SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

Not the most pleasant day on the site yesterday. The real pity of it all is that it detracted from a superb article by MAHE. If anyone was so distracted by the posts that followed it that they didn’t actually read the article,you could really do yourself a favour and read it now. You can thank me later!

The big talking points at the moment in Celticland are both having a negative effect on the club and the support. There’s the continuing mess over the sex abuse scandal at Celtic Boys Club,not only with the fact of the matter but with how Celtic are dealing with it. I’m unclear on how much the matter can be discussed on here as I’m pretty certain that much of it is still subject to sub judice reporting restrictions,but it seems that Celtic Plc has their own internal investigation going on.

I can certainly voice my opinions about the latter. The club as it currently stands has no connection to the scandal which occurred. It did not involve anyone currently connected to Celtic,there is little doubt about that. As such,the investigation is likely to be centred on who-back then-knew what,and when they knew about it. To what extent were any of the main characters involved with Celtic or with Celtic office bearers,and what level of proof of criminality was known but ignored.

I trust that the investigation will be thorough and that it will be honest. Celtic cannot use this as a means to whitewash the Augean Stables,they have to use it to thoroughly cleanse them. Without attempting to prejudge the findings of the investigation,Celtic have to take this opportunity to do the right thing and more importantly to be seen to do it. Get things out in the open and deal with them conclusively.

For once,I actually have full faith in our board here. They will know where their best interests lie,and will act accordingly. But I’ve been wrong before.

The other main topic of concern at the moment is the continuing leaking of information from the club. Now,I’ll be honest-leaking the teamsheet never bothered me too much. Most of us could have taken a stab at most of the line-ups in the games,with the exception of the games at Ibrox. If anything,it gave us a better chance picking the correct first goalscorer at the bookies!

Not that it helped me much,mind…

The apparent leaking of summer signing plans is a much bigger concern though. Firstly,this was a heavily restricted document,and only a handful of people would have been privy to the details. And all of them hold important roles at the club. Would any of them be stupid enough to have leaked it like this? I doubt it,at least not deliberately. So someone was obviously careless with their copy and needs a good boot in the baws and a bit of training on document security.

Don’t bin it,shred it. Or at least rip it up.

Of course,the leak itself raised another question. As it concerned our likely business in the summer window,I reckon most of us went-“Is that it? Aw,ffs!” And if it is,we might not be celebrating Nine In A Row next season.

For starters,it looks like PC Lustig will not be offered a contract extension,which means that we will have one right back next season-and Anthony Ralston has not been inspiring thus far,even when fit. He has only a handful of first team appearances and is nowhere near ready to be first choice. At left back,it’s Kieran or,erm,that’s it,hope Jonny Hayes stays fit. And we had better hope that Kris and Jozo stay fit too,because the alternatives don’t bear thinking about.

In the middle,how long can we rely on the old warhorse,Broonie? Well,it looks like we will have to. A decent offer for Ntcham and he’s out the door. I’m willing to bet the board will consider offers for Callum and Ryan too. Not to mention the current multiple Player of the Year award winner,James Forrest. We’ve got millions of wingers after all,so might as well cash in. Shved will be adequate cover. Bloody hell,probably Eddy anaw if they think they can get away with it.

The more I think about it,the more I look at that list,the more I see asset stripping rather than rebuilding. We got away with it last year and the year before,but for how much longer?

Stevie Clarke must be wondering if he should have stayed on at Rugby Park for one more season. He might have won the bloody league for them.

“It is not always easy being a Celtic supporter,but it is always worthwhile.” A catchy little soundbite from Fergus,and one which I’ve always largely agreed with. That list is pushing the boundaries.

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Above article by BMCUWP. Usual request for your input for our Article of the Day. Just mail it to Mahe

sentinelcelts@gmail.com