Stephen McGowan has issued a sharp critique of Celtic’s operations under CEO Michael Nicholson, challenging the club’s self-described goal of achieving ‘world-class’ standards in all areas.
Last year, when Rodgers was unveiled to the press, the Celtic CEO had said that he wanted the club to be ‘world-class in everything that they do’. Right now, McGowan and many others, can’t see the ‘world-class’ goal being hit.
Speaking on the PLZ Soccer show, McGowan highlighted perceived inefficiencies in Celtic’s transfer plan and overall management, particularly noting the absence of key recruitment personnel since March.
McGowan pointed out the dissonance between Nicholson’s ambitious claims and the reality of the club’s actions, especially in the context of recent transfer windows. He questioned the club’s efficiency, noting that significant positions in the recruitment department remain unfilled months after being vacated.
He said: “Why is it so inefficient!?
“I accept that there are market forces and a lot of moving parts but I go back to the point that in March, the Head of Recruitment and the First Team Scout were basically dispensed with.
“Here we are now, at the end of August, still with no adequate replacement for them.
“Michael Nicholson said on the way that Brendan Rodgers was appointed ‘We want to be a world-class club in everything that we do’, would you say that right now about Celtic’s operations? I wouldn’t.”
He added: “It’s worrying that [this topic] has been a recurring theme.”
As McGowan rightly said, this is a recurring theme. But not just this summer, over the last three or four windows, fans have been left unhappy with the outcome.
