CELTIC AGM BATTLE LINES DRAWN AS TRUST AND CLUB MAKE STATEMENTS
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
If anyone was under the illusion that things have “calmed down a wee bit” between Celtic fan groups and the Celtic Board over the past week or so, then they are very much mistaken.
Both sides of this dividing line set out their stalls ahead of Friday’s AGM, with both the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Board releasing statements on Monday evening.
Earlier in the day, Celtic confirmed that the interim management team of Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney will remain in place for now.
Some have speculated that this may mean negotiations with Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy have hit a snag. However, based on what I have heard, that is not the case.
Celtic AGM Resolutions Show Clear Demand For Change
That being said, it now seems unlikely that the board will be able to confirm the recruitment of the new manager ahead of Friday’s AGM. The board would, one suspects, have hoped to get a deal over the line by Thursday, allowing them to give themselves a collective pat on the back on Friday, and display at least some semblance of competence to disgruntled fans and shareholders.
The club’s failure to do so, only adds to uncertainty around their ability to plan ahead. So, it’s no surprise that when the Celtic Trust revealed their full voting intentions later last night, Resolution 16, calling for a full and transparent long-term plan to take the club forward was front and center.
Although, largely a symbolic gesture, the Celtic Trust also confirmed that they will vote against the reappointments of Michael Nicholson, Peter Lawwell, Dermot Desmond Brian Wilson, Chris McKay, Sharon Brown and Tom Allison to the Celtic Board.
This is significant, as the rejection of every single reappointment resolution sends a clear signal that fans want change in the boardroom. This will also raise eyebrows amongst the institutional investors, for whom AGMs are usually just a rubber-stamping exercise.
Celtic’s Board do seem to be flailing at the moment, unsure of how to handle the fan unrest. They tried the carrot of a 30% discount at the Celtic store to boost sagging sales ahead of an ordinarily busy Christmas period. They’ve also tried the “stick” approach of collectively banning the Green Brigade, even though we still do not know what happened, and police have made no arrests or conducted any public investigation into the alleged incident.
It all just kind of serves to prove the Celtic Trust’s point, I think. The current custodians of the Celtic Boardroom are woefully out of touch with their customer base. Be it merchandise, stadium catering, or indeed tickets to enter the stadium itself, prices have continued to go up, and value continues to go down.
Dermot Desmond’s claim in his rambling statement a few weeks ago that “every penny spent is reinvested in the club” is a blatant lie. I think we all know that at this point.
Whether he was being willfully deceitful, or is just so far out the loop that he actually believes this nonsense, remains to be seen.
One thing is for sure, he better show up on Friday. If he’s going to carrying on making one-sided statements and pretending he owns Celtic, then its about time he took some of the responsibility that comes with that privilege.
I don’t always agree with The Celtic Trust, but on this occasion, I am 100% in their corner. Change is needed. I doubt we will get all the change we want on Friday, but maybe, just maybe, if can make the current board as uncomfortable as possible then those extremely slow wheels of change at Celtic may finally start to turn, even just a little.