I COLLAPSED into the sofa at the weekend, weary from grocery shopping. Then I began checking off the ever-growing list of 'To Do's' that have been pinned to the fridge for almost a year now. With the household chores done, I even changed the duvets from winter to spring.
But not once throughout the weekend did it cross my mind that I missed watching Celtic. Because let's be honest here – this international break has been a blessing for the Hoops support.
A week that saw multiple Celtic stars jet off to represent their native countries, whether in friendly games or World Cup play-offs, meant a break from sitting on a Sunday having your weekend ruined when you've bitten your fingernails down to the quick praying that Celtic would come away unscathed. That is the reality of this Celtic team at the moment.
That performance against Dundee United was embarrassing and the men in the dugout and on the pitch are most certainly to blame for that. But once again we saw the results of a failure which can only be attributed to one group – the Celtic Board.
A week of no football gave social media platforms the chance to chat about anything other than the on-field action, and so the conversation regarding the Green Brigade and the fan bans has been rearing its head once more.
As far as the Celtic Board are concerned it's best to kick that can down the road once more, especially after the official address from Brian Wilson a few weeks back when he gave the useless "The ball is in their court" reply on Celtic TV.
In response, a renowned independent Celtic podcast, The Cynic, hosted by Christopher Gallagher, had a one on one interview with Martin from the Green Brigade to respond to the recent meeting between the Green Brigade and the Board.
All that meeting did was expose the contempt in which the Board hold their own supporters, without giving any indication of how far along the Green Brigade are in terms of returning to Parkhead.
Before I look further into what was said, I recommend if you have 45 minutes free to give the podcast a listen as it's not only really entertaining chat, it's full of detail, insight and cracking analysis.
Martin has appeared a number of times on the platform to discuss the Green Brigade's gripes, but he made an eye-opening contribution this time in regard to the five point plan distributed following a meeting with Celtic's Safety Advisory Group, which has only one member associated with the club, the controversial Mark Hargreaves.
The plan laid out that for the GB to be welcomed back into the stadium, they must:
1) Stop attending home games in a different section.
2) Obey a stewarding operational plan.
3) Agree to stay within the physical barriers of the North Curve area.
4) Stop attending away games.
5) Stop recording and filming police (with reference to the 'Pigwatch' campaign).
Martin said that in a gesture of goodwill, a small number who attended the games during the ban beside fellow ultras group, The Bhoys, had attempted to be cooperative as possible.
The second point and third points, Martin believes, should lead to "an adult conversation" about riskier games which could see overcrowding in the area. Such impositions in bigger games may be understandable, but when folk are being checked at every game every time they need to use the toilet or get a drink or a bite then it becomes problematic.
The fourth point was laughed away on the podcast, with both the host and Martin agreeing that issues that pertain to Celtic Park cannot be tacked on to all the away games, wherever they may be.
Martin also mentioned the technicality of earning points for games by attending away matches. Staying away from away games would impinge on his ability to get tickets for other matches, something the Board clearly hadn't even taken into consideration. On the ball or what?
The final point is one Martin believes to be totally and utterly childish. He referenced the police themselves recording incidents with the public and when that it is the case fans have the right to record for themselves so they can have evidence if they find themselves in a tricky spot.
In other words, the club expects fans to stop filming police who have been known to treat fans badly. And that, at the end of the day is exactly where the problem lies – the club always preferring to side with external forces rather than cooperating with fans to address internal issues.
The interview went through all these points in depth, but Martin also relayed stories of supporters who were arrested but never charged and the changes to their lives which have come about in the wake of the Falkirk fiasco which caused the initial blanket ban back in October.
Martin told of one member who was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace during the game with Falkirk and has spent the past seven months at a police station in Glasgow for the entirety of Celtic's games at Parkhead. Incredibly, he gets a 15-minute half-time break for water and air but otherwise during the course of the 90 minutes he remains watched in a room by an officer.
Whether it was Saturday kick-off, or Wednesday evening, the same fan had to make his way to the station so that police could be sure he wasn't at the match.
In the past week alone, Liverpool fan media has had more inside access to Celtic than Celtic fan media could ever dream of following the 'ghost ban' imposed after Martin O'Neill replaced Brendan Rodgers last autumn.
The Anfield Wrap was given unfiltered access to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and welcomed to Celtic Park with open arms. Celtic fan media can't even get access to a pre-match ladies team press conference.
ACSOM host Paul John Dykes, speaking on his platform last week, said he received a response from the club when he questioned the ban – which was never officially imposed, by the way. The response from Brian Wilson was that he'd "Chase the issue up and get back with an update." That was eight weeks ago...
This all adds to the festering ill-will in and around the club and the feeling that the club treats its supporters and the fan media with the same contempt with which the Trump government treats the Washington press pack.
The relationship with the fans worsens by the day, but it's now gone beyond self-harm. The club has created enemies out of their own clansmen – and all to keep the money in the bank zip-locked and sealed tight.
Anyway, Dundee away this weekend.
Should be fun.
