At Ibrox, the fans are lied to all the time, at Celtic, we’re told nothing. Which fanbase is better off?

Last night, a big part of the discussion on our Trinity Tims podcast was Michael Nicholson and the Celtic board.

We discussed a recent podcast over on The Cynic, where two members of the Green Brigade were interviewed.

Without going into too much detail, it transpired that Michael Nicholson told lies about meetings he supposedly had with Celtic fan groups.

Well, he basically said he’d had meetings with fan groups, when he actually hadn’t.

The Green Brigade members on The Cynic described a meeting they’d had with Nicholson as bizarre.

They also confirmed that there has been little or no contact between the Green Brigade and the Celtic Board since December of 2023.

Which, as I pointed out on our own podcast last night, seems to indicate that the board has decided to distance themselves completely from the Green Brigade.

Since Michael Nicholson tells us nothing, and has never appeared before any form of media – fan based or mainstream – since he became CEO, the likelihood is we’re never going to know why the board has chosen to do this.

Nor will we ever know why he chose to lie and say he had had meetings with fan groups, when he didn’t.

In reality, that is our lot as Celtic fans.

The board keeps us at an extreme distance, and tells us little or nothing.

As a result of this way of operating, the mainstream media has very little to go off when it comes to reporting on our club.

Our board has certain journalists that it will release information to every so often.

Stephen McGowan is probably the best example of that.

In general, as Celtic fans, our expectations of our board are never set very high.

They do not change their way of operating, so any deviation outside of the norm tends to come as a bit of a shock to the system.

The back end of the transfer window last Summer was a deviation from the norm.

Well, in terms if spending it was anyway.

But we all know the reasons for that now.

The January window was a reversion to type in the extreme.

The less said about that, the better because we’re all acutely aware of what it cost us.

The overriding question here, though, is this; are we better off as a result of the way our board operates?

Well to answer that properly, you’d have to say we are and we aren’t.

We are because we are insulated from damaging attacks from the SMSM.

Who are always waiting to pounce on any form of mild crisis at Celtic.

The less info supplied to them, the better, because it results in less negative stories about our club.

It leaves them guessing all the time.

The majority of what they write about our club is based on supposition.

None of it is ever very accurate.

Sometimes they get it right, but right in the same way a stopped clock is right twice a day.

So from that perspective, yes, our board’s limited communication is a good thing.

The lack of communication with the fanbase, however, is not.

But we’ve become acceptant of that at Celtic, albeit reluctantly because we don’t really have any choice.

What is very frustrating about this is when the media makes up spurious lies about our fans, and the board never attempts to defend us or stand up for us.

Throughout Europe and the world, our fans have a fantastic reputation, yet the custodians of our club will never defend that fanbase when it’s needed.

They will lap up the plaudits whenever our fanbase and the Green Brigade is praised, but they are unwilling to engage in any meaningful way with that same fanbase?

From my perspective as a fan, we are the customer base and lifeblood of Glasgow Celtic.

We are the reason our club is as wealthy as it is.

Our huge, unwavering support, is a massive part of the financial income of the club.

Our loyalty is completely taken for granted.

If it wasn’t, there would be open communication with us and even a fan representative on the board.

The board shows us little or no respect, and as such a loyal fanbase, we deserve more than that.

The only way that is ever going to change is if the people at our club change.

And by that, I mean younger, more ambitious, and engaging board members.

I don’t see that happening any time soon.

When it showed signs of happening in the form of Dom McKay, forward, progressive thinking was stamped out very quickly.

And replaced by a contactless void.

Which in itself speaks volumes.

Compare and contrast our fanbase, though, to that of the club across the city, and we cannot deny that we are better off.

We see through everything the media writes about us.

We have a fan media which rips the SMSM apart at every opportunity.

But we do hold our own board to account on every action they carry out, however limited they may be.

Independent of our board, we are a fanbase that is much better off than the across the city.

Simply because we are not afraid to ask questions, and we are not afraid to expose lies when we see them.

Last night on the podcast, we came to the conclusion that the Ibrox support is shrouded in a perpetual veil of lies.

They are never told the truth.

The media tells them stories which they believe to be gospel truth.

Soothing, comforting, feel good lies.

But the problem with telling people lies all the time, is that when the truth comes out, they are in no way equipped to handle it.

Russell Martin’s appointment was a truth of sorts.

Not a truth on behalf of the media, who are now acting like jilted lovers who were lied to as well, but a truth on behalf of their new owners.

The irony in all of this is that the media drove the bullshit narratives on who was going to be the next manager.

They chose to ignore all of the signs when it came to Russell Martin, until it was too late.

Now, a vegan, Buddhist, Green Party supporting, trainers with suit wearing nice guy, is their new manager over there.

And they’re all enraged, media and fans alike.

So enraged, that they’re now desperately trying to polish the turd they’ve been left with.

But no amount of polishing will change it from what it is.

As I said in my article yesterday, I’ll judge Russell Martin when we play him at Ibrox in September.

But it’s clear to see he’s not what the Ibrox support wanted.

And that is the end result of being lied to all the time by a media that is there to serve only one fanbase.

And they serve it very badly at that.

Even their fan media is afraid to ask any hard questions.

Unlike ours, which never stops asking hard questions.

But those new owners they’ve got over there?

They haven’t lied to them yet.

They never told them they were looking at managers like Jose Mourinho or Marco Rose.

The media did that.

They haven’t told them that the manager has £20 million to spend on the squad.

The media told them that.

They have been clear on the fact that things may have to get worse before they get better.

Which indicates they have no intention of plunging limitless millions into the club.

Yet the media told the fanbase that they would.

To make money at that club, they will need to cost cut on a massive level.

This is what things getting worse before they get better entails.

As James said last night on the podcast, they are not going to spend more at a club that is already spending too much as it is.

And haemorrhaging millions in the process.

The truth is that their first remit will be to stop this.

To put a halt to it.

And I’m not sure how the media will manage to spin that.

Because that’s one turd that definitely cannot be polished.

The hardest thing that the Ibrox fanbase may have to accept going forward is being told the truth, all of the time.

Because the truth, when it comes to their club, hurts bad.

And they can no longer ignore that.

So if you were to ask me the question about which fanbase is better off?

The answer is pretty easy.

Ours is.

Despite our limited, if strained, relationship with our board, we know where we stand.

The media can’t lie about us because we expose them every time they do.

And our loyalty provides our club with an income stream strong enough to keep us at the top of the Scottish game.

We live in the real world.

And the real world provides us with a REAL view of our club.

Living in a fantasy world, filled with soothing and comforting lies, results in only one thing.

A perpetual state of disappointment.

Which unfortunately is set to continue for them for some time to come.

So yeah, as a Celtic fan I’m more than happy with my lot.

Despite the fact there’s always room for improvement.

I’ve got the better deal.

https://thecelticblog.com/2025/06/podcast/the-trinity-tims-episode-28-the-long-hot-summer/

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