Dermot Desmond and the Celtic board have been under the microscope all season.
A hugely disappointing summer transfer window led to a wave of Celtic fan protests, after a perceived lack of backing for Brendan Rodgers.
These protests gained momentum after a disastrous Champions League qualifying exit against Kairat Almaty, the club’s worst European result in years.
But few saw this week coming. After a 3-1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle, Rodgers resigned out of nowhere, being replaced on an interim basis by Martin O’Neill.
As if this wasn’t enough, Desmond released an explosive statement which slated Rodgers’ actions and defended the club’s strategy. But what is that strategy?
Alan Brazil on Dermot Desmond’s Celtic strategy
Regardless of your feelings on Rodgers, one thing for sure is that he isn’t the first Celtic manager to raise frustration about the timing of transfers.
Often in his second spell, it was signings not being completed at all.
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Alan Brazil has had a lengthy media career, and his path has crossed with Desmond’s. The Hoops majority shareholder doesn’t speak often publicly.
Speaking on TalkSPORT on Thursday, Brazil shared what he ‘gathers’ about Desmond’s investment strategy.
He said: “In the history of me being a Celtic fan growing up in Glasgow, they haven’t went crazy and bought big players.
“Even during nine in a row, they haven’t. And Dermot, from what I gather, he says to the Celtic board, ‘you’ve got to regenerate the finances or generate your own.
‘”Don’t keep coming to me, don’t keep banging on my door for money.’ So perhaps they don’t want to come out with it, but the truth would be that the board haven’t got massive money.
“Maybe they’re under instruction; ‘you can’t spend, we can still win it without spending.’ That affects their Champions League, and their great nights at Parkhead.”
Celtic’s money in the bank
Given the financial resources in the bank, it’s difficult to believe what Brazil claims about not having ‘massive money’.
Celtic currently have £77 million in cash reserves, as was revealed in the most recent Annual Financial Report by the club.
This is not a case of Desmond needing to invest further, the club has a self-financing model. It’s just about when that self-financing becomes self-sabotage.
And if the Hoops want to convince Kieran McKenna to come to Glasgow, it isn’t a question of having the financial ability – it’s about the willingness to spend what the club has.
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