Ross Desmond running our transfers? On what planet is he qualified for that?

Just when you thought the Celtic board couldn’t surprise us any more, along comes this one.

Apparently, Ross Desmond is now heavily involved in our transfer business.

Yes, that Ross Desmond.

The son of the absent meddling golfer himself.

He has no executive role, no directorial role and no board role, yet he’s in the room for the signings

Here’s the story, as Celtic Shorts picked it up.

Journalist Michael Gannon was speaking on the Record Celtic Podcast, during a discussion about whether Dermot Desmond might ever sell his stake in the club.

And this is what he had to say:

“Not when Ross Desmond has a much more hands-on role now.”

“He’s been heavily involved in transfers for the last six months, I’ve been told.”

Six months.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Because Ross Desmond holds no executive position at Celtic, he isn’t a director and he doesn’t sit on the board.

Officially, he has no say in anything at all.

Unofficially – and this is the bit that sticks in my throat – it seems he’s helping to decide who gets signed for our football club.

Nobody is questioning his financial qualifications, but this is football

Now, in fairness to the man, he has plenty of financial qualifications.

I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

But signing footballers is not a spreadsheet exercise, however much this board might wish it were.

It takes years of watching players, knowing the leagues, trusting the scouts and understanding what a manager actually needs.

Where, exactly, is that on Ross Desmond’s CV?

Because I can’t find it.

And I’m not the only one who has noticed.

His presence at Celtic has drawn scrutiny from supporter groups like the Celtic Trust for quite a while now.

With no official governance role at the club, critics have never been shy about calling it what it is.

Nepotism.

I’d go further than that.

If you had to pick one word for it, that would be the one.

This all comes at a turbulent time for the hierarchy

Remember that last season the club suffered a very public fallout between the Desmond family and Brendan Rodgers.

The the summer transfer window branded as “disastrous” and the manager was gone not long after.

Now, you could argue about who was to blame for that.

I’ve done it myself, at length.

But look at what has happened since.

Ross steps into football operations, and the family tightens its grip on how we identify and sign players.

That isn’t a coincidence.

That’s the ownership deciding they want firmer, centralised control, and they’ve sent in the one person they know will do as he’s told.

Make no mistake, Desmond Jnr will be doing exactly what his father tells him to do.

And that’s all he’ll be doing.

Our most recent transfer window tells you everything about how well this works

If you want to know how effective this arrangement is, just look at the squad.

Look at the holes that were never filled.

Look at the midfield and look at the options up front.

That’s what an appointment based on your surname gets you.

It gets you a man with no background in football, working to a brief from his old man, in a club that has been run for the balance sheet for years.

The results speak for themselves.

And the latest whispers are even worse.

There is talk that he could be the next Chairman at Celtic.

I’d love to tell you the support will take that well.

They won’t.

At this point in time, most fans, bar a few hardcore happy clappers, are heartily sick of the Desmond influence over Celtic.

Who can blame them?

If this is the direction of travel, it’s only going to get worse

Having said that, you have to wonder where it ends.

First the father calls the shots from a golf course.

Now the son is in the room for the transfers, and maybe soon in the Chairman’s seat.

Is this what Celtic is meant to be now?

A family business, run by people who’ve never had to pick a centre-half?

Because that’s exactly how it looks from where I’m sitting.

Based on what Gannon has told us, I’m afraid it will only get worse before it gets better.

If it ever does…

How is Ross Desmond even remotely qualified to oversee transfers at Celtic?

He isn’t.

End of story…

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