Celtic’s Saturday Night Own Goal – Not a hint of self-awareness or humility or regret | OneFootball

The counter offensive to the Celtic supporters uprising against the Celtic’s Board after the shambles of a summer transfer window is well underway…

Peter Lawwell, former CEO of Celtic, is seen in attendance prior to the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

First we had that Lawwell puppet-blogger back in action with yet another attack on Brendan Rodgers – that in itself is not unusual as he’s being doing that even before Rodgers officially signed on the dotted line in June 2023.

When Rodgers did sign, he walked back into the club alongside a minibus full of Mark Lawwell signings whose combined cost used up the entire windfall money from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, before we had to pay Benfica their share.

Dermot Desmond prior to the Celtic vs St Mirren Cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park on May 20, 2023 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rodgers, incidentally was appointed as in the opinion of Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s ultimate powerbroker, he was the best man for the job. Mark Lawwell was appointed because he had suggested Ange Postecoglou around the Lawwell family dinner table and had worked at The City Group. Rodgers worked with the players signed in that window and this summer had a clear-out of those remaining, which would have included Yang had the competence levels been better in the Celtic boardroom.

Adam Idah scores the winner for Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Yet the Lawwell camp reckon that Rodgers wasted £25m last summer on three players – Idah, Engels and Trusty. Idah was needed in January 2024 window, as was Nicolas Kuhn. Both have now been sold for a a combined total of around £24m and both contributed greatly to Celtic’s silverware haul in their season and a half in Glasgow.

Adam idah scores at Ibrox in the 3-3 draw in April 2024.

Idah scored crucial goals in that tight title race with theRangers – including two massive goals against Philippe Clement’s side. He was valued at £3m when he arrived on loan from Norwich City but no option to buy was included in the deal. That turned out to be a mistake but it was Michael Nicholson not Brendan Rodgers who negotiated the deal – that was confirmed very clearly last night by the club.

Norwich City played a blinder in the transfer negotiations with the Celtic CEO and he ended up having to pay a premium – not the fault of the manager. Adam Idah scored 20 goals for Celtic last season, mostly from the bench and against contributed including at Champions League level.

His move to Norwich City for around £7m means that Celtic are down a few million at most on the deal, however that’s because Idah’s success at Celtic meant that add-on payments would have increased the sum due, and these were agreed by the club not the manager.

Arne Engels – theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Engels had a reasonably successful first season at Celtic. He was just 20 when he arrived and even if Celtic did decide to sell him on – maybe the decision of the next manager – it’s unlikely that money would be lost. The same goes for Trusty, who has played regularly but has been carrying an injury in the early part of the season. If Trusty and Engels were to be sold Celtic would, when adding the fee received from Swansea essentially would be no worse off.

So it’s a myth that £25m had been wasted by Rodgers and especially galling as it relates to three players who all contributed significantly in the Champions League last season. Compare and contrast with the Mark Lawwell signings in summer 2023, when Ange Postecoglou had already had his mind made up that he was out the door after the Scottish Cup final.

The second strand of the counter-offensive came via an anonymous briefing to The Scottish Sun which Niall J covered brilliantly yesterday on The Celtic Star. You can read that below.

NIALL J…Celtic board now gaslighting the Celtic support

When the club is briefing against the manager to their compliant blogger – standing alone against what looks like the rest of the Celtic support – and also the Sun of all papers – then we know we have a real problem that simply can’t be tolerated. It certainly won’t go away either.

Brendon Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, looks on prior to the match between theRangers and Celtic at Ibrox on August 31, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Then to make matters wore the club released their own statement just before 9pm last night which essentially told us that they know best, can’t take any risks, must be mindful of UEFA regulations and can’t push the boat out in spending money we do actually have. They could have done that in all in a few paragraphs but instead it went on and on and in doing so actually exposed their own limits with such a restricted, cautious and timid mindset that shows that despite their full assurance in their own abilities they aren’t the people to take Celtic forward.

You have to read this for yourselves and make your own minds up, but this is the statement posted last night around 9pm on the official Celtic FC website.

Here’s the statement followed by some of the comments posted by supporters on the club’s X account.

Celtic Football Club Statement

Following constructive meetings yesterday (Friday) with representatives of the Celtic Supporters’ Association, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters’ Clubs and the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters’ Clubs, the Club thanks them for conveying the concerns of their members, and Celtic supporters more widely.

The Club takes Celtic supporters’ views extremely seriously, and the Club understands the concerns and frustrations which have arisen. We are listening to the views expressed by our supporters, welcome dialogue and we are always willing to learn lessons. The Club is committed to engagement with supporters, and we will work hard to address the concerns and frustrations that have been raised.

Achieving success on the field of play underpins everything we do. The Club’s strategy over many years has been dedicated to that objective, and we will always strive to achieve it. Celtic supporters play an integral part in the success of the Club, and we are committed to delivering success for them.

Transfer activity attracts enormous attention and speculation, particularly across social media, and the mainstream media has commoditised the transfer window in its relentless search for content. In connection with Celtic, we recognise that debate around this subject reflects the passion of our supporters. Unfortunately, as is often the case in the media and social media, there is inaccurate or misleading information in circulation.

It is clear, from our meetings with supporters’ representatives and from feedback from supporters in recent weeks, that supporters seek clarity. We would, therefore, like to address several key points directly.

Like every supporter, we are ambitious for Celtic. Our shared objective is football success – to succeed in Scotland and to compete in the Champions League. We are disappointed, this season, not to compete in the Champions League, but we are determined to succeed both domestically and in Europe.

However, the Club must adhere to our self-sustaining model: to protect the present and secure the future, ensuring Celtic remains strong for generations to come. The Club’s model has been developed and applied over many years, and during that period the Club has enjoyed a sustained period of success and growth.

Further, the Club’s model is not optional – it is now essential as a consequence of the UEFA Sustainability Regulations, with which the Club must comply. Wages and transfer spending are strictly governed by UEFA’s regulations, which effectively cap wages and transfer spending as a proportion of our revenues. Importantly, the Club’s cash reserves are not relevant to the assessment of this de facto spending cap for the purposes of the UEFA regulations.

Therefore, all investment decisions must be, and are, guided by responsible forecasts of future revenues and cash flow, which by their nature are volatile. We can never compromise the financial integrity of the Club. In short, throwing money at transfers and contracts is not a sustainable route to success, as many other clubs have found to the detriment of their supporters.

Over many years, careful management of the Club’s model has allowed the Club to remain debt-free and to build strong cash reserves. It is important to remain disciplined in our approach. The cash reserves reflected in our accounts exist for the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club and to manage the inherent volatility within football. These funds are used in a measured fashion for investment in recruitment, infrastructure, and long-term development. We will always listen to our supporters, who have the Club’s interests at heart, in how we can continue to develop the Club within these parameters.

The Club plans our recruitment and player trading strategy responsibly and consistently, ensuring the squad can be strengthened for the short, medium and long term, while also seeking to ensure the development and progression of our Academy players. Our objective is to create Champions League players.

The recruitment process includes the identification of players, and the conclusion of the transfer. Ultimately, once a player has been identified, confirmed by the football manager and it is then supported by the Board in line with the Club’s financial model, the Club will pursue that target to seek to conclude the transfer within our agreed parameters.

Importantly, our ability to progress transfers is not conditional on Champions League qualification. We recognise the importance of timing. Our clear goal is to secure new signings as early in each transfer window as possible, so that players can integrate quickly and contribute from the outset of the season.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to conclude transfers, either within the timescales that we target, or at all. There are many factors and challenges at play in the global transfer market, many of which are outwith the Club’s control, including selling clubs seeking fees beyond our valuation or waiting until the end of the transfer window to seek the maximum price, and players choosing to join another club or requesting contractual terms we cannot responsibly meet within our financial model.

It is not always possible to achieve all of the objectives set within a transfer window, and that is regrettable. We share our supporters’ disappointment, and we will always continue to review and seek to improve our strategy and execution.

Successful transfers can only be negotiated privately. It would be impossible to secure players if every stage were conducted in public. From time to time, other parties may also seek to create pressure by leaking information to the media. The Club’s position is clear: transfer business will remain confidential until agreements are concluded and announced by the club.

It follows, therefore, that much of what is written in the media or online about our transfer dealings is inaccurate. We also understand that this leads to frustration among supporters. While we cannot comment during ongoing negotiations, we are exploring ways to seek to address the gap between speculation and reality once each transfer window closes, in order to improve clarity for our supporters.

We thank Celtic supporters for their unmatched passion and commitment. We all share the same ambition: to see Celtic succeed on the pitch while remaining strong and secure off it. We hope this statement provides clarity about our transfer policy and reassurance of our unwavering dedication to Celtic’s short, medium and long-term success.

End of Statement.

North Curve Celtic’s response

“Irrespective of the condescending and insulting content of this statement, 350+ Celtic fan entities representing tens of thousands of Celtic fans around the world have signed an open letter with 7 explicit questions – these questions, and those asking them, have been ignored.”

Some Celtic supporter comments…

“Blame Supporters. Blame Social Media. Blame the Manager. Blame Speculation. Blame Enormous Attention. Blame MSM. Blame Misinformation. Blame Self-Sustaining Models. Blame UEFA. Blame FSR. Blame Volatile Markets. Blame Selling Clubs. Blame Players. Don’t Blame Us – The Board.”

“I’m sorry. That was a lot of wordsmithing to say little of comfort for the supporters. And not a word that remotely takes responsibility for the recent weakening of the club under their watch.”

‘”Dear fans, we’re incompetent & the only way we can keep our position is by scare mongering you about the 90s, and a childish wee nudge nudge wink wink dig about Rangers going out the game in 2012, yours unfaithfully, the PLC”‘

“Atrocious. We did nothing wrong. We are doing our best. We will continue to do things the way we’ve been doing them. Save your criticism for those who give a damn. Have I missed anything out? Oh boy. Oh dear. We’re on a bad road now folks, a bad road.”

“How to say nothing in so many words. Time for the board to go.”

“Bla bla bla, we’re doing a great job, it’s not our fault, you’re too stupid to understand, leave us alone, please don’t shout at us at the next match. INSULTINGLY PATHETIC!”

The Celtic Board. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

“A pointless statement from a pointless board. Nobody and I mean nobody believes that drivel you’ve just released, unfortunately for you, we are not stupid and gullible!”

“If ever there was a statement so out of touch with every person that backs the club, this is it. Congratulations Celtic, we are run by a shower of charlatans.”

“Ten to 9 on a Saturday night. “Our model is fine, it’s you that just don’t understand”. Not a hint of self-awareness or humility or regret. This, by your own reflection here, is as good as it gets. That’s frightening.”

And it goes on and on…yeah it’s frightening right enough.

Celtic in the Eighties – Out Now!…

Celtic in the Eighties by the late, great David Potter is out now on Celtic Star Books. Celtic in the Eighties is now available in the Celtic superstore and all other club shops. And don’t forget that you can still purchase your copy directly from Celticstarbooks.com for same day postage.

Order Celtic in the Eighties today, you’ll be glad you did, it’s a fabulous read!

OUT NOW! Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books. Click on image to order.

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