It’s starting to become something of a habit with Charlie | OneFootball

Former Celtic player Charlie Mulgrew has once again found himself in the spotlight, and again, not for reasons that will endear him to the support. But that’s starting to become something of a habit with Charlie…

Charlie Mulgrew, Hearts v Dundee United, Scottish Premiership, Tynecastle 06 April 2025 Photo Pete Summers/Shutterstock

Known for his amusing takes, Mulgrew perhaps recently mis-read his audience after he weighed in on Celtic’s transfer dealings last week, with a take more peculiar than funny. Now he appears to be testing the waters with his thoughts on potential future managers. And the approach is following a similar path. Once is a mistake. Twice is a habit.

Last week, Mulgrew defended Celtic’s handling of the transfer window, dismissing criticism of the club’s board, saying –

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

“No, I don’t think we can criticise the same group of people that have run such a great business model for years now… They’re bringing players in for a certain price and selling them on, and that’s why the club is in such a stable position. Obviously, Celtic are hard negotiators, maybe harder than other teams. And that’s why they’re getting a bit of stick. But listen, that’s the way they negotiate. It’s the way they’ve always done it. We can sit and moan about it, but it’s just the way Celtic operate.”

Those comments drew a mix of bemusement and frustration from fans, many of whom felt that Mulgrew’s take was crawlingly board friendly. We covered that one on The Celtic Star back on 5 September in this article titled Celtic’s great 25 year business model – More myth than magic.

Now, speaking on Go Radio Mulgrew has offered his opinion on Shaun Maloney as a potential future Celtic manager. Sigh.

24th May 2025; Hampden Park, Scottish Cup Football Final, Aberdeen versus Celtic; RossDoohan of Aberdeen chats to Shaun Maloney ActionPlus Vagelis Georgariou

“It would be unfair to start saying people or touting people for the job, but I think Shaun Maloney’s a really good coach, and would be a good manager. He’s worked at a high level, at the national team with Belgium, worked closely with Roberto Martinez. A right good coach. John Kennedy’s an unbelievable coach. But Brendan Rodgers is in the job just now, and it’s up to him to get the team playing, and back to more of a threat in the final third.”

Wigan Athletic manager Shaun Maloney looks on during the Sky Bet League One match between Wigan Athletic and Northampton Town at DW Stadium on August 12, 2023 in Wigan. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

While Maloney is apparently widely respected as a coach, many Celtic supporters would likely blow a gasket at the idea of him stepping straight into a head coach role at a club of Celtic’s stature, especially as he’s just taken on a role as a player pathways manager that needs a long term commitment, not a placeholder.

Experience, proven success, and the ability to handle the intense scrutiny of the club are critical factors for any Celtic manager, and few would argue that Maloney has yet to tick all those boxes.

Management gigs at Hibs, then Wigan, neither of which were successful is not the sort of upward trajectory Celtic should be demanding of any potential boss. No matter how some behind the scenes may view such a project.

Mulgrew’s comments come across as yet another example of him sucking up while the club tries to beat down supporter ambitions.

Shaun Maloney of Celtic celebrates after scoring during the CIS Insurance Cup Final soccer match between Celtic and Dunfermline at Hampden Park March 19, 2006. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Whether he genuinely believes Maloney could succeed at the helm, or whether he’s simply engaging in a bit of wishful thinking for an old pal, it leaves me thinking Charlie, saw an Open Goal and couldn’t miss an opportunity to curry favour with some, and troll the support as an acceptable hazard. It is not a good look.

Celtic fans are accustomed to high management standards and significant investment in the most important role at the club, as the appointments of both Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers have shown.

And while Mulgrew may have enjoyed a good career with the club, his recent commentary is out of step with the realities and frustrations of those of us who are currently navigating the Celtic board’s downsizing of our ambitions, and could do with help rather than hinderance from former players.

Celtic’s Lassad and Charlie Mulgrew see off dogged Aberdeen. 17 November 2012. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

If this was designed to test the water, he can report back the temperature is inclement.

The boot-licking, Charlie, is starting to wear thin.

Niall J

Read this from Niall J on the next page…Step forward, Michael. Answer the questions your supporters are demanding…

Step forward, Michael. Answer the questions your supporters are demanding…

Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Celtic, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Normally, such press duties are a routine part of a manager’s week. But this time, the context could not be more different. It would be an understatement to say a lot has happened since Rodgers last faced the cameras.

Big challenges lie ahead, and these were recognised openly, but the sense of purpose was unmistakable

Over the past week, we have witnessed something powerful, a remarkable mobilisation of the Celtic support. In just a few short days, unity has been forged across fan groups, culminating in Wednesday night’s constructive and encouraging meeting attended by representatives including David Faulds, Editor of The Celtic Star.

Wednesday night’s fan meeting was proof of the unity and determination now driving the Celtic support. Big challenges lie ahead, and these were recognised openly, but the sense of purpose was unmistakable.

Callum McGregor celebrates another title win for Celtic at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock in May 2024. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Plans were discussed for an initial protest at Sunday’s match, and there could follow a coordinated campaign across many areas which will be announced in due course with a mandate being given from the survey that the fan organisations have organised over the last week with 38,832 responses from supporters (see below).

Overwhelming backing for  the creation of a fan advisory board and a democratic supporter body

The survey results presented could not have been clearer. An overwhelming 99.4% registered a vote of no confidence in the board, while upwards of 90% endorsed every form of protest put forward. Perhaps most telling of all, 99.5% backed the creation of a fan advisory board and a democratic supporter body and we’ll look at how that might happen shortly.

Calls for the removal of key board members also drew near-total support.

Brendan Rodgers at Rugby Park. Photo by Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

It is early days for this emerging campaigning group, but the constructive start, combined with the growing strength of fan media, has given the support a powerful and unified voice like never before.

Supporters have shown, that when the club faces turbulence, collective action and shared purpose come to the fore. This unity has come about because fans do not feel listened to and have fears that have built up over months and years that Celtic is being run not at it’s optimum level, but instead left to coast.

The club’s ill-judged statement earlier in the week remains raw, five days on

The club’s ill-judged statement earlier in the week remains raw, five days on. It landed heavily, leaving behind hurt and fear that many fans are still processing. Hurt that the custodians of our club would choose to address supporters in such a patronising, condescending manner. Fear that those entrusted with running Celtic laid bare their failings, yet showed no appetite for accountability or change.

Brendan Rodgers at Rugby Park as Celtic wrap up the title. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Instead of introspection, the statement was framed as a list of excuses, a plea for sympathy, and a refusal to recognise that massive internal reform is required if Celtic are to thrive again.

A cowardly attack on Brendan Rodgers in the Sun has united the support being the Celtic manager, exactly the opposite of the ‘Celtic Insider’s’ intention

As if that were not damaging enough, supporters were left stunned by an extraordinary article in The Sun newspaper. Reportedly coming from a ‘Celtic Insider’ it attempted to deflect blame for the club’s failings onto Rodgers himself. That hit piece was cowardly, desperate, and entirely out of step with the mood of the support.

To brief against the manager in such a fashion was to reveal weakness at the heart of the organisation – weakness that cannot be hidden behind spin or scapegoating.

Celtic players after the game at Rugby Park. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star.

The parallels with 2019 were glaring. Then, as now, a Celtic manager was painted as someone who ‘didn’t get it,’ when all he had done was demand the same ambition the Celtic supporters have for our club. And then, as now, the executive appeared insulated in a self-congratulatory cocoon, surrounded by yes-men and gin-selling sycophants who owe their positions more to loyalty than to merit. The result is an organisation seemingly incapable of recognising challenge as healthy, let alone essential.

The tabloid attack, the disastrous statement, the transfer window debacle

And yet, after all this – the tabloid attack, the disastrous statement, the transfer window debacle – it will not be the CEO, the chairman, or the board who step forward to explain themselves. It will be Brendan Rodgers, the very man whose character was assassinated in the press, who is expected to answer questions about issues not of his making.

Michael Nicholson at Celtic Park. Sunday 18 May 2025. Celtic v FC Women v Motherwell. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

That smacks of weakness. The silence from those truly responsible only underlines what many supporters already fear, that the people charged with leading Celtic lack the courage and vision required to do so.

Rodgers would be perfectly justified in declaring he will speak only of football and about the supporters until the board finds its voice. Why should the manager be left to answer for decisions made in offices far from his remit? He should also refuse to speak to The Sun Newspaper and let them pay a price for taking part in the hatchet job last weekend.

Why should the only public voice of Celtic be the manager, when it is the executives and directors who must explain the current malaise?

Communication has long been a failing of this board. There appears a deep fear within the corridors of Celtic Park that speaking directly to supporters invites scrutiny and, in turn, accountability. But silence is no longer an option. At this stage, silence is not an option.

Peter Lawwell, Chairman of Celtic, Dermot Desmond, Non-Executive Director of Celtic, and Michael Nicholson, CEO of Celtic, are seen in attendance prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The support deserves answers. We deserve to know why ambition appears absent, why recruitment has been so poorly handled, and why those at the top feel entitled to patronise rather than engage. Most of all, we deserve leadership worthy of the name.

The unity displayed by supporters this week has been inspiring

The unity displayed by supporters this week has been inspiring. The contrast with the executive’s behaviour could not be starker. Celtic is not in crisis on the pitch – not yet – but behind the scenes, incompetence, relationships and egos appear to be obstructing progress. That is intolerable.

If those in charge have nothing to hide, they must prove it. They must face the support, acknowledge mistakes, and lay out a plan for the future. No more statements. No more whispers to the press. No more hiding behind the manager.

‘Here I am stuck in the middle with you’ – Peter Lawwell, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Nicholson (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The time for silence has passed. It is time for accountability. Show bravery. Step forward. Answer the questions your supporters are demanding. Do it now, before Brendan Rodgers is left to carry a burden that is not his to bear.

One thing that is certain is at Rugby Park and every game after that Brendan Rodgers and his players can be assured of the 100% backing from the entire Celtic support. That was made clear at Wednesday night’s landmark meeting as The Celtic Rebellion formally began.

Niall J

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

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