Last December, Celtic shared the news many fans wanted to hear, and that was the end of Peter Lawwell’s reign at Parkhead.
It was the first of many major changes Celtic fans wanted to see, but many months later, not much has changed in Glasgow.
With Celtic lowballing their staff, no new players, and loan players not even being able to be signed up, Hugh Keevins thinks it’s being proven that Lawwell is being missed by the champions of Scotland, as he told the Daily Record.
“I wonder if those who made Peter Lawwell ’s private life a personal hell are now seeing the error of their ways,” said Keevins. “The former Celtic chairman left the club in January because he could no longer tolerate the strain on his family.
“But the one thing which could never have been said while trophy-laden Peter was in charge at Celtic Park was that the club were rudderless. Have a look at them now.”
Should Celtic fans be worried about O’Neill’s transfer comments?
Celtic are proving protesting fans right after Peter Lawwell’s exit
This is where Keevins is getting it totally wrong.
Lawwell left months and months ago. Celtic have had a pretty long time to scour the footballing world for a permanent replacement, plan forward and get the ship up and running again.
But instead, they are proving that old habits don’t die hard.
Even when Lawwell was in charge, the club showcased an annoying tendency to be reactive, to communicate poorly with fans, and to go down the cheap road when it came to signing players.
From Celtic earning around £16 million for the sales of Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah, and ending up with free agent Kelechi Iheanacho at the end of the 2025 summer transfer window, that was under Lawwell’s watch.
Brian Wilson is the interim chairman right now. A permanent face should already be in the building. Just like a Head of Football Operations, because Paul Tisdale left in January, yet where is his replacement?
This isn’t a case of those who left being missed, but of the club not having the capability to bring in new faces who should have been through the door months ago and are already planning for the 2026/27 season.
That’s a big reason why Celtic are in a mess right now. Nothing seems to be moving forward, and unfortunately, it looks like history will repeat itself.
Those supporters who protested again and again are just being proven right.
Ross Desmond isn’t a man of his word
What’s interesting is that Keevins referred back to Ross Desmond’s disaster AGM last season.
The son of Celtic’s principal shareholder, Desmond junior, promised many things, which, to nobody’s surprise, are NOT coming to fruition.
Keevins was correct to bring it up in his Daily Record column, referencing how Celtic want to loan Marcelo Saracchi again rather than ‘spending money.’
Do you see some of the light now, Keevins? This has been the story of Celtic, with or without Lawwell in the boardroom.
“Rudderless Celtic lost the man steadying the ship, and now it’s lurching towards chaos,” claimed Keevins.
“Celtic don’t need someone to steady the ship. They need to launch the ship that is currently in the dry dock, waiting for repair work to begin.
“And the absence of a firm hand on the tiller is alarmingly obvious while all around them are gearing up for next season. The last assembly Lawwell presided over was the shareholders’ AGM.
“The one when Ross Desmond, son of Celtic’s principal shareholder Dermot, said the club’s intention was ‘improving recruitment, investing in data analytics, upgrading facilities, enhancing the stadium and trying to make Celtic stronger in every way.’
“Oh yeah? Is that why they’re trying to bring back Marcelo Sarrachi from Boca Juniors on a loan rather than spending money?
“Rangers, Motherwell, Hearts and St Mirren have all appointed new, permanent managers in the close season and signed a raft of new players. It is called getting your business straight.”
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