Be careful what you wish for, Reid warns fans as Desmond comes under fire

THE focus of Celtic’s annual general meeting yesterday could easily have been the departure of John Reid as chairman. Or even the formal introduction of Ian Bankier as his successor. Instead it became about the man who wasn’t there.

Those gathered in the Kerrydale Suite within Celtic Park wanted to see Dermot Desmond, the club’s major shareholder, not an anonymous representative there on his behalf. When his absence was announced at the outset, there was dissent from the floor.

A muttering at first, it only got louder. After video interview clips were played to the audience from Reid, Peter Lawwell, the chief executive, and manager Neil Lennon there was again nothing forthcoming from Desmond.

The question was immediate: why was he not there? Where was he instead? To add to the frustration it was never entirely answered. Desmond, revealed Reid, had missed last year’s AGM because of a court case. The only reason given this time was other business commitments.

It didn’t quell the jeers which only briefly turned to cheers when Reid, by accident, referred to Desmond as the club’s ‘owner’. One questioner demanded to know whether Desmond had lost interest in Celtic since he learned there was to be no entry to ‘the land of milk and honey known as the English Premiership?’.

This time the defence came from Lennon himself. “I speak to him once a week,” said Lennon. “He’s been a huge support for me at different times.” Lennon even disclosed that Desmond even gives him the odd dressing-down.

For the floor there was no dressing-up the facts, however. One fan took to the microphone and demanded to know why the accounts apparently revealed that Desmond had taken a £50,000 salary from Celtic. “What for?” implored the questioner.

Reid’s answer was vague to that, but he was clear on one thing: Celtic could do worse than Desmond. He was around for their successes so should take as much credit for those as he has blame for any failings. “Those in this room should be careful what they wish for,” said Reid, sagely. The inference was that other clubs have much worse owners. He advised that unlike some of his counterparts, and this sounded like a dig at Craig Whyte at Rangers, he won’t give the media an audience, but that didn’t mean he doesn’t care.

The issue of whether the board should be paid for their efforts was rebuffed by Reid, who pointed out that Lawwell might have departed for the English Premier League himself before now. “I’d be on the board for nothing,” shouted one fan to much laughter.

Reid is effectively a master of ceremonies at these AGMs and for the neutral it is a pity it is his last. His droll, deliberately provocative wit was there from the start. Pointing to the suited officials sat behind each board member he joked he “hadn’t brought a friend along as is the fashion”, in a jibe at defence secretary Liam Fox’s ongoing issues with his closeness to Adam Werritty.

It is rare for Reid to misjudge a room. When one fan peculiarly stood up and said he had ‘complete faith and trust in the board’, before simply retaking his seat, Reid immediately quipped that was a minority voice. His only real gaffe was again in defence of Desmond when one supporter claimed he was looking for more from him for his season ticket investment of around £600. When Reid tried to point out Desmond had put in a “whole lot more than £600“, he was immediately booed. Realising his error, he said “it’s millions“, almost under his breath before changing the subject.

Reid was dismissive of the Celtic Trust’s attempt to get fan representation on the board calling it a “hardy annual”. The counter-argument that the board are already all ‘life-long fans’ was disputed at painful length by one shareholder.

The quality of the questioning is always somewhat hit and miss at AGMs. “I won’t bore you,” said one after he already had. For many it was simply a competition of who had supported Celtic the longest. “73 years,” said one elderly gentleman with a flourish.

While votes were taken in the room, the real power was obviously elsewhere. With every count more than 64 million proxy votes were added making each resolution a formality when it had board support. One fan declared AGMs a ‘waste of time’ and there was certainly much time wasted. It was two hours before the meeting moved to an open Q and A.

At this one supporter gave a lively reading of Celtic’s European form. “They always lose 3-0,” he said. “Constipation at the front, diarrhea at the back.” He wanted a 4-4-2 formation instead, but Lennon cautioned him Celtic ‘really would get humped’ if they tried that.

Despite trailing Rangers, there were no complaints at Lennon himself remaining manager. The consensus was that Desmond simply hasn’t given him enough money. And just where was he anyway?