Spinning Narratives, Pushing Agendas And Feeding Off Failure: Why Some Celtic Fans Have Got The Wrong Idea Of Their Fellow Supporters

There’s a rather strange narrative doing the rounds among sections of the Celtic support at the moment, and I think it’s about time somebody challenged it.

Apparently, those of us who write articles, produce podcasts or offer opinions on Celtic are absolutely delighted when things go wrong at the football club.

Our eyes supposedly light up at the prospect of another controversy. A defeat is apparently good for business, boardroom turmoil is an opportunity to increase our viewing figures, and every disagreement provides another chance to chase clicks, likes and revenue.

What an extraordinary way to misunderstand the motivations of your fellow supporters.

More importantly, what a convenient way to avoid discussing the very issues they’re raising.

Rather than debate the failings being highlighted, some supporters have decided it’s easier to question the intentions of those highlighting them.

In other words, when debating, playing the man, not the ball.

And that approach is doing absolutely nothing to help Celtic.

Why Would I Want Celtic To Fail?

Let’s deal with the accusation that criticism somehow benefits those of us involved in Celtic fan media.

James Forrest made an excellent point during Monday’s Trinity Tims discussion. When the support is divided, your potential audience is divided too.

It’s hardly rocket science.

If Celtic are flying, winning matches, progressing in Europe, making ambitious signings and giving supporters something to celebrate, there’s an entire fanbase united behind the club.

That’s a far bigger potential audience than one split into different camps, arguing about everything from recruitment to the intentions of the people running Celtic.

Why on earth would I prefer the latter?

I’d happily spend every week writing about Celtic’s successes, discussing exciting European nights and celebrating a club pushing the boundaries of what it can achieve.

The suggestion that I’d rather watch Celtic stumble because it might generate another few hundred article views is frankly insulting.

It also fundamentally misunderstands why I started doing any of this in the first place.

I love Celtic. That’s the motivation.

Everything else comes a distant second.

Sometimes I Envy Supporters Who Can Switch Off

There’s another aspect to this that I think deserves mentioning.

I genuinely envy supporters who can attend a Celtic match, enjoy the occasion, hope for three points and then go home to their families without giving the result another thought.

If Celtic lose, they’re disappointed. Naturally.

However, they’ll still enjoy their dinner, get on with their evening and return the following week hoping for better.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that approach. In fact, I sometimes wish I could adopt it myself.

Unfortunately, I’m too invested.

Celtic occupies far too much of my thinking, and I find myself examining every nook and cranny of the football club.

Whether that’s recruitment, the manager, the boardroom, communication with supporters or the long-term direction of Celtic, I struggle to simply shrug my shoulders and accept things as they are.

Perhaps that’s a character flaw.

It certainly doesn’t make me a better supporter than anybody else, and I wouldn’t dream of suggesting otherwise.

But it does explain why I care enough to ask difficult questions.

I Was Questioning The Board When Everybody Was Enjoying Angeball

Here’s something that rather undermines the theory that criticism is simply a convenient way of generating attention.

I was questioning Celtic’s board back in 2022.

Remember those days?

Ange Postecoglou had Celtic playing some of the most enjoyable football we’d witnessed in years. Supporters were understandably delighted, the atmosphere was tremendous, and there was a genuine excitement surrounding the team.

I loved it as much as anybody.

Yet even then, I was keeping a close eye on the people responsible for the wider running of the football club.

Why?

Because enjoying what was happening on the pitch didn’t mean I was prepared to ignore everything happening away from it.

I wanted Celtic to build upon that success rather than become comfortable with it.

Questions about ambition, European progress and the club’s long-term strategy didn’t suddenly disappear because we were playing wonderful football.

If anything, that was precisely the moment to ask them.

And believe me, criticising the board when Ange had everybody enjoying themselves wasn’t exactly a guaranteed way of winning popularity contests.

It brought plenty of criticism in my direction.

So where was the supposed benefit?

There wasn’t one.

I was simply looking at the bigger picture, something I believe supporters should always be entitled to do.

Argue The Point, Not The Person Making It

Recently, I’ve noticed an increasing tendency on X for some Celtic accounts to respond to criticism by questioning the motivations of the person expressing it.

Accounts such as Siamese Bhoy, Seamus 1888 and Marcus O’Ha are among those whose contributions to the wider debate have caught my attention.

I’m not suggesting every contribution from those accounts is identical, nor that disagreement with me automatically makes somebody unreasonable.

Far from it.

What I object to is the broader habit of treating criticism as evidence of some hidden agenda.

Rather than explain why a particular argument is wrong, the discussion becomes about what the writer supposedly stands to gain.

Are they chasing engagement? Are they deliberately stirring division? Do they secretly enjoy the turmoil?

It’s an increasingly tiresome approach.

And I go back to what I said earlier – argue the point, not the person.

Tell me why Celtic’s recruitment has been successful.

Explain why the club’s communication with supporters is satisfactory.

Demonstrate how the current structure is helping Celtic maximise their advantages domestically and make meaningful progress in Europe.

I’ll happily listen.

In fact, I welcome a properly balanced debate. There’s every chance somebody will make a point I haven’t considered, and I’m perfectly comfortable acknowledging that.

But don’t simply dismiss my opinion by suggesting I’m desperate for clicks.

That’s not an argument. It’s an accusation designed to avoid having one.

Fourteen Titles In Fifteen Years Doesn’t End The Debate

One of the most familiar defences of Celtic’s hierarchy is the club’s extraordinary domestic success.

Fourteen league titles in fifteen seasons is an achievement worth recognising.

Nobody should pretend otherwise.

However, I’ve asked this question before, and I’ll ask it again.

Of those fifteen seasons, which league titles should Celtic realistically not have won, considering the financial and structural advantages the club enjoyed over its domestic competitors?

That isn’t an attempt to diminish the achievements of the players and managers who delivered those trophies.

It’s a question about expectations.

Should Celtic’s ambitions begin and end with being the dominant force in Scottish football?

Or should the club be using that position of strength to establish itself as a more consistent and competitive European outfit?

Supporters are entitled to expect more than simply being reminded how many trophies Celtic have won.

The past deserves respect.

It shouldn’t be used to silence questions about the future.

The AGM Should Be About Accountability, Not Personal Attacks

With another Celtic AGM approaching, the relationship between the board and sections of the support remains a serious concern.

Last year’s meeting provided an extraordinary example of just how fractured that relationship had become.

Dermot Desmond was absent, while his son Ross delivered a statement on behalf of himself and his father that strongly defended the club’s leadership and criticised sections of the support.

I found its tone deeply disappointing.

At a time when supporters were demanding answers, the response appeared to me to demonstrate more defensiveness than any genuine willingness to bridge the divide.

Questions surrounding recruitment, communication, accountability and the club’s ambitions cannot simply be brushed aside because some people dislike the manner in which they’re being asked.

Indeed, the Celtic Trust has already outlined proposed resolutions for the forthcoming AGM, including a call for a published three-to-five-year strategic plan and improved supporter engagement.

Those are substantive matters.

They’re precisely the sort of issues supporters should be discussing.

If somebody believes Dermot Desmond and the current board are doing a wonderful job, they’re welcome to make that case.

I’d genuinely like to hear it.

What I won’t accept is the suggestion that anybody challenging their stewardship must have an ulterior motive.

Criticism Doesn’t Mean Refusing To Give Credit

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this entire argument is the suggestion that those who criticise Celtic are somehow incapable of recognising anything positive.

That’s demonstrably nonsense.

I’ve praised the recruitment of players such as Kasper Høgh, Camilo Durán and Mika Baur on this very site and within multiple articles.

Only this week, I wrote positively about Baur’s excellent performance at Motherwell and the qualities he’s beginning to demonstrate in a Celtic jersey.

Likewise, Martin O’Neill and the players deserved credit for Sunday’s victory, and I was more than happy to give it.

That’s how it should work.

When Celtic get something right, I’ll say so.

If they get something wrong, I’ll say that too.

There’s no contradiction in those positions.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

Surely that’s a more reasonable approach than deciding everything the club does must either be defended or condemned depending upon which side of the argument somebody has chosen?

I don’t want Celtic to fail.

I want more opportunities to praise them.

More exciting signings. More European progress. More ambition. More reasons to believe the club is making the absolute most of its potential.

That’s what I’d rather spend my time discussing.

We All Want The Same Thing… Don’t We?

Ultimately, this is about something far bigger than podcasts, blogs or social media disagreements.

It’s about how Celtic supporters treat one another during a period when the club desperately needs constructive discussion.

Nobody has a monopoly on caring about Celtic.

Not the supporters demanding change, not those defending the board, and certainly not anybody who happens to have a microphone or a platform to express an opinion.

We can disagree passionately without questioning each other’s loyalty.

We can challenge an argument without inventing motives for the person making it.

And we can recognise that criticism, when offered in good faith, often comes from exactly the same place as praise.

Love for Celtic.

You don’t have to agree with my opinions. You don’t even have to like how I express them.

But don’t mistake my refusal to look away from Celtic’s problems for a desire to see Celtic fail.

Because the reason I speak up is the very reason you support this football club in the first place.

Keep Your Eyes On The Board.