Celtic's underwhelming transfer window has increased pressure on the Parkhead club's besieged board and led to renewed scrutiny of their structure and working practices by supporters. But is, asks Matthew Lindsay, major shareholder Dermot Desmond smart to be prudent? Will history be kind to him just like it has been to his predecessor Fergus McCann?
There are numerous humorous stories which Fergus McCann’s old colleagues and former employees like to tell about the time the saviour of Celtic Football Club spent in situ at Parkhead.
But a particular favourite is about the occasion “The Bunnet”, as McCann was known due to his distinctive headgear, encountered a group of Rangers supporters who were heading to Ibrox for a match as he made his way home on the Glasgow underground one evening after work.
The Scottish-born Canadian businessman, who had prevented his boyhood heroes going bust in 1994 when he bought a 51 per cent stake for £9.5m, was later told in no uncertain terms by his head of security not to put his personal safety at risk by using public transport.
Mercifully, though, the tale had a funny, not an unfortunate, ending.
The Celtic owner recalled how one of the more perceptive Bears had spotted him after boarding his carriage in Partick and exclaimed, ‘Nae luck wee man! You look just like Fergus McCann! Hold on a minute! F*** me! It is Fergus McCann!”
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It is hard to imagine Dermot Desmond, the billionaire Irish financier who became the major shareholder when McCann departed the East End back in 1999, ever stepping foot onto The Clockwork Orange.
But it would be the fans of his own club, not those of their city rivals, who he would need to be wary of if he ever did decide to take the subway. It is fair to say that there is not a lot of love for Desmond among the Scottish champions’ support just now following a highly unsatisfactory transfer window.
And no wonder. Manager Brendan Rodgers had to field Benjamin Nyrgen, a playmaker, out wide, and Daizen Maeda, a winger, up front in the Champions League play-off matches against Kairat of Kazakhstan last month. His side failed to net once in 210 minutes of football and missed out on a £40m place in the league phase of Europe’s elite club competition after losing a penalty shootout.
More reinforcements were eventually forthcoming. Wingers Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti arrived for a combined outlay of £10m while left-back Marcelo Saracchi and striker Kelechi Iheanacho came in for nothing. But should a club like Celtic really be scrapping around in the final days, in the final hours even, of the transfer window desperately looking for reinforcements in key positions?
Kyogo Furuhashi left for Rennes in January and Adam Idah departed for Swansea City on deadline day. But Iheanacho, the former Manchester City and Leicester City forward who was freed by Sevilla on Monday, only joined on Tuesday. Did Rodgers need to thumb through his contacts book to secure the services of his former player? It very much looked like he did.
Tony Ralston and Kieran Tierney have pulled out of the Scotland squad injured this week. Are Iheanacho and Saracchi match fit? Does Daizen Maeda want to be there? What will the starting line-up be in their league meeting with Kilmarnock at Rugby Park a week tomorrow? Comparisons with the calamitous Covid-19 season feel more apt by the day.
This has been a window too far for most supporters. They believe, with some justification, their club now has an archaic structure, unaccountable board and dysfunctional working practices and are far too beholden to one man, an individual who isn’t even the majority shareholder. Change from the top down is now required for many.
Desmond, whose public utterances are about as rare as a new signing arriving at Parkhead in June, and his associates would be well advised to listen to the assorted grievances and make the required adjustments to get their disgruntled fanbase back onside. If they stopped stockpiling cash, if they freed up some of their funds, it would be a good start.
By my calculations – and this is some real back-of-a-fag-packet accountancy here – Celtic have banked in excess of £25m this summer from the sale of Idah, Nicolas Kuhn, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Marco Tilio and spent less than £15m.
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So their coffers, which their half-yearly-results showed stood at £65.4m in December, have been swelled by another eight figure sum by their transfer business. Kerching! What exactly is the point in having so much cash in the bank if the team on the park doesn’t pass muster?
There is still, though, a place for caring about the bottom line, for living within your means, for sensible stewardship, for having a sustainable business model in place, for financial stability, for prudence, in the modern game. Those are worthy ideals which Desmond has very much inherited from his predecessor McCann.
Could history be kind to Desmond, who has presided over unprecedented spells of domestic dominance during the past 30 years and has seen no fewer than 45 pieces of major silverware installed in the trophy cabinet since becoming a director, as well? There is a very good chance.
Change is clearly required going forward at Celtic. But there remains much to be said for having an independently wealthy custodian with a strong affiliation to the club who is unaffected by outside noise and uninterested about making a profit on his investment and who realises that sporting success cannot be allowed to come at any cost.
