Bhoycie There was one line from Marc, affectionately known as “The Judge” on The Bhoycie Bus last night that genuinely stopped me in my tracks regarding Celtic’s communication to us fans.
“The team sheet tells you everything you need to know about where Celtic is at.”
And the more I think about it, the more I think he’s absolutely nailed it.
Celtic supporters have spent years demanding better communication from the club.
We want to know the plan, the strategy, the ambition.
We want explanations when transfer windows crawl along at a snail’s pace and obvious weaknesses in the squad are allowed to linger.
But maybe we’ve been looking in the wrong place.
Maybe Celtic’s communication isn’t poor at all.
Maybe they’re communicating with us perfectly clearly every time the team sheet drops.
Because if Celtic were progressing properly, supporters wouldn’t need a statement telling us so.
We’d see it.
You’d look at the opening league game of the season and see three or four new signings in the starting XI. Another couple would be sitting on a strong bench.
The manager would have options everywhere, and you would immediately understand the direction the club was travelling in, good or bad.
No strategic review required.
No carefully-worded statement from Michael Nicholson.
No promises about “work continuing in the background.”
The evidence would be wearing green and white hoops.
That’s why the current situation is so frustrating.
Celtic have made two signings I genuinely like. Kasper Høgh excites me enormously, and Camilo Duran looks exactly the profile of player I want the club targeting year on year, every f**king window.
But look beyond that.
The squad remains scarily thin in areas where we’ve known for months that strengthening was required.
Then consider what could still happen.
Alistair Johnston continues to attract interest and will be gone if we get an offer of £18m or over.
Arne Engels will leave Celtic this Window.
Reo Hatate’s future has been discussed throughout the summer – he is as good as gone if we receive any sort of offer over £4m.
Suppose that bid arrives for Johnston immediately before Celtic’s Champions League qualifier.
Do supporters genuinely believe Celtic will reject it simply because Europe is around the corner?
I don’t.
If their valuation is met, I think he goes.
And suddenly that Champions League team sheet could have Anthony Ralston starting at right-back, not because there’s anything wrong with Ralston as a squad player, but because Celtic once again failed to have the succession plan ready before selling the asset.
Same in midfield.
If Engels leaves, where is the ready-made replacement?
These aren’t hypothetical positions Celtic discovered yesterday. The uncertainty has existed for months.
And yet we’re approaching the most financially significant games of the season with the squad still looking unfinished.
That’s Celtic’s communication.
People ask the board to tell us whether they’re serious about the Champions League.
They already have.
Look at the squad.
Look at the bench.
Look at the areas that remain short.
Then compare that against the money sitting in the bank and the importance of qualification.
The frustrating thing is Celtic seem far happier communicating success through financial results.
Cash reserves.
Profits.
Player trading.
A healthy balance sheet.
But supporters don’t buy season tickets to admire an annual accounts report.
Football is measured on the park.
Team sheets before balance sheets.
That should be the mentality of any serious football club.
Because when Celtic eventually walk out for that Champions League qualifier, I won’t need Nicholson to explain the strategy.
I won’t need another interview telling me recruitment is difficult.
I won’t need assurances that everyone is working incredibly hard behind the scenes.
I’ll look at the eleven names selected.
I’ll look at the substitutes available.
And within about ten seconds I’ll know exactly how seriously Celtic treated one of the biggest games of their season.
That’s the beauty of Marc’s line.
The team sheet doesn’t spin.
It doesn’t soften expectations.
It doesn’t promise something tomorrow.
It simply tells you where Celtic are today.
And right now, I don’t particularly like what it’s saying.
Keep Your Eyes On The Board.
Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
Eric Knott 
Well said, good article.
So,finally peopleare twigging on to the plain and simple truth.
I said many moons ago when we were beating the likes of a Barca team being lauded as the best team in history on our 125th anniversary as a club with a makeshift starting eleven and a non descript bench because of injury and suspension that another couple of signings to augment what we already had at Celtic Park and we would have a team to seriously challenge in Europe.
What happened in the wake of that stunning victory was the usual race to the bottom as we tried to slam the brakes on to cater for the death of the huns.
It’s not as if we hadn’t been forewarned as Martin O’Neil was quoted as he left the building “Celtic fans, get used to life in the slow lane !”
No matter what ,we as fans do,we are inextricably linked to the dead Ibrox club as the grey men at Paradise in their grey suits keep apace with them in G51.
It was ever thus !!!