Stephen McGowan has issued a timely warning to the Celtic board about the stakes involved in Saturday’s Glasgow Derby- and the consequences of defeat.
Thirty years ago the Celtic support was still split over the merits of the club Directors, many clung to the notion that having the surname of White or Kelly carried special powers.
Others, branded malcontents, looked around at a club decaying from the inside, stuck in their ways and being left behind in a new commercial era where sponsorships and outside partnerships were essential to progress.
Lou Macari had made some progress to coming into the club but the foundations were flimsy. Within five minutes of the kick-off Celtic were 2-0 down, the third goal went in before the half hour mark.
A face saving 2-4 defeat was salvaged but there was no hiding place for the Directors, the Macari era was dead in the water alongside Terry Cassidy and David Smith- the duo hired to lead the Kelly’s and White’s into the future.
There is virtually no prospect of a change in ownership of Celtic in 2024 but as the reaction to losing 2-0 at home to Hearts demonstrated a significant section of the support blame the Directors, and Chairman Peter Lawwell in particular, for the visible decline since Ange Postecoglou left for Spurs.
Highlighting the parallels of a restless support from 30 years ago in the Daily Mail, McGowan writes:
Wee Fergus won’t come to the rescue if Rangers win their first game at Parkhead in three years on Saturday.
The whiff of cordite would be back in the air, for sure. Speaking at the recent AGM, however,  Dermot Desmond’s son Ross made it clear that Celtic’s major shareholder won’t be moving aside for love or money. The Irish  billionaire feels no need to explain himself to anyone and, if he ever did, he would refer his critics to the 18 titles and five Trebles won since he joined the board in 1995.
Despite that success, supporters feel as disgruntled now as they did three decades ago. The club is back in the hands of family dynasties. And a squad lacking power, pace and quality doesn’t feel like much of an upgrade on Gary Gillespie, Dariusz Wdowczyk and Paul Byrne.
It’s not as simple as throwing money at the problem. Spending their millions wisely is more  important and the summer  window hardly inspires confidence.
Only two of the new arrivals — Luis Palma and Paulo Bernardo — started the Boxing Day win over Dundee.
Whatever it takes, whoever turns out to be the hero the pressure is on everyone at Celtic to come up with a win.
The reaction to losing to Hearts a fortnight ago came as a shock to many, another home defeat isn’t something that anyone wants to contemplate going into 2024.
IMO, the league title fight will be very close through to season end.
So, losing tomorrow is not the end of the world: we will still be top.
BUT, we shouldn’t be in this position.
Win, lose or draw tomorrow: this is a direct result of our Board
being comatose at the wheel during the summer.
The Directors only briefly awoke to see the big bucks come in for
Jota – and they then did their best not to spend it.
Remember: we had a net surplus in the transfer activity during the simmer.
A net surplus – for a new manager building his own team?!
That summer was an amazing opportunity to add a cash windfall to the
already agreed transfer budget – and to seriously strengthen a Treble winning squad!
We had a shit CL campaign. [Can’t get too excited about 1 win.]
Despite a very patchy league campaign so far, we are top of the league
because sevco was worse than us under Beale.
IF we do suffer a loss tomorrow, [I’m going for a score draw],
THEN I just hope that the 60K support lets the Board know
again, exactly how they feel.
Our dysfunctional, amateurish Board is holding back our club – and the business.
This is a great article and it I never thought about the family dynasty before now. But it is depressingly accurate
What concerns me most is the mediocrity of the team, the recruitment decision making and the insanity of going back to Far East again to sign new players at this time.
We need proven mid twenty year olds at their physical peak not more projects.
If we lose tomorrow the heat will be on them but there is a lack of accountability at the top of the club so nothing is going to change
Defeat is not an option.
If heaven forbid it happens then it will be ugly, ugly, ugly for daddy Lawwell, sonny Lawwell and the rest of the grey (yellow) custodian brigade…
And they’ll deserve everything that comes their bloody way –
C’mon Celtic – Please bail them out…
Which will mean we start Hogmanay nice n’ early !
Mc Gowan has just piled on more pressure to the team pre kick off ..talk about perfect timing ? And there are people who say that he is a ‘friendly’ scoop ? All from the anti Celtic haemorrhoid Tory rag – The Scottish Daily Mail ! The ‘suits ‘ have to start paying attention . There are no pro Celtic glorified typists working for the SMSM ! It’s all mythology ! You know the phrase ‘ we are all in it together?’ Well, that’s the mantra for BS tabloid tall story manufacturers ….In it together to produce spurious counterfeit yarns about Celtic .
Listen theirs no danger we want they cheats coming to paradise and winning i want to see my team chase every ball and run at these cheats and make sure the points stay at paradise end of our players cant take their eyes off the ball and be first to every ball none of this pish pulling out of any challenges we need to be up for it and dont give they cheats a chance..COME ON THE HOOPS CHASE EVERY BALL AND DONT GIVE UP YOUS HAVE 60.000 CELTIC FANS ON UR SIDE…HAIL HAIL
ED might be happy with just winning titles & trebled & having money in the bank…But Celtic Football Club Are An Embarrassment in Europe 1 final in over 20yrs Only 2 Managers ( Strachan & Lennon ) apart from O’Neill with any kind of success…. So where is His Ambition for the Club & Fans he never appears at AGMs to answer shareholders He has Appointed Peter Lawwell to keep the Rest of the Board as Yes Men/ Women…Nepotism Runs Thru Our Once Respected Club SS had his Son in Position now Peter Lawwell has His Son in position as well…What Future Do We the Fans Have under this Board Do We Meekly Accept Domination in Scotland & Give Up on Europe Are We Siimply to be Happy just Qualify & keep Bank Manager Happy!??
I think it’s totally unfair to mention Darius Wdowczyk in this article as he was a smashing player for us.
McGowan is giving himself a platform at Celtic’s expense. He is daring us to lose. But I don’t think for a minute wew will lose!
Celtic, post Families, cannot afford to lose tomorrow. There is no reason we will lose against a deadhunideology who popped their corks for ever in 2012.
Why should we lose against at home against a bunch of zombie Huns with an ideology straight out of huncrap, that they’ve been spouting since sixteen canteen?
We go out and play our game tomorrow and we’ve won. They can’t stop us! We are Celtic Football Club, 1888.
That is an ideal They might be willing to die for, but it is beyond Them. They lost. They are losers!
We won. Come on you Bhoys in Green!
I hope we do win today but the statistics of penalties for them maybe our downfall. And if that’s the case, I would hope every supporter in the park let’s the arrogant money grabbing fat cats on the board know that there time is up.
If we lose tomorrow I don’t see how we will catch up again when sevco go ahead , losing tomorrow is unthinkable imagine how sevco will be if they beat us with 2 games in hand ,I’m not too confident about tomorrow at all ,what if the hearts or Kilmarnock or st Johnstone team turn up tomorrow we will be in trouble ,but I hope with not a great deal of confidence , given our recent form,that we put one over them and I think we will win this most important of leagues ,but I think we need a win, given the fact we have dropped 7 points recently.
Given the ongoing, horrendous attacks on defenceless Gaza residents, I can say that I now hate Netanyahu and his murderers as much as I did Thatcher.
But this is a Celtic fitba site, 1st and foremost, and we’re just so lucky that Joe provides this for us.
Anyway, main point concerns Liel Abada, a very promising young Israeli attacker.
As well as being injured he must’ve thought oh FFS the Celtic supporters will hate me for what my country has done and continues to do to innocent ‘prisoners’ in Gaza.
Well let’s put him at ease as soon as we can and let him know, loud and clear that we don’t link him to the atrocities.
He can initiate a love affair with Celtic supporters today if he gets the chance and I just hope he 1stly gets the chance and 2ndly TAKES it.
Come On You Liel In Green!