The Gallowgate Guevaras

 

The Gallowgate Guevaras

Back in 1994 as Fergus McCann fought to gain control of Celtic Football Club from the families who had run it for over a century, he had the advantage of the backing of most of a Celtic support which saw the old board as no longer fit for purpose. Football was evolving fast and entering the new age of satellite TV and those running Celtic were thought by many to lack the imagination and business acumen needed to drag the failing institution into the modern era. It is of course a matter of history that Celtic came perilously close to going into administration and that would have been the greatest humiliation in an era where hoops fans had to deal with a few.

McCann’s dreams were backed with the hard cash of Celtic fans who poured millions of pounds into Celtic to rebuild the club on and off the field. The club did indeed rise from its slumber and was once again challenging for honours in Scotland but it took four hard years to prise the title from Rangers and in that time Celtic fans had some tough days to endure. We dealt with the painful Tommy Burns sacking, losing to Raith in the League Cup Final and missing out on the title after losing crucial matches to Rangers as they closed in on nine in a row. McCann’s insistence that he would run the club on sensible financial lines despite calls from the fans to spend more on players led to some turning on him. They were egged on by a Scottish media which was for the most part hostile to McCann and when he did eventually deliver the title in 1998 he was booed by some of the club’s supporters as he unfurled the first league flag in a decade.

The death of Rangers in 2012 led many to reappraise McCann’s legacy as the man who in reality led the revolution which saved Celtic and set them on the road to the domination of Scottish football. The engine which drove this domination was financial probity and success on the field. Celtic has won 18 major trophies in the past 9 years, 16 titles of 20 played for in the new century, has the highest average attendances in Scotland and the biggest turnover by some distance. Their business model was rooted in qualifying for the Champions League every other year and garnering all the riches that has to offer. They also expected to be selling players they developed for substantially more than they bought them for. This twin strategy along with the support of over 50,000 season ticket holders saw Celtic dominate Scotland and continue to make a profit with regularity. The club was held up as a model of sensible sustainability and while the trophies stacked up there were few dissenting voices.

This season has been one of the most bizarre in Celtic’s history. The Covid 19 pandemic has meant matches are played in the surreal atmosphere of empty stadiums. Celtic’s bond with their fans is well known and I don’t doubt the lack of atmosphere has affected them. However that in no way excuses some of the lamentable, error strewn performances we have seen of late. Celtic are currently on the worst run of form in 25 years and have already crashed out of the Champions League, Europa League, League cup and are currently well of the pace in the SPFL. They badly miss Fraser Forster’s influence at the back and missed out on the excellent John McGinn who headed south to make his fortune in the Premiership. I still feel he was a player made for Celtic but who will now be out of their reach probably forever. Players brought in during the summer have failed to sparkle so far and established players have run into some dire form. With Rangers resurgent, it is clear Celtic is running out of time to find their form again.

It has been a bad season so far but hey some perspective, we Celtic fans have gorged on success over the past decade and when you’ve watched football for as long as I have you know the odd season from hell can occur. As a lad I watched Celtic follow the double season of 1976-77 with the dreadful 5^th place finish the following year when they lost 15 out of 36 league matches. Yet the year after that in 1979 they won the title back again only to throw it away the following season when Aberdeen won the old SPL. The point is there is no divine right to win; you need to earn it every time you cross the white line.  In the past couple of months Celtic’s confidence has clearly been affected and basic errors are killing them in games. Neil Lennon carries ultimate responsibility but whoever has been scouting players in recent years must share that responsibility.

A list of players purchased in recent years for millions of pounds but who seldom if ever looked like breaking into the first team was published on social media recently. When you look at the millions of pounds wasted on players who simply weren’t up to it you could weep. The revenue spent on so called ‘projects’ who haven’t made the grade would have been better invested in experienced professionals who could have made a difference in this potentially historic season.

The protests by a handful of supporters at the stadium have gone from heartfelt concern about the team’s form to hostility and anger. Fans of other clubs must look on agog at the sight of Celtic supporters chasing their own team’s bus shouting abuse at players who have delivered 18 trophies in 9 years, 3 Trebles in 3 years, (with a fourth only one game away) nine successive championships and an invincible season. Yes their form has been abysmal of late and perhaps the mythical quest for the ten has hyped some fans up to almost hysterical proportions but come on, are we seriously suggesting abusing the players, management and board will help their confidence? Celtic is in the midst of one of the most successful periods in its long history. Only the Lisbon Lions nine in a row era eclipses the success Celtic currently enjoy.  

Some of the banners saying things such as ‘FC not PLC’ suggest some are unhappy with the way the club is run as a business but the model of liberal capitalism which gives Celtic such an advantage in Scotland was never seemingly questioned when the team was winning and stacking up trophies. Changing the political and financial culture at a football club isn’t an easy process as it is owned by thousands of shareholders. Many would like the voice of the fans to be heard in the boardroom and even some form of fan ownership of the club but that takes thought, time and logical discussion and is unlikely to be achieved by standing in the Celtic Way chanting ‘Lennon, Lennon get to f*ck.’

There are many with no love of Celtic who are enjoying the discontent around the club at the moment. Some of the scenes we have seen around Celtic Park recently plays right into their hands and gives them more ammunition to snipe at Celtic.

Peter Lawwell came in for some abuse too from the Gallowgate Guevaras but ask yourself, what is the job of a CEO at a club like Celtic? It is to run the business in a sustainable way and provide adequate funds for strengthening the team. Has he done this? The answer is yes and if his pay cheque annoys some then it is the going rate for running a club like Celtic. He turned down a far more lucrative job offer from Arsenal some years back to stay with the hoops. Yes we are annoyed by repeated failure to beat teams in Europe with a fraction of our resources. The defeat to Ferencvaros potentially cost the club £25m and there have been other humiliations along the way. But the real issue has been the poor acquisitions Celtic have brought in.  Who thought Bolingoli was in any way a decent replacement for Tierney? Shved was another who drifted out of sight with barely a sniff at the first team and there have been others. Allowing Forster and Gordon to leave and spending millions on the unimpressive Barkas was foolish. The identification and purchasing of such players remains the Achilles heel which is causing Celtic to stumble. We have not bought wisely in recent years, with a few exceptions like David Turnbull, and that combined with good players moving on has weakened the side.

The new Rangers was always likely to improve with the sort of money they invested in players. They weren’t going to stay hopeless forever and Celtic’s poor recruitment in recent times has allowed them to catch up. That, combined with a loss of form and confidence, the Covid crisis and perhaps playing in empty stadiums has created a perfect storm of circumstance which has damaged the team’s chances this season.

Managers live or die by results. Neil Lennon faces a cup final and a trip to Ibrox in the next few weeks and defeat in either of those games could be the straw which breaks the camel’s back as far as his job goes. He’s old enough to understand that and would doubtless accept it. What is less acceptable is the vitriol he has received from an uncouth minority who seem to forget all he has contributed and endured during his association with Celtic as a player and manager. He has spoken in the past of the bigotry, the bombs and bullets, the assaults, the struggles he has had with depression and if he has to leave his post he should be allowed to do so with some dignity.

It can be unpleasant on social media when Celtic is not playing well. Some lose all perspective and in an echo chamber of like-minded voices the vitriol increases. Dissenting voices are drowned out or abused until they no longer want to contribute to the debate. They are called ‘happy clappers,’ ‘panty wetters,’ 'Soup takers' or ‘Lawwell’s lapdogs’ if they offer an opinion which differs from the more aggressive voices. We all know there are serious issues to be sorted out at Celtic Park and hopefully the team will be on their winning ways again soon. Europe was a disaster this year and much ground needs to be made up domestically. To call for unity at such a time isn’t to ignore the problems the club has, it is to realise that division only helps our opponents.

In the fullness of time I hope there is intelligent discussion about the way forward for Celtic as every club needs renewal now and then. I hope there is also some perspective too; the distasteful ‘Shoot the Board’ banner was defended by some who thought it a witty reference to a similar banner from the early 1990s. We live in very different times from the 90s. Back then the old board had run Celtic into the ground, the team was failing and the stadium in dire need of rebuilding. Today Celtic has the best stadium in the land, a decent squad and sound financial results even in these difficult times. 

How we harness those things to put a good, consistent team on the field is our challenge.