Celtic fans v Celtic board overshadows Feyenoord v Celtic

Andy Bollen
Celtic fans against the board
Celtic fans against the board

Celtic are in Rotterdam to face Feyenoord in the Europa League with the game overshadowed by the tension between the club and its supporters. It was undoubtedly an intriguing official club flight.

The board seem content to drive a wedge, or a seven-iron, between themselves and their support. They remain utterly unwilling to accept any culpability in their transfer dealings ahead of a crucial Champions League qualifier which the mighty Kairat Almaty won on penalties. Their 2025 annual report states that they have over £77million in cash reserves, and yet their transfer business always seems too last-minute, with fans craving more strategic planning with a view to three and four windows down the line.

Dermot Desmond, the Irish billionaire, owns about 34.5% of the club. He is Celtic’s largest shareholder but not the majority owner. This is important, kids; keep up at the back. Desmond is not the Chairman or CEO, but DD is genuflected towards like the King of Paradise (he isn’t). Desmond’s golf game was disrupted. He hates when that happens. He had a terrible round because his mate, Brendan Rodgers, was taking liberties and had started a clever exit strategy by claiming his squad was paper-thin and lacked quality. This was before his killer “given the keys to a Honda Civic and asked to drive it like a Ferrari” quote.

Eventually, one quiet Monday evening, when most were getting ready for bed, Rodgers tendered his resignation, and 15 minutes later, the roof caved in when Dermot Desmond crushed him in a scathing club statement. Good grief. What will the neighbours think?

The club has spiralled into a state of self-inflicted chaos. Dermot brought in another pal, the 73-year-old Martin O’Neill, as interim coach and temporarily promoted Shaun Maloney, the club’s Professional Player Pathway Manager, whose typical day job involves player development, overseeing loan opportunities and making coffees.

Both O’Neill and Maloney look as though they will remain in situ until December, when Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew staff can contractually leave with him. I always think Columbus Crew sound like a US version of the Green Brigade. We remain cautiously optimistic. Nancy plays like Ange, which was wonderful against Ross County, less so against Real Madrid.

Currently, it all feels too familiar with the board. It’s embarrassing. Reports suggest the lad in charge of transfers has to phone his gaffer on the golf course. He, in turn, stops his golf buggy and puts on a show of brinkmanship, behaving like Donald Trump when it comes to ‘the deal’. The fans believe this is the main issue but the board refuse to acknowledge that their sluggishness and lack of progress ahead of the last transfer window means the club are playing in Europe’s second-tier competition.

This also results in Thursday/Sunday games, almost gifting their closest rivals, Hearts, a weekly psychological points advantage.

Perhaps the Celtic board could learn from Feyenoord’s hierarchy on how to work with their supporters. The Feyenoord fan group Het Legioene are widely regarded as one of the best supporter groups in the world. The relationship between the fans and the club is such that, in honour of their dedicated followers, the number 12 shirt has been retired; no player wears it, and it is reserved for Het Legioene.

With the situation already tense ahead of a ‘heated’ AGM, the son of the guy playing golf read out a patronising and terse statement. It sounds like Ross Desmond’s reading of the room was quite possibly the worst since Judas Iscariot showed up at the Last Supper. Jeanette Findlay of the Celtic Trust spoke as she left the AGM.

“He roundly abused and insulted Celtic supporters and claimed his love for the club – a club he’s probably never spent a penny on, he’s never bought a ticket, never bought a pie. He stood there and really berated the Celtic support. Told us we were cynical; he was absolutely disgusting.”

It feels like Dermot Desmond has been watching Succession and thinks he’s Logan Roy, and instead of Kendall or Roman showing up to shoot from the hip, cousin Greg has taken to the stage. It really is that ridiculous.

All that aside, let’s talk football. Both North European giants have so much in common, particularly a love for pyrotechnics. After a recent game against Panathinaikos at De Kuip, the section housing the club’s most passionate fans set off fireworks and displayed a large banner reading ‘welcome to our lunatic asylum’. They were fined £76,000 and have a partial stand closure for Thursday’s game.

My favourite footballer was Johan Cruyff, and I always had an anecdote that is now widely known but was much less so at the time. When the Ajax board saw what Cruyff was earning under an agreed gate deal, they offered a derisory standard player contract, claiming he was too old and overweight (in many ways, they acted like the current Celtic board – parsimonious rather than ambitious). So, Cruyff headed to Rotterdam, signing for their arch rivals, De Trots van Zuid (The Pride of the South). This would be like Messi joining Real Madrid.

Cruyff secured a league and cup double and was named Dutch Player of the Year. Both clubs, in a broader sense, have always maintained strong links. Any club that gave Celtic Henrik Larsson, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Wim Jansen will always be great allies.

Remarkably, the 2023 Champions League tie was the first meeting between the sides since the 1970 European Cup Final. Research of the Group E match reminds us how quickly football moves on. Feyenoord emerged as 2-0 winners on an eventful night. Celtic had Joe Hart in goal, and the summer window’s top new centre-half, the Swede Gustaf Lagerbielke, replaced injured Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips. He is now at West Brom (showbiz klaxon alert:he and his partner, Molly Moorish-Gallagher, recently had a child, making Liam Gallagher a grandparent).

Brendan Rodgers’ first signing of his second stint, Odin Thiago Holm, was on, briefly; he is currently on loan at MLS side Los Angeles FC. Luis Palma made his debut. There was Matt O’Riley too, now showing off for Marseilles (on loan from Brighton). That was only two seasons ago. Things we forgot? Celtic bossed it and had more chances. Hart didn’t make a save until well after the half-hour mark. Celtic conceded just before half-time.

Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm both received red cards within five minutes of each other; Lagerbielke received a second yellow card after the Swede grabbed Igor Paixão by the throat in the penalty area. Joe Hart saved the penalty. Lagerbielke had already been booked in the first half when he couldn’t control the ball, and the player decided to wipe out his opponent. Odin Thiago Holm, who had just come on as a substitute, was shown a straight red card for his overexcited attempt at a Karate Kid-style move on Mats Wieffer’s shin. Seconds later, the Bosnian referee ignored a clear assault on Liam Scales.

Oh, and there’s Feyenoord’s highly sought-after coach, Arne Slot, eager to prove he was justified in turning down a lucrative move to Spurs to guide Feyenoord into the Champions League.

Ahead of the Europa League fixture, the teams are evenly matched. They both sit second in their respective domestic leagues, are treating the Europa League like a minor inconvenience, and have spat out the dummy at the indignity of being punted down to the diddy league.

The drama never ends; it’s always eventful, but oh, to be on that flight. Not sure if the tension could be any higher. Perhaps if Brendan Rodgers was the pilot?

Andy Bollen is the author of ‘Fierce Genius: Cruyff’s Year at Feyenoord’.

F365 Features Celtic

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