Outside of a Glasgow Derby or cup finals, it’s the only day on the Celtic calendar that may pique fans’ interest.
The Celtic 2024 AGM was held this morning, with shareholders and fans questioning the board about the club’s pressing challenges. Yesterday, 67 Hail Hail examined six pressing issues that Celtic fans may want to be addressed by Peter Lawwell and the board. Today, the Hoops hierarchy responded. Almost. [cited by the Daily Record]
Celtic’s January transfer budget
Whilst Celtic still holds massive cash reserves of £77.2m, there wasn’t a direct question about how much the club could plan to spend in January.
Peter Lawwell assured Celtic fans that the board will work tirelessly to achieve local and European success for the club.
According to Chris McKay, Celtic’s cash reserves can be utilised to strengthen the first squad, but they should also act as a backup plan in case the club fails to qualify for the Champions League in the future.
The Celtic End ‘not a club initiative’
The Green Brigade has long advocated for Celtic to construct a larger safe-standing zone, similar to The North Curve, where fans may demonstrate their team support.
The club rejected the Celtic End plan, which was raised during today’s AGM. Michael Nicholson acknowledged the argument raised in the fan poll, stating that Celtic must ‘look through the difficulties’ in order to meet fan demand.
Celtic fans and pyro
UEFA has penalised Celtic on multiple occasions for fan usage of pyro during European games in recent seasons. A Celtic fan asked the AGM what they planned to do to eliminate the penalties and prevent fans who repeatedly broke the rules from receiving away tickets.
Lawwell stated that the fines are ‘unacceptable’, adding that the club attempted but failed to look into ticket allocations to prevent this.
Nicholson agrees that Celtic’s procedure for distributing away briefs is not ideal, but he also recognises that the pyro issue is not unique to Celtic; it is a problem that affects all football teams.
Celtic Park ticket exchange scheme and away allocations
The AGM did not directly address the SPFL clubs’ decision to reduce Celtic’s away ticket allotment, mostly because the topic was not posed. Another topic that was not addressed at the meeting was the implementation of a ticket exchange system. Champions League ticket prices are frozen, and while Nicholson stated that the board discussed ticket pricing, there was no answer as to whether Celtic would lower them given the club’s strong financial position.
Main Stand redevelopment and expand Celtic Park
Celtic fans who want to watch their heroes every week are frustrated by the club’s season ticket waiting list. However, as demand develops, stadium expansion is one option to handle it.
However, Michael Nicholson stated that the Celtic board had ‘considered long and hard about’ the matter, admitting that being in the Premier League would make it easier.
The mysterious 2024 Celtic Fan Survey
The Celtic Fan Survey closed in July, but no results have been announced yet.
Nicholson mentioned the survey after addressing the Celtic End argument, but little is known about it.
When asked if the club is seeking to boost fan involvement at any stage, Nicholson stated that’supporter engagement is a common ambition’.
However, the CEO stated that he hasn’t had a time to review the Fan Survey despite the fact that it was finished about six months ago. Bizarre.
The Fan Survey and demand for The Celtic End were expected to be addressed in 67 Hail Hail. However, both concerns remain unresolved.
While the club is in good condition both on and off the pitch, it is evident that Celtic still has work to do to tackle specific concerns that fans are still concerned about.
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