Ian Bankier’s European Roll of Shame

From his comfy seat in the Aspmyra Stadium Ian Bankier oversaw another humiliating European defeat for Celtic. 

Over the last two years alone the hoops chairman has watched Copenhagen, Midtjylland and now Bodo Glimt outplay and outsmart various Celtic managers, systems and tactics. Bankier has watched with a rueful grin, almost as if it has nothing to do with him. Joining a North Atlantic League seems unlikely.

Under a little bit of pressure at last years AGM the club chairman joked that he hadn’t been playing in the Champions League defeat from Ferencvaros. No one else laughed, not even his fellow suits on the podium. 

A former partner in Law Firm McGrigor Donald he switched to the whisky business in the min-nineties before taking over from John Reid as Celtic chairman in October 2011, five months after joining the board. 

To say his tenure has been underwhelming would be an understatement. Domestic success largely comes down to getting the better of one local rival, European development requires a little more strategy, effort and crucially ability. 

Bankier is still waiting to see Celtic win a knock-out tie in any of UEFA’s three competitions. To be fair the rot set in long before he became chairman, in spring 2004, a few months after Peter Lawwell became CEO Celtic beat Teplice and Barcelona, since then there has been nothing. Nada, zilch.

With Lawwell’s powerbase well established before Bankier was appointed, the chairman was happy to take a back seat. A note or two in the Annual Report, ensure the bottom line is black rather than red and that Dermot gets his dividends and minimal grief while he is out on the fairways. Celtic’s biggest shareholder has yet to attend an AGM that involved Bankier. 

Gordon Strachan, Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers managed brief periods of success in the Champions League, rather than build on those, sharp declines soon set in. 

Since he took up the post of chairman Bankier has watched Malmo and Maribor turn Celtic over, after Rodgers intervened AEK Athens, Cluj, Ferencvaros and Midtjylland handed out the lessons. 

Reaching the Champions League has resulted in losing seven goals to Barcelona and PSG, another six to Barcelona and just two wins from the last 18 group stages. A record in line with Walter Smith’s comical efforts. 

After a 106 day search, following Bankier’s managerial review that decided Neil Lennon was the man to lead Celtic forward the club has stumbled into a manager with presence, vision and ambition. 

Does Bankier have those same qualities or should the 70-year-old admit serial failures and allow fresh ideas to take control while he concentrates on his other interests?