The latest Green Brigade statement to Celtic fans was woefully ...

Yesterday, every single person who went to Celtic Park did so for a match that was live on TV. In the middle of January. In freezing temperatures. At a crap kick-off time that undoubtedly inconvenienced a lot of supporters, especially those travelling from far away.

You cannot overstate the dedication of fans like ours. It was bitterly cold yesterday, but it was even colder on the last two midweek nights when we sat in sub-zero temperatures watching football. And let’s not forget the travelling fans who went to Dundee and endured that awful display.

When Brendan Rodgers had his little pop at the fans a few weeks ago, I was surprised at the backlash. People were pretty angry, and the themes I heard repeated were about how those in the stands that night turned up in the freezing cold, gave their backing for the most part, and deserved better than to get slagged by the boss just because he was still smarting from the criticism over the Ibrox display.

I do agree with some of what Brendan said, though. There’s a section of our support that can be entitled, intolerant, and less supportive of players and the team than they should be. But I also understand why people were annoyed at the manager for expressing those sentiments the way he did.

What must they think, then, of the self-important, smug, and condescending statement issued by the Green Brigade last night? It essentially sought to tell the rest of the fans at Celtic Park how they should behave on match days. If they want to talk about entitlement, let’s have that conversation. If they want a discussion about how best to support the team and the club, bring it on.

For starters, I think it’s entitled to demand another section of the ground for themselves—at great expense to the club and displacing other fans in the process. I think it’s entitled to lecture supporters who show up week in, week out, about how they should express their support. I think it’s entitled to act as though Celtic Park was a morgue before they came along and would return to one without them.

And the best way of supporting Celtic? I’d suggest that doesn’t include smoke bombs and flares, which the club has repeatedly asked them not to use, which break the law, and which endanger other fans and themselves.

They might not believe that, but it’s true. The best way to support Celtic isn’t by engaging in street fights with rival thugs like it’s the 1980s, either.

Their claims about being stymied by Celtic are disingenuous. If the club keeps them on a short leash, it’s because it feels it has to. The pyro display behind their banner at Dundee shows why. And they can spare us the denials of involvement; most of us were not born yesterday and aren’t entirely stupid. Sure, they haven’t used flares or smoke bombs in Europe since UEFA warned them, but they don’t deserve credit for behaving just because they fear outside sanctions.

Ultras think they’re special. It’s the same at every club. They behave as though the rules don’t apply to them, and that’s why so many clubs that embraced ultra culture now regret it. Celtic persists with this experiment despite its flaws. To be fair, the Green Brigade does tremendous good for the club and even more for the surrounding community. That’s undeniable.

But it grates on a lot of people that they so often seem indifferent to the rest of the fanbase. And now they’re lecturing that fanbase.

No, thanks. If they’re looking for a case study on what happens when a supporters’ group overplays its hand, they should take a long, hard look across the city at the Union Brats. They tried their coup d’état and were stunned to find out how little of the support actually cared to join their bandwagon.

The Green Brigade cares about many things, and they embrace many causes. The problem is that it’s easy to confuse people who support those causes with people who support them unconditionally.

They see themselves as special, and the proof is in their tone when addressing the rest of the fans. But that attitude is exactly what loses them friends and influence, as the Union Brats are finding out the hard way.

Are there fans at Celtic Park who could take a chill pill? Of course there are. We’ve all sat near someone who slags off every player in a Celtic strip for 90 minutes. It’s tiresome, and I genuinely wonder why they bother going at all. They don’t seem to enjoy it much.

But for the rest of the fanbase, it’s ridiculous to lecture them about supporting the team. Many have followed Celtic for longer than the average Green Brigade member has been alive. They didn’t need advice on how to support the club back then, and they certainly don’t need it now.

Action Images via Reuters/Russell Cheyne