Celtic board now gaslighting the Celtic support

At the centre of it all are two stories that, when placed side by side, reveal a deeper crisis at the heart of the club.

First, the fractured approach of supporter organisations in meeting with the board, and second, the appearance of a club “insider” briefing against Brendan Rodgers in a newspaper most Celtic fans would never buy.

Both issues point to the same underlying truth—supporters are being divided, manipulated and patronised, while the board ducks accountability for a directionless strategy and a broken relationship with the fans.

The Celtic Star understands Celtic’s chief executive, Michael Nicholson, met yesterday with the Celtic Supporters Association (CSA) following the mounting unrest among fans over the club’s lack of vision and ambition. The Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters Clubs (ARCSC), however, chose to hold a separate meeting later that same day rather than to join forces with the CSA.

Feedback from those in attendance suggested little of substance was offered. Nicholson apologised for poor communication, promised further dialogue, and repeated the familiar platitudes about the recruitment team “working round the clock” while insisting Champions League qualification was not a precondition for transfer activity.

In short, the same corporate self-preservation that has been offered before, several times, over many years. The key question is not what was said, but what was achieved—and on that front, the answer is depressingly clear – very little.

What matters most, though, is that two separate meetings took place at all. This plays directly into the board’s hands. Divide the fan groups, deal with them separately, and reduce the chances of facing one unified challenge. It is the oldest tactic in the book, separate and placate – divide and conquer.

If Celtic fans want meaningful accountability, the supporter groups must present a united front. That means one public meeting, one press conference, one opportunity to put questions that demand answers in the open, not behind closed doors where words can be spun and promises quietly forgotten.

Strength lies in unity, and right now unity is the one thing the Celtic support cannot afford to lose.

If the meetings showed how the board tries to manage the fans, the anonymous briefing to The Sun revealed how they attempt to manage the narrative.

According to the unnamed source, senior figures at Celtic believe Brendan Rodgers is “engineering his exit” and has “torn the club apart” by questioning strategy. The insider went on to claim that the club has “spent tens of millions” and that Rodgers had accepted the structure when he returned. Here is what was reported to have been said by a club insider –

“What he’s said in public has torn the club apart. On and off the record discussions are creating division throughout the club. He’s the only manager in the club’s history who has repeatedly questioned things. It’s been the same board, same management and same strategy. The club have spent tens of millions. When Brendan came back, he agreed to the club’s strategy. There are now people inside the club who are deeply unhappy with his words. To make matters worse, these issues appear to be seeping into the performance of the team. It’s like Groundhog Day again.”

It is difficult to know what is more insulting—the idea that supporters will swallow such revisionist nonsense, or the decision to plant the story in a paper so despised by so many in the Celtic support.

Rodgers made it crystal clear when he came back that his ambition was to progress Celtic in Europe and build on Ange Postecoglou’s foundations. He even spoke of “timely investment” being essential. Yet what has he been given? A squad weaker than last season, transfer embarrassments from failed deals to last-minute freebies, and a policy of hoarding cash while the team is left short.

To suggest Rodgers is the first Celtic manager to demand better is not only false—it is laughable. Martin O’Neill warned of life in the “slow lane” if investment stalled. Gordon Strachan spoke of his “hands being tied.” Neil Lennon rejected “projects” and demanded immediate change. Ange Postecoglou publicly lamented “hesitation” in the market. Rodgers is merely the latest in a long line to highlight what fans already know – the board’s transfer policy is reactive, timid, and undermines ambition.

And yet, instead of addressing these criticisms, an insider chose to brief against the manager in The Sun. If that does not show contempt for both Rodgers and the support, what does?

The truth is that the Celtic board is stagnant. The same individuals have held power for decades, resistant to change and unaccountable to the wider support. They sit on a cash mountain while failing to invest in the squad, the stadium, the academy, or even basic facilities for fans on match-days.

The core issue is the lack of renewal at board level. Since the turn of the millennium, a small circle of directors has remained in place, with most serving well beyond what would be considered healthy in any modern organisation. Good governance principles usually recommend maximum terms of around nine years, yet Celtic’s leadership has treated this as optional, allowing individuals to cling to power for decades. It has created a closed-shop culture, more reminiscent of a private members’ club than the forward-thinking institution a club of Celtic’s size should aspire to be.

This is not about one bad transfer window or one disagreement with a manager. It is about governance. It is about whether Celtic is being run for footballing success or for the comfort of a small clique of long-serving directors.

When Nicholson apologises for “poor communication,” he is not admitting to a small oversight. He is following a well-worn Lawwell-era script – acknowledge frustration, insist deals are “complicated,” point to external factors, and kick the can down the road.

It is gaslighting, pure and simple.

Meanwhile, fans are expected to accept crumbs while the board congratulates itself on financial prudence. But what use is £80 million in the bank if the squad is weaker than before and Champions League qualification humiliation is the norm? Celtic exists to ensure we can compete in football matches, home and abroad, not hoard reserves like a tycoon on the verge of retirement.

Celtic supporters are not naive. We understand transfers are complex, and we appreciate the work of those who volunteer time to represent the wider fanbase in meetings. But what is needed now is a shift in focus—from asking what went wrong – we can all see where we went wrong – to demanding concrete answers on what will change.

Celtic fans are done with vague slogans and empty apologies. They want straight answers on the big questions shaping the future of the club.

What are the actual benchmarks for Europe—is it scraping into the Champions League group stages and stopping there, or is there a genuine ambition to make knockout football the norm? If those goals aren’t reached, who is held to account?

Transfers remain an embarrassment. Window after window ends with hesitation, failed targets, and bargain-bin solutions—when will the process finally be modernised to deliver quality players when they’re needed, not weeks too late?
The youth academy has become a wasted asset, producing far too few first-team regulars. What targets exist for homegrown talent, and when will coaching posts be filled on ability rather than old friendships?

The stadium tells its own story—supporters who bankroll the club every year are still stuck with facilities that wouldn’t pass muster two decades ago.

Then there’s the mountain of cash. With tens of millions hoarded in the bank, what’s the plan, build a stronger Celtic or just pad the accounts?

Governance is no better. The same faces have sat in the boardroom for decades, while skills in modern business, technology and marketing are nowhere to be seen. And above it all hangs the question of ownership, will the club sleepwalk back into family control, or will it respect the spirit of 1994, when supporters fought to break the dynasty model for good?

These are the questions the board cannot evade. And they should not be asked in fragmented meetings behind closed doors, but in a joint public forum with all supporter organisations present.

The board’s latest move—briefing against Rodgers in the press—shows how desperate they are to deflect blame. They would rather risk another manager walking away than confront their own failures.

But the Celtic support has seen this playbook before. Blame the manager, praise the balance sheet, the so-called strategy, and hope the fans stay divided. It is the same script that left Martin O’Neill frustrated, Gordon Strachan tied, Neil Lennon undermined, and Ange Postecoglou exasperated.

Rodgers is not the problem. The problem is a board more concerned with the status quo, and control, than progressing our club to maximise what it can achieve.

That is why unity matters more than ever. Fans must not allow themselves to be divided into separate meetings, separate statements, and separate agendas. A united support is the only way to hold this board accountable.

The choice is as clear as it has ever been, stand together now, or accept another decade of European stagnation, spin and squandered opportunity.

The Celtic board may think supporters are easily placated. They are wrong. Most fans see through the spin, they see through the anonymous briefings, and they know where the real problem lies.

It is time for unity. It is time to demand change.

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