5 CRITICAL STEPS TO SAVE CELTIC’S SEASON

Well, I’ve had a great Saturday. This wasn’t it obviously, I’m just saying for context that I have, indeed, had Saturdays before that were enjoyable.

Losing to Scotland’s Shame is never easy to take, but I think most of us knew that this was probably how today was going to play out.

However, I still believe Celtic can win the league. Celtic’s season is not yet a lost cause.

In saying that though, the Celtic Board need to act immediately or it may soon be too late.

Celtic’s Season can be Saved, If Action is Taken Right Now

So, what can they do? Well, here are what I believe are the 5 critical steps that, if our board can muster the courage to take them, could still see us defending our title successfully.

1)    Wilfried Nancy needs to be removed from his post this week

It’s a little over a year since I found out, after 7 years in a job I loved, that I was soon to be made redundant. It was one of the darkest times I've experienced in my adult life.

So, believe me when I say, I take no pleasure whatsoever in saying what I think you all know I’m about to:

Celtic need to sack Wilfried Nancy, immediately.

No manager of Celtic should be able to survive losing 6 out of his first 8 games.

8 games might not sound like much, but for Celtic it’s almost 20% of our season.

On reflection, any chance Nancy had of making his 3-4-3 system work at Celtic went out the window when Kelechi Iheanacho limped out of the League Cup Final after half an hour.

He was the one striker Celtic currently have who seemed able to make this wing-back system work, with his ability to hold up the ball and become a focal point for our attack.

Now, as upsetting as that cup final loss was, the manager had only been in post a little over a week at that point. He still had tome to adjust his approach, to adapt his tactics to fit the personnel available to him.

Wilfried Nancy hasn’t done that. He has continued to double down on a system that, while it shows flashes of occasional promise, ultimately does not work with the Celtic squad in its current form.

Rumors persist that he is not getting on well with many of the senior players, who have taken exception to the manager’s “my way or the highway” approach to man-management.

Ultimately, if any Celtic fan was asked right now, in a binary choice, would you rather move on Wilfried Nancy or Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney? I think all know which option most would pick.

Who could replace him? I don’t know. But I do know that if either Martin O’Neill, Shawn Maloney, or ideally both of them resumed their interim roles, they would certainly enjoy more goodwill from the fans than most. They could, I believe still get us over the line this season in terms of the championship. Wilfried Nancy won’t.

However, whilst I believe the current manager is primarily responsible for our horrific form on the pitch, he is far from the only person culpable for Celtic’s current predicament.

2)    The Celtic Board and Fan Groups Need to Reach an Accord

It was painfully obvious today that Celtic Park, especially when the team are not winning, badly misses the Green Brigade. You might not agree with everything they do; you may take issue with some of their politics or their use of pyrotechnics for example.

There is no denying though that Celtic Park is a far livelier venue, and a far more intimidating prospect for our opponents when The Green Brigade are there.

With the current indefinite ban, the Green Brigade released a statement a little over 24 hours ago stating that the Celtic Board will not even consider lifting the ban until the group admits to the crimes they stand accused of. Crimes which, have not yet even been defined, let alone secured any convictions.

Scotland is a democracy built on the rule of the law, and the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” underpins that democracy. The Celtic Board need to realize that, drop this “holier than thou” attitude and engage constructively with fans to bring an end to current tensions.

Letting the GB back in, at least until the current investigation has been concluded is a simple step, which could go a long way to healing many rifts.

3)    Sign at Least one (Ideally two) Recognized Strikers

One of the most frustrating elements about watching today’s derby defeat is the fact that we could, and probably should have been out of sight by halftime. Had we actually had an experienced and capable striker on the pitch, I think we would have been comfortably two or three goals ahead of Rangers by half time, and they wouldn’t have come back from that.

So far, we’ve signed a right-sided defender in this window, and a short-term loan at that. We need to get decent attackers in right now, and we need to get them signed up on proper deals. No more short-term loans. It is not Celtic’s job to develop players for other clubs.

4)    Corporate Responsibility and Accountability

I remember once discussing politics with an American friend of mine. He asked me if there was ever any scenario where I could see myself voting for a conservative party.

I said absolutely not, but not for the reason you might think. My biggest issue with conservatism (bigotry and ignorance notwithstanding) is that they love to preach “personal responsibility”. Until of course the proverbial hits the fan, and then it is always, unquestionably someone else’s fault. It might be foreigners, it might be the poor, but it’s never the fault of the clueless rich guys making the bad decisions, is it?

Much has been said about the alleged conservative political leanings of many of Celtic’s Board, but I think their actions this season speak to wider cultural conservatism in the board room. This failed ideology is one of the underlying causes of most of Celtic’s recent problems.

We saw it with Peter Lawwell’s departure last month. He couldn’t wait to tell us once again how many titles Celtic had won under his leadership, or how much cash we have in the bank.

Not a word though about the fact that we sold our most effective goalscorer over a year ago and still haven’t replaced him.

Not a word about the slanderous statement he allowed our largest shareholder (not our owner) to make about our manager shortly after he was “emptied”.

And naturally, not a word about the fact that Celtic continue to ask more and more of fans ever year in new merchandise, increased ticket prices and a seemingly endless stream of new strips. All this while relations between the fans and the club have plummeted to an all time low.

Someone needs to be held accountable for all this. The most culpable culprit is Dermot Desmond, but he’s never taken responsibility for anything in his life, and his money ensures he won’t have to in this case either.

The same can’t be said of our CEO and CFO though. Both have failed in their roles in a number or ways this season, most of all in their complete inability to engage with concerned fans and shareholders in good faith.

Either sack them, or put them on some kind of performance related pay, linked to results on the park, not off it.

5)    End the Childish Ban on Fan Media

Now, one could argue that I am speaking with more than a little bit of self-interest with this final point here, but I would beg to differ.

In times of crisis, and make no mistake, Celtic are in crisis and have been for some time now, you need all the friends you can get. Celtic chose to exile the one group of people who could help them the most right now, their own fans.

With the club seemingly incapable of speaking to the ordinary fan as an equal, Fan Media can be that buffer between these two forces. Got something you want to say? do an interview with one of the fan sites.

Need to clarify an erroneous rumor that’s doing the rounds online about Celtic? Well come on ACSOM or any of the other excellent Celtic podcasts out there and put across your side of the story.

It’s not rocket science. It’s just basic communication.

All of my 5 points listed here today could be implemented in a matter of days, with minimal effort required. All that’s needed is the will to make the necessary changes. Do the above, and I fully believe we will still win the league.