The board

This exactly. Any time in recent years where it seems readily apparent to all and sundry that a few top additions could really kick us on, they just suck the life out of all of us.

It's seemingly by design. I don't get it though. It's almost that they're scared if we see the team actually go up a level they'll feel pressurised to keep us at that level and they don't believe they can - or should.

The qualification stats for the CL are beyond abysmal and always because of their intentional dithering.

 

Imagine our CEO came out and done an interview like this

 

I propose that a monitor be sailed up the Clyde and fire its main gun on the board robom, as a reward for their dilligent monitoring of players.

 

A note to the board...

 

£35 a ticket for 4 match package is the early rumour. So, £140. They can get tae * with that.

 

How hopeful are you that this time next year that is something that can be changed?
Well, that's that's we have to discuss. We have to look at that and and I'd be very hopeful. We've got a major owner in Dermot Desmond who's a super-intelligent guy. We've got board of directors who bleed for the club. They want the club to do well.
So, everyone here's connected. It's not, you know, why I see and I hear all these stories of disconnection. It can't be further from the truth. Every single guy from me, the board, Dermot, we love Celtic, but we want Celtic to be the very, very best.
There's a business model that you see works so well. I want to try and ensure the football model works equally as well. So, it's fluent and agile and we keep ahead of the game. So, when we lose players, we're not in this cycle of waiting, waiting, waiting, standing still and missing out on competitions that we want to be in. So, that's the that's the idea hopefully, over the coming months.


This time last year, you said very much the same thing that a club like Celtic cannot be going into the final weekend of the transfer window when they do business. Was there a discussion about this last year? Did you sit down and talk to people about this last year? Does that have to be revisited because lessons haven't been learned?
Probably if you if you look at what Ange has said, what Neil Lennon's said, what someone else said, it would be around about the same. So that's what I'm saying, it's a trend. So we need to understand that. We need to understand that from a football context. Because you want to be as well-equipped as you possibly can. And like I said, it's not about investment. The club will invest. But it's all about timely investment, and I think that it's most definitely what we need to look at.

 

Rage inducing

 

If the Idah and Yang deals don’t go through the * in the boardroom will announce them as new signings.

 

I can't stand this indecision married with a lack of vision...

Tears for Fears said it best

 

The next AGM is not far off (November)
This year it needs to be planned rather then random silly questions.

 

Transfer Policy

1. Why does the club’s transfer policy consistently involve leaving major signings until the last minute of the window, leading to panic buys and missed opportunities, as seen in recent seasons where we’ve failed to strengthen key positions early?

2. Given the repeated fan frustrations and Brendan Rodgers’ public comments on the lack of timely reinforcements, what concrete changes will the board implement to overhaul the recruitment process and avoid another window of “appalling mismanagement”?

3. With millions in cash reserves from player sales and Champions League revenue, why is the board stockpiling funds instead of investing aggressively in quality players, and how does this align with ambitions beyond domestic dominance?

Club Ambition and Competition

1. Is it the board’s deliberate plan to only stay one step ahead of Rangers, rather than building a squad capable of sustained European success, especially when rivals are making bold moves like potential takeovers?

2. How can the board justify the apparent lack of ambition in transfers and squad building, which has left us vulnerable in Europe and sparked ‘sack the board’ chants from supporters?

3. With Rangers potentially closing the gap through external investment, what is the board’s strategy to ensure Celtic doesn’t just scrape by domestically but pulls decisively ahead in all competitions?

Board Communication and Transparency

1. Why is there such poor communication from the directors to the fans, with major decisions like transfers and finances often shrouded in silence until crises erupt?

2. Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson: Why have you failed to provide regular, transparent updates on club operations, and what steps will be taken to improve direct engagement with supporters beyond the annual AGM?

3. Amid accusations of being “utterly detached from reality,” how will the board address the trust deficit caused by evasive responses at previous AGMs and a lack of honesty on issues like internal politics between the board and manager?

Fan Engagement

1. Why does Celtic still not have a formal fans’ panel or advisory board to represent supporter voices on key issues like tickets, transfers, and stadium plans, despite repeated calls from ultras groups and shareholders?

2. Given the seven key grievances outlined by fan groups—including transfers, ticket prices, and stadium conditions—when will the board establish a structured fans’ forum to discuss and act on these concerns?

3. How does the board plan to respect and incorporate input from younger fans and those with modern perspectives, rather than dismissing legitimate questions at AGMs in favor of less critical ones?

Stadium and Infrastructure Upgrades

1. What specific upgrades are planned for Celtic Park in the coming years, including timelines, costs (is the rumored £100m redevelopment accurate?), and how will fans be involved in funding or decision-making?

2. With complaints about accessible seating for disabled fans and overall stadium maintenance, why has progress been so slow, and what immediate investments are budgeted to modernize the ground?

3. As ticket prices rise and season ticket costs become a major grievance, how will stadium upgrades benefit ordinary supporters without further pricing them out, and what’s the plan to avoid another “messy situation” like recent fan protests?

 

Cnuts thats all they are.HH

 

It will open with the usual dig at the huns, to try and gloss over it all.

 

The argument is that folk of dolberg quality only come about late in window - absolutely fine.

it’s the fact that there’s been no backup LB when it was clear months ago GT was gone or likely gone that’s an issue.

The fact jota injury was a fact well before transfer window opened the same.

Accepting Kuhn out without a plan for replacement in 2 weeks. Another issue.

kyogo not replaced - since January. Another issue.

A huge issue remains that there is absolutely no * way with a draw that kind we should be in europa given still the players at disposal.

all in, top to bottom, it’s an absolute omnishambles.

 

We wouldn’t be in touch with him if Idah wasn’t going for £7m though. That’s my problem

 

Latest from Chris Sutton


Celtic transfer chiefs are running about with their hair on fire and they're lucky Rangers are a state – Chris Sutton




The writing has been on the wall for Adam Idah for a long time at Celtic.



But yet again the timing is all wrong – just as it has been with so many things at the club of late.


I don’t have any issue with punting the striker. If they can recoup £7m, then fair enough, especially if they manage to go out and get Kasper Dolberg.


Yang Hun-jun going for £1.5m makes sense as well as he’s not the long term answer.


There’s going to be the late raft of panic buys in and out of Celtic in the next 48 hours. And I just can’t keep wondering why all of this could not have been done weeks and months ago.

We know Brendan Rodgers didn’t fancy Idah. He never once hung his hat on the guy and said he was his main man.


I had my reservations about him from the off but he did well in his loan spell and okay at times last season.

But he never truly convinced he could be Celtic’s main no.9, and it was crystal clear the manager didn’t trust him.

Yet Celtic went into a crucial Champions League qualifier with a striker they didn’t want.


If it’s Dolberg who is the top priority, he should have been in the door well before the disaster against Kairat.






Likewise, wingers should have been signed up well in advance and they wouldn’t be relying on Yang and James Forrest, who has been a brilliant servant but should be no more than an impact sub at 34-years-old.

Marcelo Saracchi has come in but Celtic needed a back up left back for Kieran Tierney before the tie – not after it.



I know clubs might not be willing to do business at certain times but that’s why you need to force the issue. Celtic had no problem selling Kyogo before a Champions League game against Aston Villa. They didn’t think twice about taking the money for Nicolas Kuhn with no replacement in the pipeline.

They didn’t hold off until it suited them but they are prepared to allow others to do so.

It doesn’t make sense. Now they are running around with their hair on fire just trying to get bodies in the door.


It’s shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted over the hill and out of sight.


Buying players that could have got Celtic into the Champions League after they’ve gone out is not a transfer strategy.






It’s hoping for the best.

No doubt we’ll be told the usual claptrap about having to wait for quality and so on. But Celtic’s transfer window shouldn’t shut this Monday. It didn’t even shut on the day squads were submitted for the play off.

These are signings that had to be done in JANUARY. Celtic had more than a year to be ready for Kairat, yet went in totally unprepared.


It was a total embarrassment the other night and you were left wondering how on earth it got to that stage.

They’ve been warned for weeks. The fans have said it, along with journalists and pundits.

It’s easy to ignore all of the above but the manager has been saying it – and even ultimate club man Callum McGregor.


Those guys shouldn’t have been ignored.

Listen, Celtic should still have been too strong for Kairat and the players and management have to take their share of the blame. But everything goes back to recruitment. It’s simply not been good enough.

The mess the team was in the other night was mind-blowing. And having paid a huge price for the complacency by missing out on the Champions League, the frantic late chase has also put the Rangers game in jeopardy.


Celtic should be going to Ibrox looking to bury Rangers. They are on their knees and a strong Celtic side – like 12 months ago – would have fancied their chances of wiping the floor with this dodgy defence.

Now? We don’t even know what kind of side Rodgers will be able to put out. It’s probably just as well Rangers are in such a state.

I can’t remember a time when both clubs have gone into a derby and almost been in crisis.


The way it’s going, they BOTH could lose. It’s kind of a no win for both anyway. The pair of them might get booed on to the pitch.

Celtic could – and probably should – come out on top – but it’s not going to bring back the Champions League.

Rangers might pull off the kind of shock like last season’s 3-0 victory at Christmas but it only delays what now looks to be inevitable for Russell Martin at Ibrox.




Similarly, it’s difficult to see anything but a Rodgers departure at the end of the season now.

There’s no way he’s going to sign up for more of this scrambling around in the final days of transfer windows, just to get his squad back to the level it was previously.

Rodgers admitted it himself, that Celtic are notorious for waiting until the last minute to make signings.


That’s not progression, or ‘taking the club to the next level’, as they are so fond of saying.

That’s fire fighting – which should be unnecessary for a club with substantial money in the bank.

Go back to Munich and the last campaign. All they have done is manage to turn a Champions League team into an Europa League outfit.


I don’t blame supporters for being angry. They pay their money and all they expect is the club to put the best possible team on the pitch.

The board failed to do that for the play-off and no matter what happens in the chaotic final few days of the window, it will all be a case of too little, too late.