If Neil Lennon carries the scars of defeats around with him, Saturday’s game against Aberdeen will have some significance. The last trophy Neil lost as Celtic manager was at the hands of Aberdeen.
Then Derek McInnes was in the Aberdeen job a year and that season saw his team with the League Cup, their first trophy in 19 years, and qualify for Europe for the first time in five years. Anthony Stokes put Celtic ahead in the fifth round tie at Celtic Park, but Aberdeen came back to win 1-2.
That game took place on 8 February with Celtic out of sight in the league. They won the title in March, at the earliest date in over 80 years, but elimination from the Scottish Cup so prematurely meant the last two months of Neil’s tenure were anticlimactic. The stadium was flat on match days, giving everyone unwelcome time to ponder, What next?
If we got the better of Aberdeen and extended competitive pressures until the end of the season, different decisions might have been made.
Much has happened since but Derek McInnes still knows what he is doing. He won at Celtic Park, Ibrox and Hampden (against Newco) last year, killing that old question about Aberdeen: Can they win in Glasgow?
181 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- »
BHOYLO83 on 7TH MARCH 2019 2:34 PM
Why will Gary Parker ‘never be back at Celtic Park’
What happened with him?
Looks like PL has picked his team…
Just seen BR interview regarding the house break in really shocking no family should go through this in life terrible so it is HH
Bhoylo83
Was wondering that myself think bada hit on the head HH
Celtic Football Club statement
By: Newsroom Staff on 07 Mar, 2019 14:41
CELTIC Football Club notes the release of yesterday’s report covering the policing of football in Scotland.
Contrary to certain media reports, this study was not commissioned in response to any incident at Celtic Park and it covers a range of issues surrounding policing, safety and the licensing of football across the whole of Scotland.
It is well-known that Celtic has commissioned its own report into the events at Celtic Park last year, an incident which the Club has treated with the utmost seriousness. The outcome of this comprehensive and thorough investigation will be released shortly.
FB67- correct, nobody should be making light of what happened to his family, housebreakers are the lowest of the low.It doesn’t look like there’s any room for Mjallby or Thompson, if Neil gets the job long term.HH
I see one blog touting Martinez for the job, should Neil not be the man.
Not a bad shout. He would bring Maloney with him, probably.
It seems unfair talking about the “next” manager, while Lennon is still having his interview.
Personally, if Neil still is the same manager he was five years ago, then that is not what we need.
We need more of a BR type, without the ego and teeth….and full sized portrait of himself hanging from his wall.
Discipline wasn’t Neil’s strong point. Nor was fitness levels. He admitted to not being too fussy about tactics, too.
If, however, the past five years have updated and upgraded his management skills and brought them out of the MON, WGS era, then welcome to the hot seat, Mr. Lennon.
Parker seemed to have got the blame for whatever went on at Easter Rd.
Bada Bing
Definitely no Thompson after his last stint there ?HH
Generally Im of the opinion that we will need a new manager come the summer to take us forward, but if NFL can take the good of the BR reign and kick on then he may well be worth a shout.
Burglary is a horribly crime, i had an acquaintance who was burgled, over 20 years has passed and they still dont sleep properly (even after a few libations)
VAR.
“Typical bureaucracy – give it a cm and it takes a km.Something that was meant to shine a light on contentious decisions is now being used to referee the game from the comfort of a swivel chair”
Italian radio pundit talking about PSG Man Utd 7 3 19
My friends in Celtic,
Any sane person condemns the burglary at BR,s house, especially since his wife and 6 year old step daughter were in the house.
The perpetrators are lowlifes and it’s immaterial what team they support. They may just happen to support Celtic, then again they may not.
The crush at Parkhead must not be forgotten or used as any point scoring or political football. The consequences could have been dire. I await with interest the conclusion from all parties .
However imo this was not of Celtic’s making.
The safety of our fans must be paramount, to that effect the huns must not receive any tickets until segregation can be safely evaluated in all aspects.
Possibly we should never give the huns any tickets again.
The match day experience for Celtic fans at Parkhead must be protected and enhanced. We have much to do and in this respect Mad Mitch has it spot on.
HH to all. In NFL we trust.
AN TEARMANN @ 12:01 PM,
Thanks for that…
BEATBHOY @ 12:15 PM,
Graham Spiers, June 2016
“I asked Stewart Regan/SFA today about the Tax Justice Network’s claims. Got off-the-record response, SFA unimpressed. ”
@theoffshoregame
Yes, there was definately unfinished business there. Thought it may have been an update. It is amazing how the SFA can just ignore these things as if they are immune.
As it happens they never face consequences so that seems to be the case
Maybe Auldheid can give us an update. I know he was all over this…
Hail Hail
Neil Lennon is exactly what the doctor ordered, for the current period to the end of May.
Thereafter, I believe the doctor should look to order something else.
Setting aside the displeasure aimed at Brendan Rodgers, the managers pre Brendan simply did not operate at the same level. And not just Brendan as an individual, but the whole management team, and back-room staff. Took Celtic to a whole new level.
From Sports science, to analytical review. To sheer athleticism and physicality. You only have to listen to Scott Brown, when he spoke after Rodgers departure. And Broony stating that Rodgers team done so much for him personally. Scott Brown under Lennon was probably operating at 75% potential. Under Ronny Deila Scott Brown operated at 65% of his optimum. Rodgers came on board and Scott Brown finally achieved maximum from himself. At 32 years old he was probably as fit and lean as he had ever been. He registered a top 3 position for pass completion in that Champs league campaign.
Then you look at the physical development of James Forrest. Of Kieran Tierney, Of Ryan Christie.
None of these guys would of developed that much under a Deila or Lennon.
Therefore come the summer, we need someone that has inside track, that knows what it takes to operate at the top level. If we don’t source someone of similar calibre to B.Rodgers, then we will be simply selling ourselves short.
Aim high Celtic
Greenpinta @ 4.37
“This was not of Celtic’s making”.
Sometimes commonsense is as valuable as the most in-depth study. Like many on here I’ve been to umpteen sellouts at Celtic Park over the last decade and only once has there been any serious problem with crowd entry to the game so commonsense tells you that the problems at the Sevco game should be associated with that game and that game only. Until someone proves differently to me I will believe my take on commonsense that it was the police who decided that the 59000 or so Celtic fans could not use their normal London Road access to their part of the ground in order to accommodate 800 Sevvies, thus sending thousands and thousands of Celtic fans into both ends of Janefield Street, thus creating the crush.
Their ham-fisted attempts to stop Celtic fans using Springfield Road for general egress after the game was equally disproportionate, verging on stupidity as fans were sent one way then another by different groups of ofiicers who seemed to be making it up as they went. My mate and I actually ended up climbing down a wall into a bunch of Sevvies waiting beside their bus, while a bemused group of polis watched
from across the road. Numpties the lot of them.
RUGGYGMAN on 7TH MARCH 2019 5:07 PM
I hear what you are saying and I agree to a certain extent.
However Neil Lennon is a much changed figure from when he was first cutting his teeth in management. He has matured and will take on board the professional standards set by BR.
If BR had walked away at the end of the season Neil would not have been my first choice.
However he has answered the call and he must be incertivised to win the treble treble. If he succeeds it will be outrageous to “bin” him.
Similar to the Man Utd situation, only Neil has more experience.
The decision must remain in Neil’s own hands. He should be rewarded if he achieves both on and off the park.
Cheers and HH.
Just a passing thought – if we do win the treble treble with Neil as our Manager then surely there is no way we can then just dump him for somebody else, otherwise we will be just as guilty as BR was in dumping us for Leicester, if that did happen I’d be shocked rigid as it would show us up as blatant hypocrites. Personally I would like to see the speculation regarding who is going to be our manager next season toned down a little until such times as we have good reason to be looking for a replacement.
La Bella Italia.
Eusebio Di Francesco sacked by Roma.He and Roma’s Chief Exec(Monchi) were abused and threatened by an angry mob of Roma Ultras at Porto Airport last night.Di Francesco looked away,Monchi responded with a-I’ll see you all individually if you want”
Looks like Ranieri will be Di Francesco’s successor.
Two games is not something to judge a coach on.
In Neil’s previous stint i thought we were not always the sum of our parts and often won games due to having better players than our opponents.
Those better players often produced good individual moments.
There were exceptions like the Barcelona game where we did alter our tactics to play defensively and won through determination and pragmatism .Something Barca lacked.
The game has developed and changed a lot in that time and the burning question will be has Neil kept up with the time?
Some of these doubts will be answered by the seasons end.
I hope they look at the entire football department and not make a singular decision .
We need a united team on and off the field not competing ego’s
Greenpinata : Agree
Rock Tree Bhoy : Agree
Yes, it really should be a discussion for a later date.
There’s a treble treble to be one. And goes without saying that Lenny has my absolute best wishes, in carrying out the targets.
Mind you, with Neil only having a contract until the end of the season speculation is inevitable, still it doesn’t sit well with me just now, maybe once we get beat…….not gonna happen!
Paul67
He’ll also be a bit chuffed with his record v Aberdeen which reads;
Played 16, won 13, lost 2, drew 1.
NFL CSC
This is quite good if you have 100 minutes to spare on a Thursday night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS0KKhpfmAI
Health Warning: This video contains, at the end,a chant in praise of Brendan Rodgers.
ThomTheThim
I think Martinez would be a good shout. Was at Swansea prior to BR and implemented the system there. The only thing is I don’t see him leaving Belgium until after the Euro finals next year. Definitely someone like that though, for me.
For me, perhaps perversely, delivering the TT is not the main factor for a full time NL appointment
It is , can he change his football philosophy from five years ago, to what has been implemented by the club and former manage; irrespective of trophies delivered.
There was no guarantee that BR would have either.
STWOTHIRDSFULL on 7TH MARCH 2019 6:06 PM
ThomTheThim
I think Martinez would be a good shout. Was at Swansea prior to BR and implemented the system there. The only thing is I don’t see him leaving Belgium until after the Euro finals next year. Definitely someone like that though, for me.
*******
Just mentioned him on the phone to my big brother and he shot me down.
Good evening CQN, the job is Neil’s to loose.
If he wins the treble treble it’s his, and good luck to him.
D. :)
Both of the network news programmes seem to be linking Rodgers leaving Celtic to a break in at his home,showing the Winner against Hearts and the banner at the same game, this was the output from BBC Scotland, how would a neutral viewer interpret this?
I hope his wife a daughter are not too badly effected by this and recover quickly,
I agree with David66 lets give Neil till the end of the season before we start discussing other managers.
looking forward to seeing how our old friends Red Bull Salzburg cope in Naples to-night against the home side on BT sport. Interesting to see if Salzburg are really as good as they looked at Celtic Park and of course some people touting their manager for a move to Celtic, could not see that happening to be honest.
A lot of views on here about the great performance of the young Ajax team and no doubt a terrific result in Madrid. For me Porto are the real stars of the Champions League. Year after year they seem to be always fixtures in the ;latter stages of this competition despite coming from one of the smaller weaker leagues. Porto regularly sell their best players and always for mega bucks but replace them just as quickly by cherrypicking the best that the South American market has to offer and cheaply. Wish Celtic could get into this market.
HANKRAY on 7TH MARCH 2019 6:50 PM
Often wondered myself , why we seem to be one of the very few countries who don’t seem to bring in South American players. Is there some red tape reason , or are we still traumatised by Raphael Scheidt?
I hope celtic appoint a first team coach who requires to fit into the system rather than a coach that changes the system, unless its to upgrade and improve what is already in place.
Lenny done well first time round and perhaps he too will benefit from the improvements and professionalism in place. I dont think he would have taken the job if he thought he had no changes of keeping it longer term.
In fact maybe he may prefer the new system in place. If someone came into my work and said they had a system that will improve teams preformance and will keep them happy at the same time i would not think twice.
The most important thing as i see it is celtic hire a coach who can
1. Wins games, cups and leagues
2. Do the willingness while playimg good football
3. Can put up a decent fight in european games
4. work with a lean squad of 20 first team players
5. Bring young / academy players into the first team
6. Stick to the plan of signing young men, developing their game ready for selling.
Dont want much do i!!!!
HH
Bada – thanks for posting Celtic’s statement.
While part of me wishes the board would succumb to the occasional outburst, I can’t help but admire the Geoffrey Howe (savaged by a dead sheep) approach they deploy with these statements.
Basic translation – don’t believe the media, don’t believe this garbage the polis have rushed to get out, we’ll take our time and do it properly.
Hail hail
Old Happy Harold once said a week is a long time in politics, the same can sometimes be said in fitba, and last week was one of those times.
Last Monday we were still smarting over losing our goal less run and the antics of the steelmen backroom staff fabricating stories about our fans cheering a lad getting carried off the park, we were also pleased with our manager showing a bit of unseen passion in having a go at his fellow countryman for his aforesaid antics, coupled with 2 late goals by Edouard and Ollie made it an interesting day.
And then as it was coming tae a close we were taken aback by the news from catman that our much revered manager would soon become a much reviled one not seen in Celtic supporters eyes since a wee kid on Catholic who blessed himself on leaving the hunden field done the durty on us and plunged the knife intae the backs of the likes of Big Billy, Roy of the Rovers and TB among others.
Much anger was directed at catman but it was a “don’t shoot the messenger” moment. Strains of Paul Jones/Big Rod “Oh no not my baby” came to mind, and then on Tuesday night we witnessed him in the King Power Stadium stand applauding a goal by the only team he ever wanted to manage, Mr Zimmerman came tae mind then “You’ve got a lotta nerve to say you are my friend, when I was down you just stood there grinnin'(oh yes he did), you’ve got a lotta nerve to say you got a helping hand to lend, you just want to be on the side that’s winnin’” and IMHO that’s why he bailed oot.
Rumours of him wanting tae leave for about 8 months and tarting himself tae other clubs and it was big Mick belting out “she used to run around with every man in town, spent all my money, playing her high class game”. And he did spend a shed load of our money with hauf of them sitting in the stand.
However, the week of despair with 2 tough games against teams that don’t really like us, actually who does, and in comes the much maligned Lenny, a real Celtic mhan, and we are once again en-route tae the treble treble
Let’s be honest here this has not been an enjoyable season, LC win notwithstanding, and yet right now it’s the most relaxed I’ve been since it started. IMHO all the pressure is now on the mersey mooth as we have seemingly lost our talisman.
As much as we have tae credit fraudgers with 7 trophies, our European record, the Parkheid fortress, has now been tarnished. We witnessed this week 2 clubs that we have not only stood up tae but beat, away in Amsterdam tae, have credible results against money teams, manure dumped their talisman manager and showed that they have the personnel tae win the Big Cup again and we now have a wee mhan in place that played in the Amsterdam ArenA that wonderful night and also in the Shunsuke/Artur game.
As I look at the new Foxes manager’s tenure at Parkheid I can’t but help reflect on the beasts at hades, the only difference is that when the latter arrived we had just won another title on the amazing Albert Kidd day at Love Street.
He came in a started throwing money about like a man with no erms, a lot of it wasted tae, west, philips, cohen, falco etc, and it seems that he almost bankrupted them leaving marlborough tae practically give the club away for 6m of OPM, still better than the county down his successor would get for it along with the money he nicked though the years.
We can bemoan about the board not buying Stevie Clarke and big Joe McLaughlin, and quite rightly tae, considering they almost took us tae the wall 7 years later, however, those 2 purchases may have ended his tenure pretty early.
Nevertheless, in his short time at hades, exactly 5 years, the beast never won a Scottish Cup, Adrian Sprott, Mark Smith, wee Joe, Tommy Coyne and St Patrick’s Day Massacre come tae mind, and therefore nae treble, Mon also 5 years with us won as many titles, cheated out of another couple, and 3 SC’s including a treble.
Although the Sheffield Wednesday supporter has won the same amount of trophies as the beast, his were in 5 years, while the fraudster was in only 2 years and 9 months which includes 2 trebles; it’s in Europe where both fell down.
With all the money sourpus had it was proven they couldnae buy the mitb in Europe, well the bonkle bigot wisnae there yet. How he stayed on the park after almost crippling the Steau player is questionable though.
Let’s leave aside thumpings to Barca and PSG and losing tae Lincoln Red Imps, hard as it is, we almost threw away a 3 goal lead in Be’er Sheva FGS, shades of MTK there, now I know we did the same thing in Lisbon but for heaven’s sake that was Benfica complete with the great Eusébio and we did get tae the final that season.
I have already said I was not looking forward tae our European nights anymore and he’s the reason, we realistically should be playing FC Krasnodar at Parkheid tonight, a team lying 2nd behind the much vaunted Zenit in the Russian PL and yet it hasn’t been mentioned on here or other Celtic sites, are we all a bit gun shy after the humiliations we have suffered with this manager, for goodness sake oul Jimmy got further in Europe than this charlatan and he was constrained by Sir Bob.
Personally, I actually believe he’ll get found out down south as a one trick pony who bottled it when the going got rough. At the end of the day the Foxes probably did us a favour plus 6m as well.
Oh and one other comparison he has with the beast is that if they were both chocolate they would eat themselves.
Under no circumstances should Celtic shit on Neil Lennon if he completes the treble treble.
He deserves more respect that for us to cast him aside.
Apart from that .
I love the Mhan.
TT
Than not that
CHAIRBHOY@4:49
“As it happens they(SFA) never face consequences so that seems to be the case”.
*****
Yes, “unimpressed” with being exposed as unfit for purpose should not be the end of the matter, quite the opposite.
Back in 2012 they did face consequences and backed down. Pity the supporters involved seem to have underestimated the power they wielded, and still do. The only time the “authorities” and Sevco didn’t get their own way, off the field at least, throughout this disgraceful saga.
*****
“Thompson (Dundee Utd Chairman) has received “emails and letters in the hundreds” from fans opposed to a Rangers newco being admitted to the SPL and he suspects the issue is already having an effect on season ticket sales.
“One or two are holding back, I’ve no doubt about that and that affects what I’m capable of doing with regard to bringing players in,” said Thompson who revealed he is in talks with manager Peter Houston’s agent about a new deal.
“It’s not just people who are 15, 16-years-old on message boards, I’m talking about people writing in who have been season ticket holders for 30 or 40 years with very, very strong feelings”
From The Telegraph, June 2012.
Also a rumour Fraudgers submitted his CV to Arsenal, when Wenger left….
Neil is a far better manager now,than when he left IMO,he has a few months to prove it.