Celtic’s grand unveiling of the refurbished Barrowfield complex last week should have been a moment of unqualified celebration. It provides Celtic with the first full-size indoor pitch in Scotland, a modern base for the women’s team and academy and a physical sign that the club is investing in its future.
All of that deserves to be celebrated.
Instead, many supporters were left with the feeling that Barrowfield’s launch was engineered less as a significant infrastructure milestone and more as a quick-win PR exercise.
The same goes for the closure of the club’s tired old store on Argyle Street to be replaced by the bigger, better and more prestigious city flagship store which was many months in the planning. Ordinarily that too would have been a sign of a club on the up and would have been celebrated by the club and the support alike.
After all, the announcements came on the back of chaotic boardroom statements, negative tabloid headlines and mounting supporter frustration and unity.
Then there was the timing, the sudden media push alongside the carefully stage-managed fanfare all bore the hallmarks of the new PR firm apparently recently brought in to steady Celtic’s image.
Better communication is of course welcome. Especially in the absence of any lately, but no amount of slick messaging will matter until the board confronts the football problems that have angered supporters for years now.
Excellent article Niall.