We're firmly into the season of AGMs and whilst there wasn't quite a fireworks display at Celtic Park this afternoon, the Hoops board were still questioned over a number of topics.
The Celtic hierarchy sat down in front of shareholders inside the stadium's Kerrydale Suite, in their first face-to-face encounter since Ange Postecoglou helped reclaim the Premiership title, as well as securing a lucrative stint in the Champions League group stages.
With the team on the park four points clear at the top of the Premiership and doing the business most weeks, as well as the club's finances being in robust health following the problems brought by Covid, you'd be forgiven for thinking that shareholders wouldn't have too much to get angry about.
But there was still plenty of hot topics to be addressed, with outgoing chairman Ian Bankier and CEO Michael Nicholso n, fielding most of the questions, alongside Postecoglou.
Here are six key points from the meeting...
Bankier's replacement
This was Ian Bankier's last AGM as chairman as he prepares to step down at the end of the year and he will bring the curtain down on a hugely successful 12 years at the helm. Bankier was asked several times to name his successor, and regarding the process surrounding the selection policy, but held firm in the face of repeated queries, saying: "The decision to step down was my decision. It wasn’t something that was on the agenda. As soon as the board has made a decision, it will announce to the stock exchange and markets."
Ibrox bottle incident
One shareholder took to the floor demanding to know if the club had taken any action regarding an incident in April at Ibrox that saw one Celtic physio injured and glass thrown onto the pitch close to Joe Hart's goalmouth.
Nicholson said he'd been in contact with 'the club in question' in regards to the incident but he wasn't best pleased with how it had been resolved.
He explained: "I don’t know…I didn’t receive any update on how that got on the pitch. We were told there was no CCTV. It’s a poor show but we’ll discuss that with the club in question privately and appropriately."
Moving The Green Brigade
One rather angry shareholder demanded to know why the Green Brigade had been moved closer to him inside the stadium - and pleaded with the board to find out if the fan group can invest in some quieter drums.
The fan was also unhappy with the board's decision to continually "cater" for the Green Brigade and chastised them for "repeated IRA chants", saying: "The drum is like a constant banging on your head. As well as that, there’s a constant stream of IRA songs. I come here to support Celtic, not another organisation. You not only tolerate them but you cater them. Why did you move these guys to the south west corner without considering other fans? Why do you cater to these fans when they cost us a fortune in fines from UEFA?"
Nicholson responded by saying: "We’re aware of issues. It’s not unique to Celtic, and we believe it’s a small minority of the Celtic support. One thing that unites us is our love of the club - we’re a club for all. The club’s longterm position has always been chants like that should be left outside the stadium. There was a safety issue in the area of the stadium they were located and we felt we had to move them to ensure safety came first. We did consult with fans in that area of the stadium."
Stadium expansion
One topic we didn't perhaps expect to come up was the idea of Celtic Park being expanded and taken beyond its current 60,000 capacity.
The idea of adding more seats to one of Britain's largest sporting arenas might be intriguing but Nicholson quickly poured cold water on it, replying: "We have limited financial capital and it’s just not possible at the moment. Longer term we’d like to look at it but not at the moment."
Champions League regulars
The Hoops fanbase was delighted to be back in amongst the cream of Europe's elite this season but attention is quickly turning towards how the Scottish champions remain in the upper echelons of the continents leading tournament.
Postecoglou had some thoughts of his own, saying: "I’m truly humbled by your kind words but I’m Ange, or Big Ange if you’d rather! It’s a fantastic question. I wrestle with it every day.
"It’s not just about success it’s about the way your football team behaves and presents itself is really important. I’m determined to translate that into the Champions League. We need some real clarity, vision, resilience. I’m talking to the players about Champions League standard every day. There shouldn't be any compromise in standards if we’re playing Real Madrid or Dundee Utd."
Couldn't resist
One shareholder cheekily tried to land a blow on the Hoops cross-city rivals, by simply asking: “What year was the club who won the title in 2021 formed?”
Quickly swerved by Bankier, who replied: "I’m not going there!"
The shareholder tried to get a proper answer before Nicholson interjects: "We’re here to talk about Celtic and making sure Celtic is represented in the correct light.
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