WHERE NEXT FOR THE CELTIC FANS COLLECTIVE?
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
I spoke with, what seems in hindsight somewhat foolish, optimism the other day about Monday’s meeting between the Celtic Fans Collective, other concerned Celtic fans groups and The Celtic Board.
Conflicting perceptions as to how the meeting went have emerged overnight in the form of summarizing statements from both the Celtic Fans Collective and Celtic themselves.
Celtic Fans Collective Remains Resolute in Desire for Change
As I emphasized in that piece on Monday, I sincerely hope The Celtic Fans Collective have a “Plan B” and hopefully a “C, D, E, and F” as well.
The problems between Celtic fans and the current custodians in the Celtic boardroom were never going to be settled with a single sit-down meeting. However, I had at least hoped that some tangible steps forward could be agreed upon.
That however, does not seem to be the case. Perhaps the release last night of yet another nameless statement with more than a whiff of “AI generated” about it from the Celtic Board just underscores the Celtic Fans Collective’s assertion that the club seem far more concerned with “perception and misunderstandings” rather than actually accepting any fault on their own part.
Whilst Celtic’s own statement regarding the meeting, which reads like it was hastily thrown together (by human or other means) as a last-ditch attempt at damage control, does appear to show some degree of contrition and acknowledges failures on the transfer front, it still shows no willingness to change the underlying culture of mismanagement, arrogance and condescension that seems to underscore every rare interaction the board has with supporters directly.
There are rumors going around, unsubstantiated at this time, that Celtic’s official stores have noted a significant drop in official merchandise sales in September. I would not be surprised if this were true, but as I said, these are unconfirmed rumors.
Perhaps some kind of partial boycott of official merchandise is the next logical step. A significant drop in revenues from official stores would not impact the playing staff or the manager. However, it would certainly gain the attention of Celtic’s commercial partner Adidas.
Also, as I'm sure most of you are aware, whilst I would never endorse piracy, near identical replicas of all the current jerseys are available online within a few clicks and at a fraction of the official price. Both Adidas and Celtic need to start considering this more seriously when setting the prices and cadence of their merch drops.
After all, let’s be honest, Adidas didn’t enter into a long-term deal with Celtic because of our European prestige or performances on the pitch. They did so because they know Celtic is a massive, globally renowned and, in my own opinion, under-utilized commercial brand.
However, if the never-ending line of fans willing to buy up new strips, sportswear and leisure gear, as they launch on an almost weekly basis, suddenly dries up, Adidas would have to revisit their agreement with Celtic.
Say what you will about them as a company, but Adidas has the financial muscle to actually force the Celtic Board into some kind of action.
Plans are afoot, in the background to try and give fans and ordinary shareholders greater influence over club policy as well. However, such things take time and concerted effort. Until then, what Celtic fans need most is to stay together, and resist any and all attempts at divide and conquer from the board and their pawns in the media.
I don’t know what will happen next, that’s for the collective and other groups to decide. What I do know is that these issues will not go away, and continuing to talk down to supporters, be it through sham meetings, or hastily written statements, will not end well for our current board members.
