The Celtic Fans Collective have challenged Ross Desmond to communicate what progress has been made on commitments he made at last year’s AGM.
The AGM at Celtic Park last November was the culmination of a strain in fan-board relations that had progressively worsened over the preceding months.
After many in attendance voiced their discontent, Desmond — the son of Celtic’s principal shareholder — read out an astonishing statement that destroyed his reputation among fans before it even existed.
In it, a militant Desmond Jr. labelled some fans ‘bullies’ and vowed not to be ‘railroaded’ by members of the support whose ‘only vocation in life was to be anti-establishment’. It was explosive stuff.
👀 A reasonable figure?
Celtic Fans Collective on Ross Desmond: ‘What progress had been made?’
Also in his speech was the following commitment: “We want to improve recruitment, invest in data analytics, upgrade facilities, enhance the stadium and try to make Celtic stronger in every way.”
If this had been communicated without the digs at fans, it probably would’ve been better-received.
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The Collective said on Thursday: “Lost amid Ross Desmond’s attack on Celtic supporters at November’s AGM was a series of commitments he made on behalf of his father.
“Shareholders were told the Club would improve recruitment, invest in analytics and upgrade the stadium and facilities.
“What progress has been made on these fronts, Ross?”
Celtic’s method of communication (or lack thereof) makes it easy to make comments like this without scrutiny, as months — or even years — pass without any update.
A more telling indication of where the Desmonds’ heads are at was a comment he made shortly later in the speech:
“Those who talk about the club not having kicked on in Europe since 2003 ignore the enormous change in the financial landscape of football in that period. It has created a gap which keeps growing.
“Most supporters understand that. Of course, clubs still punch above their financial weight, and we should aspire to that. But if you swing and miss, you risk the very stability of the club, and that would be profoundly irresponsible.”
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Thoughts on the kit and what message would you send to the board? 👇
What happened at Celtic’s AGM?
Anti-board banners were seen outside Celtic Park on the morning of the meeting, and that set the tone for a day with plenty of tension.
Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson were booed onto the stage, with attendees waving giant red cards in protest against them.
When chants of ‘sack the board’ started ringing out, Lawwell adjourned the meeting for 30 minutes.
They briefly returned to the stage, but Desmond junior’s statement was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and it was abandoned before the planned Q&A.
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