A subject close to my wee Green 
Celtic Fc and the ever present issue of ownership.
I’ve long argued that Celtic Fc (not PLC) has short changed its fanbase (not customer base ) regardless of who or what controls it.
It seems that the larger the Turnover gets the wider the chasm between Board_________and__________Fanbase gets.
We’ve had private ownership that seen generations of the same families help themselves whilst well helping themselves 
We’ve had the flash in the pan owner/ supporter who came in,saved Celtic from oblivion (caused by those helping themselves ) and as quickly as he appeared then sauntered off into the Canadian sunset £40m for the better 
Helping himself ironically.
We’ve since had the Plutocracy of Dermot and Lawwellians,a very successful period on and off of the Park.
Yet we still have much disparity between Board aspirations and Supporters (not customers) aspirations.
Sure you get the odd wee tap on the heid now and then but most of the time it’s a traditional kick in the haw maws either side of it.
To my mind all have had their positive’s and negative’s in varying degrees but they all have one thing in common.
The Supporters of Celtic Fc ( ie the lifeblood of any Football Club) have always suffered the most.
Often let down,misunderstood or simply taken for granted our wishes have seldom been at the forefront of their thinking.
No financial reward always take presidcence.
That for me is a massive issue that simply won’t go away until major change of how Celtic is run and controlled takes place.
Now you could say sack the Board etc but the reality is the faces may change after doing so but the ultimately agenda never does.
These people are only at Celtic for one reason.
Financial gain.
The 50+1 Model in Germany works very well for Clubs such as ourselves.
In fact it could be argued the bigger the fanbase the bigger scope for opportunity comes with it.
Here is the Bundesliga take on 50+1
Football in Germany is popular for many reasons: top-quality play, the highest average attendances in world football, low ticket prices and a great fan culture. A major contributing factor in this is the 50+1 ownership rule. bundesliga.com takes a closer look at exactly how and why it works…
“The German spectator traditionally has close ties with his club,” Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said in 2016. “And if he gets the feeling that he’s no longer regarded as a fan but instead as a customer, we’ll have a problem.”
The 50+1 rule guards against this. In short, it means that clubs – and, by extension, the fans - hold a majority of their own voting rights. Under German Football League [DFL] rules, football clubs will not be allowed to play in the Bundesliga if commercial investors have more than a 49 percent stake.
*In essence, this means that private investors cannot take over clubs and potentially push through measures that prioritise profit over the wishes of supporters. The ruling simultaneously protects against reckless owners and safeguards the democratic customs of German clubs. *
Historically, German teams were not-for-profit organisations run by members’ associations, and until 1998 private ownership of any kind was prohibited. The 50+1 rule, which was introduced that year, helps explain why debts and wages are under control and why ticket prices remain so low compared to other major leagues in Europe.
As Watzke argued, the upshot of the system is that fans are usually not taken for granted.
The 50+1 rule does significantly more good than harm in Germany,” Watzke told SportBild, before suggesting that most prospective private investors would primarily be motivated by profits.
“Most clubs won’t get a Roman Abramovich, who in the first place wants to see Chelsea winning. Most of the investors want to earn money. And where do they get it from? The spectators.”
Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg are two special cases in the Bundesliga, based on the fact that investors who have had an interest in a club for more than 20 years can apply for an exemption from the 50+1 rule.
Leverkusen was founded in 1904 by employees of German pharmaceutical company Bayer, which was based in the city. Affiliated with the local autoworks, meanwhile, VfL Wolfsburg was founded in 1945, just seven years after the city itself was created to house Volkswagen workers busy assembling the famous Beetle or “people’s car”.
More recently there have been challenges for the 50+1 ruling. In 2009, hearing aid magnate and Hannover president Martin Kind sought to overturn it but 32 of the other 35 professional clubs voted against the proposal. Three abstained and, following the vote by clubs in the German first and second tier, DFL President Dr Reinhard Rauball expressed his satisfaction.
“The Bundesliga is remaining true to its principles and maintaining its reliance on the factors which have made a decisive contribution to the success of the professional game in Germany in recent decades: stability, continuity and proximity to fans,” he said.
That was the same year that RB Leipzig was founded, when Austrian energy drink giant Red Bull rebranded fifth-tier team Markranstädt. Leipzig then climbed through the divisions to finish as Bundesliga runners-up in 2016/2017 and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
But while thousands of Bayern Munich’s 290,000 members were eligible to vote to re-elect Uli Hoeness as club president in 2016, for example, a mere handful – all employees of the parent company – are afforded the same privilege at Leipzig.
*Another exception was agreed upon in December 2014, when software billionaire Dietmar Hopp was given the green light to take majority control of Hoffenheim after investing consistently over two decades. *
“Crucial in the assessment of Hoffenheim’s request was that for more than 20 years Dietmar Hopp has provided considerable financial support for both the professional as well as the amateur teams of the club,” a DFL statement read at the time.
Kind, the most recent to seek an exemption, has now backed newly-promoted Hannover for over 20 years. Having first being appointed club president in 1997, the 73-year-old became eligible to apply for special treatment in 2017 and looks set to take a controlling interest in the club.
With foreign owners pumping billions into other leagues, some other German clubs also feel that a change is required in order to stay competitive on a global level. In September 2017, even Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he felt it should be left to each club to decide if they open the door to outside investment.
But others favour the retention of a ruling that has helped to fill stadia and create a memorable matchday experience. Watzke told SportBild that he never wanted to see German fans being “milked” for money “as is happening in England.”
Praise for the rule hasn’t just come from within Germany, though. At the opening of the 41st DFB Congress in 2013, former UEFA president Michel Platini singled out the Bundesliga model as a golden standard: “While the rest of Europe has boring leagues, half-empty stadia and clubs on the verge of bankruptcy, German football is in remarkable health.
I think there is serious scope for Celtic Fc to embrace this setup going forward but that it would take for all Supporters Groups,Blogs,Social Media Influencers etc to come together in order to at least push the idea for it to happen.
It’s not like we don’t have the numbers Worldwide or indeed the infrastructure in place as a solid Financial Foundation in which to build something special at Celtic within the confines of the game in Scotland.
In fact I think it would take us into a different stratosphere Domestically allowing us to build as Jock Stein once put a team for Europe.
As he also outlined if you build a side for Europe the rest will take care of itself.
I firmly believe a Fan Controlled entity guided by Finacial experts from the Companies Interested in Investment Celtic could be so much more than just a lucrative opportunity for a few well heeled leeches.
I don’t see a trouble free future the way things are or the way things have are or have been been previously.
These setups have had long enough in my opinion and it’s high time we tried another approach.
An approach proven over time in Germany where the grounds are packed and the football is good.
In some cases very good.
We after all actually care about the past,the present and the future and I sincerely doubt that what has unfolded over the past decade or so (and previously) would have done so in a 50+1 set up at Celtic.
No chance.
I don’t believe the historic cases that currently are hanging over the Club like a black cloud would still be present.
Not a chance.
That the EBT merchants would have gotten away with it keeping their tainted Trophies.
No way.
That a smoking gun would have been barrellled,melted down and turned into a paper weight on the CEO’s desk.
Aye right.
I’d love to know everyone’s thoughts on this as we close in on Title No 50+2