Michael Nicholson

After spending 5 years falling to find a better left back than Greg Taylor, if we now can't find a better right winger in world football within our budget better than Yang, then our scouting team want to chuck it

 

Our share price has jumped up about 60% in the last 5 years.

It would probably cost you somewhere in the region of £300m to buy Celtic FC right now, meaning Dermot Desmond owns about £100m worth of shares in Celtic FC. Don't be naive in thinking that just because he's a billionaire, he doesn't care about an investment worth around £100m. It's completely farcical to even suggest it.

 

He still has total control over us..thats not a debate..

Like I say it's pure speculation on how much he does or doesn't care about us..

He definitely doesn't micromanage but the club is definitely steered by him.

But aye, in total agreement he and the board aren't modern thinking and we desperately need fresh blood. Even Hearts have a more vibrant outlook and structure with Bloom being involved.

The fans eyes are wide open to the dangers ahead unless we modernise quickly.. but sadly as the banner a few years ago said, the board are asleep at the wheel yet again.. and even worse the drivers are the same.

 

Not even sure the Scouting Team is the issue.. its our inability to get those scouted in the door with any speed, that's the bigger issue.

 

Back to the usual wait until we qaulify pish. Followed by either a deadline day deal or "didn't have enough time"

 

Your opinion is the club is steered by him. There is no definitely about it. I have a different opinion that Desmond is an absentee owner and has delegated the control to his board who are the ones responsible for adopting the current strategy. Our board is not fit for purpose and our major investors are completely passive in the running of the club. If you compare and contrast the approach from our board to that of major football clubs and even how actively involved the new Rangers ownership are in the activities of their clubs.

For me Lawwell is by far and away the most influential player in the strategy of our club. Desmond simply doesn't care enough.

 

Who employed Lawwell twice, in the two most influential positions within the club? Desmond. Why? Because Lawwell does exactly what Desmond asks him to do. He's Desmonds man when it comes to Celtic.

 

That's all well and good. Doesn't excuse the fact he's not doing a good job of this transfer window

 

Hopefully he was influenced by Yang trying to play football on Sunday, Liam Scales trying to dribble past a St Mirren right back and nearly falling over, Adam Idah trying to control a ball unsuccessfully for the 18th time in 60 minutes and Johnny Kenny and a 33 year old James Forrest coming on to save the day.

That's the sort of stuff I'm hoping he's influenced by.

 

What you have posted is both false and highly misleading.


Your example is completely flawed, are you missing a global event that might have seen the entire stock market crash in 2020 which you conveniently use as your base? Our stock price crashed by 67% in from Dec 2019 to March 2020 due to Covid. I think you should certainly mention that which for some bizarre reason you neglected to. Care to explain why you didn't mention this?

Our share price has risen 16% in 6 years, that's surely a better indicator than risen 60% in 5 years. It was £162.50 in Dec 2019 and is £188.00 presently, inflation has risen about 28% in that time so our share price is actually worth less today than it did in 2019. So in reality, our share price hasn't risen anything in 6 years so can you please go back to addressing the question honestly and not assertively state your completely unfounded and financially illiterate understandings as facts when every bit of data contradicts them.

What is Desmonds game when the club is no more valuable than it was 6 years ago and his only real monetary return is 40k Dir remuneration and around 200k dividends?

My belief is its a dormant investment he fulfills his statutory duties and might do a few ego trips on bringing a high profile Irish figure to the club every so often but other than he doesn't seem bothered.

 

Hard to get deals done when he spends time playing video games

 

The board employed Lawwell twice.

 

I don't believe a word of that. Nicholson strikes me as a jitterbug.

 

TrustinnicolsonCSC....

 

The share price 10 years ago, in 2015, was £75.25 and is now, as you say £188. So, it's jumped up about 135% in 10 years, that's with a global pandemic. It's went up 200% since 2008, that was before the financial crisis in 2008. So, yes. Say his investment just went up with inflation, it doesn't really matter. To buy him out of his shares, you would be talking about £100m. If you don't think a billionaire is keeping an eye on an investment worth over £100m, which has trebled since 2008, you're having a laugh. You keep on focussing on what he gets yearly from the club. That's irrelevant. He won't care about £200k dividends and no one is saying he will. He does care about his investment. As I said, £100m worth of investment in the club and we've already established that he basically owns the club without having the necessary shares to do so. So, I suggest you go and listen to David Low, who has shares in the club, was Fergus McCanns right hand man and he clearly explains why he IS the owner, without needing the shares to have it said on paper.

Every major decision is made by Desmond. He's put Lawwell into two of the most influential positions he can. Who makes the decisions with the manager? Desmond. So, again. You can accuse everyone else of having unfounded understandings of how certain things work but the evidence points to Desmond making decisions at both executive and playing level that undermine anyone else.

Imagine having the gall to accuse me of being financially illiterate and in the same paragraph discuss the impact of COVID, accusing me of ignoring certain things. Yet, you ignored the impact of COVID is still being affected. Nearly 50% of companies in the FTSE100 have a share price that is lower than it was in 2019. Celtic have increased their share price by 16%. That's a very very good return in the new world of shares post COVID.

Why does Desmond need a game? He basically owns the club, he can make the major decisions he needs to and he has two lackeys to carry out his decisions while he goes out, at 76 years old, as a billionaire and plays golf in America. You keep on jumping back to this. 'What's Desmonds game'... who * cares what his game is. Who even says he has one? He maximises his investment by running the club the same way he's ran it since 2008. We've been run the same way since Lawwell became CEO in 2008. Who employed him? Who brought him back? Again, who fired Dominic McKay? Who brought Michael Nicholson, a person who worked closely with Lawwell on multiple legal fronts in as the replacement? Desmond.

Are you going to tell me that Desmond is choosing the manager but isn't choosing who's running the club?

 

Keeping an eye on his shareholding is not the same as micromanaging a club though is it?

You are speculating that every major decision is made by Desmond. You sound very assertive for something you don't know. You can't keep speculating your own thoughts or judgements off as facts. Rodgers was a Desmond appointment, I agree. I don't think Lennon was, I think that was a Lawwell appointment. I think these things as they are just my readings of the matter. You like to speak as if you know when you haven't a clue. I try to see what's logical and makes sense.

To me a 76 year old billionaire, who lives abroad, rarely even attends Celtic Park, spends most of his time on the golf course is not a majority shareholder, who is only in fact our largest shareholder and needs the support of a further 16% of shareholding to influence any decision exerting total control defies logic and common sense. To me the more likely scenario is Desmond fulfills his statutory duties and delegates full running and strategic control to our board of directors with Lawwell as the main man within our football. That is the only possible conclusion I can come to that makes sense.

I asked you what Desmond's game is as you seem to be throwing a different narrative (that you attempt to pass off as unquestionable and above scrutiny). To me it makes little sense, is undermined by the facts we know and when you are pressed to try and make sense of your very assertive views on how we are ran, you ask who cares.

Who employed Lawwell? The board.
Who fired Dom McKay? The board.
Who hired Nicholson? The board.

You don't seem to know how corporate governance worked. Desmond doesn't basically own the football club, he owns just over 1/3 of it so he needs the support of another 16% of shareholdings to influence any decision. The problem I see with Desmond is complete apathy, he doesn't care, the club is making money and he is happy to delegate the board to keep running it as they have done for the past 20 years. The board in turn keep the boardroom as a golden circle and Lawwell is the most powerful and dangerous man at Celtic as our majority shareholder has little interest.

That's how I see it.

 

Ah well I suppose if he's a died in the wool tim we can all forgive how * pathetic this window has been then

 

I haven't said he's micromanaging it. I say he makes the major decisions when it comes to running the club and he picks people to run the club the way he wants it run, like Lawwell. He sacked McKay and he brought Nicholson in as the replacement. Why did McKay talk about meeting with Desmond to become CEO by the way and then praise him for giving him advice? Desmond didn't choose him, though?

So, you believe that he picks the manager, Rodgers twice, Ange, Lennon the first time around so likely was in favour of giving him it the second time. Desmond tells Nicholson and McKay to fly over to Spain to meet Rodgers but he doesn't control anything else? That's what you're saying? You can't see a pattern of control, here? I don't believe he's deciding what colour of * paint to put on the walls but I do believe he has a specific way of running the club and Nicholson/Lawwell run the club the way he wants.

And again, I've just given you an example of a man about as educated on the Celtic share situation as anyone in David Low. Go on the Celtic Exchange Podcast and he breaks it down why he's in charge. He talks about what the difference is between now and under Fergus. The below is an extract from his interview:-

"Fergus surrounded himself with a strong board of very serious, competent people who knew what they were doing. Brian Quinn, the ex Governor of the Bank of England, Patrick Xi, a very strong finance director in Eric Riley and he had a banging board and he did not always get his own way. Fergus was the chairman and the Chief Executive, he was both and he was very forceful with the way he wants things done but he had a strong board and that's often overlooked. We have a weak board just now who do exactly what the ownership tell them to."

And also:-

"Over the years, since the 90s, the ordinary Celtic fans, as I'd politely call it, has seen huge levels of untraced shares accumulate. If you move house, the club need notified and your share is no longer traced. 30 years since Fergus came in and loads of ordinary shareholders have died, who bought shares in the club because it was Celtic, to help the club. These shares have been passed on down the family and most have no knowledge they own these shares. The percentage of untraced shares is increasing all the time and what that means is if you have 40% of 100% and 20% is untraced, your 40% becomes 50% and in 10 years time it will be more and more and more. So, as the years go on that consolidates ownership of the club in fewer and fewer hands which is not healthy"

All this isn't coming from me. This is coming from the the man who helped Fergus McCann buy the club. He has his own shares, he has his own box at Celtic. This isn't a nobody. This is a guy who knows exactly what he's talking about. Yes, McCann and Desmond didn't like each other and he's obviously very pro McCann but he doesn't say anything negative about Desmond. It's just a fact that he runs the club the way he wants it to.

 

Thanks for the update Michael.