Background facts
Celtic FC is not a Club which benefits financially from television as the basis of its business model. Rather it is the large Celtic fanbase buying tickets & merchandise which is the basis of the Celtic business model.
As the Celtic fans are the ones who put the cash into Celtic, the Celtic fans take a keen interest in how the Celtic Board are spending their money. They seek for the board to strike a competent balance at the optimal mid-point between prudency & biscuit tin. Striking this balance well is required for Celtic to be dominant in Scotland, and also competitive in reaching the latter stages of European football, which is the the bedrock of Celtic FC in its storied history.
For several months now, there has been a long campaign of ‘sack the board’ by the Celtic fans. This on the basis of (i) biscuit tin over the depth of playing quality in the squad, and (ii) incompetence in the running of the Club.
To be clear, this number (i) criticism over the lack of quality in the playing squad is not a criticism of the current top players 17 or 18 players in the 1st team squad. The top 17 or 18 players are all rated highly rated by the Celtic fans, rather it is about the lack of depth of the squad. It is believed that the squad is 4 or 5 quality players short of this, and that the current 17 or 18 top players that are there require back-up & support so that they can play at their best.
The Celtic fans’ position on the lack of quality is a bit like the Battle of Helms Deep in Lord of the Rings, when Gandalf arrived with the Riders of Rohan. This was not to say that Arogorn & Legolas were not good warriors, of course they were, but they needed backup & support. The frustration with the board is that they are not giving the current players sufficient backup.
It is believed that 4 or 5 quality players from other non big-5 Leagues like Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the MLS, J-League, K-League, SPFL, EFL, Premier League 2 etc, at prices of around £6m-£10m , are required with an outlay of around £35m-£50m in transfer fees. It is also sought that players are targeted from these Leagues particularly around the ages of 19-24 who can provide good service for several years, as well as retain sell-on value, so that these players are assets that strengthen the balance sheet & ensure the Club can compete in Europe. The Club has at least £75m in cash sitting in the bank, so it was sought for around half of this to be spent on well-scouted player assets to improve the long term quality of the playing squad. This would leave around £25m-£40m in cash, which would still be around 15-20% of turnover, requisite cash reserves. This is believed to be basic prudence & competence required to run a football Club sustainably & successfully.
In terms of complaint (ii), in the Celtic fans’ survey, the majority of fans also sought for safe-standing to be implemented to bring the capacity of Celtic Park to around 75,000-80,000. There have been calls for ‘The Jungle’ & ‘The Celtic End’ to be introduced as new safe standing areas. This would not be groundbreaking by the Celtic Board. The precedent for this is already set by Borussia Dortmund. This could have satisfied ticket demands for derby games & European games and allowed the Club to grow financially. This could have also diluted the reliance on the Green Brigade for atmosphere generation in Celtic Park, which many Celtic fans are very keen to have established (have many supporters groups in safe standing).
The Celtic fans perceive that the Celtic board has failed in these 2 things. 1. None of the £75m+ in cash reserves has been spent on new players, with the Club scared to pull the trigger on new signings, so the Club is well short of 4-5 quality players to give the squad 22 quality in players (rather than only the 17 or 18 it currently has). 2. There has also been literally zero progress made on expanding safe-standing as required by the fans’ survey. Any competent Director would be able to look at what Borussia Dortmund did & copy this – this does not require highly advanced skill, innovation & problem-solving.
In short, the Celtic fans want 2 things of the board. 1. A Board capable of signing a strong 22 player squad. 2. A Board capable of increasing the capacity of Celtic Park to 80,000 with safe standing. It is a matter of objective debate whether the board have done enough to achieve these things, or, whether new Directors & Senior Managers are needed.
Ross Desmond, the son of the Celtic majority shareholder Dermott Desmond who appoints the board & senior management, made an impassioned defence of the Celtic board & senior management at the Celtic AGM - he claimed that neither of these criticisms were valid. Instead, Ross Desmond called the Celtic fans ‘bullies’ for making these criticisms of the Celtic board. Ross Desmond then refused to engage in objective debate over this, terminating the meeting early after he said this, and running off away like a cartoon villain.
This was perceived by many Celtic to have been incompetent behaviour by Ross Desmond acting as de facto owner – this is not believed to be how competent investors/investment managers behave – this is frankly believed to be how big spoiled brat children put into positions which they do not have the skill for with a silver spoon in their mouth behave. Celtic have suffered in the past when shares were passed down through the family, and the new shareholder in the family had nowhere near the same competence in investment management as their parent. Many are worried history is on the cusp of repeating itself with an incompetent son in Ross Desmond incapable of succeeding a highly competent Father in Dermott Desmond.
Material fact
In the most recent top of the table class at Celtic Park, Paul Tisdale, a senior manager at Celtic literally fell asleep. This was Wilfried Nancy’s first game as manager in charge of Celtic, and Tisdale was the instrumental figure in deeming Nancy to be the best candidate for the job. Tisdale is also instrumental in determining if & how the £75m in cash of the Celtic fans’ money will be spent, so requires to forensically watch the team performance & analyse the areas where new investment is required. Moreover, this was also a top of the table clash which impassioned Celtic people were very excited about.
Employment law on falling asleep
Section 98 (1) & (2) Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA)
“(1) in determining for the purposes of this part whether the dismissal of an employee is fair or unfair, it is for the employer to show-
(a) the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal, and
(b) that it is either a reason falling within subsection (2) or some other substantial reason of a kind such as to justify the dismissal of an employee holding the position which the employee held.
(2) a reason falls within this subsection if it-
(a) not applicable,
(b) relate to the conduct of the employee”
Section 98 (4) ERA
“[Where] the employer has fulfilled the requirements of subsection (1), the determination of the question whether the dismissal is fair or unfair (having regard to the reason shown by the employer)
(a) depends on whether in the circumstances (including the size and administrative resources of the employer’s undertaking) the employer acted reasonably or unreasonably in treating it as a sufficient reason for dismissing the employee, and
(b) shall be determined in accordance with equity and the substantial merits of the case.
British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell [1980] ICR 303, EAT
A three-fold test applies. The employer must show that:
• it believed the employee guilty of misconduct
• it had in mind reasonable grounds upon which to sustain that belief, and
• at the stage at which that belief was formed on those grounds, it had carried out as much investigation into the matter as was reasonable in the circumstances.
• This means that the employer need not have conclusive direct proof of the employee’s misconduct — only a genuine and reasonable belief, reasonably tested.
Though falling asleep typically only merits a severe warning, falling asleep at a crucial time is deemed to be misconduct that can result in a sacking,
B Diawara v Securitas Security Services (UK) Ltd: 3321228/2019, 2021 ET
‘The National Gallery is in a unique situation. It has in its collection priceless works of art. Art theft and protests involving criminal damage to works of art is not unknown and the visible presence of uniformed staff in gallery spaces is a valuable deterrent. That the respondent’s officers concluded the claimant was sleeping in such circumstances was serious’, ET at 9.2
Opinion – Tisdale should be sacked for breach of his employment contract
Tisdale falling asleep really does put the icing on the cake of the Celtic fans’ point about the incompetence of the Celtic board & senior management. Literal proof that the board are literally so lacking in competence & insight about football that they cannot even stay awake at key times – sleeping both literally & figuratively. For this falling asleep to be done in (i) a new Celtic manager’s first game, (ii) a top of the table clash, and (iii) when the squad has to be scrutinised before a transfer window, so that literally 10’s of millions of the fans’ money can be well spent on transfer fees, are altogether believed to make this entirely unacceptable by Tisdale. This proves that it is nepotism & ‘jobs for the boys’ determining who is given key well-paying & important jobs at Celtic.
Football quality turns on the smallest of details, so it is unacceptable for a key senior manager to be falling asleep during a game, and such an important game - a top of the table clash in the new manager’s first game ahead of the transfer when decisions on millions of pounds to be spent are made. Moreover, this was grossly disrespectful to the new Celtic manager, Nancy. Tisdale doing this is the equivalent of a lorry driver falling asleep at the wheel at a crucial stretch of the road – the driver is obviously not fit to keep driving the lorry – it is not like a driver falling asleep accidentally whilst on a tea break at a service stop. This should lead to Tisdale being sacked by the Celtic board for this. This should also lead to a resignation of the Celtic CEO, Michael Nicholson, and the Celtic Chairman, Peter Lawell (the ones who appointed Tisdale to be an instrumental figure). A driver falling asleep at the wheel does not just reflect badly on the driver themselves, but the management who put the driver there. Nicholson & Lawell clearly have no competence either to appoint skilled, insightful, passionate, & fundamentally respectful people into important positions.
If a Celtic player literally fell asleep during a game would this be acceptable? No. If a Celtic manager literally fell asleep on the bench during a game would this be acceptable? No. Is it acceptable for a Celtic Director, responsible for spending 10’s of millions on new players ahead of a transfer, to fall asleep during a game? No, it is not.
Tisdale falling asleep is emblematic of the Celtic fans’ frustration with the Celtic Board & why there is the strong belief that new competent Directors are needed. This shows the total lack of professionalism & respect the Celtic board and Senior Management have for the fans, players, & managers. For Ross Desmond to call the Celtic fans ‘bullies’ for seeking to have objective debate on this really is believed to be shockingly disrespectful by him! Ross Desmond is called upon to arrange an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) where there can be an objective debate on the failures of competence by the Celtic board, who are believed to be literally prone to sleeping at the wheel which could cause a major crash.
Are the Celtic board going to sack Tisdale? No, probably not. This ‘sleepy-gate’ scandal just adds add further dimension to the sack the board campaigns, meaning that fundamental criticism (iii), “sleeping at the wheel”, can be added to the list of serious concerns with the Celtic Board & majority shareholder.
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Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. This is an opinion on a legal matter believed to be of public importance. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.