I listened to Neil Lennon speak after our last two games with some regret. He has been drawn into justifying the form of a team on the verge of 8-in-a-row, not having lost a goal in 8 hours of football, but who are struggling to put the ball in the net at their usual rate.
Neil was given a great opportunity, having fallen out with Hibernian, he could scarcely imagine being Celtic manager a few weeks later. But the old adage, Never follow Sinatra, holds true. Better to become Celtic manager after Tony Mowbry, or John Barnes, than Martin O’Neill or Brendan Rodgers.
Gordon Strachan will attest that it is hard to live up to the standards of a legend, no matter how many times you out-perform him in the Champions League or in the rate you accumulate domestic titles. Neil is going through a bit of the same.
A team which looked listless before transformational halftime changes at Murrayfield in October, is struggling to spark. The case for changes in the squad is evident, the fact that a manager who took over on 26th February had nothing to do with this situation, should be crystal clear.
Making the right decisions in the summer is a multi-layered question. We want the best manager we can get, but we also have to make the squad as ready as possible for the qualifiers. We want to qualify for the Champions League and we must – must – win 9 and then 10-in-a-row.
This is not a normal summer where we appoint a new manager. The history books will prominently record what happens over the next two seasons. I am sure everyone at Celtic is acutely aware they need to avoid what happened across the city in season 1997-98.
All of these questions need to be parked for the time being. We have a manager and squad who are within a point of winning the league, and a Cup Final of delivering the treble treble. Neil is doing very well wearing another man’s overalls and does not need to answer for the fact that they are torn.
293 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- »
JAMES FORREST on 30TH APRIL 2019 1:21 PM
Disingenious garbage Paul.
Lennon is doing the bare minimum, winning a little over half his league games and without much finesse.
The question facing us this summer is not multi-layered at all, although a lot of people are determined to try to make it seem that way.
There is one simple question to answer here, and just one; Is Lennon the best we can get?
And the answer is no, and everyone – even his fan club on here – knows that the answer is no.
____
Firstly, regardless of any difference in opinion, it’s incredibly poor form to suggest that Paul isn’t being genuine. Especially when you use his blog to drum up interest in your own.
Secondly, do you really know if we can do better than Neil Lennon? With the exception of coaches who have publicly thrown their hat in the ring, how do we know who the other possibilities are?
I read your blog suggesting other candidates and I was impressed to see the wide net you cast. Personally, somebody like Philip Cocu sounds like a good fit.
I have no idea if he would even consider the job. The majority of the coaches listed in the bookies odds seem unlikely (Marco Rose is still 25/1)
For all I know, it’s between Neil Lennon, David Moyes and Willy Sagnol.
ONENIGHT
Exactly.
And if he delivers the treble treble he will be totally up to the job he’s currently charged with. HH
ONENIGHTINLISBON on 30TH APRIL 2019 1:53 PM
JAMES FORREST on 30TH APRIL 2019 1:31 PM
I get that some of Neil’s friends would want him – old pals act.
Totally get that the press want him – to wind him up, put pressure on him etc.
I don’t get why, assuming we all want Celtic to move forward, our supporters would want him?
____
He’s been in the job before and was pretty successful. He also had an ability to spot a player in Fraser Forster, Virgil Van Dijk and Victor Wanyama. He managed to get Celtic to the last 16 of the CL by beating one of Europe’s giants.
He might not be the top of my list but he certainly has credentials.
Question is, who else is in the running? Marco Rose was an exciting prospect but it was obviously never happening.
PS I only met Stevie Chalmers once, when he cam e to house to sign me up as pools agent. Such a quiet man. So polite and humble… I think I had put my 1967 libon carpet out in the hall before he arrived!
QUADROPHENIAN
With all due respect the credit for delivering the trophies will be only due to him in a small way, Had he been there at the start of the season then yes but this should not make him a shoe in for the job.
Get the best man for the job.
Anybody know of a purple squirrel candidate with top-class mangerial pedigree, owner of childhood Celtic subbuteo team, stickability for 3+ years, known for entertaining football and European defensive pragmatism and furnished with a name with two syllable forename and surname combo to allow some GB contunuity for the ’10-in-a-row song’?
ONENIGHTINLISBON on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:08 PM
QUADROPHENIAN
With all due respect the credit for delivering the trophies will be only due to him in a small way, Had he been there at the start of the season then yes but this should not make him a shoe in for the job.
____
If Celtic managed to win the Scottish Cup and take 7 points from the remaining league games he would deserve credit.
Certainly for the Scottish Cup. BR was in charge for home games to St Johnstone and Airdrieonians. NFL would have been in charge for Hibs away, Aberdeen and Hearts at Hampden. He did the heavy lifting.
A wee tribute to Celtic and the bhoys of old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWe9ntoWvTc
I’ll tell you what I find disingenuous… Anyone that calls Neil Lennon ‘Lennon’! To me it’s totally disrespectful and bordering on the “he brings it on himself” attitude.
Whether Lenny get the job or not will be decided soon enough, in the meantime we still need a point for 8 in a row and we still have a cup final to win for a treble treble, 9 trophies on the trot… I think some people forget what an achievement that is.
The disconcerting effect of this is affecting the support. Maybe the players too. Two and a half years of stability – then boom!! I don’t want another manager who will do that.
Lenny came in to get us over the line and we’re almost there. These players also always seem to show up on the big games – the must win games – or cup record is phenomenal. With the exception of europe the only time they haven’t was at hades (©TT)
And the 2 games in Edinburgh, after Rodgers left could have been season defining. I was far more confident going into those games with Lenny in charge than I was with Rodgers.
Jobo – in your last paragraph… It sounds like you are describing Neil Lennon ?
I hope the rumours that Lenny has the job are correct. I hope we announce it sooner rather than later so we can get stability back and start building for what will be a pivotal season in the Celtic story.
I never thought the huns would go bust in my lifetime.
I never thought I’d see us win an invincible treble in my lifetime.
I never thought I’d see a double treble in my lifetime.
I never thought I’d see 9 in a row in my lifetime… A treble treble… Possibility of 10 in a row!!
These are absolutely amazing times to be a Celtic supporter.
Embrace it.. Get behind the team, the board the manager and support.
That’s what I do.
Hail Hail ??
Stevie Chalmers RIP. A Celtic hero. YNWA HH
? There’s a pair of old torn overalls
In what’s known as fathers room ?
Blue Grass Celt
Thoughts and prayers for your wee Mammy at this difficult time. HH
What’s creating a bit more uncertainty, is whether BR was manager or a new guy,this team has come to the end of it’s cycle IMO.Lots out the door hopefully, and some players in for specific positions.
And there was I thinking the Angry Brigade had gone away…
Neil Lennon may not be Mr right ,but he is Mr right now.
Away take get ma ears lowered ?
Neustadt Braw
Condolences on the passing of your pal Vince.
HH aus Dundee
@ TIMALOY29 on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:00 PM
“Secondly, do you really know if we can do better than Neil Lennon? With the exception of coaches who have publicly thrown their hat in the ring, how do we know who the other possibilities are?”
This is where the very well paid executives come into play. Given the resources at Celtic’s disposal and recent participation in Europe we should be an attractive prospect (even if only looked upon as a stepping stone to bigger things).
If we go for Neil it will represent a downsizing. BR was reported to be on around £2m. What will Neil be on? 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 of that? If the best our board can come up with is ex-players then that represents poor planning.
ONENIGHT
I reckon there’s guile and skill in stabilising an emotionally and psychologically shattered playing group, like TIMALOY said. And I don’t believe he’s currently a shoo-in: We’re still in the hunt in every sense. HH
JOBO @ lunchtime
As this Blog knows full well the same ‘Celtic board’ courted Owen Coyle ‘ not only that, they leaked intimate details of his ‘budget’ to his Granny, and we all know how that turned out.
Then for kicks ‘they’ appointed Tony (take it on the chin) Mowbray very fresh from relegation and the worst WBA side, in living memory.
Then they wanted Roy ( mad as bag of frogs ) Keane till he knocked us back, so they plumped for Ronny ( Ronny Out ) Deila.
If it hadn’t been for Dermot Desmond wandering aimlessly around the races and bumping into Strachan Strachan GTF , we’d have missed out on the wee man as well.
We’d never have signed a Dud Czech © Daily Record, if Dr Josef Venglos hadn’t been unemployed eithers
Lord knows where it will all end, in the meantime should we not be having peace till we win the treble, treble, then we can decide if we’re going back to see Celtic next year, with the type of manager we deserve, and one that will happily fulfil his contract, whoever he is.
BIG WAVY on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:13 PM
??? Neil Francis Lennon is here for 10 in a row… ???
His name also fits with the other song…
???Neil Francis Lennon, Neil Lennon, you heard us calling in the night…. ???
He really did and he really did “come home to lead the green and white” ?
The song seems far more appropriate with Lenny’s name.
Hail Hail ??
QUADROPHENIAN
I would totally give him credit, yes, don’t get me wrong but I honestly don’t feel he’s the best we can do.
With regards to calling Neil Lennon, Lennon being akin to saying “he brought it on himself’ Seriously?
OVERALLS –
https://youtu.be/aTbLHQ0UZSo
Bought in Edinburgh on a Wednesday en route to Dunfermline 5 -Celtic 1
The SFA taking the absolute pi$# yet again with Beaton on Saturday. Him and Dallas should be nowhere near Celtic games ,for obvious reasons.Meanwhile the huns have been handpicking referees since September. Collum’s impartiality, and more sinister, ‘background reasons ‘ which has never been addressed by the compliant SFA.How can the country’s top rated (i know i know),referee not regularly referee a Top 4 club’s games?.He will do a huns game before the season’s out,the cowards at Hampden won’t want this to fester into next season, but they said they didn’t want him,and he hasn’t been near them since they complained. Talking of complaints, what happened to the ‘transparent ‘ inquiry into the game on December 29? More cowardly rhetoric from our Board,I’m afraid, but hey ho we’re used to it by now.
OLDTIM67 on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:14 PM
Cheers for the link.. Never get tired of watching that and I’m away to do so again ??
Hail Hail ??
” With regards to calling Neil Lennon, Lennon being akin to saying “he brought it on himself’ Seriously? ”
Your ` Seriously? ` suggets that such a statement cannot, in fact, be taken seriously.
Nevertheless, I can I can see substance in Larssonse7en`s comment.
Does that mean I am seeing a possibility that isn`t there?
JJ
Above post addressed to Onenightinlisbon ( A fine blog name).
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:20 PM
@ TIMALOY29 on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:00 PM
This is where the very well paid executives come into play. Given the resources at Celtic’s disposal and recent participation in Europe we should be an attractive prospect (even if only looked upon as a stepping stone to bigger things).
If we go for Neil it will represent a downsizing. BR was reported to be on around £2m. What will Neil be on? 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 of that? If the best our board can come up with is ex-players then that represents poor planning.
____
I agree with you.
But when you use the term stepping stone that implies that we would be taking a coach from a lesser league. Would Celtic fans be happy with a Ronny Deila/David Wagner type appointment?
Certainly Steffen Baumgart fits that profile.
So saying Larsson is one of Celtic’s greatest ever players would be disrespectful?
BADA BING
Snake Eyes © Jobo BALDIE didn’t dodge it, he called for foreign refs and laughed all the way back to the Leicester.
We now have a referee under pressure to give any contentious calls, in favour of Celtic.
Shirley CSC
HOT SMOKED on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:45 PM
Thanks for the compliment pal!
I always thought VVD was a good player but I never really expected him to reach the heights he has now.
Players’ Player of the year and probably worth £150m+ now.
It’s a shame that he was with us under Lenny’s last year and Ronny when, in Europe, anyway we didn’t shine.
I agree 100% with James Forrest on this.
Onenightinlisbon
“Why do people like John Hartson want him in the job?”
It’s difficult to answer that without being disrespectful towards John Hartson . John Hartson is another ex-celt who majority of us have a lot of time for him. That said, he’ll never be a football manager,because it is blatantly obvious listening to him on T.V that his football acumen / know-how is very limited.
John Hartson is entitled to his opinion, just as I am entitled to think John Hartson rarely talks sense when passing football comment.
A MAN is to stand trial after allegedly invading the Celtic Park pitch holding a child after the Hoops scored against rivals Rangers last month.
Anthony Smith, 32, allegedly celebrated with the tot after Odsonne Edouard gave his side the lead at Parkhead on March 31 this year.Prosecutors claim Smith took out his phone to take snaps of the alleged incident while also colliding with other fans.
It is alleged he pushed past stewards to make it onto the pitch who had asked him to return to his seat.
Smith, of Parkhead, appeared from custody at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
He denies a breach of the peace and a charge under the Children and Young Person Act.
Has anyone else been charged with this? Given the regular invasions by the vermin, when they beat Partick Thistle, to win the Champions League.
” Virgil Van Dijk – £10,000,000 your’e having a laugh ”
Davy Provan
RUGGYGMAN on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:53 PM
Agree, I love Big John but………..
@ TIMALOY29 on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:46
David Wagner/Steffen Baumgart may be a prudent way to go. Most managers in Europe will not be on £2m a year (especially when you take the EPL out of consideration) so provided we do not decide to downsize (which I think will happen), we can offer a fairly handsome remuneration package.
If the BR years proved anything it was that a good manager was worth his weight in gold. We got around £9m in compensation for BR and his staff (effectively getting his services for free) after he had turned Celtic around and brought unprecedented domestic success, as well as being back at the CL table twice and last 32 of the Europa league twice.
THe Hands
If the BR years proved anything it was that a good manager was worth his weight in gold. We got around £9m in compensation for BR and his staff (effectively getting his services for free) after he had turned Celtic around and brought unprecedented domestic success, as well as being back at the CL table twice and last 32 of the Europa league twice.
What happened Next?
LARSSONSE7EN on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:27 PM
BIG WAVY on 30TH APRIL 2019 2:13 PM
??? Neil Francis Lennon is here for 10 in a row… ???
————-
Sorry fella. I’m struggling with the unnecessary musical pause between ‘Lennon’ and ‘is’.
I’m worried also abiout ‘Neil Francis Lennon’ being too difficult a note to holdl for the GB’s maturing vocal chords.
And so for that reason, it’s a no from me. Sorry.