The Celtic board has agreed to sit around a table with the Celtic fans. For now, that is all they’ve agreed to

Yesterday evening, the Celtic board issued an invite to the Celtic Fans Collective to attend a meeting next Monday evening at 6pm to address the questions submitted at the start of last month.

It took twenty eight days to elicit a response from the board.

However, in those twenty eight days, one thing has been abundantly clear, the protests have worked.

And for those out there who, including myself, were skeptical of the impact of the silent protests, both carried out and planned, the plan worked.

It appears they did not want twenty nine minutes of silence tonight at Celtic Park.

Whether that was the breaking point, or the combination of all protests has managed to bring them to the table, we won’t know for sure.

But what we do know is that in a relatively short space of time, we’ve managed to get the board to agree to speak to us.

Below is the response from the Celtic Fans Collective to the board’s letter:

Now, as to what level they’ll speak to us will only become apparent after next Monday’s meeting at Celtic Park.

This is only the beginning.

There were many out there who believed that the protests against the Celtic board would amount to nothing.

They have been proven wrong.

But for those of you out there who think this is now over, I’d say think again.

It’s only the first step.

Nobody is under the impression that one meeting is going to resolve 20 years of deeply embedded issues at our club.

There is a distinct belief that in this meeting, the board will attempt to cause division amongst the various supporter groups in attendance.

Just remember one thing.

We are in a fight for the betterment of our club, and renewal.

These board members are in a fight to for their careers.

A fight to retain their positions.

They know they are under threat now.

This is the only reason they’ve agreed to sit around a table with the Celtic Fans Collective.

They are threatened by this movement.

Nicholson and McKay do not want to give up their lucrative salaries, and their soft seats at Celtic Park.

They are hopeful that they will be able to placate and appease us at this meeting.

In fact I’m pretty sure they believe that one meeting will bring this all to a swift close.

That would be naive in the extreme.

There is no doubt that they will think that empty promises will be accepted and the Collective will happily walk away after that.

But we have been lied to for long enough now to know better.

All promises made by this board have been empty promises.

Nobody should be under the impression that this is suddenly going to change.

Whatever assurances are given, the least the Celtic Fans Collective will expect is that they will be followed through.

I have no doubt that the delegation will be met with uber corporate speak designed to confuse, rather than explain anything.

Once again I’ll stress that this is only the beginning.

But make no mistake, these board members are now fighting for their very positions.

They won’t go down without a fight, and if it comes to fighting dirty, they will.

The sustained pressure on them from the Celtic Fans Collective, combined with media scrutiny, is the reason this meeting has come about.

Fan media has played a huge part in this too.

This is not a good image for the Celtic board.

It is an image that threatens their positions.

Positions they are loathe let to go of.

I personally don’t think these positions are tenable any longer.

Therefore I do not believe they will implement the level of change the Collective desires.

Which in turn means the ultimate goal is that they make way for people who will implement the desired level of change.

My opinion is that Monday night’s meeting should be approached with extreme caution.

I believe the Collective needs to let Nicholson and McKay how serious it is about change, and about renewal.

My advice to you would be not to expect much from Monday night’s meeting.

You haven’t been given much over the last 20 years.

That isn’t going to change after one meeting.

They have agreed to sit around a table with us.

For now, that is all they’ve agreed to.

By Monday night the Celtic Fans Collective will know the full extent of what this is about.

Until then, we wait.