Dividing and conquering has been a breeze. A melancholic look ahead to next week’s Celtic AGM

As Celtic head towards another AGM next week you’d have to consider the Celtic Board must be quite happy with their lot. After all there are a lot of distractions, engineered or otherwise, going on as every board member hopes to avoid scrutiny and ensure their first-class tickets on the Celtic gravy train are validated on the forward journey of the next 12 months.

The timing of what appears a derailment in our rival’s title campaign will be a welcome distraction for the Celtic board, as many eyes move to mocking those who worshipped at the feet of Demi-God Steven Gerrard, and now cry into their half empty pints.

As will the public fall-out over the rumoured appointment of Bernard Higgins to a senior security position with the club, not confirmed or denied by the club custodians as yet, but taking up the energies of the small in number but more vocal ultra sections of our support.

Then there is the annual can’t stay quiet for a minute remembrance fall out that leads to mainstream media headlines, hours of debate and a support who stand by their positions and argue the toss. Same as it ever was.

Add to that the Celtic Trust, having previously taken on a man many believed could unite a support and a push for fans representation, now find themselves under their own scrutiny from within as accusations of interference and infiltration on a democratic process result in unseemly and unnecessary social media attacks on a fine Celtic man, who has given much of his last ten years to challenging our board and seeking reform at the higher reaches of Scottish football governance, but in now apparently a duplicitous snider who presided over a shambles of a resolution, despite being rather well practiced at the art of it all by now.

And as those who sell themselves as a force for change fight amongst themselves or with other elements of the support, the Celtic Board put their feet up on the big oak table, pass round the cigars and open the single malt. This upcoming AGM is going nicely to plan. By 1pm on 17 November it will be business as usual.

Dividing and conquering has been a breeze.

Celtic may surprise us all with the results of the fabled New Year review. They may unveil a grand restructure to modernise the club, but more than likely they will slap each other on the back, tell each other and us that bar a pandemic hit season they are still all doing a grand job and retire for a hearty lunch unchallenged.

We all know Celtic as a club is being left behind, we all know our narrow parochial focus on an Old Firm brand constrains us, but on we plod. The Celtic Trust will still collect their monthly subs, though possibly a little less in future, the Green Brigade shop will still sell out of lambswool checked scarves and kids’ sticker packs in the build up to Christmas, and those who dare to question their collective impact and influence will be told it is only them who exploit the Celtic support.

And still the pale, male, stale and ageing Celtic Board will be entrusted with the club’s future with a vision designed to stay one step ahead Frankenstein’s monster and a collective who refuse to consider what this club could be with some new ideas, some fresh faces, some genuine diversity of culture at boardroom level and some bona fide ambition. The Green club, with no environmental input, the all-inclusive club with one woman NED, the club open to all with a sea of exclusively white wrinkled faces, my word we’ve even appointed a CEO with a track record of communication and modernisation gave him 72 days, briefed against him publicly and then replaced him with our in-house lawyer! All this despite being a club who apparently recognised the need for restructuring but has done the square root of jack about it.

What has actually changed? We’ve replaced a head of sports science with another one and no supporting cast, the coaching staff supporting a new manager is the same group who ended the last inglorious campaign, and despite the call for a Director of Football we’ve punted a Head of Football Operations, moved on a chief scout and left the office spaces empty, we took four months to sack the last boss, three months placating a procrastinating replacement, who this week was very complimentary about the patience exhibited by the Celtic board, and eventually struck lucky on Ange Postecoglou, and thank God we did. Because despite the lack of any planning on that one, without him we’d be up that creek without a paddle.

Meanwhile the hierarchical line from changing room to boardroom has reverted to a manager reporting directly to a CEO with no checks, balances or continuity in between, except this one is temporary of course. Where have we seen that approach before? Yes, that’s right when the last CEO left, but of course didn’t really leave.

And come 17 November all of this will be rubber-stamped for another 12 months and the more we stand still in the world of modernising football, the more we will be left behind. Meanwhile there will be few questions asked, and even if they are they’ll receive the same stock answers offered out at the last fans forum and will be inconsequential anyway. Like why in a historic season was our board absent from their post? Were other business interests away from Celtic and those hit by a pandemic of far more importance than the unravelling of a historical football season? And why, when promises are made to look under the bonnet, are we simply happy to close it again and hope it limps on to the next year’s MOT? No accountability, lip service when it comes to transparency and no doubt another 12 months of false promises designed to placate.

But in an environment where we are all too easily distracted and factions turn on each other is it really a surprise this year’s AGM will likely be a little bit of history repeating? Probably not, because the ball is actually in our court and we’ve no idea how to return it effectively. This the Celtic Board knows.

Niall J