Two weeks ago, I cautioned that the line being given to Celtic by Eddie Howe, that he was waiting to assemble his backroom team, did not hold water, “This could be the reason proffered for the lack of a signature, but I’m not buying it.”
With his former Bournemouth backroom team now free from football commitments, I understand Howe told Celtic he is unable to convince his team to come to Glasgow and is not prepared to come without them. I’m not buying that either. He either has one of the EPL jobs he coveted, or his strength of character is not sufficient for him to cope in Glasgow without a chaperone. If it is the former, he has strung us along, if the latter, he’s too weak to cope here. It is the former, surely?
Howe was clearly our first choice and the man a board felt it worthwhile to not only offer a huge contract and the opportunity to recruit the entire backroom team, but to allow him to sit on the pot until the end of May. Like all these decisions, it was a gamble. Your view is as good as mine as to whether he was worth the wait.
So where has this left us? The ponderous time Eddie Howe took allowed a clear preference to emerge if his deal remained unsigned. You and I will have a weekend in the dark, which is frustrating, but I am not seeing any panic at Celtic Park. The new guy is not from the EPL circus, we’ll find out soon enough if that is a good thing or not!
Have a good weekend, if that’s possible between the two mood killers of managerial recruitment and lockdowns.
1,566 Comments- Pages:
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DAVID66 on 28TH MAY 2021 4:18 PM
Am I reading Paul’s article right? A foreign manager is he saying?
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God knows. Sounds like another riddle. What ever happened to straight talking.
POR CIERTO:
Brother, if we left this for two months on maybe’s and hopefullys – which we did – then we are reaping what we sowed. An organisation like ours should not have, not for anyone, not under any circumstances, left itself at the mercy of “events” for two months, it’s gross incompetence and that’s the generous interpretation.
Those who say the appointment will be “second choice” are forgetting Marseca who has just gone to Parma.
Postecoglou might be Harkin’s second-choice from the City Group maybe…
As usual it’s everyone else’s fault
Celtic PLC have a talent for appearing to balls things up ….. if the other candidates are of a similar character then maybe it’s not as bad as we think.
If I was trying to be rational I’d be reminding myself that Michael Jordan was third choice in the draft, nah doesn’t work …..
I’m no apologist for the Board but none of us have the inside track on the complexities of the proposed deal or the real reason for this collapsing.
My guess is that in fact he’s been given a deadline to commit and that has now come and gone.
Unlike the McGinn transaction last years it SEEMS that we’ve done all we reasonably could – there’s no complaint from Howe’s side that we’ve dragged our heels which seemed obviously to be the case with McGinn.
Maybe Howe fears the job is just to big for him – it certainly way bigger than anything he’s ever done.
In that case better he doesn’t start at all.
Big Sutton hit the nail on the head two weeks ago when he stated that Celtic will struggle to find a new manager with all the crap that has been going on in Glasgow……. including the attack on Lawells house/ family, possibly by our own supporters!.
Who in their right mind would put their family through that ………….reep what you sow !
So, we’re back in for Bonnie Tyler then?
The English riveria to Glasgow is a culture shock, especially if you have no ties tothe club ad can earn the same money with a high profile english club.
With one or 2 exceptions, all our managers have had a Celtic “connection”.
Howe would have broke that mould, but I feel the mould is holding strong.
HRVATSKI JIM on 28TH MAY 2021 4:30 PM
I was told 3 weeks ago through a source who has a patchy record of reliability that Celtic was in talks with Chris Wilder.
If true, plan B could happen quickly.
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Chris Wilder was one of the candidates mentioned month’s ago. Actually, at one point, he was being punted as the front runner.
Jackiemac
good tuneage on there. Bit of Smithereens in there; class
The new guy is not from the EPL circus but probably from Billy Smart’s one, the driver of the car with the wheels and doors falling off.
It’s all very disappointing and quite farcical.
Anyway, let’s hope whoever he is, he’s not a clown.
Seems it’s a lot easier to derail a train than to get it back on track.
Who’d have thunk it?
THE LONG WAIT IS OVER on 28TH MAY 2021 5:08 PM
You might well be right but why have we left it so long? Time is the one commodity we simply don’t have and we’ve left this until the last minute to be left hanging.
Any “deadline” should have been weeks ago…
It’s all the huns’ fault now 😝.
The same huns that were brought back to the party with the full support of the PLC?
HEADTHEBALL on 28TH MAY 2021 5:13 PM
The new guy is not from the EPL circus but probably from Billy Smart’s one, the driver of the car with the wheels and doors falling off.
It’s all very disappointing and quite farcical.
Anyway, let’s hope whoever he is, he’s not a clown.
####
I see Gene Wilder’s name mentioned, so who knows?
Eratic,
I agree but a Government and/ or police force that were willing to enforce the laws of the land evenly and irrespective of the perpetrators might go some way to reassuring outsiders that we are not just a poky wee backwater beholden to a horde of thugs who feel entitled to do what they want with impunity.
I don’t see any reasonable outsider coming to any other conclusion.
“Scotland’s shame” isn’t now just the perpetrators. It’s also applicable to those who condone their actions by their own inaction, despite their moral, legal and political obligations to act.
TIMMY7_NOTED on 28TH MAY 2021 4:49 PM
GerryBhoy on 28th May 2021 4:45 pm
So you have an inside line to Howe?
Maybe you could have shared your incredible insight before today?
What the hell are you dribbling about? Others have made the same point.
This is a blog where we should be able to say what we think without angry people
telling us what we can and cannot say. Get real.
GEEBEE1978 on 28TH MAY 2021 5:14 PM
That’s a fair point but it’s human nature that if all the right noises are being made to allow
time, admittedly possibly too much time , to be allowed for the other side to come to a decision.
Especially true if your other options aren’t particularly attractive. That’s the most concerning part for me.
ERNIE LYNCH on 28TH MAY 2021 5:13 PM
Seems it’s a lot easier to derail a train than to get it back on track.
Who’d have thunk it?
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Who indeed. Certainly not The Great Desmondo!!
!Seems it’s a lot easier to derail a train than to get it back on track!
A wonderful summing up
The fault lies with Lawwell and his joke of a board – we all know that but we still have the deniers who want to blame the huns, Eddie Howe, the Scottish Government etc.
The same ones who will be telling us to get behind Jack Ross and to stop being so entitled…
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/may/Statement-by-Celtic-Football-Club/
We can now confirm that Eddie will not be joining the Club, for reasons outwith both his and Celtic’s control.
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Celtic statement……..out with his and Celtic’s control……..George Square…..arson, methinks
Don’t blame Howe ,
The blame is at Celtic end ,not to worry Harkins is coming in ,Peters go to guy at Man City ,best pals apparently..
SCANIEL:
Pish. But whatever helps you sleep at night,
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/may/Statement-by-Celtic-Football-Club/
New ST refunds doing a roaring trade….
Plan D…
– Celtic connection? 🤔 Tick ✅
– Not afraid to work in Glasgow? 🤔 Tick ✅
– Talks a good game? 🤔 Tick ✅
– Foreigner? 🤔 Tick ✅
– Not too expensive or demanding? 🤔 Tick ✅
Fran Alonso it is then! 😊👍
(Cue lots of ‘In the showers’ innuendo… 😂)
Celtic statement – We have yet again failed to deliver but we will be along soon with a third or fourth choice diddy and expect you plebs to fork out to see us next season. One club since 1888. Fek off.
‘..but I am not seeing any panic at Celtic Park’
Paul 67
You may think dropping in that wee bit of Pravda helps to spin the board in a good light.
However, if I was running a huge club like Celtic and never had a manager in place after over 3 months, and the person I had put my faith in knocked me back, and I wasn’t panicking at all then it would tell me that I couldn’t care less about the mess the club was in.
ST TAMS on 28TH MAY 2021 4:11 PM, James Forrest and others.
I have read and re-read the article. I don’t see Paul blaming Eddie and putting the board in the clear. Indeed over the last month Paul has had a few articles indicating that he felt getting the manager sorted and in place a while back was the thing to do and get on with it – that was the sensible thing to do, and I have sensed the same exasperation as us, just put more calmly about not getting things in place before now.
I think their is implicit criticism of the board in those articles around this issue – just he won’t say it the way James Forrest will.
Over the last 20 years the Board has mostly run Celtic well. However, they have made a few whoppers ( 5 Way Agreement and Res 12 being the worst ), have shown a real lack of ability to learn ( Keep waiting too long to make managers appointments, do transfer dealings etc) and have managed to disenchant a huge amount of fans. This bit has been aided by the fact that Celtic fans have always had a fairly poor opinion of the boards over the years. One thing this helps is that the press really don’t have to try to hard to get Celtic fans agitated with goings on, whether justified or not. Just now, agitation/angst/anger are all merited. A really bad year of senior management mis-steps.
I’m hoping that we do get something better though, and very quickly
Bashi
Now, I am nobody’s idea of a high finance negotiator but, in the unlikely circumstances that I was charged with seeking a manager for next season and I had got the favourable response from Edde Howe, a fairly popular candidate cos he’s EPL bling, I woull dhav ehad a few follow up questions.
According to Pau;67’s narrative, and a few others, EH committed to come with 2 caveats- 1) I get to bring most of my back room staff with me and 2) I don’t want Celtic to approach them because they are in the play offs and I don’t want my old club distracted.
On hearing this, I would , first of all, express my appreciation for EH agreeing to come but I have 3 quick questions of my own.
1) Have you sounded out the backroom staf and are they willing to come and keep the tapping secret from the Bournemouth Board?
2) How many need to say yes and by when before you pen the contract and we can tell everyone officially you are hte new boss?
3) Will your willingness or your backroom staff’s willingness be affected by Bournemouth winning promotion?
Now, I don’t think anyone at CP is stupider than me and failed to ask these questions. So, a couple of posssible explanations exist as to why this late knockback situation came into play.
1) Eddie Howe lied to the board and assured them that the team he wanted were eilling to come to CP with him.
2) Celtic lied to Eddie and tried to renege on the backroom staff deal because there were too many, it cost too much, or the Board wanted someone from our exisiting coaches to be shoehorned into EH’s team to provide continuity.
or 3) Eddie agreed, in principle, but has had a last minute attractive offer and used a false tale of unwillingness of backroom staff to move to cover his tracks.
All of these scenarios are equally plausible to e and I have no reason to believe one or disbelieve another.
Where I differ from Paul67, is that , even though two of my scenarios place the lying at EH’s door, I still think the club was wrong to play along with such a loose commitment scenario. If the club said we were willing to remain quiet until Bournemouth qualify or fail in the play offs, that is where they made their first mistake. They were agreeing to wait until the end of May (Play off final is the 29th May but they’d be crass if they hadn’t agreed to wait until, at least, the day after before looking for commitments).
Now, I don’t blame Celtic for stoking expectations that EH was coming but I do think they should have been crystal clear that there was no certainty on the management recruitment front. Instead they chose silence and letting the rumours fly.
It is not sour grapes on my part to state that Eddie Howe is not good enough to keep us waiting in uncertainty. Once the terms of his caveats were known, the plug should ahve been pulled by us. We should not have let a middle level manager lead us a merry dance.
I don’t know how good a coach thus Postecoglu fellow is (Sydney Tim might have inside info) but I do know he will be seen as a less bling-y option than Howe. Many a good successful caoch has been recruited as a 2nd or 3rd choice option but mostly clubs have manged to make their runner up status less publicly acknowledged.
On the back of a poor season, we have added a poor start to post season recruitment. We have a bad look around the place altogether and the arrival of an Australian coach from Japan is not going to dampen that look by one little bit.
I am acutely aware of my own limitations. I could not coach Celtic. I could not be a CEO to a Celtic plc Board.
But I could have made as big a mess as this very easily.
JF at 5:26
I sleep well at night, thanks for asking. 😊😴
I’m not buying this. If it’s really down to Howe’s back room team not wanting to come to Glasgow then why has it taken until now for them to make that decision. Surely, he’d have known months ago if they were prepared to follow him or not!
SCANIEL on 28TH MAY 2021 5:24 PM
We can now confirm that Eddie will not be joining the Club, for reasons outwith both his and Celtic’s control.
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Celtic statement……..out with his and Celtic’s control……..George Square…..arson, methinks
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Disingenuous in the extreme to suggest that Hun resurrection is outwith Celtic’s control.
Who helped facilitate in every conceivable manner the resurrection of a Hun entity after 2012???
Jf blogger you are one angry little boy.
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 28TH MAY 2021 5:31 PM
Great post, sums it up perfectly 👏
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 28TH MAY 2021 5:31 PM
2) Celtic lied to Eddie and tried to renege on the backroom staff deal because there were too many, it cost too much, or the Board wanted someone from our exisiting coaches to be shoehorned into EH’s team to provide continuity.
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Do I win a prize for suggesting John Kennedy??