[Official TC Thread] General Fan Action & Sack the Board Thread - TalkCeltic Signed letter

A few folk, the expected sort in our support, are allowing the Desmond attack on Rodgers wash away everything as well.
It absolutely does not - even if the Desmond statement was completely true in every word, it still doens't change the fact that the stadium is left to *, that the footprint around the stadium is poor. Doesn't change that they took so long to even just put the banners back up to hide the mess of the stadium (which is all the banners do, hide it). It doesn't change that the way we negotiate in signing players is slow, lethargic and has been called out many many times by agents and other clubs, long before Rodgers.
It doesn't change that our recruitment policy is dated.
Doesn't change that we still restrict ourselves in 99% of wages for players.
It doesn't change the fact that our ambition for Europe is still woeful.

Even the defeat to Almaty, yes we can all say there should have been enough in the squad to win that tie (I'd even say under current form of the last 2 games we would have), but the squad has exited that last window weaker than it entered it, we never replaced the starting striker quality of Kyogo.
And the squad we have today, even if we added two others AFTER that Almatay game, is woefully poor for UCL and even Europa.

None of that is on Rodgers.
Folk want to say "aye but you wouldn't trust Rodgers in transfers and they didnt want to sign players if he was leaving" fine, lets pretend that is the case - does anyone think it is acceptable then that the board refused to back the manager because we didnt trust him, or didnt believe he would be here beyond the season, and that the board then left the squad in the state it was is acceptable? Is that an acceptable squad for UCL? Absolutely not.

And the fact there is the debate on who to blame and reasons they wouldn't back Rodgers is actually the argument that the board are not operating the football department properly!

So aye, two good games and a nice feeling this week - but it changes * all about the board and the need for actual change.

 

Just for those that need to see this - Celtic beating Rangers does not excuse the board from their diabolical running of the club.

 

For a long time I was the same - more than one way to skin a cat and that Mckay came in with better ideas. The board and PL and his mates didn't like it and they sought to change that.
My backing that Desmond was alright with the club just being successful while posting profit, was that he often backed/done the right thing in getting Rodgers in, Keane, Bellamy etc - the guy was ambitious when he wanted to be.

So aye, I always thought so long as Mckay came in and still posted profits, DD wouldn't care how it was done (and also winning trophies)

But the last week now, specially the statement by Desmond, I am really torn and think maybe Desmond is truly the bigger issue.

Add to it the * like needing approval for increasing transfer bids - either the board is completely inept (which is likely), or Desmond does run the club as a dictatorship - which is also likely, but more worrying.

Either way, a guy like McCann would likely be disappointed with how we are operated these days. I bet this isn't what he wanted or expected the club to become when he sold up.

 

Should the support at next AGM ask the board to start the process for leaving Scottish football.
Once resigning it takes 2 seasons to officially leave.
Talk to other teams from other countries except the “big 5” about joining together.

 

I tend to think after recent events that while Lawwell, Nicholson and McKay are terrible and have to go its Desmond that is the core of our problems. No question getting rid of Desmond is way harder then getting rid of the board but we managed it back in the 90's with the Grants and the Kellys. So its not impossible IMHO, it just will take longer and will be more difficult.

 

The issue with Desmond is he’s a multi billionaire who does whatever he likes. He’s basically an absentee landlord.

Lawwell and the board are his minions and they never question anything he wants, they allow him to run the club like it’s his own fiefdom and to run it as if he was a majority shareholder which he isn’t. So Desmond is beholden to Lawwell et al in a funny way because they allow him to turn up whenever he likes and rule the roost as if he’s there every day running things. It’s a weird symbiotic relationship. It’s not a healthy arrangement. There’s no checks and balances with it and when the cat’s away (as he usually is) the rats sit around on their holes doing * all.

There did seem to be an acknowledgment a few years ago when Dom McKay became CEO briefly that modernising the club was necessary. Hopefully despite the bollocksolgy of Desmond’s recent rant that acknowledgement will resurface and a lasting attempt to modernise the club will happen this time.

 

The club has to modernise no doubt about it but some of the current directors who have been there for far too long and ran out of ideas will not leave, the resolution request from the Celtic Trust for the upcoming AGM declaring no confidence in the CEO, Chairman,CFO and demanding that they resign will fall completely flat, can see them all laughing it off when it is brought up and they will throw a few digs in at "Rangers" for good measure while doing it.

 

Get Lawwell and his wee pals out first. Desmond would be more isolated if they’re gone perhaps.

Desmond by the way as he gets older and more and more filthy rich is probably turning into a bigger megalomaniac as time goes by. That letter he wrote about Rodgers is probably full of defamation, but Desmond literally doesn’t care. He was annoyed and angry with Rodgers resigning and wanted to vent. If it was shown to the lawyers Desmond obviously didn’t care. What’s the worst that could happen as far as Desmond is concerned? Rodgers might sue for defamation? That would take a few years, he’d have to prove there was defamation, it would be costly and even if Rodgers won the case Desmond might have to pay him a couple of million in compensation or something? Small change for the billionaire Desmond.

Rodgers is a millionaire but Desmond is a billionaire. Money talks as they say and Lawwell and Nicholson sat there saying nothing while Desmond wades in on their behalf to * about Rodgers. Neil Lennon piping up on Lawwell’s behalf and turning on his fellow manager must be on a retainer of some kind.

 

I’m sure the fans see through that and enough of them will keep up the good fight to get Lawwell and company out. Lennon spouting on behalf of Lawwell and the board will remind them how important it is to keep the campaign going until real changes and reforms are applied.

 

The biggest problem is the board is stale, no new blood, no new faces and no new ideas

Celtic FC should have in place a 5 year limit on directors ( and no shuffling the positions to get around that or reappointing
people without a 3 year gap ).

Not sure how DD runs his other boards ( probably keeps inner circle of core people over a long time as he does some dodgy stuff )
Most well run modern companies have board turnover to keep it fresh and also ambitious people often move on looking for the next
challenge rather than just a pay increase.

we need a club with directors who have vision and ambition to make us a 21st Century Football Club.

 

No question it will be harder and take longer to get rid of Desmond so absolutely happy to to see Lawwell, Nicholson and McKay and the NED get booted first but Desmond still needs to be out as well even if it takes longer. We need ambitious ownership as well as a new and ambitious board.

 

We do but Desmond has his shares and even if someone offered to buy them off him he’s under no obligation to sell.

I think primarily we just need a new CEO and other key board members with a new approach and new way of doing things. Lawwell was brought in as a beancounter to downsize after the MON years when the squad was left with players on big EPL wages getting past their prime with no sell on value. An adjustment at the time was needed but that was more than 20 years ago. The irony that MON is back again but Lawwell and his pals who were brought in originally to downsize as he was exiting are now all these years later still sitting there in the building.

At the time MON saw the writing on the wall regarding the downsizing that Lawwell was brought in to implement with his famous phrase “welcome to the slow lane”. The irony that some of the hard of thinking or those with amnesia have been vilifying Brendan Rodgers for his “Honda Civic” comment. You don’t drive a Honda Civic like a Ferrari, you tend to take the slow lane. A very similar comment from both MON and Rodgers but a very different reaction from some people to it.

Who’s the NED exactly?

 

To be fair when MON left im sure we were something like 30 mil in debt (might be wrong but thats from memory). We were also maxing out on season tickets, merchandise etc so downsizing was needed. And back then,Lawwell was quite successful in doing that with the success we had under Strachan.

 

Desmond already torpedoed this.

Hes a clueless *.

Bottom line, if projects like the Atlantic league were to come pass, in any of the previous FOUR proposed formats, the revenue per year sky rockets. Even the last one backed by JP Morgan 4 years ago forecast at least 350m per year, shared amongst 20 teams.
Desmond simply wouldn't be able to hold onto control of the club. TV money alone would blast what we receive domestically out of the water. Interest in ownership would flood in, and Desmond would be up * creek if a new investor became an ACTUAL MAJORITY shareholder, * his little 30 odd percent to the side.

But Desmond, in his infinite * buffoonery, claimed that we'd always make more in the CL... Except the stupid * * wont back us to get us there.

Hes a * CURSE on our club.

 

Yes. That’s why I said an adjustment at the time was needed. That was 20 odd years ago. Lawwell is still here. He really shouldn’t be. The next move at Celtic should be Lawwell and the downsizing strategies out and a new board of management with new ideas with the remit to maximise Celtic’s resources and in the process potential revenue.

After that appoint a new football manager/coach under a new structure. Ask MON and Maloney to stay during the transition.

 

Certainly Lawwell needs to go. Theres going to be no harmony between board and supporters whilst he remains. I'm actually not sure about Nicholson, he probably got dealt a * hand tbh with Lawwell calling the shots.

 

I think Lawwell is the biggest problem. When he went on Sabbatical and Dom McKay was given the reigns for a few weeks when Ange was starting we were so much quicker and proactive completing signings. Then Dom McKay was shafted with lies that he wasn’t up for the job and Lawwell returned as Chairman later, he was probably calling the shots on the blower when Dom McKay was ousted.

There’s probably lots of other problems but get rid of Lawwell is the first priority. Get rid for good this time.

 

When I said NED I was referring to the non executive directors who have not done their job for years either given they have just been rubber stamps for the ultra conservative approach which has held back and hurt the club for years but with ever more serious consequences.

Again I don't disagree getting rid of Desmond is and will be much harder and take longer then it will be to get rid of Lawwell, Nicholson and McKay. Thats just a reality. But it doesn't change the fact that Desmond in this recent fiasco has shown himself to be willing to sabotage our own club as he did with the statement and he clearly is overall controlling things so the mess we are ultimately in is his mess. It doesn't matter that it will be hard to get rid of him. Getting rid of the Kellys and Grants wasn't easy but it was the right thing to do then and getting rid of Desmond is the right thing to do now IMHO so that we can have a forward looking and ambitious ownership and board.

 

Unless Desmond decides to sell his shares, he's going nowhere...

Best we can try and push for is Nicholson and Lawwell to be moved on, which is realistic. Change of structure, fan advisory group etc.. those things are achievable and that's what we should focus on.

There's pressure on McKay too, with the cash we have, his negligence is more difficult to gauge for me. We're paying a lot of tax on our profits, but we're still in a solid financial state. Tricky to understand the dynamic on the Board when it comes to spending.