GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 29: Celtic Interim Chairman Brian Wilson during a UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between Celtic and FC Utrecht at Celtic Park, on January 29, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
At 6.25pm tonight Brian Wilson returned to one of his favourite themes- talking about unity.
Alongside the SNP and ferries, pleas for unity seem to be something of a theme for Peter Mandelson’s old Cabinet colleague.
Like most politicians Wilson likes to talk a lot while delivering little or nothing.
On January 5 the interim Chairman started talking about unity.
BRIAN WILSON- A WORTHY CELTIC CHAIRMAN
No progress has been made. After another wasted transfer window while the life seeps out of Celtic Park Wilson is proving himself to be a worthy successor to Peter Lawwell and Ian Bankier.
Treating fans with contempt seems to be the first requirement for a Celtic Chairman.
Last Friday evening Celtic fans were served up some financial gymnastics in the 2025 Interim Report.
Three take-ways are that the club made a £14.1m profit from the summer transfer window, there was £67m in the bank on December 31 with merchandise income no longer given a separate listing. Clearly Not Another Penny more has been a success.
After a tearful introduction about the life changing impact of tennis balls Wilson started to trot out his favourite excuses. It read like an interview with a Labour politician.
Tonight he told the Celtic website:
Over the past two weeks, I have met with a range of supporters groups and individual supporters.
I have met in good faith with representatives of the Green Brigade and was hopeful that progress could have been made; indeed this remains the case.
I also met in good faith with representatives of the Celtic Fans Collective.
When I came into this role, I asked for unity inside the stadium to support the team while trying to resolve other issues. I want to see suspensions lifted and differences set aside, but this cannot be unconditional.
Last night’s disruption and the reasoning behind it illustrate the difficulty we face and have repeatedly had to contend with.
Yeah, yeah yeah. Or blah blah blah. Never trust a politician that mentions good faith then repeats it.
GREEN BRIGADE SUSPENSION
Celtic suspended 250 Season Ticket holders, the current excuse is because of comments made by two at the November AGM. An indoors event in daylight seems to have left a former senior police officer deeply concerned. Strangely nothing was reported at the time.
Wilson could have ended the ban on the Green Brigade any day he liked.
On January 3 Celtic invited 2,500 right-wing extremists into Celtic Park to chant their hatred of Catholics and Irish people. Songs that bring UEFA sanctions.
Celtic have taken no action or made no comment on the January 3 song book. Clearly Wilson and his boardroom colleagues were quite comfortable with what they heard.
Tonight’s statement continued with:
This is not intended to deflect from other issues that affect the club and are fully recognised. However, the possibility of further disruptions needs to be addressed urgently. Surely the priority must be to give Martin and our players every opportunity to achieve their objectives within the remainder of the season.
On that basis, I will continue to seek an end to this debilitating and unnecessary atmosphere of conflict.
On January 5, as Martin O’Neill returned again to rescue another boardroom shambles Wilson claimed:
The immediate priority is to get back to winning ways and while today’s events do not address every issue, I would appeal for unity within the stadium to create the best possible environment for the manager and team to launch the fight-back.
The interim Chairman then ignored fans as he helped out with transfer activity. Celtic signed four players between January 31 and February 2
Further non updates are expected from Wilson while £17,000 a week CEO Michael Nicholson struggles to find a way out of his office. Or his voice.
During Wednesday’s meeting with the Collective it emerged that Celtic fan media had been banned from club events for not being nice enough.
Any site that is hoping to get invited back by the club really ought to be asking who benefits from that partnership.
A root cause of the continued grief enveloping the club,
is the distinct lack of Emotional Intelligence at Board level.
…and a general lack of a backbone too… 🙁
Great point made Bob.
Using the “ in good faith” comment repeatedly just tells me he went into these talks with his own desired outcomes foremost in his mind rather than any form of compromise being sought.
I am no fan of the GB simply because they have repeatedly brought the club to the attention of the authorities both here and Uefa, which gives the impression it’s all about them first, but there is no denying they bring atmosphere and colour to games.
Another reason that compromise cannot be found is the GB are in fact dealing with a generation of suits that just don’t understand modern football and it’s fans, and also won’t be told what to do by ordinary punters as they know best, they are the suits.
That’s the real problem.
Just another bullish*tting politician
Talking loud saying nothing
“I have met with a range of supporters”
Funny the word ‘Rangers’(Sic) didn’t slip out as Butchers Apron loving B*astards like him tend to go with Sevco !
Empty words as usual from Wilson.. he’s just a puppet like the rest, with no powers as was highlighted very clearly at Wednesday’s meeting with the Collective. An utter waste of time for members of the Collective, who gave up their time to try and resolve a number of issues they clowns on the board have created.
However, we all know the old bitter and twisted moustachieod golf fanatic, is the real issue.
Until he is gone our club, it will continue to stagnate on and off the park.. he has no ambitions to progress our club and he despises the supporters. A depressing combination..
The ultimate aim has to be for the supporters to buy as many shares as possible, including Desmond’s, via the Celtic Supporters Limited. David Low and his colleagues have the knowledge, experience and skill set to facilitate necessary change we desperately need.
One thing for sure, if we do nothing..nothing will change.
Its our club, we invest more in it than anyone, and we deserve a much larger say in how it is run in the future.
Hail Hail
Extending the olive branch full of thorns,another own goal for someone we don’t believe or trust,they just don’t get it, they’re done, get out of our club,the lot of them