Yesterday was a day that will live long in the memories of Celtic supporters. People will talk about it for years. They will highlight it whenever this transfer window is discussed and whenever the disgrace of it is properly examined.
It will become one of the central pieces of evidence used against Michael Nicholson, not only to argue that he should be removed from his job, but that he should never have been given it in the first place.
Two separate footballers identified by the manager as important parts of his rebuild ended up signing elsewhere. Both deals were like pushing on an open door. Neither was completed, and Celtic are already briefing their allies in the media about why.
In neither case does the explanation withstand the slightest scrutiny.
I do not believe for one second that Saracchi and his agent were being unreasonable in their demands. I do not believe for one second that we made a serious effort to sign the player. Michael Nicholson, or somebody else at Celtic Park, decided that the manager was not getting the footballers he wanted because the club had other ideas. However barmy those ideas may be, I suspect those are the targets they intend to pursue instead.
Saracchi should have been one of the easiest deals Celtic could possibly do. All summer long, the player had practically been begging on social media for the club to make the move permanent. He was available at a knock-down fee. We initially tried to get him on loan in a penny-pinching exercise which is mortifying for a club of our size. He and his agent have made it perfectly clear where they believe the blame lies for the collapse of this.
The briefing over Iheanacho may be the most embarrassing thing I have ever heard leaked out of this club.
They are blaming the player and his agent because he received a good offer elsewhere after Celtic had completely dropped the ball. All we had to do was exercise the option in his contract and the matter was settled. There would have been no secondary negotiation, no need to start again. But we allowed that option to lapse. Now they are blaming Iheanacho and his representatives for renegotiating the deal when any sane person could have told you that was exactly what would happen.
What did they think the consequences would be?
Did they honestly believe the player would sit around indefinitely, still accept the original terms and ignore every other offer that came his way? If so, that is incompetence on a staggering level. If they understood the risk and allowed it to happen anyway, that is worse. It’s very likely that Iheanacho and his agent wanted more money; the agent would not have been doing his job if he didn’t try for it.
That guy performed the service he was hired for. Nicholson and whoever else inside Celtic Park wants to deflect blame for their abject failings onto the most professional person in this farce should cease making themselves look ever more ridiculous. Someone here was at least performing at an elite level. It was nobody at our club.
Apart from anything else, they have hung Martin O’Neill out to dry.
You know what? I do not have a great deal of sympathy for him, because he has behaved like a naive schoolboy in taking these people at their word and placing his trust in them when anybody could have told him that doing so was insanity. Twice now in the space of this summer they have ripped the rug out from under him. He is being taken for a mug.
He genuinely believed the briefings he was given about Brendan Rodgers. People inside Celtic had poisoned him completely against Rodgers before he even got the job. They were spreading all sorts of material about Rodgers to all sorts of people at the time.
Martin believed it. He believed Rodgers was simply being unreasonable. He believed Celtic was a properly functioning organisation; I can understand him returning on that basis.
I cannot understand his behaviour since, not after everything he had witnessed himself. He dragged us back into a title race. He took us to a cup final. He secured a credible result in Europe. Then he watched as the club took the job away from him and gave it to somebody else to handle that final, the next phase of the European campaign, the New Year derby and the crucial match against Hearts.
It was insanity, but that is what they did. And it blew up in their faces.
Then they brought O’Neill back in the middle of January and gave him no meaningful money to spend while everything was on the line. His reputation was on the line. His relationship with the supporters was on the line. His previous achievements at Celtic were placed in jeopardy by the decisions of those people.
A third place finish would have destroyed his reputation. They were willing to risk that, and still he takes them at their word. What do they have on this guy? Can a man of his intellect really be this daft? You would not believe it if you were not witnessing it.
They even tried to screw him over in relation to his coaching staff. Still, he trusted them. Still, he thought their judgement was sound.
I find it hard to have much sympathy for someone who continues to trust so easily in people who have repeatedly demonstrated that they do not deserve it.
But none of that excuses what they have done to him.
They have embarrassed and humiliated him over these two players. Their leaks to the media merely show how small and pathetic they are. Those stories damage Celtic’s reputation even further. Instead of humbly accepting that they have made a fool of themselves and behaving professionally from this point on, they embark on another spree of blame-casting.
Who will want to deal with us if this is how Celtic behaves?
This is their way of doing business. It is their attitude, their egotism, their apparent inability to establish proper relationships with other people in the game. These are not football executives with an understanding of the game or any ability to build fruitful relationships. The insulting way Celtic treated clubs and agents last season has made those same clubs and agents not want to pick up the phone for Nicholson and McKay.
That’s what lies at the heart of his self-destructive confession to the Irish fans. People inside football do not want to talk to him or this club, such is our reputation now. Nobody will touch us with a twenty-foot pole if they have another serious option.
Celtic are lucky that O’Neill has a one-year contract with the possibility of another year, because if the people running this club had to enter the market right now and appoint a new manager, we would be lucky to end up with Stevie Robinson or someone equally underwhelming from our own doorstep.
The fact Steve Clarke is currently unemployed scares the hell out of me, just in case O’Neill decides he has finally had enough.
I have never seen such a mess. I have never been so disgusted with the people running Celtic. I thought last season was bad, but I knew instinctively this summer would be worse. I always knew it would be unbearable.
This was to be the first summer without Rodgers. The first summer without a powerful figure in the dugout with enough stature to force these people to deliver what he wanted and what the squad required or to shame them if they did not.
The real shame falls on everyone who believed that Rodgers was the problem; that guy wanted the backing his record entitled him to. He wanted to manage; imagine that? A top tier boss actually believing the club should trust his judgement.
It is now clear that O’Neill is letting them steamroller him, and it is awful to witness although, as I have said, my sympathy is limited.
But yesterday was humiliating on every level. It was a disaster of epic proportions, and I do not care whether you, I or anyone else in the support rated Iheanacho or Saracchi. That’s not the issue and I want to focus on the problem at hand.
The manager went on the record publicly and said he wanted them both. It’s as simple as that. He said this even after Celtic had allowed the option in Iheanacho’s contract to lapse. O’Neill still believed Nicholson would somehow get it done. He named Nicholson quite explicitly in his discussions with the media.
Nicholson did not get it done. There is no excuse for that. There is no moving beyond it, getting around it or pretending it does not matter.
Michael Nicholson is unfit for office.
We use the word “unacceptable” a great deal, but there is another word we rarely use and should use now. Untenable.
This situation cannot continue. We pay a higher price in reputational damage every day Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay remain on the books here.
These people are a clear and present danger to the wellbeing of Celtic. So is Dermot Desmond. They are no longer responsible custodians. They are arsonists. They are burning everything to ashes: the relationship with the supporters, the cohesion of the football department, the relationship with managers and the reputation of Celtic as an institution capable of conducting itself professionally.
They are driving a wrecking ball through all of it.
If this continues, Celtic could find itself in a position from which it takes years to recover. This is no longer merely about men without vision. It is no longer merely about men without a plan. We are far beyond that now.
I am not going to accuse these people of deliberately sabotaging the institution they are supposed to protect. But if they were sabotaging it, how would the last twelve months have looked any different?
This is a textbook demonstration of how you run a top-class sporting institution into the ground. Not since Gerard Ratner declared his own products junk have senior executives at a major organisation had a week as stinking as this one. It no longer matters to me whether this has happened by accident or design.
Either way, it is untenable.
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We can bitch and moan about this but as you admit, you instinctively knew this summer was going to be worse.
Where then wad the coherent plan from the collective? (which by the way I support).
We were told ‘not a penny less’ was the answer but season tickets were bought and supporters are already talking about new strips and Celtic tv.
Best case scenario is that pie sales go down.
Not another pie is not gonne rock Desmond foundations. We are in shit and have very little pressure points to exploit. Boycotting, though a visible sign of discontent, will not affect anything.
Nicholson. Sat on the council of Law Society. Educated at Harvard. Not one person on that board is stupid. I’d like to postulate something. Something that people are not considering because it’s so far out there,but is it a possibility? Our Ultras are a bastion of Social Conscienceness. Recall the effort by Club to silence the Palestine protest. One could not possess nor display the flag of Palestine, yet fly the Ukraine flag with impunity. One does not protest Israel without recourse, AND they do not forget,ever! Which brings me to the fact that we are being hollowed out from within. Basic common sense tells us this. Why would intelligent men not invest and grow? Our majority shareholder is an expert on investment. So why the breaks? Well one does not get to be a Billionaire without crossing lines with a certain group of people and their state. What if DD is being hamstrung and Celtic by proxy? We should look at the dealings and who is who. DD’s is heavily invested with Israeli companies, he also is on the board of Reituma Banka, set up by predominantly a certain group of people.
In summary is there a choke-hold being applied to Celtic by Zionist/Jewish influences?
Yes MoriatyRoman. Furthermore, the man in the moon (reported landings on it are all false) which is made of cheese agrees entirely with your view. Even Australians agree even though their country doesn’t exist! The unicorns and the short left sided haggis that run around mountain tops nod sagely with your theories.
However, I disagree entirely with these hate filled rants. Please, don’t embarrass yourself further with this poisonous drivel. If Isreal is watching as closely as you think, then, like the rangers, they are coming, for you.
Not convinced then?
Lol,brilliant what con you all fell for.
Season books sold out,the board away with the money in their back pocket to the bank,while sticking 2 fingers up to the fans.
Hell slap it into you all.
Nothing this board does surprises me any more, but Martin O’Neill confuses me. This is a guy who had a great reputation, risked it all to come and bail out the worst celtic team in a generation but the gamble paid off and his legend grew to new heights. All of that I get.. but compare that with his choice to come back with no assurances. To publicly back a man who let him down severely last January. To make excuses on behalf of the board regarding transfers. To publicly state he wanted Iheanacho and Saracchi only to be let down, inexplicably, on both and made to look like a fool once more. Why is someone with this amazing track record accepting this? He is risking his entire legacy, currently spanning 26 years, for what? Does he KNOW he is here purely as a human shield between the supporters and the board? Because he can’t be here for footballing reasons otherwise he would be as disgusted as the rest of us. He is far too intelligent to be as naive as he has behaved the last several weeks, so again, why is he putting up with this? Do yourself a favour Martin if you really care about this club, give them a public ultimatum and hold the bastards to account!
James,another lengthy, accurate, drawn out article.
But another day passed and nothing achieved.
It would be brilliant if you could channel all your energy,expertise and intellect into a project which will actually affect the board.
You would have everybody’s backing.
As I’ve repeatedly stated.
We are all fiddling while Rome burns.
2 WEEKS TO KICK OFF, 7 PLAYERS OUT AND COUNTING.
1 IN.
Genuine question. Have 7 players left the club and who are they? I can’t find any info.
Palma, Nawrocki, Welsh, Schmeichel, Araujo, Sarracchi, Adamu, Mvuka, Iheanacho, Cvancara, Inamura, Shin.
Take your pick from that twelve and remember we were under strength last year.
Kearon,the question should be whom is choking Celtic and why? We’ve not looked deep enough into this.
Interesting post Morisrty Roman, a different angle altogetther.
Editor James ?
As I said yesterday, Walk Away. Save yourself the grief, the heartache and wait for the organ grinder to fire the monkeys. I also said yesterday I think either our bogus CEO or MON will be gone by 3rd August.
Look at what they tried to do to MON’s support staff. Get them on contracts for far less than they were on last season. A season, btw, they helped make a success.
Someone somewhere has to ask who is picking the players? MON or someone else?
Is Nicholson and McKay not trying to close the deal on MON’s choices? Then we end up getting the dross that Desmond & Co pick?
Like a growing number of folk i’ve now got no sympathy for MON either. He is slowly but surely being seen as one of them.
A player opts to sign for a Turkish 2nd division club over Celtic? That is the level we are now at.
We are now well and truly f@cked.
Time to ask. Is DD compromised?, if DD is master of all at celtic, the owner as MON asserts then it is he that is on the hook for the 5way agreement and not PL. Lawell has said he never saw it and that may well be true if its the master who agreed and not the puppet.
Is someone finally at the blackmail? Have the terms and conditions of the 5way finally come home to roost.
How else can this be explained away, it cannot all be down to stupidity i reject that .
Think. Who really has a say on Celtic? The Bank of New York. DD is heavily involved with Israeli companies. DD involvement with Riemuta Banka,a bank that shouldn’t exist. Celtic fans hardline on Palestina. Is it too much of a leap that Zionist/Jew influences are choking us. It would make more sense and certainly not impossible than intelligent men being completely inept. I do not believe they are inept, I believe they are ruthlessly following a path, a path laid out by someone else.
Interesting posts MoriartyRoman, an entirely different slant on all of the corporate downsizing going on at Celtic Park.
DD the cat becomes mouse !!.
James, any avenues of research for a deep dive. ?
The posts by MoriatyRoman deserve nothing but scorn. They are antisemitic and vile. According to this geezer the Jews are behind everything. Like other bigots, he is asking us to make a huge leap in logical thinking in order to come to his conclusion. Like others of his ilk, he is an intellectual pygmy with little knowledge on the subject of so called international Jewry.
A mere postulation. OK. Construct a response that with fact would completely discount the possibility.
Under this Board we’re doomed, in the next two weeks there will be more transfers out of key players than transfers in. They’;re not even bothering their arses in trying to placate us with a couple of decent signings before the sell off begins.
DD,MN, C McK and BW hate us, and to be quite honest I’m coming to hate them. All out war between them and us looks the only answer. I never want to damage our club, but for the greater good I think it is now the only way.
Boycotts and walk outs are the only way forward, if around 40,000 walked out of games after 10 mins and demonstrated on the Celtic way it would get massive publicity and worry the corporate sponsors. These cretins would hold out for some time but the pressure would surely become too much.
MON is now being associated with these people, hopefully if things don’t improve dramatically in the next few weeks he will walk.
This is Desmonds revenge for the AGM shambles, he is an Irish Tory who hates the Plebs having an opinion.
A mere postulation. OK. Construct a response that with fact would completely discount the possibility.
When Brendan left the game was up for the club.
We now have of the most incompetent boards in football.
DD knows nothing about football but has power at the club and appoints the incompetents. He should have been gone years ago.
MON is constantly praising him….. time for him to go too.
Did Brendan sign an NDA?
If he didn’t that could be a possible reason why DD went on the front foot, in an attempt to stain Brendan’s integrity.
To everyone confused about MONs behaviour I suggest you read Yogi Hughes Son of Celtic blog from yesterday.
If true it explains everything and removes any possibility of MON taking a stand against the rats
Did Brendan sign an NDA?
If he didn’t that could be a possible reason why DD went on the front foot, in an attempt to stain Brendan’s integrity.
Don’t get the MON bashing, how can he ruin his legacy if it is not his fault. He is being loyal to the club, the same loyalty the ST renewers gave them. He done us a massive service by coming back and winning a double, now he is a bogey man, come on, don’t stoop to that level against a legend of the club.
Agreed Dan, O’Niell will do his best and I’ll be grateful for it.
With all due respect to JH, I very much doubt anyone knows MON’s finances except MON and his accountant & lawyer.
MON likely is a person that needs a reason to get up in the morning. Why not do what you love. Manage Celtic or sit in a studio with a pair of clowns like Jim White and Simon Jordan?
The situation at Celtic is untenable?
How many times have you used the word ‘untenable’ over that last 12 months James?
The ‘Untenables’ are mostly all still there.
I shake my head in despair.
Deliberate self sabotage, what else makes sense?
Incompetent, useless bastards makes more sense to me.
Forget DD, I want to know what Chris Trainer (11%), James Keane (6%) and Lindsell Train (17%), whose combined stakes match up to DDs, are doing. Trainer and Keane are Celtic fans made good – why are they not pushing for change? Lindsell Train are there for the returns but they must see that the club is being mismanaged and underperforming. It’s time for the shareholders to revolt against DD and for MN to be put out of his misery.
An EGM must be called now by the shareholders to remove this cancer, support the call
“Saracchi should have been one of the easiest deals Celtic could possibly do. All summer long, the player had practically been begging on social media for the club to make the move permanent. He was available at a knock-down fee.”
And how do you know that, James? What was the asking price?
The only figure i ever seen he was being touted to cost around £12m.
And even that figure appeared midway through last season in the BritNat media.
Massive peaceful protests are needed outside Celtic Park demanding Nicholson’s resignation. And they should take place every week. Mind you, having said that, what’s the chances DD would just replace him with another incompetent imbecile? Nobody of note is going to want that job under current conditions. We are well and truly f@cked.
£2m was the fee
According to Yogi’s boy’s blog, from what I read, MON has lost millions and needs the money to fund his pension.
The main problem is that Nicholson said he can’t negotiate with those “bad boy ” agents who make deals and run away so nothing will change until he resigns.
Iheanacho refused a return simply because we do not have a midfield and supply to the forwards is non-existent. A problem he knows will not be addressed.
For the last time I’ll say it. MON is now, more than ever, treading on thin I’ve with his reputation and legendary status. Everything that’s to be said, has been said in these comments.
Here’s my hope……someone, somewhere in the world is watching this with interest. They are biding their time by allowing all this pantomime to carry on, and then they’ll strike!. A buy out bid will be launched and Celtic FC will fall into the hands of another Fergus McCann like figure. How this man must be cringing at what’s going on at Parkhead just now. There must be businessmen waiting n watching this. I noticed Rod has gone public. Whatever anyone thinks of him is their business, but at least he’s a presence and people will listen. Maybe not word for word, but they’ll at least take note of wtf is going on in Glasgow.
As for MON……watch this space, and do not be surprised if he gets out anytime soon. Surely a man with his intelligence can see the board are pissing down his back and telling him it’s raining????
Here’s a link to this excellent piece by Andy Muirhead. https://www.andymuirhead.com/p/celtics-governance-crisis-begins
Folks, here’s the link to the article ‘corkbhoy’ (above) mentions:
https://sonofceltic.com/2026/07/17/unchanged-excuses-the-reason-oneill-is-risking-his-legacy/
Wow, what an interesting read. Thinks for posting this link Richard.
The irony about all this is wanks like Desmond are obsessed with their legacy, & all he’s gonna remembered for it he’s the retard that destroyed Celtic
Time for DD to quake in his boots!
The collective are absolutely fuming and we can just anticipate their response!
DD thought those ping pong balls being thrown onto the pitch from behind the goal, the 18 minutes silence and not buying pies was his worse nightmare! Tiananmen Square’esque! We’ll wait till the next collective tsunami hits him! The ping pong balls will be thrown on from the sides of the pitch as well as the end, the 18 minutes will become 20 minutes silence, and as well as not buying pies they won’t buy burgers either!
The world waits with bated breath for these brave collective rebel soldiers to lay everything on the line for their Irish heritage and their beloved Glasgow Celtic! The front pages await worldwide!
Mark my words, Sitting Bull, Che Gavara and Bobby Sands will all suddenly sit upright in anticipation at how the passionate collective warriors will respond!
O’Neil’s loyalty lies with dd not Celtic.
A couple of days ago I suggested the money saved from NAP should be put into a charitable fund
On second thoughts these £millions can be used to buy shares in Celtic and the rebel soldiers of the so called Celtic Collective can rid the boardroom of the charlatans running the club
Regarding Iheanacho some bloggers were outraged when Celtic signed him telling us all how disgusting it was and now it’s disgusting he’s been allowed to leave Funny old game indeed
Yes, MON wanted Iheanacho and Sarrachi but surely not at any cost? Iheanacho’s contract was allowed to lapse because he showed he could not get and stay fit and therefore the contract needed from a business perspective to be revised – pay per performance perhaps or just less money. Iheanacho and his agent naturally enough wanted what was best for them hence the very rapid move (despite his expressed love of Celtic, the fans and the city) to Turkey on a 3-year contract at an enormous sum (40,000 a week or something?) – let’s see how that works out. Sounds reckless to me.
Sarrachi was an easier deal, but what if, what if he wanted guaranteed playing time – probably even MON wouldn’t have agreed to that.