DAILY RECORD 🔵 Brendan Rodgers blamed for Celtic fan ‘rabble-rousing’ as Simon Jordan explodes at protestors
The relationship between Hoops fans and the board at Celtic Park are at an all-time low
Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers(Image: PA)
Simon Jordan reckons former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is partly responsible for the complete breakdown in relations between the hierarchy and the supporters.
And the outspoken media personality also believes fan groups who are actively voicing their anger at how the club is run are becoming too ‘militant’. Despite an upturn in results since the return of interim boss Martin O’Neill – who has got the Hoops back into Premiership title contention – fans are continuing to call for change in the boardroom at every opportunity.
Those frustrations have only been amplified by the outcome of the January transfer window, where all five of Celtic’s signings arrived on loan deals. In a fresh protest on Wednesday, The Celtic Fans Collective once again called for chief executive Michael Nicholson to be shown the door while urging fellow fans to boycott Saturday’s home clash with Dundee in the Scottish Cup.
Under-fire Nicholson was also confronted by a supporter during Celtic’s trip to Italy to face Bologna in the Europa League, with the individual filmed hurling abuse at the Parkhead chief.
And former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan says that the ‘activist’ mentality among fans is becoming too disruptive and that Rodgers – who now manages Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah following his acrimonious Celtic exit back in October – is responsible for fuelling some of the ‘rabble-rousing’ from fans.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Thursday, he said: « They’re not going to sack the CEO because a group of fans are activist in their mentality. They’re not going to let the Green Brigade back in, and neither should they. Some of their behaviour has merited them being excluded.
« The only thing they could possibly do is let the fan TV’s back in, because they’ve let them in previously. They’ve opened that door, if they want to let them back in again and cope with the fact that they’re a little bit dissentful. I think they can manage that.
« And they’ve got to win on the football field. That’s the job that Martin can do. Martin’s not the head of the UN; he’s not going to go in and make speeches on behalf of the board. He’s got to make a football team that wins. If his football team wins, some of the noise will drip down.
« Ever since COVID, we’ve got this activist mentality that’s increased in certain sections of supporter-bases. They’re fully entitled to their views; they’re a valuable part of the football club. There’s a balance between having a view and being dissenting, and having a view about the team’s performance and being militant and activist and disruptive.
« I think they’re veering towards that territory. There’s one thing saying that a club’s being run badly, there’s another thing adding no value yourselves.
« Because it’s all well and good shouting about what you want, it’s much more difficult to provide a solution. We can all tell people what we don’t like, it’s all well and good to do that. It’s about what you’re going to replace it with.
« I think Celtic may not be as well-run as it has been previously. They may well have made some mistakes. They may not be investing the money.
« But I’m telling you, some of the rabble-rousing and some of the context that’s been created by people like Brendan Rodgers that’s created and fuelled some of this is not right either. »