Celtic-daft pundit blasts Hoops board as Dermot Desmond told to read the room after fan message
Pre-season friendly caught the eye of former Ipswich and Manchester United man
Celtic-supporting pundit Alan Brazil claims major shareholder Dermot Desmond should take the hint from supporters boycotting their pre-season friendly fixtures.
Amid protests against Desmond and the rest of the board for their lack of movement in the transfer window, only a small fraction of Celtic fans turned up to watch their home friendlies against Middlesbrough and AC Milan. Former Scotland international Brazil was left flabbergasted at the amount of empty seats inside the ground and believes this is the supporters way of saying ‘enough is enough’.
Since then, Celtic have broke their transfer record for £11m striker Kasper Hogh from Bodo Glimt. The Dane made his debut in their 1-0 victory over Dundee at Celtic Park in their first match of the SPFL Premiership campaign. As the Hoops lifted the championship flag on Monday night, Parkhead was packed to the rafters, however frustrations against the board were still voiced through chants and banners.
Brazil on pre-season empty seats
In Celtic’s home opener against Middlesbrough, 7,000 home fans turned up compared to 5,000 in the away end. Speaking on talkSPORT, Brazil - who once owned a season ticket - couldn’t believe the near 50/50 split. He said: “I did notice this pre-season, Middlesbrough going to Parkhead, and there was as many red tops, shirts and scarves as there was green and white. A lot of empty spaces. That’s the fans saying: ‘Enough is enough’.
“I think Dermot has said – I don’t know if he’s on record saying it, but I believe he’s said – ‘I’m not the bank. I’m here to look after the club and make sure it’s run properly. You’ve got to use your own money’. So he’s not one of these chairman who says, ‘Go on, I’ll give you another £50 million, or another £100 million’. He’s not like that. He can; I think he’s a very wealthy man – but it’s just a business to him, and it’s so frustrating for the fans. They want players.”
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O’Neill must be ‘tearing his hair out’
Other than Hogh, Celtic also signed striker Camilo Duran from Qarabag for £6m. While spending £17m on two quality additions has been welcomed by the support, the departure of Daizen Maeda to Ipswich has given them a big hole to fill. With defender Alistair Johnston and midfielder Arne Engels also linked with moves south of the border, Celtic require several more arrivals between now and Deadline Day.
Brazil reckons Hoops boss Martin O’Neill will also be frustrated with the board’s transfer passivity. He added: “And even now, Martin (O’Neill) must be pulling his hair out, saying, ‘get me some quality signings!’. At the moment, there’s a couple of players that I thought were going to leave. I thought (Callum) McGregor might leave as well, so it’s not over yet, but Martin needs to get players in.”