Stefan Borson: Celtic fans want more power after new reveal

Celtic supporters want to have more power after a request has been made for a Fan Advisory Board to be established.

That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the best-run clubs will have a strong understanding of how the fans are feeling at all times without needing such measures to be put in place.

The Herald reported on 11 November research conducted by the University of Glasgow has revealed 67 per cent of Celtic supporters want to see a Fan Advisory Board brought in at the club.

Those surveyed were also unhappy with the club’s level of fan engagement with the supporters feeling it has been average, while one in four say it is either “poor” or “very poor”.

A member of the Celtic Trust raised the possibility of a Fan Advisory Board being established at the club’s AGM on Friday (22 November), with chairman Peter Lawwell insisting the idea will be explored further.

Celtic should have strong understanding of fans’ feelings

Borson admitted he would have expected more fans to back the suggestion in a bid to gain greater power at Parkhead.

“I’m surprised it’s not more than two-thirds of fans,” Borson told Football Insider.

“Fans always want Fan Advisory Boards. The problem with them is they generally don’t have any power.

“Lots of clubs have tried them in various forms and those Fan Advisory Boards are removed from the room as soon as the interesting stuff gets discussed at board level.

“That might or might not be a good thing for the organisation of a company.

“I think all good clubs will have a good feel for what the fans feel at a certain time in terms of taking temperature, knowing what the issues are, preempting those issues, making sure they don’t make PR blunders, don’t start charging disabled fans for car parking or some of the stuff we have seen other clubs do.

“You don’t need a Fan Advisory Board to know things like that.

“From the fans’ perspective it’s obvious, there is always going to be a representative of the Fan Advisory Board that wants to be involved in those discussions.

“There are a group of fans that would love that access.

“The question is whether it’s useful for the clubs really and whether they have any power.

“Usually, they don’t have any power.

“In terms of being useful for the clubs, a well-run club should know what the fans’ feelings are at any given point anyway.”

In other news, insider names leader in Celtic and Rangers transfer race for midfield star.

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