CELTIC FANS LUKEWARM ON WILLIE HAUGHEY PROJECT AHEAD OF LAUNCH
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 8 hours ago
- 4 min read
I reported yesterday on the upcoming launch of the Celtic Season Ticket Holders Alliance Trust this coming Friday, with Celtic legend Paul McStay at the helm and businessman Willie Haughey providing the financial input.
It’s been fair to say that response from Celtic fans, those with and without season tickets has been, at best mixed.
Now, I’ll admit that I was cautiously optimistic about this scheme, as I prepared yesterday’s blog.
However, unlike many of today’s reporters, in sports, politics and elsewhere, I am not afraid to change my opinion when more evidence and more opinions on a matter emerge.
I still retain some optimism for this initiative, but I have had a pretty heavy dose of pessimism administered over the past 24 hours thanks to the input of my fellow Celtic fans and a bit of additional research.
Trust a Major Issue for Some Celtic Fans When Discussing “Lord” Haughey
Now, cards on the table here. Anyone who knows me personally and knows my personal politics knows how much I detest the concepts of monarchy, peerage and other forms of unelected power or privilege that continue to hold back Scotland and the other constituent nations of the UK. Though, to be fair, it seems to be a far bigger issue in England than it is in Scotland these days.
However, the fact that Willie Haughey is a sitting member of the unelected afront to democracy that is The House of Lords, has got a number of Celtic fans' backs up. It is however, not, in my opinion, something that should disbar him from investing in the club.
“What is in it for him?” was a recurring question. Some were a bit harsher:
“Never trust a lord”, was another reply I read this morning.
I wondered what was so problematic about Mr Haughey, so I looked into things a bit further.
He recently told The Scottish S*n (just speaking to that ambulance-chasing rag in any capacity should be a red flag) that “Dermot Desmond deserves a statue at Celtic Park”.
Then, he went on to elaborate that Desmond’s initial investment in Celtic, which was around the time Martin O’Neill first joined “played a huge role in getting Celtic to The UEFA Cup Final Seville in 2003”.
Erm, Martin O’Neill, Henrik Larsson and the rest of the legendary team of players who scored the goals that saw off the likes of Liverpool, Celta Vigo and Stuttgart that season would beg to differ, I think.
Now this could all just be a case of Haughey pandering to Desmond’s sizeable ego ahead of what could be a confrontational summer of maneuvering at the corporate level for Celtic’s many stakeholders large and small.
There’s no denying though, that if you want to get 50,000 Celtic supporters to sign up for your initiative, then heaping praise on the one man most Celtic fans hold responsible for this utterly shambolic season, and years of underinvestment that led up to it, isn’t a good look.
There is also the cynical argument, put forward by some parties among numerous Celtic fans I’ve conversed with over the last few days, that this could just be a bit of posturing to shore up season ticket numbers.
The long-desired, but never seriously entertained, prospect of fan representation in the Celtic board room could sway quite a few season ticket holders currently weighing up whether or not they will renew, considering how poorly the millions they paid into the club last season has been utilized.
I don’t personally subscribe to this view, but I can understand the cynicism, given how uncomfortably friendly Mr Haughey seems to be with Desmond. As I mentioned yesterday, having a fan focused group led by someone who is at least on friendly terms with the current board may well play in Celtic Fans favor.
Unfortunately, as an outsider, I see well-intentioned efforts from Haughey, David Low and his associates, The Celtic Trust and The Celtic Fans Collective. But as it stands, none of them will succeed.
The harsh reality is that none of them individually have the influence or the financial clout to drive real change at the moment. Perhaps if they could all come together, they might get there eventually. That though, would be a long term project.
Ultimately, I don’t think Celtic’s current, horribly under resourced approach to managing the footballing side of the business will change until it is forced to.
Would Hearts or Rangers winning the league this season be enough to force that change?
I think it’s unlikely.
This isn’t like the covid season, where a new manager, new ideas and 7 or 8 new players will get us back to winning trophies and dominating our opposition.
Celtic needs a radical overhaul at all levels of the business: from the players on the pitch, to the people selling the pies at half-time, right up to the highest echelons of our board.
That won’t come, in my opinion, with a simple 10 million injection from Willie Haughey, nor will it come while a man who only owns 34% of our club continues to lord it over us all like some kind of imperial tyrant.