Supporting Celtic feels rather unenjoyable at the moment with all the disconnect between fans and the club, the shambles on the park and the fallouts internally. It’s a capitulation and crisis that leaves attending matches to feel like a chore at times, when it should be a hobby and something that is looked forward to week after week.

For many supporters it’s the transfer business, the football operations department being headed by a man who was sacked as manager of lower league teams in England, a manager who came from the MLS and has managed to lose the majority of his matches in what has recently been one of the least competitive leagues in Europe. It’s selling the best players and not replacing them with adequate quality, 20 years of European underperformance and embarrassment, and only seeking to be a point ahead of a shambolic competitor on the domestic scene. It’s basking in the glory of winning a one horse race for the last 13 years and conspiring to find ourselves in 3rd spot with tens of millions in the bank.

Manager Celtic Wilfried Nancy of Celtic looks on after Celtic’s loss in the Premier League match between Motherwell and Celtic at Fir Park on December 30, 2025 in Motherwell, Scotland. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

For me, the main concern is fan issues and the battle for the soul of Celtic.

The Celtic support is losing its identity and passion. I used to walk through the airport with sheer excitement at the prospect of being in one of the loudest stadiums in Europe on the big nights and derby days. It felt like you were part of something special, the songs of Ireland, the charitable collections, the politics, the sense that a community and a cause was really represented through the medium of football. 60,000 people would join in with the songs at times and the ground would shake beneath your feet at moments in standout fixtures. However, that once famous atmosphere has been hopeless for a few years now and if not for the Green Brigade taking the lead then the politics and culture that have been present in the club, and support, for over 130 years would be lost.

Banning the group on the basis of collective punishment for an alleged assault, which nobody has been arrested for (arrests were for breach of the peace and not assault) and claiming that a video shows proof of the incident when it in fact shows nothing is simply unfair. It removes the beating heart of Celtic.

The treatment of fans is the absolute worst thing happening at Celtic, in my opinion. Not only is any hope of rekindling the atmosphere gone at present, there is a real chance of being harassed and mistreated at games with there being a complete lack of will to defend the fans who pour money into the  club. If it’s not lies about fans holding bladed weapons in the newspapers, then it’s hundreds of supporters being kettled and searched by police on London Road without receipts being issued when items are taken.

To call out such actions would be too much of an anti-establishment action I suppose. Instead, the responsibility for riposte, to represent Celtic and its supporters, and to ask challenging questions falls on the shoulders of the likes of fan media. Another cohort of the support, who dedicate enormous time to the club, and who have now been locked out of press conferences.

The treatment of supporters is fuelling an apathy that has crept into parts of the faithful for some time. It doesn’t feel like the Celtic that I grew up supporting and that I couldn’t wait to fly around Europe to see. A refresh is needed to bring back ‘the thunder’ and get back to being the unique club we have always been. Without that, results, managers, transfer windows, on field matters feel secondary to me. After all, the reason that the football means so much in the first place is because it is a manifestation of who we are, our story and what we represent – ‘more than a club’ to quote a marketing slogan.