If you had the power and the privileges the people at Celtic have, would YOU want to relinquish your position at the club?

On Thursday at about 17.01 pm, I received a copy of the minutes from last Monday night’s meeting at Celtic Park from the Celtic Fans Collective.

It took me a while to read them.

I would say it took me even longer to wrap my ahead around some of the things contained in them.

I knew on Thursday that everybody who received them would dissect them and go to press with their take on it.

That was how things transpired.

I’ve decided to wait until today after having thought a fair bit about them since.

The Michael Nicholson shrug is the key take out for most people, let’s be honest.

The fact that the club didn’t even ask for that point to be taken out of the minutes proves how supremely arrogant they are.

Not only are they arrogant, they have 100% confidence in the security of their positions at the club.

Regardless, I’m not going to delve into a very long and drawn out missive which basically boils down to, “we’re not going to change, no matter what you say or do”, topped off with a shrug.

None of what it contained came as a shock to me.

What I want to do is look at this from a very different perspective when it comes to the people currently in charge of Celtic.

Their perspective.

Every day, we see and read things through the eyes of fans because that’s what we are.

We rarely stop to think what this looks like through the eyes of the board.

There are two things that we as humans, all of us, desire in life; wealth and power.

Many of us will say we have no interest in either, but if either of these things landed on our laps tomorrow, would we really refuse them?

I have often stated that I would be happy with just having financial stability.

But my wife has asked me what I would do if I won the Euromillions tomorrow?

I never really have to think too hard about it, and my response is generally always the same.

She doesn’t like my answer, but I do.

I tell her that I would invest a big chunk of my winnings in Celtic with a view to becoming a major shareholder.

I would try to do that so that I could eventually wrest power away from the current regime.

A pipe dream, I know, but a man can dream.

“Dream” being the operative word here.

Michael Nicholson is living the “dream”.

Peter Lawwell has lived the “dream”, and he became so addicted to it, he decided to come back for more.

All of the men involved at the top of Celtic football club are living the “dream”.

They have, in fact, become so insulated in living the dream, they will do everything in their power to ensure they cling on to it.

Celtic has afforded them a very wealthy and lavish lifestyle, and with that lifestyle has come power.

Power over an institution that is followed by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

They started out as Celtic fans who were just accountants and lawyers, with little or no in-depth football knowledge.

Then they became employees of Celtic, and once they did, they worked their way to the very top of the club.

To positions of power and wealth.

You’re all Celtic fans out there, can any of you honestly tell me that if that opportunity to become a major power broker at the club arose, you wouldn’t take it?

You know you would.

As I stated earlier, it would be the equivalent of living the dream.

But sometimes, you need to put things into context.

Throughout my career, which spans three decades, I’ve worked for quite a few companies.

I’m with the one I currently work for over ten years now.

But what I’ve learned during that time is that most companies, despite what you believe, are not meritocracies.

Most companies are very political organisations.

While they might state that they promote people through the ranks based on ability and achievement, the reality is very different.

I’ve learned, through experience, its never about what you know or what you’re capable of, its about who you know.

Or more to the point, who’s arse you’re willing to stick your head up.

Bosses love brown noses.

They love being told how brilliant they are by people who are willing to brown nose.

Those who are exceptional at their jobs, but not willing to play the political game, are often overlooked for promotions and progression.

In other words, some people struggle with bullshit, while others revel in it.

Especially corporate bullshit.

In my time, I have seen people promoted to positions way beyond their capabilities.

In some instances, they have bullshitted their way to the top.

But when they got there, they were found out very quickly.

Others have made it to the top through their connections, and playing the political game.

You might not necessarily be very good at the technical aspects of the job, but if you are politically very smart, the sky is the limit.

If you know how to play the game, you can break all the rules while doing it.

This is the unfortunate reality of the corporate world.

People who shouldn’t be in powerful roles end up there by effectively cheating their way there.

It is rife in the corporate world.

And the more I look at what’s unfolding at Celtic, the more I believe that there are people there in positions they should never have been in.

Positions way beyond their capabilities.

But because they have made it to where they are, they will fight tooth and nail to stay there.

Because let’s face it, if it was you or me, we would too.

We would never want to let go of what Celtic would afford us.

The problem with the people at Celtic, though, is that their egos have led them to believe that they are smarter than you and me, the average fan.

This is a big part of why they treat us with contempt.

They treat us with contempt because they see us as a threat to their soft seats.

Their positions of power at Celtic, with their lucrative salaries, and all that goes with that.

Because in reality, who else can threaten them?

Certainly nobody from within the corporate structure at Celtic.

That’s why we’ve seen the same people in power at the club for way too long now.

Hundreds of thousands of people adore Celtic football club, and they control it.

Imagine how it feels to have that power?

I’ll ask again, would you be willing to let it all go without a fight?

We’re fully aware that Celtic does not operate as a meritocracy.

People do not earn promotions or get into positions of power at Celtic through achievement.

Our club is rife with nepotism, cronyism and jobs for the boys.

Considering how inept Michael Nicholson is at his job, do you think he was promoted to CEO through what he achieved at the club during his time before 2021?

Or because Peter Lawwell liked him, and felt that he was a very malleable follower?

Somebody who would do exactly what he was told without question?

Because let’s face it, Michael Nicholson has done nothing different to what Peter Lawwell did as CEO, has he?

If anything, Celtic has regressed under his stewardship.

Which proves he is not fit for the role he occupies.

Celtic over the last 20 years or so, in reality, has become an elite club for a group of men who are loathe to release their grip on the luxuries and status it affords them.

It has overinflated their egos to the point that they have lost sight of what they’re actually supposed be doing at the club.

The fact that during last Monday’s meeting there was no humility or contrition for the state the club is in right now, categorically proves that these men have lost sight of what their function is at Glasgow Celtic.

Their dismissive attitude to the seven questions posed to them, and the lack of any clear and concise answers which avoided obfuscation, proves that they are unwilling to change anything.

The only real clarity that came out of that meeting is that they will fight tooth and nail to keep their positions of power at the club.

This is what we are up against.

Unless we are willing to form a merciless and effective strategy against these people, they will adopt a scorched earth policy against the club we love.

If you think they won’t fight fire with fire, I’d suggest you think again.

If we withdraw our financial support for the club, they will respond with austerity.

For every action designed to malign the board from the Celtic Fans Collective, there will be a destructive reaction from the Celtic board.

As I’ve said many times, this fight is going to get very dirty before we achieve anything of real note.

The board has proven it has to be this way with their contemptuous treatment of the delegation that attended Celtic Park last Monday night.

They’ve made it clear they are not willing to work with us towards a resolution.

But then again, we always knew this would be the way.

I asked you to put yourself in their shoes in this article, so that we could look at things from their perspective.

You can see why they will not release their grip on Celtic without a serious fight.

Because human nature, and let’s face it, greed and power, is what drives them now.

They have the power, they do not want to let go of it.

If we were in their shoes, we’d probably fight just as hard for it.

This is the problem when boards are not refreshed after six or seven years.

After 20 plus years, people just get too cosy in their roles, and too used to what it affords them.

It has afforded Peter Lawwell, an accountant, the guts of £20 million.

It pays Michael Nicholson, a sports lawyer, the guts of £1 million plus bonuses per year.

They see us as upstarts, who want to take that away from them.

Which is why I understand their point of view.

I don’t f***ng like it one bit, but I fully understand it.

As Sun Tzu said in the Art of war; know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight one hundred battles without disaster.

We know our enemy, we know his M.O., and we know what we are up against.

We might have to fight one hundred battles.

But we must make sure none of them end in disaster.

Then, and only then, will we achieve our ultimate goal.