There were high hopes among fans for the AGM of the Celtic Trust which took place on Tuesday night at Grace’s Sports Bar in the Merchant City.
In terms of timing it was absolutely ideal, if you want to tap into supporter frustration then when better than the day after the worst ever transfer window to put malcontents together under the same roof.
Against Kairat Almaty and in the Glasgow Derby the impact on the team caused by Michael Nicholson’s drive to boost the bank balance was obvious.
Celtic rang up a £20m transfer surplus over the summer month with Brendan Rodgers going into the remaining months of 2025 without 50% of the 14 goals scored in last season’s Champions League campaign.
Adam Idah, Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi will be playing their football elsewhere, they weren’t included in the 24 man Europa League squad.
Business man Duncan Smillie intended standing to be the Chairperson of the Celtic Trust, bringing fresh ideas and energy to the role with a focus on locating and reviving the estimated 20% of dormant shares that were bought up in January1995 as Fergus McCann opened up genuine fan ownership of the club.
Those shares were largely bought by supporters that have passed away or moved home without a forwarding address for correspondence, many have lost out of dividend payments which the club has retained. Naturally Celtic show minimal interest in maintaining details of their shareholders.
Smillie had outlined his plans to a few media outlets, unfortunately the organisation of the Celtic Trust appears as dysfunctional as the operation chaired by Peter Lawwell.
Alongside David Low and Peter McGowan Smillie was standing for election to the Trust but has now decided to explore other options to raise the voice of supporters and to facilitate change at Celtic.
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain reports and exchange with Smillie:
Previously there has been chat about a Shareholders Association being set up, the Trust had sort of filled that role but has remained stale and on the sidelines under similar leadership for over 25 years.
Finding common ground across a large section of the Celtic support won’t be an easy task but it might be easier without having to go through the bureaucracy of the Celtic Trust.
The club will be well aware of the extent of unhappiness among the vast majority of fans, with the AGM just over two months ago it will require more than a ‘penalty to Rangers’ gag from the wise cracking CEO to put out the fires he has been lighting since the January decision to sell Kyogo Furuhashi inbetween Champions League fixtures.
Sounds a bit like ego central to me. I would have thought that as members of an organisation Mr Smillie and Mr Low would have known what it was all about and it’s vision for the future. I was a member of the Trust a few years ago but Mr Low raised the subs from a tenner a year to a tenner a month, which was too much for me, so I let it go but have always supported the many good things they have done for Celtic supporters. Maybe the businessmen should look to set up an organisation with other business people to buy shares along the lines of Fergus’ consortium and refinance through a share issue if they make it. It worked last time.
Ah a nice wee guys get together not wanting to rock the boat.
These splinter groups we have it has all the hallmarks of sevco stamped all over it,remember when a certain group had been ready to purchase The CHISLERS shares at sevco only to fall by the wayside,this is the road we are now going down.
As I said previously we laughed at sevco for all the CHAIOS they went through at that time,now we have an action replay all of our own,you couldn’t make it up.
Now the boycotting should it take off is something that will need to be sustained with the fans,and not just 1 or 2 games with a couple words on a bedsheets,it needs to seen out properly.
The board can take the hit for a couple of games and sustain the loss of income but not long term.
Think on it as a starter for 10 as auld Bamber Gascoigne would say,think of the catering and food side ofcthe business,all stock purchased thinking or hoping it’s a sellout game only to be left with that food wasted and no return on the purchase.
Or you could go down the route of,attend the game one that will be Live on TV,now I know you may have purchased your ticket but walk back out the stadium 10 minutes later,all of a sudden a big hairy puddin,but think of the impact that would have on a TV audience,and just how much attention that wiukd bring to the cause,thst woukd totally embarrass the board,lol and TNT Sport,think of the publicity that could give to the fans to get their point across.
” similar leadership for over 25 years “. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
We need to get egos the fuck out of the way and operate in the best interests of the club.
Is that impossible?
Nicholson is between a rock and a hard place.
The last thing he wants to do is be front and centre with the media and support,
but, if he doesn’t offer something tangible now, then the AGM could be brutal for him?
He is the [grossly] overpaid CEO,
and regardless of what PL or DD are doing / saying, the buck stops with Nicholson.
And the lawyer would be painfully aware, that if he was being hindered
in executing his fiduciary duties in any way at the plc, then he always had the
option – a.k.a. professional responsibility – of resigning?
Lol he will sit there at the AGM on the same sponsored silence he has been on since his tickly handshake got him the gig.
KERCHING£,ready money,he ain’t going to rick no boat when he sees on the horizon another big fat payday coming towards him,probably topping a million bangers this year,lol and that’s for failure.
Activist shareholding is the way to go.
Make ’em squirm
If you’re a certain age, you have been there and done it before. I know I was there. Hearing those people booing in the actual grace of a man who had just saved our club, what the fuck. And here we are again. I remember all those feeling’s of rage, contempt and fury and actual hatred for a board that bled us dry. The difference now is the younger supporters don’t or will never feel that pain like we did. To be fair I think a lot of them have been taught their history. I a hope so