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If those minutes of the meeting with the Celtic Fans’ Collective sent out from inside Parkhead are accurate, CEO Michael Nicholson has even bigger problems than anyone believed.
As well as doubling down on how he wants to build ‘a world-class football club in everything we do’ — other than signing players in time for a Champions League qualifier or replacing your best striker, obviously — Nicholson also went on to state that he believes the team’s results in Europe in recent times have been acceptable.
They’ve played group stage football in 19 out of 20 seasons, he pointed out. That may be true, but you’d have to go some not to make it into the groups in one of UEFA’s three tournaments when you play in a domestic league in which it is almost impossible not to finish in the top two.
Rather, it is better to look at the roll call of sides Celtic have fallen to in European competition over the years. Kairat Almaty, deserved winners of this term’s Champions League play-off, are just the tip of the iceberg.
You’ve got Maribor, Malmo, Sparta Prague reserves, Cluj, Midtyjlland, Ferencvaros. It’s a list as long as your arm and tells you everything you need to know about the role the club have been playing in UEFA competition over the last decade or more.
Not just nearly men. More like bottom-feeders. Plankton. Celtic haven’t won a knock-out tie in any competition proper since beating Boavista on the way to the 2003 UEFA Cup final. That, to hammer home the point, is 22 years ago!
Michael Nicholson apparently doubled down on many of the points of fans’ disenchantment
Along with the rest of the Celtic board, Nicholson has not had his troubles to seek of late
Supporters are united in their distrust of a board who they no longer believe are up to the task
If Nicholson is happy with how Celtic have been performing at that level, it’s hard not to agree with the view of the mad squad in the ultras corner of their stadium that he really isn’t fit for purpose.
Nicholson also stated in his sitdown with fan representatives that they don’t speak for all supporters and made the claim that some punters agreed with the ludicrous statement the board put out after the transfer window had closed to blame the failure to sign the players manager Brendan Rodgers wanted on UEFA’s financial regulations and people mouthing off on social media.
This stuff from football figures stating that the people they actually meet in the street are all rather nice, actually, and seem to think they’re doing all right never fails to crack you up.
The last one to pull that stunt was the long-gone Russell Martin over at Rangers. Any more of this guff from Nicholson and he’ll surely pass the point of no return pretty quickly as well. If he isn’t there already.
