Bernard Ponsonby has launched an attack on the Celtic board, and Dermot Desmond in particular, for their lack of leadership and communication. He has also aired reservations about the permanent appointment of Martin O'Neill.
The veteran journalist and political broadcaster is also a prominent Celtic supporter and has had his say on the situation around the club.
He accepts the club has been well run over many years, otherwise they simply would not have been able to exert the dominance they have over the Scottish game.
However, Ponsonby feels the performances in Europe have been a disappointment and that comes from a lack of spending, he claims.
The other point he has picked up on is a lack of communication, and for that he directs the blame to major shareholder Desmond.
Speaking to PLZ Soccer, he said: "You would have to be just the most unreasonable individual and the most unreasonable supporter if you simply didn't accept that the utter dominance that the club has had over a quarter of a century has been delivered on the basis of the club being well run. Because if you don't get it right off the park you're going to make bad decisions which will filter through on the park. So it is only right and proper to say we have been well run and to say that a lot of the people who have been driving the management of the club deserve a lot of credit.
"The issue on the debit side of the ledger which the supporters are concerned about is an inability to make any meaningful progress in Europe which, they believe and which I believe is because they haven't spent properly. The need to get the communication better. The only things what we've heard from the Desmond family in recent times is that incenduary statement on the night that Brendan Rogers resigned, which may well all be true.
"I don't know. The only two people that know whether or not it's true are Brendan Rogers and Dermot Desmond. They're the only two people who know whether or not this is true. It may well be true, but it has no credibility because there is no communication with the support. I don't know what Desmond's vision for the club is because he doesn't say anything.
"And then he sends his plenipotentiary to the AGM to read the riot act. Distant voices from a land beyond the waves in order to read the riot act. Well, that won't do if you don't communicate. You first of all have to establish your credibility with the people who are paying their money. They deserve that. They deserve that degree of respect. So I will wait and see what happens."
In over 50 years of following Celtic, Ponsonby says he has never seen anything like the discord between fans and the club hierarchy, and even among the fanbase itself.
He went on: "The last season has been, if we take out the the magic of the the last couple of weeks, it was in part horrible. And one of the reasons why it was horrible is that I've never known in all of my years as a Celtic supporter, and I've been going to see Celtic for over 50 years, supporters actually falling out with one another and a and a toxic atmosphere. That's not that's not what I was reared in. It's not what I was brought up in, and a complete disconnect between the mainstream and the board. You can only change that if you yourself are prepared to change and engage.
"I hope he does because if he doesn't, the chances are we will be back here again. It would help if he simply came out and spoke. I always say I don't know what he's like.
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"I don't know what his vision is. I don't know where he sees Celtic being in five years time or 10 years time. I don't know whether he thinks the current stadium is fit for purpose. Supporters will tell you there's bits that needs done. What is the vision? From that point of view, Mr. Desmond appears blind."
Martin O'Neill is set to be appointment permannt manager at the age of 74 after a successful interim spell.
While Ponsonby recognises that the man himself has deserved that chance, he doesn't see the decision the sort of effective forward planning that will solve the issues at the club.
He added: "He'd earned the right to decide whether or not he he wanted it. But all of the issues around Martin's age, the individual that had raised these issues were Martin himself. He was the vanguardof doing that. He's earned the right and I always sort of as a supporter say if there's a manager in place, you get behind the manager and you support the team.
"Everybody knows though of course that what drives the concern with the supporters, the inability to make it in Europe. From that point of view we need a a change in terms of the financial model at the club. We need better communication at the club and we probably need a manager who is a two to five year project over several transfer windows that can take you forward.
"Clearly Martin in that sense is not your two to five year project. So I mean the key thing is to keep us ahead and at the end of the day all managers will live or die by their signings and there's a complete rebuild needed at Celtic"
