With some Celtic board positions already untenable, a January transfer window failure should spell the end for all of them

We are now on day twelve of the January transfer window, which is a critical window for Celtic.

There is nowhere for the board to hide in this window.

Failure is not an option.

Not bringing in the players required to prepare this squad for a serious title challenge is no longer tantamount to incompetence.

So, what does it become if it isn’t incompetence?

Well, there’s a word that has been doing the rounds for quite some time now.

Pretty much since the summer transfer window disaster.

The word is sabotage.

And when incompetence vacates the equation, sabotage is all there is left.

There is no other reason for failing in this January’s window unless it is deliberate.

As confirmed today in the media, the club is about to pull the plug on the Jocelin Ta Bi transfer.

They’re saying it’s not down to protests from fans about acquiring him from an Israeli club with links to an Israeli military drone manufacturer.

Apparently, the board are instead turning the attention to “alternative targets”.

Bollocks.

The optics of this move were never going to be good for Celtic.

They know that, but they’re not willing to admit it.

Since they have shown a complete inability to land any transfers thus far this January, other than Julian Araujo on loan, it’s patently obvious that this “alternative targets” claim is nothing but total bullshit.

A story has also emerged, courtesy of Paul Larkin, he of “Anyone but Celtic” fame, whereby Michael Nicholson decided to bypass Birmingham City when it came to trying to coax Kyogo Furuhashi into replacing Kyogo Furuhashi at the club.

The reason Nicholson bypassed Birmingham City is because of his incompetence in the summer when it came to Birmingham’s interest in Hyun-Jun Yang

The story is that City wanted to tie up the deal.

But despite repeated attempts by Birmingham to contact Nicholson on transfer deadline day, he refused to answer his phone.

Now, bear in mind that a £3 million fee had been agreed between the two clubs for Yang.

In addition to this, the South Korean player had already traveled to Birmingham for a medical.

So, why wouldn’t the Celtic CEO answer his phone?

Nicholson was trying to sign Sebastian Tounekti as a replacement, but this deal was finalised too late for the Yang transfer to proceed.

He then pulled the plug on the Yang deal, but refused to answer the phone to Birmingham to confirm why.

Birmingham’s officials, exasperated beyond belief at that point with Celtic’s snail’s pace way of operating, and being blanked by Nicholson, gave up and pursued the signing of former club favourite, Patrick Roberts.

Unlike Celtic, they of course, had a back up plan.

Most normal clubs do.

Now, it would appear that the Celtic CEO’s gutlessness and cowardice has stretched beyond last summer.

Obviously too embarrassed to reach out to Birmingham in the proper, professional way, bungling Nicholson decided to approach Furuhashi directly himself.

What’s even more embarrassing about this fiasco is that Kyogo Furuhashi himself assumed Celtic had been granted permission to speak with him.

I mean, why wouldn’t he?

But this is how unprofessional Nicholson is.

As soon as Birmingham City found out, they pulled the plug immediately.

In fact, it looks like City manager, Chris Davies, was told to blank it completely.

Which was reflected in his comments last week:

We’ve had no discussions at the moment about anything other than Kyogo giving his best and doing his best for Birmingham City.

Note the language used in that statement.

It does not allude to Celtic, or the contact made to Furuhashi by Nicholson, in any way.

Why?

Because the club was bypassed, therefore, as far as they were concerned, no discussions were had.

If I was to read between the lines, I’d guess Furuhashi was told, “Celtic have made no direct contact with us, so forget about this going any further. Dismiss it, and focus on doing your best for Birmingham City.”

Clearly, it had the desired effect.

Kyogo Furuhashi scored Birmingham’s second goal of three in their FA Cup 3rd round tie against Cambridge United.

What’s even more embarrassing about this is that Nicholson was so cock sure of himself that he’d land Furuhashi, that he briefed the media to that effect.

This whole episode epitomises how utterly unprofessional this cretin is.

You’ve got to wonder, though, when will Nicholson finally cross the line that destroys him?

Because it seems to me that no matter how much he fucks up, he rides it out with impunity.

I mean, at any other football club, heads would roll after a debacle like the Wilfried Nancy experiment.

You need only look across the city for evidence of what should happen in a situation like that.

Russell Martin was hired by Kevin Thelwell and Paddy Stewart, his tenure lasted 122 days.

But let’s be honest here, his results were nowhere near as bad as Wilfried Nancy’s.

Yet, he paid with his job after a draw at Falkirk, and Kevin Thelwell and Paddy Stewart paid with theirs for making the mistake of hiring him.

Nancy lasted 33 days.

He lost six of eight games.

Let’s be conservative and say he cost us £4 million to pay off as he signed a three year contract.

A costly experiment at £121,000 per day, wouldn’t you think?

Celtic fans would have a right to feel ripped off after what that whole shambles put us through, wouldn’t we?

Yet Nicholson is still in a job.

He still hasn’t had the balls to front up and accept any responsibility for it.

Instead, he tried to get the media to convince us that he was the driving force behind Nancy’s sacking.

That, in itself, is farcical beyond belief.

It is then followed by this whole fiasco with Kyogo Furuhashi.

Let’s be honest here, the only reason Nicholson went after Furuhashi is because he thought he was an easy option.

And because he thought he was an easy option, its abundantly clear he had nobody else lined up in the event that that option failed.

Like I stated earlier, he thought it was so easy, he had the media briefed on it.

He didn’t stop for one second to think how stupid replacing Kyogo Furuhashi with Kyogo Furuhashi was.

Nicholson just ploughed on regardless, thinking he could outsmart the Japanese striker’s club in the process.

This whole shambles is just another nail in his inevitable coffin.

But what should finish him off, no questions asked, is if he fails to deliver for Martin O’Neill in this transfer window.

During his press conference at the weekend, Martin O’Neill began to speak a language that is ominously familiar to us all.

The same language was spoken by Neil Lennon, Brendan Rodgers, and Ange Postecoglou before O’Neill.

He spoke about being backed in the transfer window, and how urgent it is.

But since we’re on day twelve of this window, and there appears to be no urgency at all on behalf of Michael Nicholson, I’ll ask again, is this incompetence or sabotage?

Because if Martin O’Neill is not backed in this window, it is sabotage.

If we end January with no new striker, that is sabotage.

There is no other terminology for it.

And if Michael Nicholson sabotages this season, then he should be hounded out of Celtic, and the rest of his nepotistic mates should then follow him out the door.

Because he and they will deserve nothing less.

Number of days Michael Nicholson remains Celtic CEO since Wilfried Nancy’s sacking – 7

Key Takeaways

• Celtic is in a critical position during the January transfer window and must make essential signings.
• Failures to secure players could indicate sabotage rather than incompetence, especially after the summer transfer window failure.
• Michael Nicholson’s mishandling of transfer inquiries and failure to communicate is causing unrest among fans and clubs alike.
• If Celtic doesn’t secure necessary reinforcements, it will confirm a pattern of sabotage that could end Nicholson’s position.
• The urgency for action in this transfer window is paramount; without it, fans will justifiably feel betrayed.