MARTIN O’NEILL: HERO’S RETURN SHOWS FANS CAN STILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
I felt a mix of joy, exhilaration, but mostly relief last night when I heard the news that the Celtic Board have made the only logical and reasonable decision left available to them.
Martin O’Neill will stay on as Celtic’s full-time manager for one more year, with the potential for another year beyond that.
I hope the substantial fee Robbie Keane will pocket for choosing to head to South Korea to play in a Liverpool “legends” match instead of hanging around while this crucial decision was made was worth it.
I expect plenty of spin and attempts at rewriting reality when Celtic make an official statement on the matter, but here’s the reality: fan pressure ensured this outcome.
Never let anyone tell you again that organized and vocal fan opposition does not impact our club. Dermot Desmond, our largest individual shareholder, but not our owner, wanted to shoehorn another of his loyal cronies into the manager’s office. Keane’s history of insulting Celtic fans, the FAI and the good people of Palestine notwithstanding, he simply wasn’t ready for the Celtic job in a footballing context either.
Martin O’Neill is the Right Choice, Even if he Wasn’t the Desmond Choice
With all that being said, it seems that Celtic’s largest individual shareholder, not our owner, Dermot Desmond was intent on getting “his man” on board, regardless of what us “plebs” thought about it.
The Celtic Board clearly were prepared to try and once again, pass of mass unrest and anger among the fanbase as a “small rogue element” simply intent on sewing discord for their own aims. I think it was Nepo Baby-in-chief Ross Desmond who famously described these Celtic fans as people whose “only vocation in life is to be anti-establishment” at last year’s aborted AGM.
Yet, in the past week this “anti-establishment” group has proven to be far larger and far more diverse than either of the Desmonds predicted. As far as this being yet another case of “failing to read the room”, this might be the most spectacular instance yet.
Numbers don’t lie. ACSOM’s own poll during Tuesday’s bulletin, in which I made my own personal feelings known once again about Robbie Keane and his unsuitability for Celtic, showed that I was not, as one commenter called me “a bitter wee man shouting into the void.”
More than 90% of those that voted opposed Keane’s appointment. Similar numbers played out across a variety of Celtic Fan Media outlets in the subsequent days.
Some of us may not like the Green Brigade, or see the Celtic Fans Collective as little more than a talking shop. Others may dismiss the efforts of the likes of David Low and Willie Haughey as futile. Others still may simply just be fatigued by infighting at Celtic that has now gone on for almost a year.
Now, I put myself firmly in the “none of the above” category with regards these factions in the Celtic support. Any and all efforts to bring about change, regardless of their size or scope have my full encouragement and support.
However, that’s not to say those with concerns about these various disparate groups don’t have legitimate concerns. Debate and discussion is crucial to shaping Celtic’s future, after all.
That all being said, I think it’s wonderful the way that huge numbers (though I realize not all) Celtic supporters, with a variety of opinions set those ideological differences aside to unite and say in one voice. “No, Desmond, you cannot run roughshod over the wishes of the huge majority of Celtic fans.”
All rulers, even wannabe emperors and dictators, need the support of the masses to use their power effectively
I hope for their sakes that Desmond and Son learned that lesson this week. Fans can make a difference. When we truly unite behind a common cause, not even the belligerent billionaire can stop us.
Matin O’Neill’s appointment has headed off another battle, but the cold war between Celtic’s fans and its board members will continue until Mr. Desmond either starts treating us with respect, or makes way for someone who can.
In either case, this conflict is far from over, but fans can, rightly, celebrate a victory this weekend.
For once, the good guys won, and Celtic’s corporate indifference was dealt a long overdue bloody nose.
