Celtic Chairman Brian Wilson steps down from media role

Brian Wilson has taken a break from his role as a columnist at The Herald while he is interim Chairman of Celtic.

The former Labour MP inherits a shambles of a club from Peter Lawwell with every area outdated and no longer fit for purpose.

Wilson sat through what passed for the 2025 AGM without offering to step in when Lawwell who was clearly out of his depth.

He sat and listened to Ross Desmond’s attack on anti-establishment supporters delivered via Celtic shareholders without taking action. Presumably he agreed with every word from Dermot’s son.

SILENT WILSON

He recently sat in the Directors Box at Tannadice. Two days after that match a number of Celtic’s media partners claimed that Celtic directors were threatened by an open blade. Blade Moron screamed the Daily Record, a much loved title inside the Celtic boardroom.

Wilson has said nothing to correct that story. Mention SNP and ferries and he won’t shut up. Wilson has said nothing in his two days as interim Chairman of Celtic.

Since the mid-seventies Wilson has been sharing his pro-Unionist views in The Herald, part of the Newsquest Group. The most recent opinion poll put UK Labour on course for fourth place at the Scottish Parliament election in May.

Average circulation of The Herald during 2024 was 9,952. Starting 2026 that number is likely to be around 8,000. Digitally the virtual merger of content among the Newsquest Group has failed to generate a worthwhile audience or subscriber base.

We Love Stornoway reports:

Brian Wilson from Mangersta – who recently took up the role of interim Chairman of Celtic Football Club – has stepped down from his role of columnist on the Herald newspaper, based in Glasgow.

Brian – a lifelong journalist and politician – looked back at his career in a valedictory article for the Herald just before Christmas. He recalled how, when he left university, he had a clear objective with friends to set up the West Highland Free Press, based first in Kyleakin and then in Broadford. This was launched in 1972 on a financial shoestring.

So he needed more weekly income and Tony Findlay, who was assistant editor of The Herald, spotted this and asked him to contribute. He recalls an early assignment: “I hooked up with Billy Connolly in New York for the last stage of his tour as supporting act to Elton John, crashed at the Waldorf Astoria and then caught the train – yes, the train – to Kansas City to cover the Republican convention where Gerald Ford held off the challenge of the right-wing extremist, by the standards of the time, Ronald Reagan.”

After that, he covered three US presidential election campaigns for The Herald – and, along the way, added another string to his bow, as a football writer, ending up working for both the Guardian and the Herald. “So, for a few years, I was almost certainly Scotland’s least read football writer, albeit for two papers with complete freedom of expression. It did not go unnoticed at Celtic Park that I was perhaps more “Celtic-minded” than your average Scottish football writer of the era.

“And so it came to pass that, in the mid-80s, the Celtic chairman, Jack McGinn, asked me to write the official history of the club for its centenary year – a labour of love, if ever there was one, which deepened my knowledge and connection.

As a NED Wilson has supported every move and action by Celtic for over 20 years.

CELTIC’S SILENT NEDS

He didn’t inquire into the Five Way Agreement of 2012, he didn’t push the club into demanding that trophies won by fielding ineligible players were removed from the Scottish football records.

He showed no interest in ensuring Financial Fair Play or Financial Sustainability despite its use across Europe.

Wilson was content to see Steven McLean, John Beaton and Bobby Madden referee Celtic matches despite clear conflicts of interest.

He was happy with the recruitment processes that appointed Neil Lennon as manager. Followed by jobs given to Michael Nicholson, Mark Lawwell, Paul Tisdale and Wilfried Nancy that they clearly weren’t qualified for.

Wilson may have raised a mild concern here and there but has repeatedly stood for re-election as a Non Executive Director.

Clearly he is in broad agreement with Celtic’s also-ran status in Europe to ensure a growing bank balance and massive Corporation Tax payments to HMRC.

Newsquest claims to have 51,000 digital subscribers with 16,500 to The Herald, 11,000 to The National and 14,000 across four football websites.

Generally you can buy a 12 month Herald or National subscription for £20 while The Celtic Way regularly has an offer of £1 for six months including a free poster.