Celtic in Crisis: Board Scrambles for Control After Rodgers Bombshell | OneFootball

Celtic are a club in crisis. Brendan Rodgers’ resignation on Monday night shocked many, but it was only the latest symptom of deeper problems. His departure has exposed cracks that stretch far beyond the dugout, revealing a leadership and ownership group that has lost its grip on direction and identity.

Incompetent ownership, poor communication from the board, a weakening squad, and a team struggling for results have created an atmosphere of anger and mistrust. Two defeats in a row in the Scottish Premiership have only added fuel to the fire. For a club built on dominance and expectation, this feels like unfamiliar territory. The green and white half of Glasgow is restless, and the question everyone is asking is simple: what on earth is going on at Celtic?

Where does fan anger stem from?

Considering the season they just had in 2024/25, you’d think Celtic fans are crazy to demand their board is sacked and that they shouldn’t have any anger because they have it better than anyone. Those who have that argument are right, if you’re a Dundee or Hibernian or a fan of any other side outside of the Old Firm you’d love winning 13 of the last 14 league titles, winning a load of cups and regularly competing in the Champions League.

But considering that last season they looked arguably as strong as they did in Rodgers’ first spell in 2016, and they were also able to go further in the Champions League than before in many many years, it’s quite simply unacceptable that the Celtic board went on to weaken his squad without good enough replacements. And that’s only one reason Celtic fans are angry, there is many more.

Celtic’s statement on Brendan Rodgers resigning:

The current Celtic owner, Dermot Desmond, isn’t exactly a popular man and to some extent, understandably so. He is the man responsible of who is hired at board level, he is responsible for the amount of money spent, he is responsible for the culture and general club direction. Yet in his statement on Monday night he had the audacity as the majority shareholder to essentially blame all the failings on the manager, astonishing!

Sorry but going in two footed like that on a manager who has given your football club incredible amounts of success in two separate spells, despite having his hands tied, is simply astonishing. That message Dermot Desmond has sent to Celtic fans isn’t one of responsibility, honesty or dignity. That’s one of pointing the finger to somebody who could only do so much with the resources he had.

Dermot Desmond’s full statement on Brendan Rodgers’ resignation:

Of course when it comes to the team, that’s 100% the responsibility of the man in the dugout because that’s his job. But Brendan Rodgers isn’t the reason fans are angry at the board and why the atmosphere feels toxic. Nor is he responsible for actions of a small section of supporters who may have gone beyond the line.

Why Celtic fans are angry is because of the way Dermot Desmond is running their club, it’s as simple as that.

Celtic’s transfer business

Recruitment has been so poor, so poor. Celtic were in a significant position of strength heading into last summer, despite needing to play a Champions League play off because of Scotland’s poor UEFA coefficient ranking. The Celtic board knew this long before the summer window opened, yet a plan B or C or D was never drawn up in case they lost.

It’s inexcusable really they lost to Kairat Almaty, Celtic should win a game like that regardless. But that doesn’t cover the fact Rodgers needed players to replace the ones he lost. He didn’t want Adam Idah to go until a replacement was signed, he was sold anyway. The replacement? Kelechi Iheanacho on a free after the window had shut.

Celtic also sold Nicolas Kühn to Como, good money to be fair. But who was the replacement and where was that replacement as soon as Kühn was out the door? If you want to count Tounekti, fair enough since he has shown good moments and quality. But based off media reports, he wasn’t identified and signed until the final weeks of the window, long after Kühn left the club. That is unacceptable for a club like Celtic.

Then there was the striker situation. Kyogo was let go in January, they didn’t sign a proper replacement in that same window and put greater faith in Adam Idah. Then you fast forward to the summer, surely a striker would’ve been a priority. They did sign someone, Shin Yamada, and maybe him as back up to Idah would’ve been ok. But they then sold idah to Swansea before signing Iheanacho as a free transfer. You’ve got to ask, what exactly was the board’s plan?

Celtic signed Benjamin Nygren from FC Nordsjælland, which has proven to be quite a good signing. But unfortunately for Celtic fans, it just felt like he was the only player they actually bothered scouting and following very thoroughly. The others were like late panic buys with no plan behind it.

Celtic are meant to be the best club in Scotland, that’s the track record they have on the pitch. But the recruitment suggests they’ve got medieval scouting systems compared to a side like Hearts where Tony Bloom has made a significant impact just by being there for five minutes.

Are the Celtic board to blame for everything?

Not necessarily because ultimately the team still has to go to places like Dundee, to Hearts, Rangers, and always look to win the game. But particularly their last two games, the players looked lost and lacked a hunger and belief. That’s just against sides that historically haven’t ever bee near them. Dundee had more aggression and fight, Hearts had far greater desire. Even in the Old Firm derby in August, Rangers looked the better side.

Those kinds of things comes from coaches and the players and it just seemed like Rodgers lost that hunger because of the way the summer had gone off the pitch and the players lost that bite and hunger because the way Rodgers has been has spread itself onto the team. An uncertainty, a lack of direction, desire and fight. Everything looks so stale and maybe Rodgers resigning could be a blessing in disguise when it comes to on pitch performances.

Who and what is next for Celtic?

Martin O’Neill has taken charge on an interim basis as Celtic begin their search for a new manager. It’s his first role, permanent or interim, since he was at Nottingham Forest way back in 2018.

Cdltic fans will be happy he’s back at the club considering everything he achieved in his time there 20 years ago and maybe in the short term, the Celtic board hope he can build a happy atmosphere whilst they search for the permanent Rodgers replacement. The board may slso hope he can help ease the pressure on board executives and the owner too.

The names so far that have been mentioned include Ange Postecoglou, Craig Bellamy and Kieran McKenna. Postecoglou in particular seemingly has emerged as an early front-runner, especially since he knows the club and will play the exciting football fans want to see.

According to some bookies, other names who could be in the running include; Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Edin Terzic, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Wilfried Nancy among others.

What Next For Celtic?

Celtic stand at a crossroads. A club once synonymous with dominance and identity is now mired in dysfunction and disillusion. The resignation of Brendan Rodgers has peeled back the curtain on deep-rooted structural failings, from uninspired recruitment to an ownership seemingly out of touch with both footballing reality and fan sentiment.

The next appointment in the dugout might steady the ship in the short term, but it will not fix the cracks in the foundation. Until there is real leadership, a long-term sporting vision, and an honest dialogue with supporters, Celtic will continue to drift. Powerful in name, but rudderless in direction.

For now, Celtic fans are left clinging to hope that whoever steps into the manager’s office will not just rebuild a team, but help restore pride to a club that once defined Scottish football’s highest standards. The question is no longer just who replaces Brendan Rodgers. It is who repairs Celtic Football Club.