Celtic Shambles goes viral across North America

The shambles that is Celtic 2026 was highlighted across North America on Thursday night.

CBS have the rights to broadcast UEFA matches in the United States.

While Michael Nicholson and Co shamelessly stick a Lisbon Lions label on any piece of tat to push at supporters the club has become a footnote in European competitions.

To Kairat Almaty, Ferencvaros, Stuttgart, Roma and Sporting Braga the European Cup Final in 1967 means virtually nothing.

At a push it is a photo opportunity of the Jock Stein or Billy McNeill statue for social media purposes.

What would Stein and McNeill have made of the last 13 months/ 13 years of European failure while the bank balance hits record numbers?

Stein and McNeill were football men to the core.

It is a long time since any football men influenced matters inside Celtic Park. Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers gave it a try before realising that they were wasting their time.

In the last 13 years Celtic have had one competent European campaign.

The board reacted with joy by seling Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah, Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels.

They barely bother recruiting replacements as they slap each other on the back at each financial statement.

Domestic success is all well and good but no-one outside of Scotland rates beating Dunferlmine to win the Scottish Cup or pipping Hearts to the title.

CELTIC- THE MANAGED DECLINE

Since Peter Lawwell failed to win a UEFA tie in the final 16 years of his reign he put about the idea that Celtic were a model club, admired across Europe for their business skills.

A good proportion of the Celtic support fell for it. Celtic’s obliging media partners pushed the message constantly.

They kind of overlooked the fact that Celtic as won five Champions League matches in 13 years.

All by the manager that resigned last October to be greeted by a ridiculous personal attack on the club website from a Non Executive Director.

Celtic are horrifically run. Their European record over any period from 2003 onwards is mediocre to poor.

Even in the halcyon days of the first decade of this century Celtic won just 11 Champions League matches. Decent, some big scalps but absolutely nothing sustained.

Charlie Methven from the Business of Football podcast recently assesses Celtic’s failure to see of LASK to reach the Champions League.

He concluded that Celtic were baked in to failure. A club based around failure in European competition but living off fan generated income streams from beating the dross of Scottish football.

Methven and his podcast are watched, listened to and respected.

None of Celtic’s messengers bothered trying to counter the claims made.

A CLUB BAKED IN TO FAILURE

Ian Paul Joy of CBS has an incredible background. Part Scottish and an Internationalist for the USA from u-17 to u-23. He knows his stuff from the legends of the part to the current myths.

How many people born in San Dieo end up playing football for Stirling Albion and Montrose?

His father was also a footballer, with his Scottish mother he attended Deanburn Primary and Bo’ness Academy.

Joy is not a Celtic fan. There is something ironic about that sentence.

Presenting Thursday’s Europa League highlights he threw out a few truth bombs about Celtic’s place in European football, the lack of investment and general decay of the club.

He did it with passion, not autocue.

The more this message gets out globally the more uncomfortable life gets on the fairways and the club houses frequented by the Desmond family.

The Dunhill Cup visits Fife in two weeks time. Daddy, Ross and Brett will probably be taking part, they won’t be hearing any compliments about their soccer club or able to tell tales of those great European nights.

Things aren’t about to get better any time soon.

Post the sale of Kyogo Celtic have been taking a few ‘European lessons’.

October 15 away to Benfica could be a whole new level of embarrassment, maybe enough to put a serious dent into the Lisbon Lions and Larsson tat primed for the Christmas season.