The Green Brigade’s crackpots are a noisy sideshow

THE Green Brigade are now lecturing Celtic chairman Ian Bankier on his choice of language. To the many obvious shortcomings attributed to this crackpot group of Judean People’s Front wannabes, we may now add a staggering lack of self-awareness. Yesterday’s attack on Bankier, made in the name of three different supporters’ groups, was intended to cause as much sound and fury as possible. Yet there is a lingering suspicion that Bankier’s citing of ‘criminally racist’ online abuse of Lord Livingston isn’t the real problem. Especially as the chairman later clarified his intent by saying he would never apply such serious criticism to the support as a whole. Among certain elements, Bankier’s declaration that ‘we are not a conduit for political statements and campaigns’ would appear the more serious offence. For many on the fringes, indeed, this is akin to trampling on sacred ground. And so we have the agitators getting agitated, the activists getting active. All something of a distraction in a week when Celtic’s entire season hangs in the balance. Between now and kick-off against Ajax on Thursday, there will be endless discussion over the ‘must-win’ nature of the fixture, with some keen focus on the implications of failure. Not just for a club suddenly in danger of becoming irrelevant at this level, but for a manager expected to collect domestic honours only as a warm-up for European glory. The whole Ronny Deila saga is becoming as repetitive and, frankly, brain-aching as Mike Ashley’s campaign of legal skirmishing; there may actually be some Celtic fans for whom the latter provides more entertainment these days. Seriously, what is Ashley trying to achieve? The seemingly impossible, it would seem, namely making himself even less popular among Rangers fans. If he’s seen as a block to any of the major resolutions needed to take the club forward at this Friday’s AGM, he’ll have done that, all right. If you can drag yourself away from that melodrama, there’s actually some football to be played this week. For the sake of our game’s deservedly dire reputation, not to mention the fraying nerves of national team manager Gordon Strachan, let’s hope Celtic end their run of nine consecutive Europa League fixtures without a win.