Celtic Board faces calls for change after turbulent summer | OneFootball

By the club’s own standards 2025 has been underwhelming, frustrating and fractious year at Celtic. It’s hard to pinpoint a significant victory in the calendar year to date, although maybe Sunday’s dramatic fightback to turn defeat into three points against Motherwell would be the moment when all that changed…

Daizen Maeda of Celtic scores a late goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Motherwell FC at Celtic Park, on 5th October 2025. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO/Shutterstock

Kyogo was sold but never replaced

Celtic sold want-away Japanese talisman Kyogo in late January to French side Stade Rennais for around £10m. The striker had just turned 30 and wanted to improve his chances of playing in next summer’s World Cup, although that move certainly didn’t work out for him in France and he’s now struggling for game-time in the English Championship mid-table side Birmingham City.

Kyogo celebrates with the cup after the Premier Sports Cup Final victory over theRangers at Hampden on 15 December 2024. Photo AJ for The Celtic Star

Celtic tried and failed to replace Kyogo in the closing days of the January window so had that at the top of their ‘to do’ list for the summer.

Nicolas Kuhn scores during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Nicolas Kuhn, a £3m signing form Rapid Vienna in the January 2024 transfer window, discovered some sparkling form in the Champions League culminating in a brilliant goal in Munich in the play-off round as Celtic took the lead against Bayern and looked set to take the tie to extra-time. A last minute goal put that dream to bed and from there Celtic never really got going again.

Domestic doldrums after Munich agony

Throughout the year Celtic has failed to beat theRangers, the Scottish Cup Final was lost to a poor Aberdeen side mostly due to a horrendous error from Kasper Schmeichel and although the title was won, the lead Celtic had already earned earlier in the campaign had made that more of a formality than anything else.

Kasper Schmeichel of Celtic concedes an own goal leading to the first goal for Aberdeen during the Scottish Cup Final match between Aberdeen and Celtic at Hampden Park on May 24, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

But progress in European football was a major cause for optimism and the Celtic support awaited early arrivals to bring quality to the squad and help Brendan Rodgers push on in his ambitious objective of re-establishing Celtic as a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League.

No automatic place in the Champions League

This time though there would be no automatic place in the Champions League due to a weakening co-efficient for Scottish football, and Celtic would face a play-off at the end of August.

Nicolas Kuhn wanted away as did Daizen Maeda who had filled in as the main Celtic striker as we awaited the Kyogo replacement and scored over 30 goals, winning all the Player of the Year accolades.

Kuhn got his move, a £17m transfer to Italian side Como, but Daizen Maeda was told he was needed for the Champions League playoff matches. Celtic had been drawn against rank outsiders Kairat Almaty so qualification surely looked assured.

Summer window saw new arrivals

Meanwhile in the transfer window Kieran Tierney had returned as a free agent after ending his contract at Arsenal and Swedish international midfielder Benjamin Nygren was signed together with a number of ‘club signings’ who had potential for development but were not regarded as ‘oven ready’ starters for the Celtic manager.

Tensions grew as the new season got underway with some fans have even noting how worldwide betting markets such as 1xBet Ireland, are closely following Celtic’s fluctuating odds for this season, reflecting the uncertainty around the club’s immediate prospects.

Rodgers no maintenance manager

Brendan Rodgers, media conference ahead of Flag Day. Friday 1 August 2025. Photo The Celtic Star

At his media conference before the flag day opener against St Mirren, Brendan Rodgers confirmed that he would remain at Celtic for the season and would love to stay longer but only if the club matched his ambition and by that he meant the signing of the quality targets that had been identified. Rodgers would not remain as a maintenance man to wok with a squad under resourced and lacking in sufficient quality to be competitive in the Champions League.

Kieran Tierney of Celtic reacts during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

By the time Celtic kicked off against Kairat Almaty there was still no replacement for Kyogo and worse still Daizen Maeda’s mind was elsewhere after a summer waiting for the move Celtic had promised him. 34 year old James Forrest was the only option as a right winger and early in the first leg match at Celtic Park Alistair Johnston pulled his hamstring and was stretched off with a three month period on the sidelines the prognosis.

Alistair Johnston of Celtic is stretchered off after sustaining an injury during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic failed to break down the Kairat defence and had to settle for a goalless draw with the tie set to be decided a week later in the Kazakhstan capital, some 3500 miles away from Celtic Park.

Calamity in Almaty

Again this match ended goalless, with Daizen Maeda missing a wonderful chance just before the end of the 90 minutes. The stalemate continued through extra-time as Kairat were happy to play for penalties and that seemed like a wise move given how well they executed them and how awful some of the Celtic efforts were.

Celtic were out of the Champions League – yet again – at the play-off stages and the support had had enough of this contrast cycle repeating itself from a cautious board who wait for qualification before spending in the last days of the widow and end up missing out on Champions League qualification to a list of clubs that have nowhere near the financial resources of Celtic.

The last day of the transfer window

By the last day of the transfer window Celtic were still looking to sign players notably wingers  for both the left and the right (to replace Maeda and Khun) and a striker to replace Kyogo.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Celtic FC. Photo Celtic FC

Sebastian Tounekti at Celtic Park, 16 September 2025. Photo The Celtic Star

Celtic managed to sign two left wingers – Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti but failed to sign a striker while managing to sell Adam Idah to Swansea for £7m (the Irish international did NOT want to leave Celtic).

The club also failed to sign a right winger and those failing had implications for Daizen Maeda, who had already cleared his locker at the club’s training centre at Lennoxtown, and the South Korean winger Yang who was in Birmingham ready to complete his own deadline day move from Celtic.

Adam Idah of Celtic appears dejected after missing a penalty during the shootout Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 August 2025. Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

Idah had been down as Swansea for a medical but was swiftly called back to Glasgow ahead of the Glasgow Derby match against theRangers at Ibrox, but was then not included in the squad before being sold against his will a few days later.

Yang Hyun-Jun of Celtic Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 August 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

Yang knew Celtic wanted to sell him and he was happy to be getting his move to Birmingham City before Celtic failed to allow the deal to be finalised and Yang was sent back to Lennoxtown. Meanwhile Daizen Maeda was being told that his own move was off – despite the promises he’d been given – and that would presumably have been in excess of £25m.

So with a little more clarity, purpose and ambition Celtic could have had the following sums:

Kyogo sale – £10m – banked Kuhn sale – £17m – banked UCL money – £40m – LOST Maeda sale – £25m – LOST Idah sale – £7m – banked Yang sale – £3m – LOST

That’s £68m lost because a club with around £100m in the bank, was too cautious to spend money to back the manager and replace players they themselves had previously sold.

Discontent at Celtic following transfer window fiasco

Celtic came out of the transfer window with an unhappy winger forced to stay to play as a striker, three project strikers (one who had never played a senior game of football before) and no right wingers other than the 34 year-old veteran James Forrest who is now at the stage where he’s a super-sub rather than a starter.

In contrast by signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti Celtic ended up with four left-wingers when you add Yang and Daizen Maeda to the list.

Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates scoring the winner for Celtic at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Brendan Rodgers had to make an emergency call to Kelechi Iheanacho, his former player at Leicester who was out of favour at Seville. Celtic had tried and failed to sign Iheanacho in January with the player opting for a loan move to Middlesbrough instead. As the hours ticked down to the transfer window slamming shut news broke that Seville had released Iheanacho from his contract by mutual consent. That meant that he was a free agent and could sign for Celtic after the window had closed.

Kelechi Iheanacho is still a way from being fully fit but he is contributing and looks like a decent addition to the squad, thanks to the manager’s intervention and contacts book.

Celtic fans protested against the Board at Firhill

Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

But for the Celtic support they had had enough of the Celtic Board – who talk about being world-class in everything they do – being incompetent in the transfer dealings, failing to back the manager and showing a complete lack of ambition which continually results in costly Champions League play-off defeats. As the protests started the most telling image was the support holding up the names of the teams that had progressed to the Champions League over the last decade or so at Celtic expense.

Celtic fan protest. Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

This picture tells the story of why the Celtic fans are protesting against the Celtic Board and are seeking meaningful change in the direction the club is going to take fuelled by the money that the support shovels into the club year after year.

On Monday evening Celtic executives met with supporters groups at Celtic Park with the club subsequently releasing a statement which you can read HERE.