Bhoycie 
I’ve spent the last several weeks questioning the direction Celtic are heading in, the lack of ambition in Europe and the increasingly poisonous atmosphere surrounding our football club.
Those arguments haven’t always been particularly popular.
Apparently, questioning Celtic’s board means you’re negative. Comparing our European performances with clubs like Club Brugge is somehow irrelevant, and demanding better communication from those running Celtic is treated by some as an unreasonable expectation.
Well, I listened to Bernard Ponsonby’s interview on PLZ Soccer, and it was refreshing to hear somebody articulate so many of those concerns without the usual nonsense that surrounds these discussions.
Ponsonby wasn’t calling for chaos. He wasn’t dismissing everything Celtic have achieved.
He was asking perfectly reasonable questions about where our club is going.
Questions I’ve been asking for weeks.
Bernard articulates himself far better than I could dream of though!
Financially Successful, But Where Is The European Ambition?
One thing I’ve never disputed is Celtic’s financial strength.
The club has enjoyed remarkable domestic success over the last quarter of a century, and those responsible deserve recognition for the stability they’ve helped establish.
Ponsonby acknowledged that himself.
But here’s where the argument changes.
Being financially well run doesn’t automatically mean Celtic are fulfilling their potential as a football club.
I’ve repeatedly questioned why we’re expected to celebrate domestic dominance while accepting European failure as some unavoidable consequence of modern football.
Club Brugge have just gone to the San Siro and beaten Inter Milan 4-3 in the Champions League.
Celtic, meanwhile, are competing in the Europa League and have conceded seven goals in our opening two matches.
Yet some supporters would rather criticise the comparison than confront what it tells us.
Ponsonby believes Celtic haven’t spent properly to achieve meaningful European progress.
That’s precisely the issue.
It’s not simply about spending more money. It’s about having a coherent strategy that allows Celtic to compete beyond Scotland.
Dermot Desmond’s Silence Is Part Of The Problem
For weeks I’ve been asking where the leadership is.
Where is the communication? Where is the explanation of Celtic’s long-term strategy? Why are supporters left guessing about the ambitions of those controlling the club?
Ponsonby raised exactly the same concerns.
He openly admitted that he doesn’t know Dermot Desmond’s vision for Celtic.
Neither do I.
And neither, I suspect, do the overwhelming majority of supporters.
We hear from the Desmond family when there’s a dispute with Brendan Rodgers or when supporters need to be reminded about the supposed limitations of Celtic’s ambitions.
But where is the meaningful engagement?
Ponsonby made an excellent observation about Desmond sending representatives to deliver messages while remaining distant himself.
I’ve argued that Celtic’s leadership should be facing supporters directly rather than allowing managers to answer questions that belong in the boardroom.
That hasn’t changed.
Celtic Supporters Are Being Turned Against One Another
This was perhaps the most significant part of the interview for me.
Ponsonby spoke about how unpleasant the atmosphere among Celtic supporters has become.
I’ve written extensively about this recently.
Instead of debating the actual concerns being raised, too many people seem determined to attack whoever raises them.
Question the board and you’re accused of undermining the team.
Demand European progress and you’re told to be realistic.
Challenge the direction of the club and suddenly you’re the problem.
It’s become exhausting.
The irony is that supporters who want greater ambition are regularly portrayed as somehow being against Celtic.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
We want Celtic to succeed.
We want the club’s financial strength to be reflected in the quality of the football operation.
And we want supporters to stop treating legitimate criticism as some sort of betrayal.
Changing Directors Won’t Change Celtic Without A New Approach
Ponsonby also made an important point about boardroom changes.
Replacing directors achieves very little if the same influential figures continue directing the club in exactly the same manner.
That’s something I’ve questioned throughout the recent discussions about Celtic’s governance.
Supporters aren’t simply asking for different names.
They’re demanding a different approach.
Better communication, proper accountability, smarter recruitment and genuine European ambition.
Martin O’Neill deserves support, but even his appointment doesn’t answer the bigger questions about Celtic’s future.
A football club cannot continue drifting from one short-term solution to another while expecting supporters to believe there’s a coherent long-term plan.
It’s Time Celtic’s Leadership Started Listening
What I appreciated most about Ponsonby’s interview was that he recognised Celtic’s achievements without using them as an excuse to dismiss the club’s failures.
That’s the distinction too many people seem unwilling to make.
You can appreciate what Celtic have achieved domestically while believing the club has fallen well short of its potential in Europe.
You can respect Martin O’Neill while questioning his selections.
And you can love Celtic Football Club without agreeing with the people running it.
I’ve been making these arguments for weeks, and I’ll continue making them because I genuinely believe Celtic can and should be achieving considerably more.
Ponsonby’s intervention doesn’t suddenly make those arguments correct simply because he’s a respected broadcaster.
But it does demonstrate that these concerns aren’t confined to some imaginary group of permanently disgruntled supporters.
They’re real questions about the future of Celtic.
And until Dermot Desmond and the board start answering them, the disconnect between the club and its supporters will only continue to grow.
Keep Your Eyes On The Board.
Three points The Celtic Board must get right.
1/ Success in Scottish Competitions.
2/ Financial success.
3/ European success.
Present Board
1/ Excellent results.
2/Excellent Achievement
3/ Very, Very, poor performance.
The present board must must be applauded for what they have achieved but if they cannot complete all three tasks then they have to pass the baton to someone else and move on.
what a load of crap… pass it on to who?
What is the new so called leaders get 1 out of 3 or 0 out of 3?
What is your grand plan then… start imitating the carousel of nonsense we have been laughing about across the river.
Only poisonous feeling is coming from a certain section of our supporters , after 60+ years of supporting Celtic I can’t believe that we have a section booing our own players. These are the same people who have brought our reputation to pits, we’re probably worser than them and the onion bears.
More embarrassing is the chant of sack the board ffs are we that uneducated they don’t know how a limited company works.
100% agree. We’re called “Supporters”for a reason. Some of these moaners and booers are like spoilt weans. We win everything in Scotland most of the time so we need a plan and better leaders for Europe. Always back the team and the players. The board wont leave becaise of shouting neds who shame the club
We know Mr Brady (board stooge) that this board are costing the club millions by their failure to prepare for champions league qualifiers. A bunch of old dinosaurs who are ripping off the support.. You are the embarrassment, and probably uneducated if you are unable to recognise this fact !.
We’re all sick of the pish that’s being served up by the board. It’s not just the green brigade.
They need to get the money on the park not in the clubs bank account. As a shareholder ye way the club is being run is costing me money as not getting in to the Champions league is costing us potential profits
Are you a happy clapper Martin?
‘ Uneducated’ types the guy that also penned the classic ‘worser than them’.
A significant part of your 60+ years must have been spent with yir heid up yir erse if you haven’t heard Celtic fans booing their own team before. All fans do it, that is of course except the ‘happy clappers’ and it is those very happy clappers that give our Board licence for their despicable behaviour. I also have 60+ years of following Celtic and ‘Sack the Board’ cries were the same throughout the late ‘80s & 90’s. We knew we couldn’t sack them but it signified the extent of our anger and disgust with their conduct that in the hope, forlorn though it may have been at the time, that things would change.
Not enough ambition from the top to be taken seriously in football world..
We are a great club fan base let’s see what fans deserve real success!!
As an avid fan have been for 60 years travelled any every country Celtic play in I’m not a big fan of the board but also not a big fan of Martin O’Neils football but before you jump down my throat I hated Brendan’s football as well but you can’t deny what they achieved but being bored for so long I was about to throw in my season book with Brendan and now considering the same with Martin I can’t take much more of the garbage both of them bought and don’t tell me it was all the board I watched and listened to Rodger’s among everybody else but watched crap football he served up but we got success so basically I’m back to thinking about throwing the towel in not for board but for the garbage management I have endured for a long long time thanks
Utter rubbish! Ponsonby wouldn’t part with a fiver for a cappuccino! I’m from West Belfast and can tell you the only ones who need to leave Celtic are the IRA/Gaza chanting empty heads! The IRA ran away and formed a Brit micro gov’t. And Gaza has nothing to do with Celtic. At least 50,000 Christians have been killed in African countries where is their support?! Clear off and form a political protest group if you want to talk politics!
Terry Lundie @ 8.43am…
Excellent and reasoned assessment there buddy !
Firstly I am neither for or against the board but I will point out that Celtic have in the last 26 years won more that I would ever have imagined.
Now you talk about European Football as i the board have a major say on that? Aye lets keep complaining about signings Bodo Glimpt have approx 90%+ of Norwegian players.
Celtic supporters act as if Celtic are much bigger than they are… we are not we are huge in out own little world but outside of that we are not.
You and the others seem to forget we play in the SPFL < there is no competition, players are not tested enough. However we have mostly failed due to tactics and on park failures.
If Celtic win its not the board if Celtic lose its the board.
Most of the big clubs hundreds of millions in dept and paying stupid amounts of money on players and wages. We cannot compete against that, then we have the quality of home grown players problem as any decent player lured out of Scotland at a very young age.
Teams like Chelsea, Liverpool etc pay these kids tens of thousands at the age of 16.
Yes we would all like to do better in Europe but the main focus and 'WHAT' most Celtic Supporters demand is win the League and dont let them win it. Celtic wont win it everytime and no club ever does but Celtic have been. Its this demand that hinders development as the pressure to win is great, the burden is great, young players, managers new signings, new tactics are not given time… hit the ground running or fuck off is your attitude <<< YET sharpening up those fingers to point waiting for the next mistake.
You are making excuses for the board, especially regarding European results.
No holding midfielder signed was the main reason for the LASK result.
That was on the board.