GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 22: A view of Celtic Park football stadium, home to Celtic FC on February 22, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
What in God’s name is going on at Celtic right now?
Who exactly does this club serve? Who exactly runs it?
James Forrest gets a one-year extension. Today, Celtic renegotiated Liam Scales’ deal and extended it. Now, as I feared, and as I wrote earlier, Luke McCowan has signed a contract extension as well.
Little by little, the club is boxing in the next manager. Little by little, it is narrowing his options. It becomes clearer and clearer that he will inherit mediocre players and hear that they are not really options at all.
These are the players he will have to work with.
This season is not even over yet, and already we can see the shape of the next one looming at us out of the fog like a mugger.
James Forrest is 34, and none of the last three managers has started him regularly. Giving him a one-year extension feels like a sentimental indulgence. Luke McCowan getting an extension is preposterous when he is part of the deadwood we should be clearing out of this club.
I am taking an unsentimental view about this because that is the only way to do it. You either want standards to improve, or you don’t. Apparently people inside Celtic don’t.
McCowan and Scales. Really? Is that supposed to be a step forward?
Liam Scales is one of the first players I would move out of Celtic. One of the first players I would get rid of.
Liam Scales is a walking, talking symbol of this club’s mediocrity at the moment. The idea that we cannot find a better defensive option than Liam Scales is so removed from reality, that I barely even know where to start.
We have renegotiated the deals of the very people the next manager should get the hell out of the building. We are putting ourselves in this position to make sure it is hard for him to get them out of the building. Because God forbid, we might actually have to spend some money upgrading on these guys.
This is the model for next season’s team. It is already taking shape right in front of us.
When season-ticket renewals drop through the door, bear in mind that we have extended contracts for players most of us hoped would be moved on. Now they may become the centrepiece of the rebuild.
I wonder if we are not all the victims of some giant con here.
You have to wonder if the club has already taken a decision on who the manager is, and whether it will not release the name because some people might decide they don’t want to renew at all.
I have a half-suspicion that O’Neill has already agreed to stay. When he talked about wanting Forrest here next season, that was when the penny dropped for me. Perhaps this is already sewn up. This has that feeling about it.
Either the next guy has already been secured and is happy to work within these constraints, or he has not been secured and we are going to ask him to work within these constraints anyway.
Either way, this is the shape of next season’s team.
A team that will lose Hatate and Engels. A team that may even move on Nygren.
But McCowan and Scales will be here. Not simply as placemen, but as core members of the squad.
That is the message the club has just sent us.
Has this club learned any lessons? Apparently not.
Has Celtic evolved? Not a chance.
Has Celtic got any intention of changing the way it does things? Absolutely no way.
The evidence is already here. It has already presented itself. They are either hamstringing the next manager before he comes in, or he is already in, and these are the players he is going to have to build the next team around.
Either way, I don’t like it. It is a horror show. Either way, it is everything bad that I suspected might be in Celtic’s future when, this time last year, the club made no effort to get Rodgers around the table and agree a contract extension.
I always said there were people on the board who don’t believe in the guru-manager theory. They don’t believe in the manager as architect. They believe they have got every major decision right over the past few years, and they want a manager in place who will implement the strategy they have mapped out.
That strategy is to throw someone project players, squad fillers and cast-offs, then expect him to make something of them.
I mean, Jesus wept. These people are about to ask fans to part with their money, and this is the vision of the future we are being presented with.
James Forrest and Liam Scales guaranteed to be here. Luke McCowan quite possibly elevated to a role as a first team regular starter. No matter who is in charge.
I will not pretend this is all right. I will not pretend this is where we should be. This is an embrace of mediocrity. This is an acceptance that Celtic are at the level we belong. This says we have no intention of reaching for any kind of improvement.
We are still in the midst of this dreadful campaign.
But today, we saw the door of hell crack open a little bit.
Next season at Celtic is going to be far worse than this one was.
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Once again we have to ask just who is in charge or making decisions at Celtic Park? It would have been better to leave any transfers/extensions til the new manager was in place and let him decide. If this is the level of player we will have we are bound for mediocrity next season. I can only hope the intention is to recoup some money on transferring them rather than cancelling their contracts and allowing them to leave for free.
As i said earlier, this stinks of the board STILL learning nothing or the next manager is already at Celtic (MON or Maloney – possibly both again with the idea of appointing Maloney as manager for the 27/28 season). And they are consulting with them on who to keep etc.
I would have thought the first 2 signatures to secure would have been Araujo and, especially, Saracchi.
As far as season tickets go? They want us to fund this substandard mediocrity.
BUYER BEWARE. NOT ANOTHER PENNY.
Thank you, the board, for making the season ticket renewal decision much easier.
No way are the 3 renewals exciting in anyway possible.
It really is time for a real protest by keeping your money in your wallet.
If not this rot will only fester and destroy our club,not their’s.
Hopefully its with a view to a bigger transfer fee but I wouldn’t count on it.
Who is making these decisions?
Decent players but not ones to take up forward in Europe
First, thank God BR didn’t renew his contract. This would have meant another 2 or maybe even 3 years of watching utter pish and putting up with him throwing his toys out of the pram. I wish he had resigned in August if he was unhappy.
Second. I completely agree with James about Scales however we do need Scottish lads for our European squad.
Third. I am sure MONand SM will be there in some capacity next season. Maybe, MON will act as a mentor for SM. This is a board that will not change and the minority owner across the sea isn’t about the change either. I think James needs a huge dram of realism. The Collective, the Green Brigade nor those swearing not to renew STs will not change the governance of the board one iota. Only mass boycotting of games at the beginning of next season may have an effect but those doddering bastards will have all the ST money by then AND the transfer fees for the players they hock. I genuinely fear for the future of the club we will support until we die.
As soon as I saw the Forrest extension I thought; oh shit we’re stuck with O’Neill and Maloney next season with an announcement after the cup final if we win . The board are digging in and going nowhere. Looking at the minutes of the last meeting the Collective have thrown in the towel. It will be interesting to see how many of the Green Brigade are at Easter Road as hibs have cut the away allocation again and once again codgers like myself will be watching the game in the pub. Everything about supporting or trying to support Celtic is getting me down after nearly 70 years. The club is a world class shambles. I really don’t care if we win nothing this season and I’m seriously thinking about packing it all in and leaving it to the coked up arseholes within our support who are as big an embarrassment as the board. There you go James, someone who is more pissed of than you.
Reading the latest reports of the club extending the contracts for mediocre players, sets alarm bells ringing. Desmond, who has history for making money from Care homes for the elderly, is making sure the club regresses even further. We already give coaching jobs to ex players, so ensuring no new ideas are forthcoming, nepotism, sentimentality and little ambition will continue unabated. The future success of the club is looking pretty grim. This from a lifelong supporter losing the will to live.
I cannot get over the level of vitriol about Scales. He has been one of the better performers all season. OK, he isn’t great going forward but he has done a hell of a lot of covering for the rest of the defence.
Part of the problem is he thinks he is Paola Maldini and he isnt . He isnt great going forward but thats more how the team is set up and coached. He gives me palpitations more often than not but looks like he will be around for a few more years..
Totally agree with you Billk. Even MON says the team is better with Scales in it. Maybe James and some of the supporters here know better than one of celtics most successful managers ever? Scales is going to be a first choice next season so back the lad who always gives his all
Yep BillK, a lot of people on here jumping the gun with way over the top criticism of players who will be squad players next season getting extended contracts. They’re even giving us an exclusive on who the manager and assistant manager is going to be next season.
Six games to win the double and we have a Celtic Blogger and some so called supporters slagging decent Celtic players. one or two even saying that they don’t want to win this League. Fxxkin shameful. I’m glad to see this tidying up business being done and hopefully the real business will get priority soon.
Anybody that thinks there are players better than Forrest, McCowan and Scales queuing up to sit on the Celtic bench, are being unrealistic.
MON was a hero a few weeks ago, now in some people’s opinion he’s a Desmond Lackey.
Beginning to think the board have already appointed the next manager but dont want to announce it until the season ticket renewal has happened as they dont want to piss anyone off than they already have. Just a hunch.
Could be a disaster or we could end up getting lucky like we did with Ange – who knows
Brilliant to hear Luke has a deserved new contract – never in doubt!
I gave up my season ticket in the Deila era as I’d had enough of the board taking the piss. Desmond is a sociopath and doesn’t listen. I still love the club but nothing would possess me to return. Whilst I miss the matchday experience, the journey from Edinburgh was never fun and I now spend the combined season ticket and travelling money on surfing which is definitely better for my sanity. I appreciate that for many folk Celtic is a way of life but it feels rather like an abusive relationship to me. Protests have limited impact when you are dealing with sociopathic billionaire who holds grudges. The unhinged statement about Brendan from Desmond speaks volumes. Unless you can get him out then no true change can happen.