TO ALL CQNERS PLEASE READ THIS Over the past few weeks I have spoken to a number of Celtic supporters about what the club ( call it the PLC or whatever you wish ) should be doing at a time when the attendances are falling, the football is poorer than we have been used to and when there is a sense of disenchantment and disinterest as was ably expressed by Hebcelt yesterday. It strikes me that all the record books show that there have been various times in the past when things “Celtic” have waned or when many Celtic fans chose to do something else on a Saturday instead of following the hoops. Some of those times, as now, have occurred when there has been a sense of severe hardship, poverty and depression throughout the land and so football for many became a real financial issue with lots of otherwise regular attending Celtic fans deciding to spend their hard earned cash in other ways. Those times came and went again. Very often attendances and interest climbed back upwards when the football on the park turned and a sense of excitement rejuvenated the Celtic support. When speaking to a very well known Celtic fan with his own place in Celtic cyberspace a couple of weeks ago, he was at pains to point out that this is what the PLC board are hoping for. Basically the hope is that once the football is better, if we are still in the two cup competitions, have the league to win and can progress in the Europa League then the cloud hanging over the Celtic fans will lift, the attendances will go up and the club will return to economic and social prosperity. The idea will be that this turn of fortune will be evident by say Christmas – maybe! That is all well and good. However, I and others think the club should be acting differently especially at a time when the football is not the best and the climate is what we have now. We are a club, not just a football team. We are a club made up of more than just players, coaches, staff members and paid executives. We are a club whose social make up runs from the super rich to those who are really struggling financially, socially, aspirationally and in many respects mentally. We are a club whose very first ethos and whose very first step into the world of professional/semi professional/public sport was designed to aid others who were in unfortunate circumstances and who needed a hand up by way of a meal on the table and clothes on their back. We are a club which is about so much more than the football, the balance sheet, the share price or the extent or otherwise of the CEO’s salary or bonus. We are far more than all of those things. I have mentioned long and hard that today the Celtic Charity Foundation does more for and in the name of charity under the Celtic banner than at any time in the past and over recent years the foundation has raised a marvellous £7M plus for charitable causes. Ex officio that figure is far higher when you take into account various other private donations and activities organised by Celtic fans on the periphery of the club and the foundation itself. I also know of some really groundbreaking initiatives that are in the early stages of planning where Celtic or Celtic fans are at the fulcrum of some really good work that may never be associated with the name Celtic for fear that, in some quarters at least, such an association would jeopardise the success of potentially life changing projects. However, the club, the official club, the PLC, or whatever should in my opinion, and in the opinion of others, be banging the drum away from the football field in these times and shouting: WE ARE CELTIC AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO! The club – as well as the charity foundation – should be in the vanguard of foodbank and similar initiatives, clothing initiatives, welfare initiatives for those right here on our doorstep and in the provision of entertainment and some relief for those who are suffering a really hard time in the current world of austerity cuts and the reduction of services faced by the community. Paul has repeatedly stressed the charity foundations core objectives Health, Equality, Learning, Poverty and the desire to tackle these. Simply waiting for the football world to turn is the actions of an older and less informed Celtic working in an era when there was no social media and no ability to actually listen to and engage with the fanbase and club members on a daily basis. Today, Celtic, in all its guises, needs to do more – much more – if it wants to hang on to its sense of CLUB. So having said all of that I have a question to ask: We have provisionally booked the Kerrydale suite for CQN 11 for the night of Friday 13th March 2013 – the night before the League Cup Final which we may or may not be involved in. We can take up that reservation or we can simply let the booking go. That night is essentially 6 months away and if we are to hold a truly spectacular night as we did last year then we need to start the preparations for that now. There are very few people who think that an official CQN annual dinner is a viable or even worthwhile annual event as the way the blog has morphed in recent years means that there is a very vibrant, independent and fantastically enjoyable social angle to the blog that does not need any kind of official organising as last week’s hootenanny has shown. Accordingly there is no desire for an annual dinner so to speak. However, we have provisionally booked the date and some of us were discussing whether to hold the event or not. In so doing we discussed what we would or perhaps should try and achieve in the name of CQN with such an event and thus far we have come up with a thought process as follows: If we proceed we would want to show that there is a real sense of club away from just the football side of things and to show and shout about just what Celtic fans can do together. We would want to raise all sorts of money for charity and in particular show what we can do: A for the CQN/Mary’s meals kitchens in Malawi B for the Celtic Charity Foundation itself C for the recent Greenock foodbank set up and supported by the Greenock CSC and Joe Clarke – and other such initiatives D for the campaign for funds by Celticrollercoaster and Doc for wee Shay McGinlay and his family and lastly E — for a special and truly wildly ambitious project which was suggested by Winning Captains and which I am looking into with a view to seeing if it is at all feasible and realistic — but which if possible would make us all proud. Make no mistake, if we proceed this will take a huge amount of organising and an effort which goes way beyond Paul, myself and a few others. SO The question for the blog is this: Is there a mood for such an event? Do you honestly think we should proceed? Please do not feel pressurised or obligated to say yes or simply agree with a whole load of worthy sentiments spouted out by a clown like me as we do not know the personal circumstances of everyone on the blog and the thousands who lurk and don’t post. This is an exercise in canvassing opinion and mood at a time when things are not just so easy for Celtic fans and there is a mood of disenchantment with our club. It is also an unashamed initiative to redefine and, if you like, re proclaim what our club is about, what it stands for or should stand for even when our football team is not at its zenith. This is not a Celtic PLC initiative it is about a project for the fans, about the fans and by the fans and making a difference to the fans. But we need to know that there is a desire for such a night, such a campaign and all the publicity and organisation that goes with it as we would really want it to be something utterly special in a time when there is a real sense of cloud over Celtic. If you are up for it can you please just add a simple (Y) to the end of your posts on the blog. If you think we are best directing our attentions elsewhere or in another fashion then please end your posts with a (N) Again I stress that we are looking for honest straightforward opinion. If anyone has any suggestions etc re alternative initiatives or other matters then please forward them to me at editor@cqnmagazine. Sorry about the length of the post and thanks for reading. HH BRTH
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 14:09:05 +0000