Neutered by Desmond? Celtic Are Becoming the Sleepy Big Green Dog of Scottish Football – The Puppy Act Won’t Work This Time

There was a time when the sight of Celtic entering the transfer market made rivals nervous.

Now?

We’re lying asleep in the corner while everyone else runs around making moves.

The biggest club in Scotland.

The biggest budget.

The biggest support.

Yet somehow, once again, we’re watching the transfer window happen rather than driving it.

Have We Learned Absolutely Nothing From Last Summer?

This all feels painfully familiar.

Last summer we spoke about acting early.

Learning lessons.

Backing the manager.

Giving the squad time to gel before the Champions League qualifiers.

Instead, we drifted.

Then panic set in.

By the time the squad was “complete”, valuable weeks had already been lost.

Fast forward twelve months and what has changed?

Very little.

Have we not learnt our lessons from the crap signed last season? Balikwisha? Simpson-Pusey? Inamura? Yamada?

Everyone Else Is Moving. Celtic Are Standing Still.

Across Scottish football, clubs are getting on with business.

Managers are identifying targets.

Deals are being completed.

Squads are taking shape.

Celtic?

We’re still reading about shortlists.

Meetings.

Approvals.

And who needs to sign off on what.

The worrying part is that Martin O’Neill has reportedly made it clear he wants experience, leadership and physicality added to this squad.

Yet the players aren’t arriving.

At some point, words have to become actions.

Because pre-season doesn’t wait.

Neither does Europe.

Still Talking. Still Preparing. Still Waiting.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of every Celtic transfer window is how exhausting it becomes.

Nothing is ever straightforward.

We’re never simply signing players.

Take the left-back situation.

We still haven’t made the move for Saracchi permanent. If he’s the player the manager wants, why are we still debating it?

Then there’s Duran from Qarabag.

Once again, it feels like the same cycle.

“Celtic is preparing an offer.”

“Celtic is weighing up a bid.”

“Celtic is expected to make contact.”

At some point you just want someone inside Celtic Park to say:

PAY THE FU**ING MONEY

Because by the time a deal finally happens, the excitement is gone.

Fans have read the story for six weeks already.

Some Decisions Make Even Less Sense

Then there are the contract calls.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain signs a new deal.

Fair enough.

But the one that stands out more is Kelechi Iheanacho not being moved on or seriously considered.

If Celtic are looking for experience, physicality and proven quality, that feels like the more obvious profile.

Instead, we hesitate.

Again.

The Big Dog Has Been Neutered

The frustrating part isn’t that Celtic lack money.

It’s that we behave like we do.

This is a club sitting on enormous financial reserves.

Selling players for major fees.

Regularly qualifying for Europe.

Yet every window feels like someone has locked the chequebook in a drawer.

The ambition has been neutered.

Not by finances.

But by mindset.

A culture of caution.

Of delay.

Of hesitation.

Desmond has overseen huge success at Celtic.

That cannot be ignored.

But success should not become comfort.

We’ve been more fixated on a new branded “Celtic TV” or singing the praises on socials of a “set piece coach”.

Comfort is dangerous in football, as last season should have shown.

Groundhog day incoming…