Mike tells us why he bought into Celtic, and why he wants to believe it’s Celtic he bought into.
When Fergus McCann offered the Celtic supporters the opportunity to purchase shares in the club, it was an opportunity that I did not want to miss. So I skimmed the housekeeping money, watered down the mince and went for it. A chance to buy into childhood dreams of past legendary players and managers, a tiny part of the club that is known and valued throughout the world. A club with a proud history with a charitable ethos that continues by the supporters to this day.
Celtic F.C. Foundation: Football for good.
These are the bricks that bind us all together, our history, our charitable works, our community spirit that is why we say “more than just a club”.
Having watched their 9 I.A.R. celebrations, always knowing about the blue bias, being laughed at and called paranoid and then, incredibly to watch as their world collapsed, pictures of coffins, hearses, wreaths and all the accoutrements of the dead, LIQUIDATION- RIP. “RANGERS.”
Revelations of massive scale cheating, E.B.T’s Bank Assistance, huge outstanding debts, the castle “grey-skull” was built on sand, we were not paranoid enough. As documents emerge in the summer of 2013, questions were raised at that years Celtic A.G.M. by a small group of shareholders. Questions pertaining to the awarding of the licence to Old-co’s participation in the 2011-12 C.L. Qualifiers. It seems that they had not paid their social taxes, the licence was awarded by lies and deception committed by those in charge of Old-co and their place-men at the S.F.A. All of this done at Celtic’s expense. As a shareholder this meant that your club was done out of millions of pounds and would have an affect on the Celtic share price. It was not the share price that meant that much, of course it mattered, it was how and why it was done.” SAME OLD “RANGERS” ALWAYS CHEATING”.
Lets be clear, it was the governance that the Resolutioner’s are questioning and the way all of this could be allowed to happen, they like we only want a level playing field an open, honest and transparent game. It seemed at the time that the Celtic board agreed with them, they after all are a very powerful force in Scottish football. I was confidant as a shareholder at that time that the truth would all come out.
We all waited for the Lord Nimmo Smith Commission and were shocked by his verdict. The THIRTEEN titles and trophies won through the E.B.T. years were not to be stripped. Later again it emerged that a former “Rangers” director and E.B.T. recipient and also an E.B.T. instigator, the then current S.F.A. President Campbell Ogilvie had directed the inquiry to investigate a specific time line. The construction and the contortions continued to reach the most HUN-believable verdict, a verdict that they wanted. “Going for 55” was still in play. One of the most bizarre verdicts ever reached.
Of course the final tax cases blew that decision right out the water. The lies and deceptions continued, the truth finally emerged in the results of the court cases. Mr. Black spilled the beans.
In later years A.G.M’s came and went, talk of silver bullets being fired Persistence still met with Resistance, the Resolutioner’s like us all became frustrated, the gun remained in its holster, it seemed to be firing blanks. The Celtic board back-tracked, suspicions continued something seemed quite wrong. We became confused and dismayed, it became apparent that not all of the Celtic support thought the same way about Res.12 as we did. PERSISTENCE MEETS RESISTANCE.
Persistence again at the 2019 Celtic A.G.M once again meets resistance from the Celtic board, in your face resistance this time, in fact downright opposition. They did not want to pursue it. But what is it? It is about the governance of Scottish football, why do they not want to pursue such an obvious wrong?
Suspicions are raised, are they somehow involved in the cover up? Suspicions are heightened when a questioner from the floor of the A.G.M. asks this:
DID THE BOARD KNOW ABOUT THE 5 WAY AGREEMENT?
ANSWER: NO, THIS IS JUST SPECULATION.
This is not about Old-co or New-co or Orino-co.
This is about supporters of all clubs paying to watch a rigged game and not in our favour, we do not look for any favours all we ask for is a level playing field, nothing more, nothing less. Since then the anger and suspicion remain, that our board are guilty of assisting to preserve the cheats, giving them a helping hand, the “Stand Alone Club Myth” is just that, a myth, everything must be done to continue with the Bigot pound at the expense of sporting integrity. That our shares are meaningless in the bigger scheme of things, just a heartbreaking reminder of our bye-gone times, when the Scottish game was less tarnished and was called “THE BEAUTIFUL GAME”.Well that game is now gone unless we all invest in the truth.
As a small shareholder, the shares are a piece of paper, a reminder of all I once held dear in Celtic, is the Bigot pound worth all of the lies and cheating, hate, anger and angst? I would say that it is not. Its a new decade, 2020 nothing has been done yet to rectify the lies and the bias and in the windmills of my mind this is what I-we should all aspire to:
I understand that a part of the club is a business that must be run well to protect and to keep it safe.
I want the business part to invest the monies raised mostly spent on the team and ground. The football team is what the club is all about after all, it is what we are all emotionally attached to.
I want our charitable heritage to continue and grow, that is the reason why Celtic was started.
I want our custodians to receive a fair salary but it must be kept within a reasonable amount.
I want the clubs staff to receive more than just a fair living wage.
I want Scottish football to be run honestly, fairly and to be open and transparent.
I want our custodians to stand up for all aspects of the club, to fight continually against those who want to do us harm.
BUT MOST OF ALL I WANT TO BELIEVE IN MY CLUB AGAIN.
Brilliant piece Ralph very emotional reading it, charlatans and liars inside are ruining our great club.
Fair enough mike. Thigh I’d ask your sheep for a second opinion
couldn’t argue with a word of that.
to change anything, though, the PLC must be removed and Fan ownership must be put in place. a lot of money is being removed from the club without any fuss and I think most of us would prefer this to be spent on players, the ground or on charitable causes.
Lawell is cute enough to know that as long as we win the league, he is untouchable. also the club is very well run from a PLC point of view so he will retain the support of the major shareholders.
any future structure should involve a cap on how much of the club can be owned by anybody.
the only problem being that those who invest for profit will always want their pound of flesh. total fan ownership would be ideal but maybe would not be possible. does anyone know what 5 of the club is in fan hands now? what would it cost to buy the rest?
You don’t need to buy them out, just convince them that shareholders whose numbers are greater than 5, will not put up with being lied to and making those who lie on their behalf accountable.
A group of such shareholders already exists 70 plus of which sought answers from the Celtic Board on Res12 BEFORE the 5 Way Agreement Doncaster E mail came out and are now starting to asking questions on the veracity of the response to the question put to the AGM re 5 Way knowledge. Tere is an on line update from Not The View that tells you what those small shareholders have have done so far and Ill post the link next although it will probably lie in moderation.
It should not be too difficult to open both issues up to the support at large pursuing the same course.
The Celts for Change guys did not need The Kelly’s approval to call a meeting but it is very much in Celtic’s interest not for that kind of meeting to happen in public gaze.
This should appear eventually.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1koD7VKr3O1Ed1qVIp6zc3kCIYVMfikt-/view?usp=sharing
% not 5.
I smelt a rat in 2013, Celtic were complicit in saving the Huns/SFA. I binned my 2 season books back then and nothing has changed to make me think I was wrong. Makes me sick to the back teeth that our club went along with this, people should be going to jail for fraud.
Charlie,
But you watch the team play….how have you walked away from fitba? Can you clarify?
Rebus
i will return holy shit she thinks shees general mc arthur ha ha ………………..yoor fulla shit saiz
Charlie S,
In fact, you are not all that different from me! Being in Canada, I can only see Celtic thru CTV. Going to games is impossible. I refuse to use illegitimate streams because you get nothing for nothing and where is your email address and IP going? When NL was appointed I gave up CTV and told my wife and sons that no Celtic merchandise should be given as presents. I signed up to watch Liverpool but I had no emotional involvement so I came back to CTV. I have served on public and private sector boards and I know it is not an easy task. I do not object this board simply because they are a board, nor do I object to CEOs and board members making money. I have no issue with PL’s salary, nor how he spends his money, provided he is doing a good job. In some respects he has done a good job, in others he has failed. There is an unfair disparity in what people are paid across Society. It is not confined to football, nor to corporate boards. What players are paid compared to nurses, e.g., is disgraceful, and so on. You and I and the rest are not going to fix this problem. It is a societal issue related to values. What we can take issue with is the extent that our custodians have taken part in corruption of the game, and whether they have lied at an AGM.
None of this will matter, including Res 12, if no mechanism is found to organise fans (Celtic and others) to a) decide on a strategy, b) coordinate action. That is the key. I have said this from the early days of Res 12 bit it has fallen on deaf ears. As a result, it will be more difficult to generate interest now.
Rebus
I haven’t set foot inside a fitba ground since 2012, with all the cheating and skullduggery that went on. From Celtic park, verious lower league grounds, Highland league and juniors, they have seen no more custom.
100% correct bawsman, I’m the same gave my season book up because of the lies greed and lack of trust in our plc, it was too difficult for me watching the team and knowing what I was paying in to, they make me sick it’s expecting us to believe there lies is the biggest insult to our intelligence.
Brilliant article that enshrines everything that has endeared us to the club since our earliest days whilst highlighting the urgent need for change within our own club’s philosophy as well as in how Scottish football is run as a whole. Well done Mike!
Well said yourself Bro. Was snowing here overnight but thawing now. I want the game to go ahead tomorrow night, but first your usual brilliant analysis.
Cheers Mikey. I hope the game’s on as well but I’ll only be able to post my take on it briefly in the commments section as it’s midweek. I’ll come up with more detail for Sunday’s away game to the Accies. Hope we get pleasantly surprised before then by a more ambitious signing. Take care bro and keep it lit.
As another small shareholder I couldn’t agree more with everything thing you say. We need to re-establish integrity and decency to our board as soon as possible
Re-establish integrity and decency, couldn’t put it better myself. Two words that say so much about how our club should be run.
Its times like this you teally miss the BUNNET.
Brilliant Mike.
I too bought the shares a small amount that will never be sold.
They will remain in the family.
Fergus saved our club he knew how corrupt the sfa were. He knew Murray was pushing for the bank to declare Celtic insolvent even though he was scamming his way through the system.
Our old board were guilty of one thing only they believed they were in a fair game. They weren’t clever enough to see or grasp the Masonic hands at work.
This res 12 came at the worst time. Brendan’s appointment was the way Lawwell got out of jail.
All of a sudden full house and 10k waiting list because of his appointment a 9 in a row journey domestic treble, not a chance would res 12 see the light of day. Ticket scrambles for cup finals and our supporters in my mind are as guilty as Lawwell.
We should have boycotted the cups when we were the dominant force. Against Aberdeen we should have stayed out that would have been the torch lit and the smoking gun fired not by Lawwell but by the ones that matter the most us the supporters.
We lost our chance to tell the world what went on.
The world media would have been all over it. All that’s left is us going over and over res 12 all the time to one another as nobody else sadly gives a fuck.
HH
Same here Weered, repeat second line. ^
Impassioned as always Mike, thanks.I keep waiting for someone to do something but realize it needs to be a united front or it will collapse. Strange I cannot think of any GB banners on this at all. As always though, and don’t they know it, I can’t just stop going and taking weans. If, and when this is fixed, they are the next generation of supporters. I think Lawwell will be making plans already… get to nine and ten and he will “ move on” Fail in going for nine and he’s toast. If he isn’t, I’ll stop going then.
Mike,
Outstanding stuff!
If anyone at Celtic doesn’t have the stomach to fight for Celtic, then fuck off!
….and will they take those fucking lights doon!
HH
Strength in unity Steve, Celtic belongs to its supporters Steve, not to them, never to them. Some day, one day things will change. If Celtic F.C. ever lost supporters like you and your family, then it would not be the Celtic we know.
Mike
It is encouraging to see that being title holders for x years is not all that makes Celtic more than a club.
Doing the right thing is what gives the right to make such a claim and since 2012 that right has been undermined by commercial imperatives that have reintroduced the very moral hazard that brought about the demise of Rangers in 2012 that endangered all of Scottish football.
A demise requiring a myth as a foundation for what has followed.
2012 was a perfect opportunity to bury an “Old Firm” model that is based on sectarianism and hate, the very opposite of the Christian ethos of love thy neighbour that inspired Brother Walfrid to create Celtic.
If that neighbour is unlovable it was an opportunity to teach them not to be. Establish corrective action to prevent a repeat.
Lose that underlying ethos and we are no “more than a club” than the company running one at Ibrox.
There has to be a better balance and the coming months will present an opportunity to create it as what took place in 2012 and its consequences continues to unravel.
Mike, well put and straight from a Celtic heart. Excellent. Thanks. We all try to support our club and its history on all fronts. Charlie Saiz’ solution is the only way forward. This Forum can be excellent at times.
Tomorrow we need a convincing win. 3-5-2
Forster
Ajer/Jullien/Simunovic
Forrest/Brown,Ntcham/McGregor/Hayes
Edouard/Klimala
Griffiths/Johnston to figure
3-0 to the Bhoys. Hail,hail…
Auldheid, I couldn’t agree more. The Celtic support have a big heart, they deserve to have custodians that reflect their values and kindness. I look forward to you taking that opportunity, all the very best to you and keep up the good fight.
The greed of Celtic, whilst donning clothes of a caring institution is shocking.
Staff are treated abysmally, fans are treated abysmally, remember Janefield.
As for the image of Celtic Football Club it has been dragged in the gutter, fans being called racist etc; a board more interested in the Queens shilling.
I agree Mike totally, but the Rankers question goes deeper, there is a sickness within the club that requires major surgery to resolve. There should be a representative of the fans on the board regarding
Direction and the future of the club within Europe. As for the Wankers they are a house of cards and will implode.
Superb Mike. I think of all who came before us, my Papa who watched Celtic in the 19th century and was brought up in the Gallowgate, to my dad who was a Londoner and settled in Glasgow after meeting my mother in Bundoran after the war, where he worked for his uncle in Sligo and also played saxophone in one of the many show bands in Ireland at that time. He became a great Celt and was fortunate to be there in Lisbon that great day and slightly less fortunate three years later in Milan. What would all these Celts who are no longer with us think of this sellout and corruption? I’m sure they would be spinning in their graves.
Couldn’t agree with you more, all these liars are interested in is lining there own pockets, they should be hunted and done for treason it must stop before any more damage is done.
I hope that they are Andy.
A proud family history Henke, a part of the wider Celtic family. People of honour, with empathy and a strong moral base. I love reading about our Celtic founding fathers, sadly our custodians have lost the reason of what our club is about, perhaps they need to be reminded.
You could be right, as time passes, their excuses run out. They will not speak up for the support, they just see us as a cash cow ready to be milked. The Scottish game is wallowing in the gutter, its going to take many hands to lift it out of it, here’s hoping it happens soon.
thers no hope left mon weel awe take wur bricks back and pull the fookin place doon ha ha ha ha yoor fookin fullae it general mc arthur
charlie greens qc wis talkin aboot yon fookin cheats ya wee zombie bullshitter ye
Excellent Mike, truly excellent and I agree with just about every heart-felt word of it.
I believe we can, and will, bring all of the shite out into the open and hold those OF ALL AFFILIATIONS who are responsible to account.
The trouble here is there’s so much information (and mis-information) we need to have a CORE of knowledgeable individuals working TOGETHER to create a ‘charge’ list. If the Res 12 guys are prepared to accept, and act upon information, I’ll do my level best to highlight wrongs where I see them but I think we need unity more than anything. I don’t give a toss for plaudits here for anything worthwhile I unearth; like you I just want to see the Truth, the proper penalties applied to Sevco’s parent and a clear-out of the scum involved. I think crowd-funding will be necessary (as I think recourse to the law will be) to make a real fist of this and I’m willing to do what I can in that regard.
I think there’s enough proof of wrongdoing but it MUST be collated and organised into a very sharp implement with which to pierce the heart(s) of all the scum involved.
FC not PLC
HH
(I’d just like to reiterate here, I picked up “FC not PLC” from another Tim site many years ago and I thank whoever it was that coined it as it sums up concisely how many/most of us feel.)
I’m knackered, it’s been a long but fruitful day and I’m now switching off.
Me too, you can feel the swell of the support’s anger, more and more want change, change for the better.
We wont get the change we require until we uncover serious wrongdoing with absolute proof of, e.g. fraud. I’m fairly confident of two things here: 1)Fraud has been committed and 2) We will get the proof necessary. I think several wrongdoers will pay a hefty price and I think Companies House, the Police (City of London hopefully) and the ‘Justice’ system along with the Financial Conduct Authority will all have a role to play.
Of course, only time will tell.
Meantime, I’ve decided to delegate a ‘wee job’ to Charlie Saiz as he’s been promoting some form of supporter-ownership for many years. Charlie, kick it off with contacting our supporter groups and then each and every CSC on Earth and report back to me with pledges exceeding £85 million and I’ll make Dermot and Lindsell Train ‘an offer they can’t refuse’! 🙂
If you can’t raise that much don’t worry, I’m inclined to make that offer anyway.
Now back to bed and see if I can get some kip!
FC not PLC
HH
TicToc,
We will get the change we want as soon as the stadium is empty.
Charlie saiz is already doing his bit.
I can certainly feel a swell!
😉
The Res12 archive plus the accountants report provides enough evidence of fraud of RFC, SFA and possibly UEFA.
There is also a good case The Board deliberately misled requisitioners from 2013 knowing what was in the 5 Way agreement including the clause that CAS would be the adjudicator on any matters covered by the 5 Way, yet insisted requisitioners pursue answers from within the SFA judicial process that has ended in the CAS cul de sac which Celtic have shown no willingness since 2018 to reverse it from.
This came at a cost of £11k with money raised on the false premise that what was uncovered would lead to answers bringing SFA reform.
There is also another good case that from 2014 Celtic did nothing to challenge LNS in spite of a joint Board member
(Celtic and SPFL) being provided with evidence that the treatment by LNS of unlawful DOS ebts as lawful was unsound and which challenged LNS assertion that no dishonesty occurred.
So take your pick.
The problem is mounting a legal claim against those responsible at Celtic.
The hopefully reinvigorated CST could show their mettle by helping raise the funds to take such a step….
Res12 Archive is at
https://www.res12.uk/
Simple solution…
Empty the park, or suck up PLC lies.
Empty the park, until DD’s share value hits the floor – then he’ll leave.
Give the keys to – Jeanette Findlay, and let her recruit a hierarchy of, left wing socialist rebels, who won’t be mugged off by cheap punks – and the good ship Celtic will sail on!
Simples. ✌
You’ll Never Walk Alone in the Jungle!
Mike, both a passionate and a relevant article, congrats.
i wonder how many fans would prefer the club as it was just prior to the arrival of Fergus as compared to what we have today. Was the balance between club and corporate better then or worse? More generally, is there an era in which that balance was optimised? I need to check our history in more detail to try to determine that. If such a period did exist, perhaps, we can learn from it.
Blogs are blogs but I have no idea of the extent to which they are representative of the general population of Celtic fans. If they are, then the club has a serious and growing problem. Can success act as a palliative to being lied to? Perhaps we shall find out sooner rather than later.
Rebus
Mike,
Excellent stuff & mirrors my own thoughts on OUR club.
It’s time to take it back from the tories & liars!
Celts for change II
HH
We usually do sing from the same hymn book, because we share the same passion, the rhythm of the song might be different but the lyrics are the same. Its because we care about Celtic.
Rebus they wouldn’t, that was why John Keane had to pay £1.00 mill. up front within 24 hours. The support wanted change, change for the better and the old families had left the club in a desperate situation. What we have now is the biggest shareholder worth 2.2 billion, with his place-man making millions in his absence. That’s not right especially if he is aiding a club that died to continue in a different guise. There’s no-way that the bigot pound should be put before sporting integrity, Scottish football is in the gutter and it needs to be prised out of it and back onto the right pathway. It will not happen overnight but it will happen, it has to.
most of who you dont even go to games
Rebus,
I still preferred the old stadium, give me my standing spot in the Jungle, just under the tv gantry.
Great days standing beside your fellow tim in timhood.
These days? Too many tut tutters & prawn sandwich merchants.
They can get tae fk!
Once a rebel always a rebel!
Oh by the way Mr.McCann….the rebel is being sung louder than it ever did!
You enjoy your £45m now.
makes me think of us at the last semi final sitting in our usual section at hampden. (til half time anyway) belting out the tut tut songs haha
🙂
think Charlie Christie wanted to join in tbf
Fantastic piece mike. I was around in 69 , I was around 60. I have never known the state the board are in with supporters since late Kelly.
This disgrace is on another level and the club is just an ATM to PL DD IB et Al.
I can only hope auldheid and others are near the end of this garbage but right now ? We can as fans of our club ethos come together, send a clear message stop buying merchandise for one, organise a rolling blockout of stands another.
Anything!
Cheers El draco. I recognize that many Celtic supporters share our views, but at the AGM. it was apparent that many supporters thought differently. We can only hope to persuade them differently.
i agree wae wit yer saying mike but any bhoycots unless its away games and cup games would only help yon cheating barstuard zombies
Are you Yoda?
naw ime twice as clever and slightly more handsome
I read with interest that the Celtic Trust has appointed David Low as its new chairman, David as you know was a force behind Fergus McCann in his takeover of the old board. He knows the workings behind the club, we hope that he can work perhaps with Auldheid and his resolutioners and others for the benefit of the Celtic support. THEY are all that matters.
The Celtic Trust had their AGM at the weekend and have relaunched and are committed to become more pro-active.
There are 27,000 shareholders and the vast majority of these are small supporter holders who tend to be unengaged.
If more of these become active then hopefully this becomes a large enough grouping that the board must listen to.
To me, this is the only realistical option to effect changes as nuclear options of boycotts aren’t going to happen in the current climate.
There website is celtictrust(.)net
hail hail mikeybhoy
Hail Hail Chico.
Excellent Mike.
If only Fergus had a son who would have carried on his legacy..we desperately need a Champion.
Thank you kind sir and thank you and Ralph for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts. It is easy to see how much E-Tims is valued around the Internet and beyond. Celtic supporters deserve to be treated better than they are being treated at present. David Low will add more potency to to the fight for the soul of Celtic.
wit ye talkin aboot weev got charle saiz championing us fae his loft ffs wit could possibly go wrang
Don’t knock folk who go & support Celtic, just don’t do that.
if it wis a choice between yer family starvin and gon tae see celtic well thats ok but did ye never think aboot gettin a better paid job than wan chasin wains and runnin away when the big bhoys came out in the six counties
weev awe met yoor type saiz kidden on yood be a philanthropist but yer short erms canny reach the deep pockets ae yer surplus army troosers
Perennial defensiveness try a different ploy. Ticket prices are scandalous. Have to pay for my hams diamond necklace for his kitten
Ntchams
I’m off every Monday
according tae phil its judgment day for sevco v big mike
Looks like they got a minor victory charlie
sumdy said big mike is appealing so the zombies can celebrate till thur dark hearts are content
https://t.co/8ga81pfs6d
A game of two halves. First half full of great football from Celtic. The first goal will live long in memory..a Ntcham header. Second half was more physical from St J and sometimes we lost control of the midfield but they had little threat.
Best of the best? Taylor, Ajer, Brown, McGregor, Forrest. Slightly behind but still impressive: Julien, Ntcham, Griff. Edouard’s wee flicks were not suitable for a cluepot surface. Jozo looked tentative…was he nursing an injury?
Negatives? Stretching to find anything but up there is NL’s attitude to Mikey when he could not continue. Again subs were late in coming. Klimala deserved more time. However, a very confident team effort. Congrats to everyone.
Rebus
Rebus Lennons reaction was unbecoming of a Celtic manager in my opinion. The lad thought he could carry on probably the adrenlin running through him he couldn’t the game was over anyway.
It was a disgrace to watch a Celtic manager to tell a Celtic player to fuck off.
A good result in heavy rain and a soggy pitch. Klimala has some pace! I would like him to start at Hamilton, give Odsonne a rest.
Felt sorry for Mikey and Lenny’s reaction.
Here’s something interesting. Based on who has played who home and away, if the top 6 finish as they are right now all five of our post-split matches would be at home! All five of Sevco’s would be away! In theory, we would be at home to Sevco, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Livvie and Hibs! Sevco would be away to us and all the teams above. Of course, that can’t happen but I would expect us to have 3 of 5 at home and Sevco 3 of 5 away. So post-split may decide the league and we will be in a better position
See where Defoe was stretched off last night.
Thought Taylor played fine last night. Here would be our best 11 if we go 3-5-2.
Forster
Elhamed/Ajer/Jullien
Forrest/ Ntcham/Brown/McGregor//Christie
Edouard/Griff (Klimala fitting in for either two) Use Rogic more as a super sub. Elhamed and Elyounassi will return soon and we can also get Soro in there. Down the home stretch, I think the depth and experience of our squad will make a difference. We will probably slip up again but I also believe Sevco will yet see a big dip in form. Hail, hail….