We’re in late May now and still Celtic haven’t launched the renewal campaign on season tickets.
This is the kind of thing the club usually get around to doing much earlier in the year. Glossy advertising campaigns and videos were launched in March of 2019 and 2020, for example.
Around Scotland, supporters of rival clubs are putting cash into their clubs ahead of the summer transfer window. Celtic, unfortunately, aren’t in a position to do that.
You can understand why.
First of all, there is great uncertainty regarding the future direction of the club. Celtic will want to put their best foot forward when selling tickets, so having a manager in place is crucial to communicate that vision.
Secondly, there was initially a bit of uncertainty surrounding next year’s broadcast TV deal and whether fans would be able to offer live streams to supporters. That has since been resolved with Sky Sports.
Two months down the road from March, the only real indication of when season tickets might go on sale this year came via a behind-closed-doors meeting between Celtic and various supporters groups.
In The Celtic Trust’s update from that meeting on 12th May, it was said: “Celtic FC have confirmed that they intend to release season book renewals by the end of May.”
That leaves the club a week and change to start the wheels turning on that campaign, per this confirmed timeline.
It also leaves the club facing the possibility of having to do that without someone in the dugout.
Celtic season tickets and the Eddie Howe problem
Latest reporting on the managerial situation suggests that Celtic could be waiting until the end of the month for Eddie Howe to confirm his position at the club. [Daily Record]
This leaves Celtic, and supporters, in the limbo of expecting Howe’s arrival without explicitly being able to say it.
It also means that the club may have to either break the promise and sell season tickets next month at some point or face the unenviable task of shifting tickets with no confirmed clearer picture of next season.
It’s not as if the relationship between club and fans is great right now. If they truly want to move forward in a spirit of togetherness, then asking punters to weigh in half a grand on seats next year on blind faith alone isn’t the best way to go about it.
Staff at the club are being placed in an almost impossible situation. I’m interested in seeing how it’s handled and what happens next week.
The new era kicking off at Celtic is long overdue. When it happens, it needs to be real.
Will the board have the brass neck to press ahead regardless before the end of May for the sake of supporter cash?
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