“Crossing into hostile behaviour accomplishes nothing”. Ex-Celtic boss and board ally doesn’t seem to understand the definition of ‘hostile’

Since the Tennis Ball Massacre at St. Andrews, two trains of thought have emerged in the aftermath of the incident.

As the victim toll rises, (Desmond and his allies who have been offended by the incident), it’s becoming tiresome to listen to those firmly in camp Desmond.

Another one of that particular category was at it in the media today.

The Record gives him the title of ‘Dermot Desmond insider’.

Wow!

Those of us amongst the peasantry know him as none other than Gordon Strachan.

Of course, as we know, Strachan was offered the Celtic job during a ‘chance encounter’ at the Cheltenham racing festival.

In March 2005, knowing that Martin O’Neill intended to step down as Celtic manager at the end of that season, Dermot Desmond was hosting guests in his private hospitality box at the famous horse racing festival.

When Desmond discovered that Strachan, who was taking some downtime after leaving Southampton, was nearby, he extended an invitation for him to join the box.

The two hit it off immediately

Combined with a glowing recommendation from Formula One supremo Eddie Jordan, this racecourse meeting solidified Desmond’s decision to hire Strachan that summer.

And guess what? They’ve been great mates since.

So when Gordon Strachan talks about ‘hostility’ at St. Andrews, you know who’s side of the fence he’s firmly on.

There are appropriate ways for supporters to express frustration, but throwing objects or disrupting events crosses the line.

Open communication is essential here. Both sides need to understand each other’s challenges before constructive discussions can happen.

Crossing into hostile behaviour accomplishes nothing. That’s no way to start any conversation.

Look at that statement again.

I had to.

Because in a nutshell there, Gordon Strachan is showing that he has zero understanding of the conflict between the Celtic board, Dermot Desmond, and the Celtic fans.

Every single way that Celtic fans have expressed their frustrations up to this point has been ignored.

That open communication Strachan refers to?

Non-existent.

With every avenue of communication being gradually closed off.

As for constructive discussions?

In the past, these have resulted in shoulder shrugging, and fans being told that all KPI’s are being met at the club.

When clearly, we know there are, nor ever were, any KPI’s to begin with.

The challenges the fanbase have are pretty simple, they are as follows:

Stadium. Growth. Communication. Europe. Governance. Engagement. 

Thanks to the board, the stadium is dilapidated and outdated, growth is headed in a negative direction, communication is non-existent, Europe is a farce, governance is Dermot Desmond, and engagement involves wheeling out Brian Wilson to beg for ‘one more chance’.

If Gordon Strachan was in any way understanding of the situation from the fan’s perspective, then he wouldn’t come out with bollocks akin to the above statement.

Finally, his definition of hostile is clearly flawed

Because if Strachan considers a few tennis balls being thrown onto a golfing green as hostility, then I’d hate see what he considers as a couple of notches above hostility.

Desmond and his stooges are trying to paint the whole St. Andrew’s incident as something way more sinister than it was.

When in reality, a few tennis balls bounced around a golfing green, and embarrassed a billionaire in front of his elite golfing companions.

Nothing more than Desmond’s ego was bruised here.

And he needs the likes of Strachan to stroke said ego.

Hostility?

Desmond and this board wouldn’t know hostility if hit them in the face.

They know how to dish it out though.

Take one look at his deranged statement for confirmation of that.

As for Strachan?

His statement reads like he arrived to the party months late, and is clued in to half of what’s going on.

But Strachan was never beloved by the Celtic fanbase, was he?

There’s a reason for that.

And I’ve just given you a perfect example of it.

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