Martin Gemmell said the nature of Scottish Football means Celtic have a licence to play in Europe every season, and one of the reasons for Celtic entering Group stages automatically last season was our rivals’ European performances rather than our own.
Michael Nicholson disagreed and Paul Quigley pressed on whether he felt results in Europe were satisfactory, Michael Nicholson felt they were, referring to qualification for group stage football in 19 out of 20 years. The view was expressed that if the Club thinks that the level of performance is acceptable then that is a concern.
The Club maintained that the strategy was broadly working but there are things we can do better. Supporter Groups noted their concerns regarding the development and/or acquisition of Champions League ‘ready’ players, together with concerns that players are being identified and acquired by the Club’s football recruitment team and thereafter not making their way into the first team squad.
Michael Nicholson noted that he cannot comment on specific players, but that the Club looks to the short, medium and long-term for player acquisitions as well as through the academy, and the Club’s objective and strategy is to continue to improve its operations in this respect.
The Celtic Fan Collective noted that it was believed that the current First Team squad largely centred around ‘first team ready’ players that were acquired under the Club’s previous manager, and that there was a belief amongst supporters that more recent acquisitions were not of a similar calibre.
Discussions also centred around the question of whether the Club’s strategy is accurate insofar as it refers to the creation of UEFA Champions League players. Chris McKay highlighted some of the Club’s most successful homegrown UEFA Champions League players and the role that both coaching and facilities at an academy level has in player development, referencing the importance of the Club’s recent Barrowfield redevelopment.
The importance of a stable domestic season was also highlighted insofar as this provides opportunities for the First Team Manager to introduce academy players. Michael Nicholson said our performances in Europe last season followed on the application of the Club model over a number of years. Martin Gemmell said that last year’s performance was an anomaly.
A brief discussion took place amongst Supporter Groups regarding comments directed at both former and current players on social media. This factor was understood by Martin Gilmore to be a consideration in players leaving the Club, other supporters disagreed.
Continues on the next page…
