THE PRICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY. Colin Dempster on why Celtic Needs an Executive Redesign and a Fan Culture Reality Check…
In the immediate, white-hot aftermath of Celtic’s catastrophic 5-1 capitulation against LASK in Linz, I wrote a piece under a headline that choice words did not dictate, but reality demanded: TOTAL ABDICATION. It was a phrase intentionally chosen for its dual meaning—to reflect the absolute structural surrender we witnessed on the pitch, and to directly challenge the disconnected, unaccountable ruling class currently residing in the Parkhead boardroom.
The fallout from that piece was entirely predictable. In modern football’s knee-jerk online echo chamber, offering a deep, structural critique often gets you misread. After my initial tactical analysis of the club’s corporate blueprint, some reactionary elements of the fanbase hastily labelled me a “board apologist.”
Let this piece leave no room for ambiguity: they had me entirely wrong.
I stand firmly by every syllable of my conviction. Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay must go. If they possess a shred of professional dignity and respect for the historic institution they oversee, they should resign. If not, they must be fired.
Therefore, I implore Dermot Desmond to step forward, heal this growing rift, and do the right thing for our football club. As the custodian holding the ultimate power at Celtic PLC, the responsibility to break the silence and steer us out of this crisis stops with him.
The 5-1 disaster in Austria was not an isolated tactical anomaly; it was the inevitable sporting consequence of an isolated corporate strategy. For years, the day-to-day operations and financial mechanisms have been delegated to a CEO and CFO who view the club strictly through a fiscal lens.
While McKay manages vast cash reserves and balance sheets, the squad has been left systematically exposed on the European stage.
Yet, as the dust settles on the Linz disaster, a deeply disturbing trend has emerged within our own support that requires an urgent reality check. Overnight, a toxic minority of the fanbase descended into personal, anonymous vitriol, choosing to scapegoat individual players.
The abuse grew so severe that Luke McCowan—a lifelong Celtic supporter playing for the club he loves—was forced to deactivate his social media entirely to protect his peace.
Let us be completely clear: there is a distinct, unyielding boundary between analysing sporting professionalism and enacting personal cruelty.  McCowan’s cameo off the bench was a footballing nightmare, but targeting his character from behind a fake username crosses a line that no true Celtic fan should ever step over.
No player steps onto a pitch intending to fail. When we confuse legitimate tactical accountability with anonymous bullying, we diminish the soul of our club.
If we genuinely want to restore this club to its rightful standard and safeguard its heritage, we must learn from this disaster. Tearing down individual players fixes nothing.
True reformation requires an executive redesign at the absolute summit—a leadership model that finally bridges the icy divide between corporate finance and footballing reality. Dermot Desmond has the power to install that model.
We do not need more detached spreadsheet administrators. We need visionary, football-first leadership possessing both corporate gravity and an intrinsic understanding of what the green-and-white jersey demands.
The blueprint for that recovery exists. Imagine a boardroom led by Paul Elliott CBE as Chief Executive Officer. Elliott is a man who knows the weight of the Parkhead expectations as a former Scottish Footballer of the Year, yet his modern resume boasts elite-tier administrative gravity as the Vice-Chairman of Charlton Athletic and a Special Advisor to the English FA.
Pair his structural governance with someone like Ramon Vega as Chief Financial Officer—a Treble-winning icon who holds a degree in banking and finance from Zurich and commands multi-million-pound global asset firms.
Bringing in individuals of that caliber is entirely within Celtic’s financial reach, and for men who have already built independent wealth, the motivation would be prestige and passion, not a corporate paycheck.
An Elliott-Vega partnership would instantly heal the rift with an alienated support, replacing corporate isolation with elite footballing pedigree and global financial acumen.
Writing these critiques gives me no satisfaction. Like every supporter, I long for the days where my column is an untainted celebration of beautiful football and boardroom harmony. But true love for an institution means holding it to the standard it deserves.
It is time for the toxicity to stop, for the executives to be replaced, and for Dermot Desmond to act.
Colin Dempster
NEW BOOK LAUNCH FROM CELTIC STAR BOOKS…Celtic in the Fifties in two volumes, available to pre-order now…
Quick Tip – Add Celticshorts.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE….Hail Hail!
4 Comments
I can say,in all honesty, that I shut down any scapegoating of ANY of our players involved on Tuesday night !
The substitutes bench was hardly champions league standard and we know who we can blame for that !
Any of the six subs thrown into the maelstrom of play would drown in the waves of attack that engulfed the entire team.
This humiliation has been in the post since the 24th May, the day after the cup final win.
Our not so esteemed custodians have as usual overseen their favourite false economies and failing to bring in players until other high value assets have left the building.
It is now time for total war against these parasites infecting our club,giving them no respite at Celtic Park or in their daily lives.
There is no need for physical violence to be involved, we just need to make life so uncomfortable for them they will go willingly.
Your appeal to The absent golfer will fall on deaf ears.
He is a sociopathic narcissist and as such everything and everyone revolves around the sun that he mistakenly believes shines out of his arse !
Lest he forgets,we are not,unlike Jock Stein,immortal.
He’s now in his mid 70’s,how much time does he have left on this mortal coil,that’s the 64,000 dollar question !
The subs that came on aren’t good enough and you could count on the present back line in that also too many of them picking up great money the couldn’t get elsewhere and contribute nothing.
Excellent article Colin. Hope you cc’d DD in on it.
These so called business men in celtic board over several years have cost our over £150″ million pounds in champions leauge revenue plus by there insane policy of not supporting the manager getting players the team needed for Europe. Any other directors would be sacked for this lack of duty to the business what do we do promote them insane way to run a club. And the clubs who dumped us out most of them have had nowhere near our resources.