No one is saying Celtic should be spending like Chelsea, but we should be investing enough to overcome sides such as Kairat Almaty…
Jorginho of Kairat heads at goal during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
After our sub standard showing against Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park last night the fury has been well and truly unleashed in the direction of the Celtic board, and all within good reason.
It’s well documented that our incompetence knows no bounds when it comes to player recruitment, and our so called leaders are guilty of to quote an old phrase ‘sleeping at the wheel’ when it comes to taking our club to a new level, or indeed keeping us at the level we’d reached since the combined efforts of two excellent Celtic managers saved their bacon after the disastrous covid season.
Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson watch on as Celtic draw 0-0 with Kairat at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-off match, worth over £40m to the winners.
They may have the club on a sound financial footing – thanks in no small part to the Celtic supporters repeatedly putting their hands in their pockets – but their reluctance to spend that wealth – that we the supporters massively contribute too – is harming us on the park when it comes to making strides as a serious football club.
Since our last match in the Champions League at Celtic Park Celtic has gone backwards at incredible speed with Kyogo sold for £10m, Nicolas Kuhn sold for £17m and Jota injured – and not one of these players has been replaced, just like Matt O’Riley wasn’t replaced when they collected £25m for him.
Nicolas Kühn of Celtic celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the SPL | Premier League match between Dundee United FC and Celtic FC at Tannadice Park on April 26, 2025 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Time and time again they have failed to improve the side when we are in a good position, just to save a few quid in the process.
No one is claiming that we start throwing cash about like the Chelsea’s of this world, but a credible investment of say £20 million so we are more than ready for games such as last night. We have the resources to do so, as they did last year. Why not the same presently? Especially when we lost a key player in Nicolas Kuhn and were handsomely rewarded to the tune of £17 million.
Ironically that self entitlement might well come back to haunt them if we fail to reach this year’s group stages and they miss out on the riches that brings, some £40m to be precise. Of course the narrative will pushed out by the usual suspects who enjoy the occasional boardroom comforts. It’s all Brendan’s fault!
Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The manager will see out the season – unless they sack him (and they may well do just that next week if there’s a bad result in Almaty) but there’s no little to no chance that he’ll be staying beyond the end of May 2025. And that’s exactly what they want to happen.
We’ll then have a management team of ‘board loyalists’ – John Kennedy assisted by Shaun Maloney and Gavin Strachan with the power coming down from the top. That’s the ultimate objective here.
Life in the slow lane awaits. As a support we need to wake up to this and back Brendan – starting with chanting his name again on Saturday against Livingston, who will be just as frustrating to play against at Kairat were last night. Otherwise it’s the Celtic support who’ll also be guilty of sleeping at the wheel.
Last night the support made its displeasure known with the Sack the Board chants. Now we need to go one step further and Back the Manager. He after all is the one fighting our corner.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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Great stuff and all correct
Agree with very little of that. Maybe the board are saying “what about the 8 million pound centre forward and the 11 million pounds midfielder you bought last year? Don’t they have the quality required?” I’m not saying the board are faultless, but this drip drip drip if snidey insinuation from the manager would get you sacked in the real world.
We overpaid for Idah, Engels and Trusty but that was not the fault of the manager. The biscuit tin policy of continually lowballing for players means we miss out and get held to ransom at the last minute as selling clubs see our desperation. Criticism of these signings wouldn’t be near as much if we’d paid closer to half for them. Engels is still developing. Idah was bought to challenge Kyogo, not replace him. Trusty is a poor signing IMO. But to lose Kyogo, Kuhn and Jota (through injury) and not replace them is criminal, regardless of previous signings.
I don’t know what’s happening behind the scene but I know what I saw yesterday on the screen.
It reminded me of the Scottish final at Hampden. Same disappointment, same feeling of the team beeing clueless.
Kairat defended very well on the sides (Forrest had often two guys in front of him), KT was struggling on his side and Maeda had a bad day.
And nothing happened in the center.
We were only 10 men on the field (oh wait ! I forgot Idah… alright we were 11…).
We have to find more rythm, triangle, one touch of the ball, not slow game like we’re playing a Championship’s team and we can tired them. (Those guys weren’t tired at all, beeing 30 games in in their championship)
The positive thing is that the young 17 Chelse’s lad will miss the second leg.
The second positive thing is that Idah won’t start the game in Kazakhstan. (BR doesn’t often make changes at half-time).
It was a sad game and I am disappointed.
But I have faith in some players !