The Celtic Board – They’ve ‘Hung Out The Flag Of Apathy’

The supporters replicated those iconic words from ‘The Foggy Dew’ prior to a match against theRangers International , and Celtic won 5-1 that day with Moussa Dembele famously celebrating a hat-trick against the new Ibrox club. Happy days.

Fast forward nine years, and, on Sunday, a woefully inadequate Celtic side squandered the chance to bury the Govanites – in League Championship terms – only one month into this campaign, easing the pressure, and setting themselves up for a tilt at the Europa League.

It was a shocking 0-0 stalemate, and this inability to compete with a team on its knees came hot on the heels after infuriatingly squandering the chance of a top-table appearance in the ECL, losing out to lowly, Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan on penalty kicks.

theRangers have progressed, slightly, since 2016, but Celtic have stagnated recently to the point of abject apathy. The lucid dream of another Treble last term became a nightmare, and we paid the ‘penalty’ as Aberdeen stole our Scottish Cup crown whilst we dozed at Hampden. Neither game should have gone to penalties!

We lost our talisman, Kyogo, we lost Nicolas Kuhn, and then we lost fan-favourite, Jota. The writing was on the wall early doors, but, the directorship misdirected, leaving their enormous fan base to fume.

I stated in my previous blog that Brendan Rodgers publicly prompted and prodded his paymasters, to the point of embarrassment, in a bid to accelerate our chances of success in this campaign by buying in better.

The suits gave him a rubber ear. They refused to strengthen our depleted squad, and, as a result, contributed to blowing Celtic out of the Champions League.

Whilst the Kings were in their counting house, counting out their money, Kairat were preparing to face Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos, Copenhagen, and Pafos.

Celtic, more than 300 places above them in UEFA rankings, were relegated to the Europa. There are still some very good teams in that competitionn, but, considering the light obstacle we faced in the qualifiers, this current team could not score, not once over two matches, or in extra time.

The board refused us a striker, but, when it came to the crunch, we missed three penalties when we had the chance to compete alongside the elite.

Less-than-fun fact; Celtic are no longer considered elite. We are also-rans, and this cannot simply be levelled against the disparity of wealth other nations enjoy. Look at the state of that ‘effort’, and I use that word guardedly, at Ibrox; shameful, weak, and cowardly.

Brendan rightly points to the board’s inaction, but he was in charge of a team which bottled it on the day, and that’s unforgiveable. The board’s refusal to splash the cash on better than we brought in only strengthens the fan fury rightfully levelled against them.

After Idah’s protracted departure, we have no striker worthy of the name and are about to hit Poundland for a player discarded by Sevilla. IF he comes to Parkhead, he will be our main thrust in a second-rate European campaign. Think on that. The board are anathema.

Back The Team, Sack The Board? Indeed, but the board shall not be moved. They are too powerful, and too power-hungry. Just like the paying customers’ ambitions , they are going nowhere.

The team? They must earn our backing. Balikwisha, Yamada, Tounekti, Saracchi, Simpson-Pusey, Osmand; all new recruits who have a point, or three, to prove. We are once-mighty Celtic, and the fans deserve better!

Let’s see it.

Hail Hail!

Eddie Murray

Celtic in the Eighties by the late, great David Potter is published this Friday 5 September by Celtic Star Books. All pre-ordered copies have now been signed by Celtic legend Danny McGrain who has also written the foreword for David Potter’s final book.

These copies have now been posted to everyone who has pre-ordered with copies being send all over the world. It’s been an incredible response, so thank you to each and every one of you who will be receiving your signed book shorty.

Celtic in the Eighties will be available in the Celtic superstore and all other club shops from Friday 5 September. And don’t forget that you can still purchase your copy from Celticstarbooks.com for same day postage. The next 30 orders will also receive a FREE copy of an earlier David Potter book, Alec McNair, Celtic’s Icicle then that wonderful David Potter book will be out of stock.

Order Celtic in the Eighties today, you’ll be glad you did, it’s a fabulous read!