Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Kilmarnock v Celtic - Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scotland, Britain - April 16, 2023 Celtic non-executive Chairman Peter Lawwell in the stands before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Like so many fans Yogi Junior saw it coming but it never quite prepared him for the numbness of Celtic’s 0-0 draw at home to Kairat Almaty.
The same key figures remain in place from the Malmo and Maribor failures almost a decade ago, even with Brendan Rodgers raising the bar last season there was always a strong chance that Celtic would fail in their bid to reach the group phase of the Champions League.
A team seriously weakened from their peak last autumn, starved of investment then struck with a few injuries laboured to a 0-0 draw at home to the champions of Kazakhstan.
Should the players pull off a win next week in Kazakhstan the fate that awaits them in the Champions League could be terrifying.
Retreating into the Europa League will be met with apathy. If the club isn’t bothered about being the best that they can be why should fans give up their Thursday nights?
Even those on the Home Cup Ticket Scheme are likely to opt for a night at home or down the pub rather than being treated with contempt by a ‘club like no other’.
Yogi knows the script.
Standing waiting for the train home.
We all wanted to be wrong, but they have gambled with CL qualification for some unfathomable reason, and now we’re staring down the barrel of an unprecedented failure.
With record funds available, the board have betrayed the trust of the…— John Hughes (@yogijunior3) August 20, 2025
Would Jamie Vardy be a good signing for Celtic?
YES- Get it done
NO A crazy idea
The fall out will be interesting.
The stand off between the board and Brendan Rodgers will intensify.
One party hosts media conferences two or four times a week, the other briefs to their favoured messengers to blame the manager and absolve them from blame.
Rodgers lost that battle first time around, smarter and wiser in 2025 he’ll make sure that the 2019 script isn’t revived.

If PL’s mandate from DD is to maximise financial returns for the shareholders, shouldn’t he fall on his sword if we fail to qualify for the very competition that provides that finance, especially if it’s basically down to failing to reinvest player trading profits and not even spending club money?
How does PL explain to DD why the club failed to qualify for the CL against probably one of the “ weakest” teams we could ever hope to meet?
Let’s be honest here, if we could’ve hand picked our opposition from the possibles, we would’ve chose them.
Get the snake out.
Editor: Plan A is to make it to the Champions League, Plan B is to sell an extra player or two to maintain turnover and profit levels.
My last post was edited out the chat for what telling a few home truths about our fans and notvthe board,ourr fans are dafties all 60,000 of them for putting up with getting ripped aff year after year after year.
We actually laughed at sevco the other night,you couldn’t put a George Michael paper between the 2 teams,they are both SHITE.
The only difference is we have money in the bank the dawsers don’t.
But not to worry same DOUGHBALLS all 60 000 of them will show up for the next home game playing right into the hands of the board they actually HATE,but still can’t help themselves parting with their cash.
YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY A FOOL AND THEIR MONEY IS EASILY PARTED.
I don’t want us to qualify for the big guys playground firstly as it line pockets further of the CHISLERS at our club and secondly we would end taking the badge of SHAME from sevco as the worst team to play in the Champions league.
Brilliant post Joker,I keep reiterating we are more gullible than the gullibillys,at least their board used to put some of their own money in to help the manager,our board just hoover up every penny,give nothing to help the manager and still the Celtic faithful snap up STs ,I’d like to know who started the massive waiting list for STs sounds like liewell at work,has anyone any proof of this mystical list?The only thing that would jolt this board is cutting off their money supply .
Correct solution right at the end there Jim.
The rot set in on Scottish cup final day … probably before that ! The board have had 3 months to grab it by the throat , suffocate it and rectify all possible problems afterwards . The ‘ greys ‘ have sat on their hands and collected over £ 20 million from players departing plus plenty more from sell on clauses never mind the bank balance ! We have entered ‘ blind Lemon Jefferson ‘ territory and the worst has yet to come …just you watch ?
I wonder how Celtic would have fared against Brugge last night.
Justhatered we would have got more than the Huns did, especially that first half,this team from a so called lower league in a lower ranked country handled us easily last night and I just can’t see us turning this round,which is maybe a good thing because the current team would be in for some massive humpings from bigger CL sides,in fact it doesn’t bear thinking about.
Justhatered meant to say we would have got beaten by more than the huns did.
The Board and Desmond are TOTALLY to blame for this.
Hopefully Lawwell and Nicholson get dogs abuse on Saturday,a pair of bastards.
Crazy as it sounds:
if we don’t qualify for the CL, would that make Maeda more likely to be sold?
And as mentioned above, the other real risk is that if we drop into the EL,
will the support be motivated to buy the expensive tickets?
In hindsight, last season’s ‘progress in Europe’ was the peak of our Board’s footballing ambition?
🙁
Imagine Dumb&Dumb&Dumber aka the 2 leeches that are charge of finances at Celtic had been part of any other company or board that cost that said company £40-50 million,they would be sacked fir negligence
But what do they get they get rewarded fir failure.
Now take a step back here all you Celtic fans and especially the season book holders and the others who are purchasing merchandise from these THIEVES.
The club has over £100 million cash hard cash not shares not some shitty old bit of paper with money on it to show its worth,hard cash.
Now £100 million in the bank and they ain’t spending a penny of that on any players,players that fans are screaming out for £5-10 million players to be brought to the club but they refuse to spend that a player or any player.
So they will continue to take loaned players from other clubs that are struggling to get a game,but in the mean time should they decide on the purchase of a player in the 6 figures region,now that’s them with money to spend,think of the purchases we could end up with should they really take huff.
We will be fighting to sign players that Livingston and St. Mirren and Dundee are chasing,a don’t that’s no disrespect to those clubs,that’s the position we as fans find our club in today.
So you call any name you want under the sun but protests and staying away from the stadium are the only way to stop these people like Fat Pedro and his sidekick Nicholson aka the man with something of the NIGHT about him,a right SHADY F**K if ever there was one,and then you the biggest PONCE of them all the James Hunt with the funny moustache,between him and the man with something of the NIGHT about him we will have a better chance of seeing the Invisible Man or Lord Lucan those 2,at least FATSO aka LIEWELL shows up for the odd special guest star appearance.
Enough of the vagueness, tell us what u really think…..:)
Very good Joker,I love your descriptions of these nefarious miscreants we have for a board.
Nefarious miscreants = A wicked or criminal person, often involved in immoral or villainous activities.
At least young Yogi was very measured and scathing in his criticism of the board and rightly so.
An awful lot of defamatory comments appearing on your comments page these days Editor. Are you leaving yourself open to any form of legal action or are comments like ponces and nefarious miscreants being treated as banter. Unacceptable in my opinion on a Celtic blog – is there no moderator to vet such posts?
Editor: This mod will be keeping a close eye on your comments, any repeat and you’ll be on a one way ticket back to the lads at CQN to discuss the brilliant of Kwon, Yang, Tilio and Holm.
Lol at Anderson the dunderheed the Celtic board and big Peter just love FUDS like you.
Listen Scud I’ll take no lectures from you – the Celtic board/plc get no money from me, either by season ticket or merchandise sales so I don’t see how ‘big Peter’ would love me but your diabolical use of language has already got you banned from the ‘man across the sea’s’ site as you like to call him and it’s not difficult to see why. I’m a Celtic supporter and am as disappointed with everybody else on here with the lack of incomings and Wednesday nights result and as for FUDS there are none bigger than you as you continue to prove on a daily basis.
You should try adding some tiny amount of respect to your posts but I feel that’s beyond you
By all means have a pop at the board but that will achieve nothing, as a few others have pointed out.
You know that film 300, Frank Miller’s adaption of the battle at the hot gates (Thermopylae), when the 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians fought to the death against Xerxes mammoth army? The bit where Leonidas scales the mountain to ask the Ephors – grey, creepy old men who fawn over virgins and gold – if he can take the whole army and they say no. Despite no meaning a realistic chance of Greece being overrun and Sparta being utterly demolished. But they say no because they don’t like Leonidas and in their warped thinking, this is them getting one over him by leaving him vastly lacking in resources. So he takes his loyal bodyguard and although they get wiped out, just turning up to fight gives the rest of Greece time to mobilise for the bigger battle ahead?
Well, I’m not comparing BR to Leonidas! But those small minded, sycophants who crow and fawn over their vast pile of gold……..could be straight out of that script. And if we get knocked out next week, then the noise of frustration might just be loud enough to be heard all the way on a distant golf course. And I hope it results in change. I would still prefer we get into the group stages as we all know that failing to do so will mean 3 QUALIFYING ROUNDS in 2027/28. And if we get hammered there, then at least the fan anger will still help our co-efficient standing. Either way, it’s good that so many are starting to notice that we deserve to be run by better business people than the current ones, as they offer very little for their wages.
HH
I have serious doubts about our ability to qualify, more so knowing for a large part we will have Ralston & Scales in defence. Our midfield has already shown how inept they are at stopping attacks 30-50 yards from our defence.
But I do get annoyed at those saying we will lose £ 40m…if we drop to Europa League level we will still earn something in the region of £ 15-20m & gather much needed co-efficient points. We pushed beyond our limits last year, in all honesty we barely make the top 30-40 in Europe – maybe gain some much needed experience rather than another Dortmund which will happen see Ajax 5-1 as proof.
Might result in a full scale re structuring which is badly needed…No point having experts to source players when ONE man can veto the entire process at a whim.