WITH the cinch Premiership and Premier Sports Cup trophies glistening in the board room and the multi-million pound windfall from Champions League qualification safely deposited in the bank, the Celtic PLC AGM at Parkhead today was never likely to be a stormy affair.
Fans of the Scottish champions adore their Greek-Australian manager Ange Postecoglou and have loved watching the entertaining football which the side he has assembled since being appointed last year has produced on the park.
Off the pitch, the Glasgow giants have performed every bit as well. Their annual results showed that their revenue had increased by in excess of £27m and that they had posted a profit of over £6m in the financial year ending in June when they were released back in September.
So, everybody happy then? Don’t you believe it. It was still the Celtic PLC AGM after all.
There were certainly outpourings of affection for Postecoglou from the shareholders who were in attendance. Indeed, one doe-eyed supporter stood up and described him as “the reincarnation of Jock Stein”. Another referred to him as “Mr Postecoglou” and he took exception to that. “Mr Postecoglou was my father,” he said. “I’m Ange or Big Ange.”
But complaints were made, concerns raised and conspiracy theories aplenty floated.
At one stage, both chairman Ian Bankier, who was presiding over his last AGM before he stands down, and chief executive Michael Nicholson, who was attending his first as the head honcho, were even asked what year Rangers were formed.
Not, though, that the Ibrox club was mentioned by name. Rather, they were referred to as “the team that won the Scottish title in 2021”. But neither man was daft enough to allow themselves to be led down that particular cul-de-sac by their interrogator.
“I’m not going there!” said Bankier. “This is my last AGM!” Nicholson, who made an assured debut, earned a small round of applause when he said: “We’re here to talk about Celtic and how we take Celtic forward.”
Nicholson was probed about one of the Scottish champions’ physios being struck by a bottle during the “Glasgow derby” match in Govan in April and broken glass having to be cleared out of Joe Hart’s penalty box before the second-half got underway.
“There was an investigation carried out after the match,” he said. “We spoke to the club concerned immediately after the match and raised our concerns with them privately. We received an apology.
“We were told there was not CCTV. I agree it was a poor show and we raised our concerns with the club concerned. We will deal with these issues privately and appropriately and we will always keep the best interests of the club and their supporters at heart.”
But Nicholson would not be drawn into a discussion about the Five Way Agreement that was brokered between the SFA, SFL, SPL, Rangers oldco and Rangers newco back in 2012 when it was, almost inevitably, put to him that it favoured their city rivals when it came to disciplinary matters. “We wouldn’t stand for Celtic being treated differently,” he said.
Former chief executive Peter Lawwell loomed large over proceedings even though he retired last year. One shareholder grilled the top table at length about the process of selecting the new chairman amid intense speculation that it could be a familiar face.
Bankier said: “As soon as the board has made a decision, it will announce it to the Stock Exchange and markets.
“I can tell you that there is a search agency on the books of the company right now. Beyond that, I think it is inappropriate for us to go into the ins and outs and details of who we are speaking to and who we might not be speaking to.”
There was an appeal to “respect the dead” when there is a minute’s silence, questions about the ramifications of UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules, a moan about the price of tickets during the cost of living crisis, remarks about the possible formation of a shadow board and a plea to introduce of a ticket exchange scheme similar to those in place down south.
There was also impassioned appeal to do something about pro-IRA chanting from an “immature, self-indulgent and anti-social” element of the Celtic support in one corner of the stadium – something which many sensible fans have become increasingly concerned about in recent seasons.
The distressed individual in question recounted how he now put his fingers in his ears at matches and asked if there was any way that the young team could use a quieter drum.
“We are aware of issues that have occurred at matches at home and away,” said Nicholson. “It’s not unique to Celtic. There are some societal issues that are being experienced by many clubs around the world. It’s also we believe a small minority of the support, far from the wider Celtic support.
“The club’s long-standing position has been that politics and offensive language and offensive chanting and gestures should be left outside Celtic Park. It’s obvious that some of the behaviours experienced don’t represent the views of people in here or the views of the club.”
Nicholson confirmed that Celtic had made representations to the SFA over the VAR decisions which went against them in the Premiership match against Hearts at Tynecastle last month and dismissed the prospect of the Main Stand at Parkhead being rebuilt because it would cost £100m. “Longer term, that is something we would look at,” he said. “But not at the moment.”
Postecoglou was asked how, in the wake of Celtic’s disappointing Champions League campaign, how he intended to make his side competitive at the highest level in Europe going forward. He talked at length about what his strategy had been and hopes for the future were. “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the nose,” he said. “We’ve taken a few punches.”
The Celtic PLC AGM was never going to come to blows with a manager and board of directors who are boxing clever.
