Celtic fans have been told to take up other avenues in their bid to reach Dermot Desmond. The weekend saw the fallout between the Bhoys fans and the club's majority shareholder take a new twist.
The Celtic Fans Collective organised a protest that saw them throw tennis balls onto the St Andrews course while Desmond was attempting to compete in a golf event.
That was followed by an ill-tempered statement from the club and an equally angry reply from the Collective. The whole thing made national news and beyond, and it has become another circus in the civil war that has been developing between Celtic and its fans.
But according to Frank McAvennie, the Bhoys fans who are trying to make a scene are barking up the wrong tree with Desmond, and he believes they are going to have to get much more tactical with their approach.
“They’re not going to sell it to Willie Haughey. He’s looking after his investment," he said on the Let Me Be Frank podcast.
“But why is he the majority shareholder? Because it’s them that’s making him the majority shareholder. So go after the people that’s backing him up. And that would get more mileage with it than flying tennis balls.
“I just think it was not right. I’m all for the fans protesting and they’ve got every single right to protest.”
McAvennie makes a good point
McAvennie is right about how difficult it's going to be for Celtic fans to make an impact with Desmond. Not to offend fans, but football supporters often believe they hold a power that they don't have.
Just look at clubs elsewhere where there have been owners who don't run things to the satisfaction of the fans. Fans protest, some even stop going to games, but the billionaire owners will only decide to make changes when they are good and ready.
They don't feel rushed by the fans, and they don't need to. As long as they are making the decisions, they will make the decisions as they see fit.
So, the notion of trying to force Desmond's hand is a waste of time. The real target should be pushing the rest of the board to the point where they see what Desmond is doing as negative. The Bhoys fans have more leverage over those figures, who have to be more careful about their bottom line. Desmond can afford to do what he likes, and that is not going to change, even if 10,000 people start turning up.
Add us as a preferred source on Google