CELTIC STUTTGART DEFEAT: THE REAL QUESTIONS WE NEED TO ASK NOW
- Colin Watt
- 13 minutes ago
- 8 min read
ACSOM's Colin Watt returns to The ACSOM Blog with his take on last night's dismal display and the questions it raises for Celtic going forward...
8,003…No, it’s not the number of fans who were left in the stadium when the full-time whistle blew, nor is it the number of objects launched onto the park, seconds after the first whistle blew. It’s the number of days since Celtic last won a 2-legged European knock out tie, a 0-0 result in the Camp Nou with some heroic saves from a young 19-year-old David Marshall to keep Ronaldinho, Xavi and Luis Garcia at bay.
Two of the heroes of that tie, Neil Lennon and Stiliyan Petrov were pundits for last night’s humiliation, whilst in the dugout then was a much younger Martin O’Neill. 22 years on from that night in Catalunya, alongside Shaun Maloney, who missed the tie back then due to a serious injury picked up in an under 21s tie vs Partick Thistle, the returning gaffer cut a frustrated figure from almost the first whistle as the fans protest from the stands became clear to him, something which he made sure to mention several times in his post-match media duties.
Celtic Stuttgart Defeat Leaves Many Angry, as Blame Game Ensues
Reflecting on the incident MoN spoke of the glorious nights under the lights at Parkhead where the likes of Juventus, Bayern Munich and AC Milan feared coming to play his sides and as a fan who is just about old enough to remember those nights, I wished nothing more than for a repeat of the tie 23 year ago where the aforementioned Maloney and Petrov alongside Paul Lambert set the foundations for progression on what became the successful road to Seville.
However last night, under the backdrop of protests, boycotts and unrest off and on the park, the atmosphere inside Celtic Park was a strange one. Officially 52,901 in attendance including an impressive 3000 strong in the away section, welcomed both teams onto the park. Tarpaulin covering the section home to the Green Brigade whilst in the opposite corner, an extremely impressive display from the Germans as they showcased their belief that Glasgow was just a mere stop on their road to the Europa League final in Istanbul and after last night’s performance, many have likely already booked their travel to Oporto for the round of 16.
Celtic meanwhile huffed and puffed, unable to provide an answer to the high press adopted by Die Rotten and within 15 minutes found themselves behind as Kasper Schmeichel gave his best ‘dad at a children’s football party’ impression whilst attempting to save the effort, setting the standard for what was arguably his worst performance in a Celtic jersey. Benjamin Nygren capitalized on a mistake from the Germans to level the tie 5 minutes later before the Celtic defence completely forgot to mark El Khannouss as the Moroccan put Stuttgart back in front.
A muted scattering of applause accompanied the half time whistle as many in the stands, myself included, realised that this Celtic side looked miles off our German opponents and the upcoming second 45 minutes looked daunting at best. Paolo Bernardo making his first start in the competition since Braga’s visit in October looked every bit of a player who had played an hour of football in 2026 whilst Big Tam cut a frustrated figure up top, starved of service, gallantly battling for every ball.
Many fans worst nightmare came true 12 minutes into the second half as Leweling struck from 25 yards out past Kasper who really should have done much better with the effort. At this point most in the stands could accept that the tie was almost over and when Demirovic looked to have scored a mere 90 seconds later, one of the loudest sounds heard all night occurred when many decided enough was enough and started to head for the exits only for VAR to show the Bosnian was marginally offside.
By this point, almost an hour into the game, Kasper Schmeichel was yet to make a save and it was becoming evident how badly the extent of the injury he has been carrying throughout the season was impacting his performance. It wasn’t until the 80th minute when the Dane made his first save of the game from Tiago Tomas but by this point, it became a pantomime atmosphere every time Kasper touched the ball. Boos from some, cheers and applause from others, just another example of the fracture within the Celtic fanbase which only seems to grow week on week.
The introduction of Hyun-Jun Yang brought some excitement as the South Korean attempted to try and make the scoreline slightly more respectable, however the player who has been vastly written off for most of his Celtic career, couldn’t find a way past Nübel. Yang has quietly become a key player in this Celtic side which can be construed in two ways, some will see the development in the 23-year-old whilst others will point to the importance of Yang in the team to the decline in quality across the team as a whole. Either way, any manager watching with an interest of stepping into the Parkhead hotseat this summer will need to be comfortable with the idea that this summer, major surgery is required to this squad.
Left back will be an area any new manager will be looking to strengthen with KT still not fully up to playing 90 minutes consistently with his stand-in likely return to Argentina at the end of the season. An uncharacteristically poor performance from the Uruguayan was rounded off as he allowed Tiago Thomas to get on the end of Nartey’s clever juggling to slot past the helpless goalkeeper.
The German fans, who for 90 minutes provided colour and noise to a flat and driech Celtic Park, were interrupted momentarily from their goading of the home fans whilst chanting along to the Monty Python classic “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” to celebrate the goal before picking up where they left off.
Wikipedia notes that the song, ‘released in 1979, has become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals’ seemed apt as Stuttgart put the final nail in the coffin of Celtic’s European adventures this season. Thousands will still travel out to the south of Germany next week for what is now nothing more than a meaningless kickabout, mere days before a season defining match at Ibrox in the league.
Martin O’Neill, celebrating his 1000th match in management (writers note, Wikipedia notes this as his 1170th match, answers on a postcard please) clearly was in a foul mood as he spoke with TNT immediately after the match, claiming that fans who took part in the protest early on “need their heads examined” whilst lamenting Scottish Football’s financial position in the European landscape.
O’Neill’s comments are certain to put the cat amongst the pigeons within the fanbase and a quick look at social media shows the divide in opinion. On one side, you have the fans who are tired of the protests, who will claim that they are having a detrimental impact on the players, whilst the other side believe the actions are required to show discontent at the lack of investment in the playing squad, which leads to the poor results on the park this season.
Ultimately though, as painful as it was, last night's Celtic Stuttgart defeat is a mere sideshow to the ongoing turmoil at our club.
Whichever side of the coin you land on, one thing is evident, the fanbase is far from united, infact you could easily say that the divide in the fanbase is the biggest in recent memory and comments like MoN’s “heads need examined” will do nothing to try and bring both sides together.
Some will say, so what? It’s a common theme on social media, fans forums and in group chats across the country “Back the team…if you’re not going to back the team, don’t come back….” Yet only 2 weeks ago, Interim chairman Brian Wilson pleaded with the fans for unity, something which after last night’s game feels like a fairytale dream.
The “Not Another Penny” campaign has been impactful, regardless of anyone’s opinion on it or the Collective’s actions as a whole. Matchday revenue is down, certain food stalls were closed last night, whilst traffic around the Superstore is noticeably quieter than in recent years. Increased promotions for reduced replica kits, offering free shirt printing, all whilst keeping the results of the impact of the campaign hidden in amongst the Interim financial reports, whether you believe the figures that the Collective released or not, it’s clear to see Celtic are feeling the effect.
The re-introduction of the Green Brigade would go a long way to improving the atmosphere inside Celtic Park, which even the most ardent of the group’s detractors would have to admit, has been near non-existent since the ban was implemented.
The supporters’ group, celebrating their 20th birthday this year, are very marmite across the wider Celtic fan base. Some would highlight some ‘controversies’ that have been credited to the group, most recently the incident at home to Falkirk which led to the club issuing a wider ban, not just to those involved but the entire section.
Others would highlight the numerous foodbank collections, solidarity with the Palestinian people and huge stadium tifos which have been heralded around the world. Whichever side of the fence you fall on, what can’t be denied is that behind the scenes, there is an active hatred towards the group from certain members of the boardroom.
Feedback from the group’s meeting with senior board members earlier this week had led many, including Martin O’Neill to believe that an end to the current ban was in sight, however more information released closer to yesterday’s game highlighted one of the biggest issues, that being the attitude and uncompromising approach of Head of Safety, Security and Operations Mark Hargreaves.
Hargreaves, last seen on a jolly at the Europa League Last 32 draw in Nyon back in December, is said to be a vocal opponent of the group, Rumors, if they are to be believed, suggest that he has threatened to resign from his position if the Green Brigade are allowed back into the stadium. Interestingly, both Hargreaves and long-time pal Michael Nicholson were both absent from the meetings with the Green Brigade and the Collective.
The explanation given was that both are currently on Annual Leave, something I’m sure a large percentage of fans would wish would become a permanent move.
This leads us to what happens next, Hibs arrive at Celtic Park this Sunday fresh off the back of a 2-0 home win over St Mirren last weekend, with aspirations themselves of getting that 4th place from Motherwell and another crack at european football. There are many questions to be answered ahead of Sunday’s 3pm kick off:
Should the club make the effort to re-introduce the Green Brigade?
Is it time for Viljami Sinisalo to be given the gloves and phase out Kasper Schimeichel?
Will we see Alex Oxlade Chamberlain get his first start after impressive substitute appearances?
Can we bounce back from Thursday night to continue battling for what weeks ago seemed an unlikely title charge?
On January 4th, 2026 – Brian Wilson called for unity across the club, the staff and the fanbase, almost 7 weeks on, another shambolic transfer window and multiple protests later, those words feel hollow on the back of yesterday’s performance. Celtic once sat at the top table in European football, clashing with the giants and taking them to the limit.
Celtic Park was once a fortress, now teams actively look forward to being drawn against us. 8003 days, it’s an unwanted record that is held and will grow by at least another 365 or more as another year comes and goes with Celtic bowing out of Europe once again at the first knockout hurdle. The club is currently broken, the foundations of our success for many a year are crumbling, should we manage to win this league title, it will arguably go down as not only one of our best achievements in recent years but also our least deserved title.
Huge decisions need to be made across the fanbase, the management team, the playing squad and the boardroom and all before the first competitive match which will likely take place in late July. Numerous changes will likely take place between now and then, but then again this is Celtic, they may not. The one thing that must be achieved by that time though, is for Brian Wilson’s call for unity to have taken place, regardless of what actions need to be taken to achieve that, it is now time for actions and not empty promises.