A recent article by Celtic fan media site Born Celtic – Ex-chairman’s comments about Celtic in Europe are coming true – may have reignited a conversation that has enveloped Celtic for a good years now — not just about results, but about ambition, something very much topical after the manager’s comments in recent days.
The article referenced the club’s historical caution in Europe, particularly through the lens of former chairman Ian Bankier, who, in 2021, laid out a boardroom stance that many fans haven’t forgotten.
Speaking at the Celtic AGM that year, Bankier said:
Celtic Chariman Ian Bankier with Peter Lawwell. Photo Andrew Milligan
“If we talk about Europe, it’s a much different environment to what it was 20 years ago… You go into the Champions League and you get absolutely pasted by the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. Celtic Football Club is not the Qatar Government. There’s a whole set of different players out there with completely different pockets.”
It was probably brutally honest on the part of the former Chairman but also, for many, deeply uninspiring.
It seemed to confirm what supporters had long suspected. That for all the club’s history and prestige, the board had no genuine European ambition beyond collecting participation money and escaping without embarrassment.
(L-R) Peter Lawwell Chief Executive, Brendan Rodgers and Celtic Chairman Iain Bankier during the unveiling of new Manager, Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park Glasgow on May 23, 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
Fast forward to 2025. Bankier is gone. Peter Lawwell is back, this time taking Bankier’s job as the chairman. Michael Nicholson has been promoted from within as the Dominic McKay experiment was over before it got started and Brendan Rodgers is back in the dugout. And the same old questions are being asked — not because nothing has changed on the pitch, but because everything behind the scenes feels the same.
That brings us to the three camps Charlie Thaview’s article rightly identified. The fans, who dream of Celtic Park roaring on a team that goes deep into Europe. The players and manager, who want to prove themselves on the biggest stage. And the boardroom, which — despite an entirely new financial landscape — still seems locked in the logic of restraint.
And here’s the crucial detail, that is very different from Bankier’s time as club chairman. Celtic are not broke. Celtic are not being cautious to survive. This is no longer about “being safe.” The club is sitting on a cash surplus that equals nearly a full year’s turnover. That’s not profit. That’s turnover. It’s money earned, and money unused.
July 16, 2025, Faro, Portugal: Adam Idah of Celtic looks on during a Pre-Season friendly football match played between Sporting CP and Celtic FC at Estadio Algarve on July 16, 2025 in Faro, Portugal. Faro Portugal – ZUMA Photo Joaquin Corchero
Money ultimately taxed. Celtic will pay more to HMRC last year and this year as a result that they spent on Engels and Idah combined. Let that sink in.
Arne Engels scores the first goal from the penalty spot during the pre-season friendly match between Celtic and Newcastle United at Celtic Park on July 19, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
So, are we beyond “cautious”? Have we drifted into willful inaction?
Because this isn’t about demanding reckless spending. It’s about asking why, with the strongest financial position in modern club history, the club isn’t maximising its opportunity.
Why not push the boat out for two seasons? Add the quality needed to give Rodgers and McGregor a real shot. If it fails — fine. The surplus still gives Celtic the cushion to return to safe ground. But at least we’d know. At least we’d have tried.
That’s the real frustration. The emotional and strategic crossroads. The board often speaks about sustainability, but what’s more sustainable than spending money you already have to try to fulfil the core ambition of a club like Celtic?
Celtic FC coach Brendan Rodgers looks on before the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
This isn’t just about qualifying. It’s about competing. Not for vanity. Not for ego. But because that’s what the club is supposed to do. If not now — when Brendan is here, the fans are engaged, and the money is literally sitting there — then when?
If this moment passes with only half-measures, then fans will be justified in asking whether the club’s vision of success is fundamentally different from theirs.
Because the only thing worse than failing in Europe is never even trying. If not now, then when? Celtic’s European ambition has money in the bank, it just needs the will to use it.
Niall J
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As Fergus said , we must be seen to compete.
As Jock said , the Celtic shirt does not shrink to fit inferior players
If the board are not good enough , then it is their responsibility , and should move over to someone who will strive to achieve the above 🍀
McGregor needs sent to the Maurice Backpassers’ Retirement home and Rodgers needs replaced. Too defensive, negative and old for Celtic.
A Loney
Fair play to you for highlighting once again why you are without doubt the most boring
cunt online
The board are leeches and do nothing but hold us back and take their pound of flesh from us every chance they get, we will never be competitive in Europe while this lot are running the show, some decent signings can push us on if they would back the manager, Bayern and Atalanta away proved we can compete, these old men in their grey suits have to back the football side of the operation and not use the club as their own personal piggy bank, if we have no decent signings in time for the champions league qualifiers then a protest outside the stadium is something that should be considered, no point in waiting for a bad result or two before the fans get restless and start chanting sack the board. Flag day would be ideal as it would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons when everyone should be on board and having a great day.
I have often said that money sitting unused in a bank is on par with the *rangers being broke. One has no money to spend but continues to do so and the other has tons of money but won’t spend it – what good is that? As much as I appreciate what D.D. has done for Celtic this past 20+ years, if he and the board do not have the same ambitions for the club as the supporters do, then it’s time to sell up and let someone with real ambitions take over.
What a joke dreaming of european glory live in the real world Wii ya we will never compete on the champions league stage till we can pay 50 million for an average player no dreams are great but there called that for a reason be real just look to dominate like we have and dream we can compete in Europe that the celtic reality but it’s a bloody good one hail hail