ESCALATION：HOW FAN GROUPS CAN TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE CELTIC BOARD
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
I’ll be honest, I’m still raging about how yesterday’s AGM panned out. We can argue about whether the shareholder protests were the right move or not.
Personally, I think they were long overdue, and the board needed a reality check about the breadth of feeling against them among the wider fanbase.
But, as I said that is a point of contention, and one that I would not presume to claim authority on. I have my views and I’ve made them clear. I’m sure you, dear reader, have your own views too, and whatever they are I respect them. I don’t presume to speak for you, or indeed any other Celtic fans in this editorial. I speak only for myself.
The bigger question, and one that I’m going to offer my thoughts on today is: “What next? Where do the Celtic Fans Collective and the various other fan groups go from here?”
They’ve just been effectively laughed out of the room by the Celtic Board. A response is needed, urgently. The Collective will meet early next week to plan their next move.
If they, and indeed you, the readers, will indulge me, I have an idea.
It’s Time to Turn the Screw on The Celtic Board, It’s Time to Extend “Not Another Penny”
That phrasing might seem a bit hyperbolic, but I get the sentiment behind what they said. In times of conflict, you sometimes have to get your hands dirty. My idea for a counter offensive by the Celtic Fans Collective and the wider fanbase will not be universally popular, and there may be some collateral damage to people who are not in any way to blame for the current state of affairs at Celtic.
However, experience and observation of similar tactics deployed elsewhere tells me this would be effective and would, most likely, deliver progress quite quickly.
So, what am I waffling on about? Well, thankfully I won’t subject you to an overly long, self-congratulatory video presentation about how brilliant I am and why my ideas are the absolute bestest ever. I am not Peter Lawwell, after all.
Putting it simply, the “not another penny” campaign now needs to be extended beyond just Celtic’s immediate business interests. At the moment, fans taking part in the campaign have chosen to withhold from spending any money in the club shop, the food kiosks within the stadium, and any official club enterprises beyond the match tickets they have already bought or applied for.
Celtic have a number of corporate partners. These are businesses both local and international, offering a variety of services and covering a host of different industries. These businesses typically appear in the matchday programme and on the club website to varying degrees.
I propose we extend the current business boycott to include all of these companies. When cancelling orders or rejecting business solicitations from these companies, we should make it clear that we have no personal issue with the businesses or the people running them. It is simply that, their patronage of Celtic props up the current Celtic Board, who treat the fans with contempt.
Until that changes, no businesses associated with Celtic should receive any money from fans.
It’s aggressive, and it will hurt some local businesses. That is undeniable and it is regrettable. However, if indeed this is a “civil war”, then unfortunately some innocent casualties are inevitable.
Any businesses that feel the pinch from this natural escalation of the “not another penny” campaign, will, I believe, direct their anger at the club, creating more difficulties for the current board, and making it more difficult for them to bring on further sponsors or advertisers.
It also renders their current stance of “carrying on regardless” completely untenable.
Yes, this will have a negative impact on Celtic financially in the short term. Unfortunately, we seem to be in a place now where, we have tried talking, we’ve tried protesting and we’ve even tried direct confrontation. None of it has worked. We are dealing with the very worst elements of late-stage capitalism here, and money is the only language they understand.
Hit them in their pockets, and hit those who enable them in the pockets too. Short term pain, for long term gain.
Expand the “not another penny” campaign now.