They say the best con is when the person being conned actually thinks they are conning the person doing the conning. I can relate this. Throughout my life on social media I've been accused of everything, anything and some in between. The main one is always that I conned people out of money to make films. The idea is I put a gun to folks heads and demanded they fund my lavish lifestyle all the way to Hollywood.
Nice work if you can get it. (Plus Hollywood is a dump)
The reality is different of course, everyone who backed my films had a personal choice. It's exactly the same with Celtic. Some people are going to be butt hurt by my next sentence but here goes: No one gives a shit whether you attend a game or not. Let me explain further. I think the only way we will ever get rid of the cartel who run Celtic is to starve them out. We are a long way from that happening, I know but before we get to that, let's visit the Zoo of reasons that got us where we are today.
Many say Celtic's fortunes were akin to Bobby Ewing (A meeting in a shower changed everything) and when Neil Lennon was given the manager's gig full time, the die was cast. I don't know Neil Lennon (I've met him 3 times) but know folk who do and they describe his management style as, politely, archaic. I do know and have spoken to one player who still says Neil Lennon bullied him out of Celtic in his first spell as manager. I can only take his word for it but, thankfully, he has gone on to have a good career in football. It was pretty obvious when the pandemic hit that a Sevco collapse was a massive help in us winning 9 in a row. Most fans knew that Sevco were now a threat and that would need to be addressed in the transfer market.
It wasn't.
The key aspect for me was twofold. Losing Forster and Gordon at the same time whilst not paying the required extra £500k for Ivan Toney. (To compound things, we had to suffer Barkas and Ajeti)
It was obvious from the second week of the season that the team was toiling and the manager didn't have the solutions. This led to an early exit (again) from the Champions League qualifiers and an outburst from Lennon where he said players who want to leave should just go now.
What a start to our most important season since 97/98.
As the season stuttered from one disaster to another, Peter Lawwell was of the mind to sack Neil Lennon. The problem was Dermot Desmond. You see Oor Dermot doesn't take too kindly to personal criticism and the natives had already gotten restless outside Celtic Park and so Dermot's answer was blunt: "Fuck them" and Lennon remained as manager throughout that awful autumn of 2020.
He would of course be sacked in February 2021 but not before Peter Lawwell had addressed the nation twice, thinking he could stem the rising but ended up resigning as reality finally hit.
I say resigning, it was in fact a pack of lies.
The new CEO was Dom McKay and he came in earlier than planned such was the fans demand for change. Initially, Lawwell remained in the building but relations got frosty pretty quickly as McKay got fed up with him being around, talking on the side to everyone. Lawwell had a leaving do at Celtic Park with various celebs doing video messages and telling everyone what a great guy he was among his adoring staff and then he was out.
Well, not really.
There was a quick announcement that he would now be a non-executive director. This is normally a token title but not in Peter's case. Staff continued to defer to him and it took about two months from his leaving do for Dom McKay to get fed up with his constant interfering and undermining and he left. (Not even to be mentioned at the AGM 6 weeks later)
McKay was a moderniser. He was aghast at how badly Celtic were run and how prehistoric almost every aspect of it was. Plans were put in place, including a complete and much needed overhaul of the academy after a review by Gordon Strachan.
All were scrapped and Strachan's recommendations went in the bin.
It also interesting to note that the review came about because of Scott Brown. Despite what Celtic's narrative told folk, Scott was and is majorly pissed off with Celtic. He didn't want to leave and wanted a two year deal, same wages, which he thought he had earned. Club offered one year and so he left. Not before visiting Lennoxtown one last time and slaughtering the facilities, his main gripe being they had not changed since he joined in 2007 despite repeated promises.
Meanwhile, Sevco, cash-strapped Sevco who are going to go bust any day now, aye that Sevco, have completely revamped their training ground with new pitches, two restaurants and all the up to date fitness equipment you could imagine. Same with the dressing rooms and warm up room at Ibrox which Steven Gerrard had a huge hand in.
Aren't we the ones with all the money?
Meanwhile, back at Celtic, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay split the CEO gig between them but Nicholson, not a public figure or speaker, still constantly deferred to Lawwell and folk within and without the club start complaining that nothing gets done and no one gives a straight answer.
Then Dermot Desmond does a strange interview talking up Peter Lawwell and his own son, Ross. Next thing we know, Lawwell's son Mark is given is given the Head of Recruitment gig whilst Ange Postecoglou, in a rare moment he's not on Open Goal (Owned by Paul Lawwell) says he is delighted to have Mark on board.
At that point, the dogs in the street knew Big Gas Meter would be back officially soon.
When it came, the old playbook was then used, phone Steven McGowan at the Daily Mail, get him to float it and we will be back in business come January.
So, that old personal choice thing again. Common practice when you address folk like me is to believe the bots and say I am talking rubbish.
Fine.
But remember those films I mentioned? I got all that then and guess what? No one sued.
I write and do things out of my love of Celtic. If you put individuals in front of Celtic, then you are as much to blame as they are.
It's your choice.
