DUNDEE, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 17: (L-R) Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson, chief financial officer Chris McKay and board member Brian Wilson during a William Hill Premiership match between Dundee United and Celtic at the CalForth Construction Arena at Tannadice Park, on December 17, 2025, in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Lawrence Donegan has called out the Celtic Fans Collective as politically motivated.
Apparently they are under the control of Trots/SWP (Socialist Workers Party).
Donegan is a former Parliamentary researcher for Brian Wilson, the politically motivated Chairman of Celtic.
Donegan and Wilson are also former Guardian colleagues, clearly the Guardian is also politically motivated.
WILSON CALLS FOR UNITY AMONG CELTIC FANS
After his January 5 call for unity among Celtic fans Wilson has made no move to start dialogue with supporter groups.
He did acknowledge an open letter from the Collective offering to hold talks.
In reply the Celtic Fans Collective offered three dates to meet up with the interim Celtic Chairman. That communication has gone unanswered.
Last week Wilson was busy putting together an angry attack on the budget from the Scottish Government.
The laughingly titled Scottish Labour Party are in a battle with their Better Together colleagues The Tories for third place at the May Scottish Parliament elections.
Is it Brian Wison your close with? He sent you some nice biscuits in return for being his bootlicker? Yer so far removed from whats going on at Celtic & the fans scene.
— RJM67 ?? (@RJMCeltic67) January 18, 2026
Currently, the “collective” is making things worse. IMHO. There are some brilliant, smart and well intentioned people involved. They should get rid of the leadership, or go form their own fans group and get to work.
— lawrencedonegan (@lawrencedonegan) January 18, 2026
The Collective doesn’t have a leadership. There is a steering group of 19 that sounds out the views from various sections of the Celtic support. From that came the highly successful Not Another Penny More campaign.
Wilson has been on the Celtic board since 2005, during that time the club hasn’t won a single UEFA knock out tie. Covering three competitions over three decades.
Five to eight years is the ideal time-span for a Non Executive Director, beyond that they become part of the fabric, unable to offer any guidance or ask worthwhile questions.
The role of a NED is to provide checks and balances. To ensure best practise is followed at all times.
So far Martin O’Neill hasn’t been provided with a single new signing- two weeks after his arrival as interim manager.
O’Neill will provide an update on transfer failures on Wednesday, ahead of the match with Bologna.
Sooner these morons are gone the better for Celtic fc. Deliberately sabotaging our campaign.
Trotskyists?!! Is that meant to be an insult? If so it’s one from the last century! A playground jibe originating from old white men if ever I heard one.
If you break it down Celtic fans and by extension the Collective are looking for the club they love (and in many cases OWN) to spend some of the money we have given them on better players (who will then become much wealthier) to win things and deprive a hated local rival of trophies…. I don’t recognise too much socialism or egalitarianism going in those aspirations. Sounds oretty firmly rooted in capitalism if you ask me.
In terms of supporting more supposedly left-leaning causes such as not subscribing to the view that the IDF should have carte blanche to obliterate Gaza or terrorise and starve its entire population in the name of Israel defending itself, the last few years of widespread public protest across the political spectrum indicates this is hardly an extremist viewpoint. But in this alternative reality it seems to constitute ‘a fringe political agenda’.
We should probably avoid ambiguity in this by not referring to our supreme leader as a unionist (even though he is) or a red tory (the term has become meaningless over time) and concentrate on his record as a club director and now interim chair – which is damning enough to getting on with.
To paraphrase John Lydon – “ever get the feeling they’re seriously rattled?”.
It just goes to show people inside the club think the green brigade and trust hired in some smart people to front all this for them and call it something different. What a pathetic bunch of insulated, sheltered clowns we have running the place
The only thing Wilson brings to the table is his knife and fork for the free scran he has had for over 20 years.
No surprise he was a member of war criminal Blair’s government.
Ahh so you admit change is long overdue do you Donegan ?
You might tell Mr wilson tae get cracking on that.
Desperate stuff indeed!
Whoever this guy is, he is hopelessly conflicted – so his opinion in support of Wilson is worthless.
The root cause of the supporters’ frustration is:
we want the Board’s ambition aligned with the support’s.
Quite simple really.
And whilst we don’t expect to be lifting the Champions’ League trophy anytime soon,
winning any European trophy SHOULD be a clear, communicated aspiration of the club.
Even if we only get 50% of the way there,
it will still be a hell of a lot better than where we are currently.
And guess what?
If we do start making real, sustainable progress in Europe,
the club’s financials will reflect that as well. Obviously.
I thought I read recently that those compassionate chaps on the Celtic board awarded themselves a 62% pay rise …for being in charge and overseeing the worst crisis to engulf Celtic FC in a generation ,no doubt . Also known as the heads of destruction department! People who would not say ‘ hi ‘ to you if you walked opposite them on the dark side of the moon ! A looking after number 1 ….the rest are surplus to requirements ,kind of thing !
Nothing will be done of any great consequence on the player front before the window closes.
The Tash is just one big narcissist and won’t have taken the criticism coming his way well at all.
He won’t be budged, he won’t be told he’s wrong, he won’t be told what to do, even to the detriment of the club, he will come out on top, that’s how narcissists think.
As for MN and the other suits, just spineless puppets doing the Tash’s bidding.
DD is the one we need gone form Celtic.
The Tash is the one pulling all the strings.
And right now, he’s not pulling, he’s cutting just to prove a point.
Socialist my arse, I’m sure they enjoyed watching Morgan McSweeny using £ millions of Zionist, black(undeclared to electoral commission)money to destroy Corbyn’s Labour, and have Starmer installed. His reward being a safe seat and job as Labours chief of staff.
Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they weren’t on the Israeli payroll, like Reeves and the rest, nice wee £100,000 a year from a foreign government. Anyone interested look up the investigation by Paul Holden, as I wouldn’t presume to put a link on Joes great blog.
So Celtic supporters would be a natural target for them, so corrupt I wouldn’t believe them if they told me the sky was blue, more like a badge of honour being enemies of these people.
Absolutely hit the target there Jim.
The deceit amongst them is appalling.
A fringe political party has somehow managed to infiltrate the Collective steering group of 19 individuals,could someone provide a darkened room to lie this moonhowler Donegan down in
How Arrogant is Mr Donegan,having a go at Celtic supporters who follow there team everywhere paying there own way.No Freebies or hospitality anywhere they travel,Mr Wilson sits in directors box,only there because who he knows in the political world,and can assist this miserable board,wonder if Mr Donegan pays for a season ticket or get a complimentary from his pals in Celtic
So a fringe political party has somehow infiltrated the Collective and ALL 19 members of the steering group,Really!!! sniping from the sidelines does this guy no credit nor does such demented ramblings Donegan must love tea and biscuits
Was his old man not a bin man?
He belongs in a bin with Wilson and the rest.
Get that board tae fuck plus get that corrupt sfa.spfl cleaned out from top to bottom they’re only interested in newco cheating scum from liebrox thats why Scottish football is corrupt they masonic fuckpigs running our game..rats
Lawrence Donegan your typical Tory, supposedly a Celtic fan.
Fanny more like.
Ach well that’s them lost the collective votes…
More power towards The SNP then which is all good keeping the said votes away from Butchers Apron loving Labour…
Although The SNP could be a bit more like a Scottish Sinn Fein if there was such a (necessary) political party available for folks like me !
Editor, that was one absolutely terrific article and some of the comments, pretty much all of them were top class, led by Captain Swing. They’re ‘bricking it’ and haven’t a clue how to handle it. Hell slap it intae thum!
I was looking for some ways to bring down Desmond and Co and Desmond has NO business running Celtic as he clearly does. Some food for thought, maybe for the Collective below. They’re clearly breaking rules all over the shop.
Sorry for the length but I’m hopeful it can be used for change and it’d be great if the editor could pass it on.
The conduct of the board of a UK public limited company (plc) is primarily regulated by the UK Corporate Governance Code, which is overseen by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Additionally, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets specific rules and standards that companies must follow. ecgi.global Wikipedia
Regulation of UK PLC Boards
Key Regulatory Bodies
Regulatory Body Role
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Sets standards for conduct and governance of financial services firms, including PLCs.
Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Oversees corporate governance codes, including the UK Corporate Governance Code.
Companies House Maintains company records and ensures compliance with statutory requirements.
Corporate Governance Code
• The UK Corporate Governance Code provides a framework for the governance of UK public limited companies (PLCs).
• It operates on a “comply or explain” basis, meaning companies must either adhere to the code or explain any deviations.
Responsibilities of the Board
• The board is collectively responsible for the long-term success of the company.
• Key practices include:
o Separation of roles between the chairman and CEO.
o A balance of executive and independent non-executive directors.
o Strong audit and remuneration committees.
o Regular performance evaluations.
Compliance and Reporting
• Companies must report on their governance arrangements, particularly if they deviate from the Code.
• The FRC monitors compliance and provides guidance to help boards apply the Code effectively.
These regulatory frameworks ensure that the conduct of boards in UK PLCs aligns with best practices and legal requirements, promoting transparency and accountability.
See also Prudential Regulation Authority
They look like a worried lot in that pic at the top for sure !