17 Sep 2025 19:57:57
Ed
What's happened to the 'trust the process' brigade?
Have they been certified or just in hiding?
{Ed007's Note -
17 Sep 2025 20:18:13
Went back to the dark side JFP.
17 Sep 2025 21:12:13
North 18Q
You might might just be right.
With regard to the ‘trust the process’ brigade and board apologists - If you can keep your head when everyone around you is losing theirs - maybe you’re just not feckn bright enough to appreciate the severity of the situation.
Not all friends of Celtic are friends of Celtic.
‘A bird was flying south for the Winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field.
While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realise how warm he was. The dung was thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.
Moral of the story:
Not everyone who $hits on you is your enemy - and not everyone who gets you out of the $hit is your friend - and another thing - when you’re in deep $hit - keep your feckn mouth shut!
{Ed007's Note - I'm still not sure I'm still a board apologist or not - my question is this, is there REALLY 2 sides to this argument, surely there isn't a Celtic fan out there that thinks we are being ran well and fulfilling our capabilities as Club?}
17 Sep 2025 22:11:12
Guilty as charged.
It is now rather silly when Celtic constantly point blank refuse to get our ducks in a row early.
I actually thought we would’ve done okay in the end but our squad is much weaker.
The main point is year after year we wait too long to get transfers completed and our fans have had enough.
Celtic also did it the last few years when we were guaranteed CL football which doesn’t make any sense.
It throws out the window the excuse we were waiting to see if we got CL football again this season.
18 Sep 2025 07:07:08
While I totally agree with you buzz that we more often than naught wait too long to sign players, it goes beyond that for me.
I think we need to get better at managing our squad and succession planning. Too often we don't sell players at the right time so their market value goes down. We also sell our top assets without getting a successor in. We also regularly fail to address deficiencies in our first team squad. It is now a rare occurrence that we leave the window and you look at the squad and are happy.
The same applies to managers, there is often a big gap between losing a manager and getting a new one in.
An even more worrying trend has started to emerge were we no longer invest all our profits into improving the team and prefer to use it to pay dividends and give it away to HMRC, which makes no business sense. This is despite being the richest we have ever been and being well below the 70% mark.
I have mentioned countless times on here that while we cannot afford to have world class players we can afford to have world class coaches, world class scouting, world class facilities and world class sports science but also fail to invest in that.
The board and Desmond are failing to drive us on and it looks like they have taken us as far as they can. In my opinion it is time to thank them for getting us this far and for them to step aside and let someone else try to modernise our club and drive us on. You only have to look at blinds like USG, Copenhagen and Atalanta to see what can be achieved if you have vision and the correct people in key roles.
18 Sep 2025 08:55:42
Little Joe
Good stuff. ?.
18 Sep 2025 06:51:05
Same, guilty
Always said wait til sept not sure thy makes me an apologist, not sure questioning people wanting dd out makes me one either, not sure highlighting successes of current board make one either, truth is im a deadline day striker away from being content, none the less they didn’t perform as expected (board during window) so no Europa tiks bought, and support fan demos like rugby park (for now as not really sure what outcome is wanted and until board address some things will support demos) can't say im remotely happy or proud of not getting tiks etc, let's see what this all comes to but im nervous and while hope there some change (echoing br and what’s needed )
18 Sep 2025 10:10:00
Peter Lawwell has been at Celtic for the last 22 years and he was only at our club 6 months when we last won a European knockout tie in 2004.
I can see him stepping down and retiring at the AGM in November and being replaced.
How strange would it be if Celtic then went on to win a European knockout tie in February 2026 after a long 22 years wait.
I’m not saying it’s Peter Lawwell’s fault but I’m only pointing out the potential coincidence.
I believe Peter Lawwell has still done a good job for Celtic over the years and he should take the time to enjoy his retirement.
18 Sep 2025 10:51:03
Over the years I have learned that the only way to live is today. All the crying and protesting in the world is not going to make Celtic strengthen the team LAST august. If you look to the rangers and the money they have spent chasing us, without success. In our shadow as a result of millions spent trying to break our nine in a row. Can't we see that money doesn't necessarily bring success. I look how last summer we had two big money signings (was it to appease the fans? ) But for whatever reason one has been sold at a loss and the other is not geyting into the starting eleven is present. Celtic could spend their money and bring in 5-6 £10m+ players and we could have a shambles on our hands with 6 Idahs on our hands (btw i supported Idah 110% whilst he wore the hoops) . I agree with those who say the club is well run in general but does need to improve the playing staff which doesn't necessarily mean spending megabucks but can do if its the right fit.
18 Sep 2025 14:48:02
We are underperforming in Europe for a club of our size and resources and this is not a new trend. You could also argue that our board are costing us even more domestic success by not addressing deficiencies in our squad on a regular basis.
For example the sell of kyogo without a replacement last January cost us the treble in my opinion . And the failure to get Stephen Fletcher in cost us a league title.
18 Sep 2025 16:19:39
Celtic were 7 points clear after winning at Ibrox in December 2008 and we looked good for 4 in a row.
Celtic failed to get Fletcher and we eventually lost the title.
I still believe Celtic should’ve had enough firepower that season with Scott McDonald, Samaras and Big Jan VOH.
We played a 4-4-2 formation back then and I do agree getting Fletcher would’ve probably guaranteed another title.
But
The under performing Samaras and Jan VOH also cost us that season because Scott McDonald was our only consistent goal scorer.
The other two were both on league goal droughts at the same time and ironically both eventually scored in the same match against Hamilton on Grand National day in April.
One of them hadn’t scored a league goal since September and the other being the first week in January if I remember right.
The Celtic Board definitely got complacent and our playing staff bottled 4 in a row and then we had to then watch Rangers also winning 3 in a row before their meltdown in the 2011/ 12 season.
18 Sep 2025 19:43:20
Did we just use two examples and generation apart, really, look I’m all for holding the correct under performing board members accountable
And want reform in how club works, but we can hardly ask (ten season aside) for more domestic success, yeah having some good euro nights live long in memory and are great but they actually mean nothing and will do even more so now as the gulf is far too big to EVER breach,
18 Sep 2025 19:58:37
Celtic have Board members who joined in 1995,2001,2003 and 2005.
They were also there with the Fletcher fiasco Etc.
18 Sep 2025 21:19:46
I mentioned them both jaa to highlight it is an ongoing issue. We seem to be the only club that I know that can blow a position of strength because we are far too conservative.
19 Sep 2025 06:35:37
Joe we’ve not blown anything, Scottish football pish and players would rather go to Holland, Belgium, Germany, list goes on, yeah our club needs reform for a football strategy side by side with business one, I’m not convinced of that either looking at sevco if wrong people come in then it could be a disaster, without spfl reform we just won’t produce our own talent and fans won’t allow them time to come into first team, in a sense I understand how conservative has worked for us, im support change just not the absolute change that some fans groups narratives are pushing for.
19 Sep 2025 09:41:08
It's not the board that does the negotiations for a player, that is MN and CM after BR and Doctor whatever identifies them.
Is it MN and CM or who influences them, that is ultimately responsible.
We will probably never find out but if PL retires, will things change and if not then MN then needs to move on.
We have too many old-school board members who literally have contributed nothing to our club.
No hotel, so try to get planning in first place and no work to be done on stand, as long as we are in SPL, what does that mean.
We need someone from the club to come out and explain everything they said in their message to supporters.
They have created more questions than they gave answers.
All fans want is an idea of what the short and long term plans are for the club, not tumbleweed and silence.