Only thing worse than failing in Europe is never even trying

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The Celtic Star

·26 July 2025

Only thing worse than failing in Europe is never even trying

A recent article by Celtic fan media site Born Celtic – Ex-chairman’s comments about Celtic in Europe are coming true – may have reignited a conversation that has enveloped Celtic for a good years now — not just about results, but about ambition, something very much topical after the manager’s comments in recent days.

The article referenced the club’s historical caution in Europe, particularly through the lens of former chairman Ian Bankier, who, in 2021, laid out a boardroom stance that many fans haven’t forgotten.

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Speaking at the Celtic AGM that year, Bankier said:

Celtic Chariman Ian Bankier with Peter Lawwell. Photo Andrew Milligan

“If we talk about Europe, it’s a much different environment to what it was 20 years ago… You go into the Champions League and you get absolutely pasted by the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. Celtic Football Club is not the Qatar Government. There’s a whole set of different players out there with completely different pockets.”

It was probably brutally honest on the part of the former Chairman but also, for many, deeply uninspiring.

It seemed to confirm what supporters had long suspected. That for all the club’s history and prestige, the board had no genuine European ambition beyond collecting participation money and escaping without embarrassment.

(L-R) Peter Lawwell Chief Executive, Brendan Rodgers and Celtic Chairman Iain Bankier during the unveiling of new Manager, Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park Glasgow on May 23, 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

Fast forward to 2025. Bankier is gone. Peter Lawwell is back, this time taking Bankier’s job as the chairman. Michael Nicholson has been promoted from within as the Dominic McKay experiment was over before it got started and Brendan Rodgers is back in the dugout. And the same old questions are being asked — not because nothing has changed on the pitch, but because everything behind the scenes feels the same.

That brings us to the three camps Charlie Thaview’s article rightly identified. The fans, who dream of Celtic Park roaring on a team that goes deep into Europe. The players and manager, who want to prove themselves on the biggest stage. And the boardroom, which — despite an entirely new financial landscape — still seems locked in the logic of restraint.

And here’s the crucial detail, that is very different from Bankier’s time as club chairman. Celtic are not broke. Celtic are not being cautious to survive. This is no longer about “being safe.” The club is sitting on a cash surplus that equals nearly a full year’s turnover. That’s not profit. That’s turnover. It’s money earned, and money unused.

July 16, 2025, Faro, Portugal: Adam Idah of Celtic looks on during a Pre-Season friendly football match played between Sporting CP and Celtic FC at Estadio Algarve on July 16, 2025 in Faro, Portugal. Faro Portugal – ZUMA Photo Joaquin Corchero

Money ultimately taxed. Celtic will pay more to HMRC last year and this year as a result that they spent on Engels and Idah combined. Let that sink in.

Arne Engels scores the first goal from the penalty spot during the pre-season friendly match between Celtic and Newcastle United at Celtic Park on July 19, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

So, are we beyond “cautious”? Have we drifted into willful inaction?

Because this isn’t about demanding reckless spending. It’s about asking why, with the strongest financial position in modern club history, the club isn’t maximising its opportunity.

Why not push the boat out for two seasons? Add the quality needed to give Rodgers and McGregor a real shot. If it fails — fine. The surplus still gives Celtic the cushion to return to safe ground. But at least we’d know. At least we’d have tried.

That’s the real frustration. The emotional and strategic crossroads. The board often speaks about sustainability, but what’s more sustainable than spending money you already have to try to fulfil the core ambition of a club like Celtic?

Celtic FC coach Brendan Rodgers looks on before the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

This isn’t just about qualifying. It’s about competing. Not for vanity. Not for ego. But because that’s what the club is supposed to do. If not now — when Brendan is here, the fans are engaged, and the money is literally sitting there — then when?

If this moment passes with only half-measures, then fans will be justified in asking whether the club’s vision of success is fundamentally different from theirs.

Because the only thing worse than failing in Europe is never even trying. If not now, then when? Celtic’s European ambition has money in the bank, it just needs the will to use it.

Niall J

Read this – The backstory to Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out 5 September 2025. Available to pre-order now.

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