As theRangers got absolutely humiliated in their Champions League qualifier last night, many thoughts swirled around my head with regard to us, them and Scottish football in general…
theRangers players pose for a photo prior to the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round Second Leg match between Club Brugge and theRangers at Jan Breydelstadion on August 27, 2025 in Bruges, Belgium. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
Firstly I have to say one thing that helped lift me out of my foul mood after Celtic’s own embarrassing exit was the fact that the utter joy their fans took from us failing to reach the Champions League completely blew up in their faces 24 hours later.
It was funny seeing their forums which had many threads mocking Celtic and judging whether our humiliation was the worst in Scottish football history, suddenly gets chopped or become ‘closed to replies’ as they suffered their own ignominy in Belgium.
Joaquin Seys of Club Brugge celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round Second Leg match between Club Brugge and theRangers at Jan Breydelstadion on August 27, 2025 in Bruges, Belgium. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
There was actually a lot about last night that got me thinking about Celtic
Apart from the satisfaction of seeing those people end up with egg on their faces, there was actually a lot about last night that got me thinking about Celtic and our absolute failure to improve over the past decade or so. One of the main problems the people who run our club have is that they still compare us the resurrected club out of Govan, which is absolute folly. The original Rangers died back in 2012. Whatever that club may have been is gone and the Zombie version that appeared to try and replace it has many similarities but as an opponent is completely different.
Christos Tzolis of Club Brugge celebrates scoring his team’s sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round Second Leg match between Club Brugge and theRangers at Jan Breydelstadion on August 27, 2025 in Bruges, Belgium. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
The problem is the men in charge at Celtic Park think that by staying slightly ahead of theRangers they are doing enough. They couldn’t be more wrong. Since their founding father Charles Green created them back in 2012 they have been a basket case of a club both on and off the pitch. They have won a grand total of three trophies in that time. Whatever way you look at it they are a weakened opponent. They swing from one disaster to the next in a never ending cycle of manager sackings, embarrassing failures and wasted money. When we are future planning they shouldn’t even be in our thoughts.
Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay applaud during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
With the money we have in the bank and the money we have accumulated through constant European participation and player trading we should be absolutely miles ahead of our Scottish rivals. We shouldn’t even be thinking about them. If we concentrated on how to consistently improve year on year in Europe then subsequently we would have dominated in Scotland anyway. If we were to create a squad consistently capable of reaching the Champions League knockout rounds we would be so far out of sight in Scotland it wouldn’t even be a contest.
Club Brugge provide the perfect blueprint for Celtic to follow
Celtic line up Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock
If the men who run our club wanted the perfect blueprint on how to do this then look no further than the club who absolutely destroyed our biggest domestic rivals over two legs – Club Brugge. They play in a league not too dissimilar to our own, although definitely more competitive. An average European league that generates nothing like the riches on offer in the ‘big five’ leagues. So how have they suddenly started to become a force in European football? By investing in their squad. The thing is we aren’t talking about the kind of investment that is outside of Celtic’s boundaries. In fact it’s exactly the kind of ball park we should be playing in.
Club Brugge fans prior to the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round Second Leg match between Club Brugge and theRangers at Jan Breydelstadion on August 27, 2025 in Bruges, Belgium. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
Club Brugge are a great example of how we should be looking to do things. Let’s take a look at their signings this summer. Aleksander Stankovic brought in for €9.5m from Inter Milan. Mamadou Diakhon cost €8.5m from Stade Reims. Nicolo Tresoldi arrived from Hanover for €6m, the same price as Carlos Forbs from Ajax and Ludovit Rice from Hamburg. The first four of these are all under 21 and Rice is 25. None of these signings are out of Celtic’s price range. They are also young, so there is a high chance of them earning the club an increased fee when they finally move on.
This is exactly the type of plan Brendan Rodgers has been talking about
Brendan Rodgers during the Premier League match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The year before they operated at a similar level in the transfer market, bringing in four players each around the €6m mark and a couple around €3m. That season they would go on to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. As you can see they have decided to invest slightly more this time and by the look of how they absolutely destroyed theRangers I would say they will have eyes on going even further. That’s how it’s done. This is exactly the type of plan Rodgers has been talking about. After doing so well last season we could have pushed the boat out a little and continued to improve. Instead, well we all know how this summer has gone.
Celtic players appear dejected after losing in the penalty shootout Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock
Like Celtic, Brugge seem like a perfectly self sufficient club. They pay for these signings with the money they accumulate from their runs in Europe on top of making good money in player outgoings. This summer they have sold three main players, one for €36m and the other two for €20m. Similar to fees we have received in the past but the difference is, as we seen earlier, Brugge reinvest that money in the next wave of talent. They also mix in a few young players from their own academy with these new signings each season and it seems to work out so well for them. If only we had thought of that one, eh?
The men who run our club’s vision, or lack there of, is all wrong
What it boils down to is the men who run our club’s vision, or lack there of, is all wrong. Instead of focusing on theRangers, a club constantly in disarray, shifting from one crisis to the next, they need to refocus and see the bigger picture. Staying slightly ahead of them will only see us regress along with them. They aren’t the type of club we should be comparing ourselves to. We should be looking at clubs like Brugge to see how a club should be run.
If we did we would be sitting now in great anticipation waiting to see who we draw in the Champions League draw. Instead we will be in a draw for the Europa League, a draw many of us now aren’t even interested in.
Conall McGinty
Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.
Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image to join.
👏👏👏👏👏
Club Brugge.
Ground capacity 29,000
2024-2025 players wages £17+million.
Celtic.Ground capacity 60,000.
Players wages £19+million.
Comparisons may be odious but perhaps 2025 the year the Celtic board got serious.
Hail Hail.
What a great article well done straight to the point & factual but our lot can’t see the wood for a great big concrete wall waken up you.lot. Jesus’s wept the cataracts must be spreading like dermots waist or waste lol I’ve supported this team for 68 years with no major progress ..
Not in my lifetime in any other business they would be sacked All of them
This article absolutely nails it!
The shareholders want to only spend enough money to stay a step ahead of the hun and hope we get a favourable Champions League play off, so we they can feather their nest with the CL money.
We mess about on every transfer with low ball offers. A club says they want 4 million, we offer 2 then come back with 2.2 or something stupid, the clubs laugh and sell the player to another club for their asking price.
We could have thrown 5 million
On the table and taken Miller from Motherwell and would have set ourselves up long term.
We could have thrown down 5 million and have Miovski in the door in the first week of the window.
I would bet that soon it will come out we put in insultingly low offers on both these players and missed out, yet we got no problem massively over paying on Idah, Engles and Trusty.
Nothing is going to change until Sevco win the league, then they will loosen the purse strings.
once again this great elite manger should follow this blue print ,,,oh naw were beyond the looking glass now
Remember last year he started to play his way again in europe and we got handed our arse then he let the players have the freedom Ange gave them we rode our luck ,you could give him a Madrid team and he would still fk it up
where was plan b in the last 2 matchs,,,,plan c ,,,,pllan d,,
he tal;ks a good game and jeezo some amount of folk buy into his shite
We dont have enough quality player wise to compete at that level.
The last 2 matches showed it clearly.
This happens when our best players arent replaced.
This isnt on Rodgers.
All you are doing is giving the board a get out.
Fantastic article. Couldn’t agree more with the points raised. We will never get better if we only look over the fence at what that lot are doing. They are getting worse season after season and we seem to be doing the same. Look at the likes of Brugges and other sides from leagues like Holland and Portugal do and copy that. Their player trading models are far better than ours even although certain people like to boast about ours. Aye we are great at selling but never replace them that’s the problem
Well written. Like most Celtic fans l am disgusted by the constant inertia exhibition by the Celtic board, year after year.
Let’s hope the disastrous result in the champions league qualifier shocks them into initiating a small rebuild of the tired looking squad.
Let’s be realistic meada last season was a one off, let’s cash in whilst him premium is high and invest in some quality up front.
Ps been to cushendon a few years ago. Lovely place mate.
Well written. Like most Celtic fans l am disgusted by the constant inertia exhibition by the Celtic board, year after year.
Let’s hope the disastrous result in the champions league qualifier shocks them into initiating a small rebuild of the tired looking squad.
Let’s be realistic meada last season was a one off, let’s cash in whilst him premium is high and invest in some quality up front.
Ps been to cushendon a few years ago. Lovely place mate.
The business modeel that worked for Celtic from 2005 is past its sell by date. A more neergetic version is needed.
All very well but you need to have a proper scouting operation to identify decent targets, we dont appear to have that so it doesnt matter who we can afford.