We’ve seen this film before

Supporting Celtic Football Club and criticising the people running it are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they go hand in hand.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. There are supporters who cannot take criticism of the board and are perfectly happy with the way the club is being run. They are entitled to that view. Equally, there are many supporters who are deeply frustrated by what they are seeing and believe Celtic can and should be run far better.

Every Celtic supporter wants the best for this football club. We all love Celtic. We all want to see the team thrive, compete at the highest level and continue to build on its incredible history. That is precisely why so many supporters are increasingly frustrated with the current board.

This is not about having a go at Celtic for the sake of it. It is about holding those in positions of power accountable.

Dermot Desmond, Michael Nicholson and Brian Wilson have presided over a club that, despite its enormous financial advantages, continually appears to lack vision and ambition.

The reality is that the board members do not fund the club from their own pockets. Celtic supporters do. Through season tickets, merchandise, subscriptions and matchday spending, the fans generate the revenues that make Celtic one of the healthiest clubs financially in Europe. Yet supporters are left watching a board that pays itself handsomely while repeatedly failing to provide a clear football strategy.

Brian Wilson previously spoke about improving communication with supporters. The obvious question is: where is it? Communication with fans remains virtually non-existent unless the club is promoting new kits or asking supporters to renew their season tickets. At a football club of Celtic’s size and stature, supporters deserve better engagement and greater transparency.

Questions also have to be asked about leadership and accountability. Michael Nicholson is the chief executive, yet many supporters joke that he is the Scarlet Pimpernel of Scottish football — frequently spoken about but rarely seen or heard. There is a growing perception that there is no strong voice willing to stand up to Dermot Desmond or challenge the way football operations are being managed.

Dermot Desmond is a brilliant businessman. Nobody can question his success in the corporate world. But being a successful businessman does not automatically make someone qualified to oversee football operations. As the major shareholder, his responsibility should be governance and oversight, not influencing football matters. Too often, the lines appear blurred.

To many supporters, Desmond has become something of an absent landlord — appearing for the big occasions and major matches but seemingly detached from the frustrations and concerns that many fans have throughout the season.

Where is the vision? That is the question many supporters are asking. Celtic should not be lurching from one transfer window and one pre-season to the next with uncertainty hanging over every major football decision. A club of Celtic’s size and resources should have a clear strategy and long-term plan.

The solution is not complicated. Recruit the best possible people in their respective fields and allow them to do their jobs. Appoint elite football people to make football decisions, employ the highest-quality coaches and create a structure built on expertise, accountability and ambition. That is the standard supporters expect from Celtic Football Club.

The coaching department is a shambles. Gavin Strachan has departed and reportedly taken his laptop with him. Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham have still not been officially announced. Training resumes on Friday, and supporters are legitimately asking a basic question: who is actually taking it? Martin O’Neill is not a coach and will not be conducting sessions. How can Celtic find itself in such a chaotic position on the eve of pre-season?

Then there is the squad itself.

Transfer activity has been non-existent. Kasper Schmeichel has retired, while Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are yet to sign. Loan players Marcelo Saracchi and Julián Araujo have returned to their parent clubs, while uncertainty surrounds key members of the squad. There is already speculation surrounding the futures of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Arne Engels, Benjamin Nygren, Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston.

Saracchi is reportedly available for around £2 million, a fee that many supporters would consider a no-brainer for Celtic. Yet there has been no indication of any contact with his parent club. Once again, supporters are left asking why opportunities appear to be passing Celtic by while the club stands still.

We’ve seen this film before.

This is not alarmism or guesswork. It is not something being plucked from thin air. It happens virtually every season. There appears to be little preparation and no sense of urgency. Celtic supporters have watched the same movie repeatedly. Every transfer window and every pre-season seem to follow a familiar pattern of delay, uncertainty and complacency.

We only need to look back to the last time the club stood still while rivals strengthened. The consequences were severe. Frustration boiled over to such an extent that three separate supporters’ groups were formed with the express aim of forcing change at boardroom level.

The lesson should have been learned.

Fans are frustrated, and rightly so. But frustration with the board should never be confused with a lack of support for Celtic Football Club. We will always support Celtic. We will always back the team. What many supporters refuse to do, however, is blindly support a board they believe is failing to match the ambitions and expectations of the club and its fanbase.

Criticism of the board is not criticism of Celtic Football Club. The board and the club are not the same thing. Boards change. Executives come and go. Celtic remains.

Wanting better from the people running Celtic is not an attack on Celtic.

It is supporters demanding standards that match the size and stature of Celtic Football Club.