Open Meeting 5 December – Summary
Open Meeting of Celtic Supporters Saturday 5th December 2020
Facilitated by the Celtic Trust
A meeting was held today (online) which was attended by over three hundred supporters. The events of this season, and particularly the past month, were discussed for over two hours and the following is a summary of the main conclusions:
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Supporters are extremely unhappy not just about the performance of the team but about the approach of the PLC Board in addressing the matter
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In particular, there is anger about the standard of communication of the Board and particular recent statements and actions
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The failure of the Chief Executive or the Chairman to engage with fan organisations or the wider supporter body was condemned. It was noted that:
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The use of planted stories with friendly journalists is not an adequate substitute for open and constructive dialogue with those who continue to sustain this Club financially despite being prevented from attending games.
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Having said nothing as the problems on the pitch mounted and then publicly criticising and insulting supporters is unacceptable and divisive
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The failure of the Board to take responsibility for the denial of any effective route to convey their views other than public protest was also condemned. The erection of barriers around Celtic Park is seen as an open insult to supporters and an escalation of the division and disconnect between the PLC Board and the supporters
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Those in attendance at the meeting call on the PLC Board to:
- Immediately remove the barriers around Celtic Park and communicate to supporter’s careful guidance on holding a peaceful and Covid-compliant protest should they so wish
In the week commencing 7/12/2020, meet with representatives of the Celtic Trust who have been tasked with conveying the detailed action points of the meeting and fully considering and responding to same. - Take immediate steps to begin to repair the damage caused by their own inaction by publicly and directly reassuring the support that they are committed to a successful outcome of this important season and to do this by outlining the actions they intend to take, using the Club’s own online and social media channels.
Is that just for starters like, what about Res12, 5 way agreement, failure to have players in place for qualifiers, etc,etc et al?
well said above,
i would also like to add that IMO the blatant cheating of *Rangers with their spending constantly and as to why exacly this is 1. being allowed. 2. not being questioned by the SFA (no laughing at the back) and finally, no.3 why this does not fall foul of UEFA fair play rules on money in – money out..?
thanks in advance,
F Williams
I agree that the board should meet with Celtic Supporters representatives.
I disagree that their should be a protest outside Celtic park tomorrow as it’s distracting for the players whose full concentration should be on beating St.Johnstone
Res 12 and the 5 way agreement gets swept under the carpet as Celtic plc still ‘like’ the idea of Old Firm, and if published I believe that it will show Celtic as a major factor in keeping the lights on at ibrox. I want to know if the club have a plan in place for the rest of the season because they are failing business men. Our club is heading right over a cliff under this board and they should be held accountable for this shit show going on
i endorse Gerry Murray’s comments. I would like to know when and how the meeting was advertised. I would be interested in future meetings.
me also..
I was in attendance at today’s meeting, very constructive and a good start. It is imperative that those provocative fences are removed prior to tomorrow’s match. The board are treating the fan base with total disrespect. To have any hope of gaining back some unity, those fences have to be taken down!
It is incredibly sad that fences have been erected to keep out our fans, the lifeblood of our club.
We may not agree with the protests, but we shouldn’t have to put up barriers.
It shows how far we have fallen and how out of touch the board are.
An EGM may be required to remove certain Directors from Boardroom! There are at least half dozen players who can leave now! If urgent work isn’t done immediately, Rangers will take over! Eddie Howe or Dan Petrescu sound good options! We’re still ok from middle to front, defence is a mess! Forster or David Marshall to come in plus 2 no nonsense defenders! Rangers fans are still happy to win ugly? There is a lot of talent at Rangers, but, not as much as us!
Out of interest, when were the barriers put up outside the stadium?
They were put in place on Friday.
Was listening in today from Belfast we must unite the supporters before tacking the PLC they have mugged us off for long enough,
I applaud all those who organised today and those who spoke I hope this can be a regular thing as we need to spread the word that the Celtic trust is the only way forward for our support to deal with any issues regarding the PLC and running of the club and the word must reach the PLC/CEO that mismanagement is no longer acceptable to us fans.HH
Thank you to the Celtic Trust for being proactive and taking a lead on this.
I fully endorse the recommendations that came out of this meeting.
Kevin Rooney. London
I’m more concerned that a win today will paper over all of the aforementioned problems. That will not make the source of the problems disappear.
I’d like to echo Gerry Murray’s concern regarding the pre game protest. I believe this could be counterproductive, especially given team confidence isn’t the best!
Initial focus has to be solving current issues & securing the 10. Yesterday sounded like a decent first step.
Moving forward I’m of the belief it’ll be up to supporters to force clubs & authorities into adopting FFP. This season in particular highlights the importance of putting an end to financial doping. Given Club inactivity thus far this can only be achieved through credible organizations such as the Trust engaging in dialogue with like type groups of other SPFL teams.
Can the Other Commercial Shareholders be trusted to vote with the fans,or do they follow only the money,they make for a sizeable shareholding
That is really for them to say Anthony. They are very welcome to join with us in voting in the interests of the Club.
how can i join the celtic trust and what would it cost me
James, you register on our site (www.celtictrust.net) and then you go to the Subscription button (changing to ‘membership’ soon) and join there. The minimum subscription is £5 per month and that is used to buy shares which all Trust members then own in common. Email us if you need any more information.
Would any Trust representatives be willing to attend any Celtic supporter podcasts in the coming days to outline a concrete route forward through this utterly abhorrent situation we find ourselves in?
Despite being a massive advocate for change, I’m scunnered listening to fellow supporters and podcasters only just talking about how Lennon must go. We’re beyond that now. We need to have a plan with the big picture in mind.
Yes, of course we would. We would be delighted to. Please email us to discuss. The same goes for any podcast or fanzine that gets in touch.
I’m not on any Podcasts personally. I’m currently out of the country for work and find listening to them during non-working hours to sometimes be the best way to read/hear the news regarding the club whilst cutting out the noise in the MSM.
I’ll message somebody at the 90 Minute Cynic and 20 Minute Tim’s asking if they’ll broach the subject with yourselves. I think this would be a positive way to get answers to many of the questions that are on Fan’s minds.
After reading this evening the statement issued by the board, I have signed up to the Celtic Trust. The board seem to be persisting with the current manager out of sheer pig headedness and ignorance! Whilst showing a total disregard for the supporters, having to put a steel fence up to keep OUR supporters out. We need action immediately, the status quo cannot be allowed to carry on until the New Year!