And if you know your history, you won’t be fooled by Celtic spin
CFans are being asked to ignore the evidence of their own eyes
ONGRATULATIONS are clearly in order. Well done to Celtic, then, for another blockbuster year of unrivalled achievement. Oh sure, with their ‘facts’ and their obsession with ‘results’, the usual malcontents will inevitably find fault with chairman Ian Bankier’s rosy depiction of affairs down Parkhead way.
Come on, you angry boys. Bank on Bankier, whose determinedly upbeat official statement in the club’s annual accounts left no room for such reality-based pessimism.
Believe in the chairman as much as he clearly believes in the chief executive; the new one promoted from the anonymous ranks of suits already in situ, not the forwardthinking outsider who chucked his dream job after three months.
Acknowledge the professionalism responsible for assembling a squad of overwhelming strength in depth, leaving Ange Postecoglou spoilt for choice in virtually every position.
Hail the efficient recruitment process that so swiftly secured the services of Postecoglou, a manager quickly becoming au fait with the never-risky concept of a just-in-time supply chain.
Don’t worry about whether the presence of a former gaffer, hired as a part-time ‘consultant’ on a job share with mighty Dundee FC, is a retrograde step. Not your concern.
Above all, be proud of your team’s many on-field achievements. Like finishing as runners-up in the Scottish Premiership.
Sorry, what now? If the plc board don’t mind taking the odd note, we might point out that surrendering the league flag — for the first time in a decade — could have been filed virtually anywhere in the annual results published yesterday.
Yes, technically, it probably belongs under the heading of ‘Operational Highlights.’
But literally the first item on page one? Seriously, did a Rangers fan write this for you?
If there were few surprises in the profit-and-loss columns for the year ending June 30, 2021, that didn’t mean yesterday’s report lacked all power to shock.
Always a bit like asking companies to mark their own homework, the official officebearer comments in these stock market-mandated documents don’t always chime with reality.
Celtic’s latest effort contained a number of quite remarkable attempts to rewrite history and spin events in the club’s favour.
Between them, Bankier and ‘acting chief executive’ Michael Nicholson have effectively asked supporters to slip their brains into neutral — and ignore the evidence of their own eyes.
Those fans clearly see a team lacking the depth to mount a sustained challenge at a time when Rangers have been rendered suddenly vulnerable.
In a season where direct entry to the group stage of the Champions League is up for grabs, many Celtic punters consider such mismanagement of resources to be completely unforgivable.
They’re certainly unlikely to be pleased by Bankier’s declaration that, in the summer transfer window just past, ‘we successfully accomplished a major overhaul of our playing squad’.
Successfully. An interesting word to choose. Clearly, Bankier has consulted with Nicholson, who proudly insists that ‘our playing squad is in good shape for the season ahead’.
Such bold statements would be a lot more convincing if Celtic hadn’t just been forced to field Boli Bolingoli at left-back. In an away loss to Livingston.
Any regular observer could cite another handful of equally egregious examples of major gaps in the squad.
A couple of injuries left the Hoops relying on Albian Ajeti — a busted flush who obviously isn’t rated by either management or supporters — to lead the line against Real Betis, while new right-back Josip Juranovic filled in on the wrong side of the back four. Again.
With academy graduates being thrown in for more minutes than anyone would deem wise, it takes serious chutzpah to pass all of this off as not merely acceptable, but admirable.
Either Bankier and Nicholson have little feel for the mood at large. Or they are content to dismiss even well-founded criticism as ‘negativity’.
Elsewhere in the report, shortlived chief executive Dom McKay gets only a passing mention. Given his length of service, that’s probably about right.
And Bankier, who covers himself carefully by expressing only ‘measured confidence’ in his club’s prospects, signs off by telling shareholders: ‘Celtic is in good hands.’
The wealthiest team in Scotland by some distance, Celtic have coped better than most with Covid.
The fact that they had almost £17million in the bank at the end of June — before they sold Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie for combined fees of around £30m — speaks to their strength as a business.
But supporters are entitled to focus on less encouraging figures. Like the absence of a domestic away win since February. Or losing six out of seven away games in all competitions this season.
And it’s not just stats. Supporters who welcomed Postecoglou with guarded enthusiasm, and who then buried their misgivings about the new man being denied his own choice of backroom staff, can identify the fault lines easily enough.
They understand the situation quite well. Without any need to consult Bankier’s officially approved version of events.