Celtic need Methven and Ponsonby involved rather than their survey frenzy

Celtic have launched another survey as they go into overdrive to show their concern for fans.

The reality is that Not Another Penny cost the club over £4m last season and is likely to be more costly again this year.

If the Board had any meaningful contact with supporters/customers there would be no need for surveys.

There would be constant feedback.

Everything at Celtic is reactive and part of box ticking exercises.

UEFA licencing requires a club Academy, a women’s team and Supporter Liaison Officer.

Colby Donovan and Dane Murray may break a decade long drought in producing a first team player, the Celtic Women’s team are playing at their third home in five years, none inside Glasgow while John Paul Taylor has been upgraded from Liaison Officer to Fan Engagement Officer.

Last night Celtic launched another survey announcing:

At Celtic, we are committed to continually enhancing the matchday experience for all supporters.  

Whether you are a Season Ticket Holder, a regular attendee, or an occasional visitor, your feedback plays a vital role in helping us understand what we are doing well and where we can improve.

This week, we will be inviting you to take part in our latest specific Matchday Experience Survey based on your attendance at a home fixture this season.

This is an important opportunity to share your views on every aspect of your visit to Celtic Park, from stadium facilities to our concourse food and beverage offering and pre-match entertainment. 

It all has a feeling of same old, same old about it. Like something that the club published a year ago.

On 31 October 2025 the club announced that outcomes from their summer 2024 survey of fans:

The survey also provides vital insights on a wide range of important topics, such as, for example, matchday experience, including safe standing and stadium catering, digital development, supporter engagement, Celtic FC Foundation and Club values.

In terms of matchday experience, the feedback on the atmosphere at Celtic Park is very positive, with 91% of fans rating it as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’, which contributes to a positive overall matchday experience for 88% of supporters. 

However, a number of fans reported unsatisfactory experiences, with stadium facilities highlighted as a primary issue, including connectivity, catering outlets, and toilets, which will assist the Club as we look to make improvements for supporters. Additionally, the feedback on safe standing provided the Club with important insights to help formulate next steps on this key area.

That information was about 15 months out of date when the club published it.

There had been no update on the survey until it was raised at a meeting with a variety of supporter groups earlier in October 2025.

It seemed that it was a survey simply for the sake of having a survey.

CELTIC GO INTO FAN ENGAGEMENT FRENZY

Nothing meaningful has been done although the club would point to an app and the launch of the Celtic Player.

There is nothing in either of them that wasn’t previously available through the club website and Celtic TV.

The app and Celtic Player were run of the mill updates, both are revenue generators.

Over the course of a week we have seen the Board visit Greenock, an update on Celtic Connect and now a new survey.

With the AGM scheduled for December 1 the club has clearly decided to get through a few items on the fan engagement check list.

There isn’t a single area of Celtic that has improved over the last 12 months, a decent case could be put for nothing being improved over the last 10 years.

Dermot Desmond’s statement on Brendan Rodgers was a very distinct turning point.

It highlighted how much influence a distant Non Executive Director had over the club.

That statement was followed soon after by the appointment and sacking of Wilfried Nancy.

NO WAY BACK FOR FAILING EXECUTIVES

CEO Michael Nicholson was afraid to sit in front of Celtic’s media partners to introduce the Frenchman, when Nancy and Paul Tisdale left the CEO that brought them to the club should have done the same thing.

It appears that Celtic have sought outside guidance and have decided to go in strong on fan engagement.

Whatever they try is instantly undermined by the October 3 announcement that the club had cut off communications with the Celtic Fans Collective. Because of tennis balls at the Home of Golf.

There will be people inside Celtic that believe that the silent majority of fans are supportive of whatever passes for their ‘strategy and vision’.

A comparison of every income stream with two years ago is the spreadsheet survey that matters.

Alongside home attendances down to around 50,000 and falling. That tells the real story and doesn’t require another survey.

Time has run out on the current regime at Celtic Park no matter how extensively they push the Martin O’Neill card alongside soft references to Seville.

Since 80,000 fans travelled to Seville in 2003 Celtic have beaten Teplice and Barcelona in UEFA knock out matches. No victories at that stage since spring 2004.

Celtic fans are better educated now than ever before.

If the club wants to modernise they should put Nicholson and Wilson in a studio alongside Bernard Ponsonby and Charlie Methven for a blockbuster podcast.

After that the board can go through the Celtic Paradox produced by CSL then publish a three year plan to get Celtic on a par with Club Brugge and Bodo Glint.

Followed up by a five year plan to match the giant clubs of the Netherlands and Portugal.

Over to the dynamic £1.5m a year Executive Team to deliver on that survey.