Desmond and Lawwell: the unacceptable faces of Celtic

Lawwell briefed every friendly hack, ex-Celtic employee and blogging shill that the supporters could stick their views where the sun don't shine

I freely admit that I've had mixed feelings about the Green Brigade.

They have undoubtedly improved the atmosphere at Celtic Park – most of the time – their displays are often magnificent and I generally share most of their politics.

On the other hand, I sometimes feel that they believe themselves to be the self-appointed heart and conscience of Celtic; they can be too eager to be seen as European-style “ultras” (with that “style” perhaps more important than substance) and their displays sometimes miss the mark, occasionally to the club's overall detriment.

I was not in favour of their “Time to go, Neil” demonstration at Celtic Park last Wednesday. Not because I disagreed with the message but because it seemed like just the sort of action that, not so long ago, ultras of another local club would have pulled to the great amusement of Celtic supporters, as another episode of the “banter years”.

But, as a fan who has had almost no faith in the powers-that-be at Celtic for well in excess of a decade, even I had failed to anticipate the extent and brazenness of the contempt that the Celtic suits were prepared to direct towards the supporters. 

Thousands of supporters had paid hundreds of pounds for season tickets for matches that there was never any real prospect of attending because they wanted to support the club through extraordinary times and help secure the ten-in-a-row record that matters to those of us who care about football. 

Many more had spent eye-watering sums on Adidas kit – which is lovely – but, unless donned by players performing to the standards that should be expected of a Celtic team, is nothing better than lipstick on a pig.

I, for one, was not in the least surprised by the capitulation to Ross County last weekend. Admittedly, I had been taken aback by some of the worst European performances in my lifetime, suffering back-to-back 4-1 defeats by a Sparta Prague side that is, frankly, not a good team.

But as a veteran of the now-infamous 1990s, I know a team that has the Indian Sign over it and this Celtic side definitely qualifies. When a team is in this type of form, naïve fans hope that one good performance will turn it around while others know it usually goes from bad to worse.

So, I had every sympathy with those Celtic fans who got off their backsides and told the Directors, coaches and players what they thought of the whimpering defeat by Ross County.

Were there some regrettable moments? Yes – but spontaneous displays of anger are, by their nature, difficult to control and the essence of the demo was to confront the many impostors currently benefiting from the cash eternally pumped in by the fans with the feelings of the majority of fans.

In response, Lawwell briefed every friendly hack, ex-Celtic employee and blogging shill that the supporters could stick their views where the sun don't shine.

So, my views of the latest Green Brigade banner are more supportive. I have chosen to crop out the image of Neil Lennon because he does still deserve some consideration for his overall contribution to Celtic.

However, he assuredly does not deserve to be Celtic manager. 

Neil can remind us of all he has done over twenty years and he is right. He has, in the past, endured obscene abuse for being a Celtic captain and manager who had the temerity to be an “uppity Tim” in a country that is still nowhere near as welcoming to some communities as many of its citizens would like to believe.

But that doesn't mean that he has the credentials to lead a club that its fans would still like to believe should be a major player on the European scene.

Let's make no mistake – this isn't about the ending of any possibility of a “quintuple treble” – and the quadruple is no formality. (If Ross County was Lennon's Caley Thistle, Hearts could easily prove to be his Raith Rovers.)

This is about an ever-more power-crazed Chief Executive, so determined to control every facet of the club that he has now sabotaged the dressing room. Anyone who has ever worked for one of those managers who prefers to sow division in their own department – making each appointee beholden to them personally – will understand how toxic and fatal to aspirations of success that is.

Lennon is a problem because he is not up to the job; though his reluctance to give up his last big opportunity in football is somewhat understandable.

Peter Lawwell is a problem because he increasingly appears to be a narcissistic megalomaniac, who would cheerfully watch Celtic disintegrate as long as his bonus was paid and no one challenged his monumental ego.

And above the two of them, Dermot Desmond is a problem because he doesn't give a dam about football, never mind Celtic, but sees the club as a means to getting even more money through getting Celtic into another league and turning his investment from lead into gold.

Much is unacceptable about Celtic now – the performances, the professionalism, the attitude of some players, the coaching set-up and the manager.

If there is another demo at Celtic Park on Sunday, the main targets will be Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond – the real unacceptable faces of Celtic Football Club.--

Tom Rogic - the Magic Man conjured wonderful memories

The news that Tom Rogic is heading off to Qatar will not fill many Celtic fans with great joy.

But I think that many will feel a certain sense of satisfaction and happiness at a signing who worked very well for us and delivered some fantastic moments getting a move that will probably suit his body as much as his wallet at this stage of career.

If completed, the move should suit all parties and thinking of Tom's Celtic career will be a time to "smile because it happened".

When Tom arrived at Celtic from Central Coast Mariners in 2013 few fans could claim to know anything about him.

If any were inclined to look for mystical signs, they may have thought back to Celtic's previous Australian of Balkan descent Mark Viduka - who came, went away again, came back, delivered and left - admittedly for big money - but under a cloud.

(Most of us who remember both players in the Hoops will overwhelmingly agree that Rogic will be the more fondly remembered and the more sadly missed.)

Tom's arrival initially had all the hallmarks of a speculative development move and the early days didn't give many signs of what was to come.

It wasn't really until Ronnie Deila joined Celtic - and after some intensive physio and coaching - that Celtic fans began to see just why the Magic Man had been brought to the club.

We discovered a first touch that would be the envy of many a top quality footballer, balance, two-footedness, upper body strength, wonderful close control and the kind of vision that allowed him to create threaded chances and finish with both feet.

But when he returned to Australia on loan to Melbourne Victory in 2014, a lot of us thought we might never see him at Celtic again.

But he returned and showed the old-fashioned guts and determination needed to prove that he could more than just cut it at Celtic and shine.

Yes, injuries and physical endurance issues would often be a footnote when discussing what Tom could ultimately achieve but, for Celtic fans, I believe there was a silver lining in that.

There was a very good reason why Brendan Rodgers persisted in playing Rogic for 60-minute stints in his most successful time at Celtic and it was the same reason I believe we have been able to retain Tom for the seven years he has remained.

Quite simply Rodgers recognised that Tom had few peers in the Scottish game when it came to ability.

And I believe that, had he not had the physical issues (which were none of his his doing), he would have been playing at a high level in one of the "Big Five" leagues long before now.

Rogic had and has Champions League ability but was simply not blessed with the physique to maintain it for an intense 90 minutes, twice a week, for a full season.

Ultimately that bad luck benefited Celtic as he possesses the quality that we could rarely afford to buy and keep for long.

If he does complete his moved to Qatar it will be with the best wishes of the fans and gratitudefor the memories  - none of which are greater than that incredible moment where lightning struck as he scored the goal that secured our treble in 2017.

As a crowning moment to his most exceptional season in green and white, that would take some beating.

Thanks Tom and all the best. Don't be a stranger to Celtic Park.

Celtic's Bolingoli fiasco – one idiot, many culprits

Rather than continually waiting for the next act of stupidity or deliberate wrecking of the competitions, 
we should call for the charade to be ended and the season to be suspended now

Only a week ago the greatest problem vexing the minds of most Celtic fans was the awful prospect of signing a 33-year-old Steven Fletcher and the fearful possibility that he was being considered as a replacement for Odsonne Edouard.

And if a week is a long time in politics, it can seem like a lifetime in football.

Some of us thought we had problems on Sunday when a repeat of the performances we've seen all too often over the last two or three years at Rugby Park saw us dropping two points in our second game of the season.

The team showing was contemptible, Chris Jullien showed again why he won second prize in the wet paper bag fighting contest and there were serious questions over the approach of the coaching staff who have yet to find an answer to the Kilmarnock high press on their admittedly poor pitch.

If Jullien thought he would be the major talking point there were plenty of other contenders, namely the tiresome lack of availability of Tom Rogic, the paper-thin squad (particularly after the departure of Simunovic, thankfully, and Jonny Hayes), Bayo not being available and the mystery of Shved continuing.

Five substitutions should favour teams with stronger squads but with misfiring in all departments in a tactically hopeless mess, Neil Lennon clearly felt short of quality options to replace the underperforming players on show on Sunday.

Ironically one chink of light came in the form of Boli Bolingoli Nbombo who, coming on late, contributed to three good chances that our foxes in the box managed to foxup entirely.

Those few moments from Bolingoli were the equal of anything he has produced in his risible time at Celtic and if not quite a hurrah they will certainly represent his last contribution to the club.

The facts of what happened are indisputable. Bolingoli went on a moonlight jaunt to Spain for reasons as yet unclear and broke Covid-19 regulations, actually having the audacity to play at Rugby Park without telling anyone at the club about his exploits.

That provided Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP leadership cult with a perfect opportunity to indulge two of their great pleasures: deflecting from negative at media attention directed at the first minister and taking a swipe at Scottish football.

So, under pressure from the Joint Response Group, which was under the direction of Nicola Sturgeon, the SPFL decided to cancel Celtic's next 2 League games; one with Aberdeen who also had their Covid-19 issues.

If the facts of what happened are clear enough,  who's to blame and what should be done do not lend themselves so easily to such simplistic answers as might be imagined.

Bolingoli is certainly to blame. His actions were inexcusable and indefensible and no amount of apologies - sincere or otherwise - can mitigate those actions in any way.

He should certainly be punished to a far greater degree than the £480 fixed penalty notice imposed by police Scotland even if the apparent prompting of the Justice Minister, of whom the police are supposed to be independent, should cause concern.

In my view his punishment should be the maximum fine allowable under the rules as well as a substantial ban, preferably taking him beyond the next transfer window.

But simply ripping up his contract should not be an option. There were some suggestions on Twitter yesterday that Celtic could even sue him for breach of contract and recover some of ridiculous outlay they paid for a player who will surely go down as one of the worst purchases in the club's history.

To me, suing would be a step too far unless it could be proven that his trip (which looks very much like it was intended to discuss a transfer) was planned as some intricate scheme to get thrown out of Celtic. I doubt very much that he possesses is that intelligence.

On the other hand making a free agent of a £3m-pound footballer we dare not play - and who wants a move - would simply be rewarding a scurrilous activity that has already damaged Celtic and has been to the detriment and peril of Scottish football entirely.

Those actions should be non-starters but so, too, should be the suggestion of sending Bolingoli out on loan with an option to buy. That would be in the club's best financial interests but it would do nothing to protect the integrity of football or to protect Celtic or the game in general from potential sabotage through such reprehensible actions, in times of crisis, such as these.

Of course, the club must be careful to observe the law and not give Bolingoli any opportunity to leave through constructive dismissal or breach of contract. This is where the football authorities should show leadership and impose the most significant penalties within their powers.

But we should also remember that Bolingoli's culpability is not in any way diminished by having other targets in our sights.

The SPFL

It may been news to some that resisting the attempts of The Rangers to bring Scottish football to its knees - and force last season to be voided due to the pandemic - is not the same as endorsing the

leadership of the SPFL.

I do not and never have believed that this season would be completed.

Successfully completing the season might be possible in countries where there are clear policies and rules; effective, disciplined compliance and competent administration of the game.

Scotland is not one of those countries.

The SPFL may believe its guidelines are clear and that they can be sure that every club has communicated them effectively to young athletes of varied backgrounds, including different linguistic origins.

But there's a problem with that. With the best will in the world, it's difficult to convey a clear, simple message concerning complex and often vague conditions.

That may somewhat mitigate the actions of the Aberdeen players who went to pubs, legally opened and overcrowded, and found themselves in breach of distancing rules and guidelines over groups from more than 3 households.

And to Aberdeen's credit they did nothing to try to escape the consequences of their players' actions -  and were even quite ready to face what would surely have been a sound drubbing at the hands of a full-strength Celtic team, minus eight first-team players.

But the SPFL, having been quite frankly too afraid to punish the Rangers after fielding players without waiting for their covid-19 tests, have created an atmosphere in which it is difficult to know if any transgressions will be taken seriously, even in the unlikely event of every player understanding their responsibilities.

On top of that, the SPFL simply rolled over in the face of pressure from a government that has been hell-bent on attacking Scottish football ever since the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act was repealed.

Let's not forget that the government were threatening to intervene in Scottish football over crowd-control issues for more than a year, pre-covid-19, and now it has flexed its muscles over eight players in a pub and one player on a trip to Spain.

With weak-kneed leadership, being feart in the face of the Rangers and completely capitulating to the Scottish government, the SPFL and SFA have walked into a situation whereby the Scottish government can constantly threaten to bring the game crashing down.

And, if they can do so while apportioning the blame to others, they will.

SNP and Tories

Celtic are now in the unenviable position of being at the centre of an unedifying fight between the SNP and the Tories for the votes of the Rangers supporting loyalist Orange members of Scottish society.

We are often called paranoid but with buffoons such as Professor Adam Tomkins and Murdo Fraser openly courting the Rangers Supporters online; with their new Tory leader Douglas Ross insisting that he will still run the line in games; and on the other side with Ibrox Park being in the constituency of Nicola Sturgeon there is every reason to believe that damaging Celtic and stopping 10 in a row could be a major vote-winner fin next year's elections.

It doesn't help that Labour in the LibDems are so appallingly ineffective that nobody in their right mind would vote for them.

 

But, with the SNP, it seems that there is a genuine distaste for football and the football supporter. The Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, first introduced by Alex Salmond and defended to the hilt by Nicola Sturgeon criminalised ordinary actions in the context of football that would not be seen as illegal elsewhere. 

There is every reason to believe that football supporters are still considered an underclass in Scotland that is despised by the SNP.

It is also a convenient scapegoat while negative headlines are attached to the party or its leader.

Without strong, effective responses from the SPFL, including Peter Lawwell, who is on its board, Scottish football will continue to be battered by the Scottish government and Celtic will be the biggest losers.

Celtic

And as a club just what have Celtic done about all this? 

They issued the usual necessary statements against Bolingoli but have they done anything to defend the interests of the club and the fans? I see little evidence of that.

What they have done is completely capitulate when, without any requirement under the rules, our club has been penalised by politicians.

Thee club is exceptionally vocal when touting season tickets for matches that they know are unlikely to take place and even less likely to take place in front of fans. They indulge in wall-to-wall marketing of football strips, merchandise, Celtic media and every opportunity for the fan to put money into the clubs coffers. But when the fans need someone to stand up for them, Celtic - Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and Ian Bankier - observe a "dignified silence".

While these people indulge in a high-stakes game of corporate Moneyball the last thing on their minds is the interests of the fans who simply want to see a strong team on the park playing on an even field. 

And what no one in the media - mainstream or independent -seems to have asked is did anyone in Scottish football really believe that this season would be completed when they were selling season tickets in advance.

It defies all expectations of scientists and public health professionals and I for one believe that together they have perpetrated one of the biggest frauds in sport

The people who run Celtic are a disgrace but they have been enabled.

Fans

But the fans also have to take some share of the blame.

Firstly, by the annual act of faith of buying 53,000 season tickets, clearing the shelves of strips and pouring money into the club all on promises that are rarely fulfilled.

Yes we have won 9 titles in a row and that is a memorable achievement. It theoretically puts us in a similar category to Bayern Munich, who have achieved the same in the Bundesliga, and one step ahead of Juventus and New Quay Saints of Wales who have both won eight consecutive titles.

The point is that being a little better than extremely poor for a very long time should not be the aspiration of Celtic fans.

But it has been enough to mollify sufficient numbers to stop any protests in the only meaningful way possible - by hitting the club and its executives and directors in the pocket.

Similarly, amid the backlash against Bolingoli, numerous Celtic fans were only too quick to bend over and accept any punishment meted out, like children in the class all being belted over the transgressions of one and accepting that it was fully deserved.

What chance do we have of fairness, never mind improvement, while our own fans play into the hands of those who either don't care about us or despise us?

This is the club we've made and this is the game that our club has allowed to become.

Rather than continually waiting for the next act of stupidity or deliberate wrecking of the competitions, we should call for the charade to be ended and the season to be suspended now, with all season tickets being valid for 2021/22.

That may seem like a crime but I would see it as a mercy killing.