deadly. You could not get a clearer case of this club reaping what it has sowed. The act of bringing Lawwell back created the distrust automatically.
Having his son in charge of recruitment turned that up to a ten. There is no getting away from this. The arrogance of having two Lawwell’s at the head of this club’s football department means that they can push out whatever message they want. Hardly anyone is going to believe a word of it.
Having one of his tame hacks get it out there that the club will take the shackles off the spending in the transfer market in the summer impresses absolutely nobody.
If we lose this title then it’s too little too late.
It shouldn’t fool anybody either because these sorts of “jam tomorrow” promises are only designed to get season ticket money from us, and possibly as a means of enticing a new manager whose needs they will simply ignore in favour of another bunch of projects. And unless the money is spent wisely, we’d be as well putting it all on red or black.
The distrust is such now that it’s bad enough. But you combine it with this complete lack of faith from the support in their ability to even get it right if they decided to ramp up the spending is what’s really going to cause this board problems.
They still don’t get it.
They still don’t get what their arrogance has wrought here.
They still don’t understand what the appointments of Lawwell and Lawwell mean in the short to medium term; as long as those two are still at Celtic, nobody has confidence in anything the club says or does..
And they can wheel out anyone they want to make their case because we’ve already passed the point of no return.
Hell, that has to be the longest chairman’s report we’ve ever published as part of interim accounts and every word of it has been scorned. The simple fact is that the louder they squeal the less people are interested in listening.
Trust has been destroyed. There is no going back.
100% Correct.
I fear we’ll be lucky to get a point at Motherwell, I believe if we somehow happen to win this league this season we’re back to square one.
Do we need some pain to achieve some gain.
Trust in our board and specifically, PL, has long since died and been replaced by an ever blossoming mistrust.
Regardless of outside noise and criticism, our fanbase are faithful and just want our club to be successful. That obviously requires proper & constructive investment in our team to continue doing well domestically, but also to be equipped for European competition. This season, has highlighted, yet again, the neglect and incompetence in these areas. Fans would also love to see and hear of home grown players coming through the academy and playing for the first team. All well run clubs should have an outstanding crop of young talent, ready to make the step up. All we hear, is the exodus of our best young players and that should not be happening.
Another thing that has been touched upon on here, but never clarified, is the exit of Dom McKay.
Did he come in with a freshness of ideas that didn’t sit well with the cronyism of the board and was pushed, rather than quitting ?
Distrust will continue to grow, regardless of whether we retain this title.
It is hoped the players can get back to winning ways, whilst all of this, goes on in the background.
Dom Mckay says it all
Superb post Gerry. The Dom McKay is very suss with his silence paid for.
We are being taken for mugs. Those in charge have do not share the love for our club that we do.
Horse and stable door, remember your coat on the way out lawwell.
We, as a support have agency in this. Withhold season ticket money until Lawwell and Lawwell have been removed. If a Lawwell is attached to the club, then season ticket money is withheld. Very easy. Alternatively, make it a condition of purchase. You do no need to do anything other that write back when renewing your season ticket stating that your purchase is contingent on Lawwell and Son having no position whatsoever within the club.
Agree 100% all ready thinking about it
I’m not happy with any of them, and unfortunately I include Brendan in that as well, some of our performances have been atrocious, and the manager has to take the blame for that aspect. The board not spending money in January there was a massive error, and it could cost us the title, so positions should be untenable for that. I mean those figures in todays paper that I have read are mind boggling, and the fact they have not signed players is gross mismanagement, and like any business there should be consequences for that.
The lying Lawwell is at it again, we desperately need a goal scorer just like we did In Gordon Strachans last season and Lawwell gifted the title to Rangers as they were known then by not buying Stephen Fletcher. Now he has probably done the same again by not buying the guy from Aberdeen, or even Lawrence Shankland despite his allegiences.
Both would have been available at the right price.
James have to agree with you regarding the Lawwell’s there’s no trust there from the fans. They are bringing in inferior players compared to the one’s that they sell basically downsizing that’s what cost us the ten, now it could cost of the league plus ChampLeague monies. To be honest this team isn’t Champions League material. I’ve been following Celtic over 67 years and it reminds me of the Kelly and White era.
These chancers and liars are providing exceptionally poor value for money.
They only want your money to continue their lavish lifestyles (heated drive anyone), while running the football club into the ground.
Season ticket holders need to withhold their hard earned until they see change at the club, even if it means cancelling. Believe me, there is life after a season ticket. I’ve been there.
Continuing to fund these absolute bastards will lead to nothing but misery while they live the high life and line their pockets at your expense.
SACK THE BOARD!
And the apparent rumour that DD is going ti clear the board reeks of bein a Pedro the Hun pish ti get season tickets sold – yi know, come the summer…. Oh how we’ve waited for the fabled summer that never quite seems ti ever arrive…..
HH
I was a Lawwell apologist years ago. I think that ended during the Strachan years when I obtained better exposure to fellow fan views via the forums (COTH, Celtic Minded et al).
People who do not hate Lawwell’s presence at Celtic are either ignorant of the facts or just plain stupid.
Long may this blog, and others like it, reign. Without them, we’d be reliant on utter dolts feeding us lies.
Totally agree with you he should never have been near our club again after the mcginn farce
Yes, I’d like to know much much more about Dom McKay’s short lived tenure.
Probably scared the sh*t out of them with his modern expansive ideas.
Agreed.
And very strange that there didn’t seem to be any rumours either
about exactly why McKay left “for personal reasons”.
After a handover from PL, McKay became CEO 01/07/21.
His resignation was announced 10/09/21.
That’s just over 2 months as CEO of a plc.
That was either an incredibly short period in which to piss everyone off,
or did he feel uncomfortable about uncovering / being expected to remain
silent about CFC decisions in the past – like in 2012?
The longer McKay stayed, he would become complicit?
Purely speculation on my part,
and there could have been genuine personal reasons?
But, yes, with the secrecy around how our Board operates,
there could also be a very interesting story around McKay’s
swift departure?
Yes, PL is just doing what he’s been doing for the best part of 20 [twenty] years:
being ‘economical with the truth’ with the paying punters.
Reminds me of the infamous ibrox warchest.
Think that term was coined when Craig Whyte bought Rangers FC for £1,
and his promised £5M warchest for summer signings didn’t appear.
We’ve had our fun at sevco’s expense, about that term over the years,
yet our club now has a genuine, bulging warchest full of tens of millions
of pounds to easily secure a squad at another level,
,,,except PL has the key to the warchest,
and he’s swallowed it! 🙁
WE would be stupid to believe that PL, MN and the rest of the Board
have the ability, [nevermind the motivation], to change the way that
they operate at the club?
Agree completly. Would love the idea of renewing to be done only on the gaurantee that no Lawells remain in the building but can,t see how that would be feasible. They are gonna send these out with no idea what we are paying for. Shameful
I suspect that Lawwell’s pal scoop – inaction Jackson of the daily Record ,shall dress up the chairman’s Scrooge act in his Monday column ? Oh ,there will be a bit of criticism ,but mostly an ‘attaboy ‘ kind of tale from an obedient lackey of the typist kind …… hiiccuuuppp! Bbbuuuurrppppp! Ppaarrrpppp!