After a season where our main central defender went on strike in August, our manager set about working his ticket, our main striker went off message with the manager, before the manager decided it was better to shuffle him off the premises on deadline day, and then the manager walked out on us, we appear to have won the league by the same nine point margin as last season.
We have seen some disruptive seasons in our time (although not recently), but this has to be up there with the 1993-94 season, when we sailed perilously close to administration. This is what modern Celtic looks like when it is vulnerable. Not quite imperious, but still a game away from the treble.
Everything else is just background noise. We are eight-in-a-row champions, double treble winners and that could soon be treble treble winners. Next season will be nowhere near as disruptive. We will have a manager who wants to be here and players bursting a gut to do it on the park.
There is a stable and clear vision for the club, experience at delivering sustainable success that seems to be more imperious each passing year and money in the bank to take us there. If you are taken in by the change in who came second, more fool you.
It was a treat to watch Karamoko Dembele for 45 minutes yesterday. He is small, how would he cope against grown men? Quite well, as it turned out. He has fantastic ability to change direction and great pace over 5 yards, talents that allows him to get away from opponents.
If he is as good as some hope, our place in the food chain will become evident soon enough, but we will enjoy watching him when he pulls on the hoops.
I got a text on Saturday evening, “7-1 in jeopardy”. The FA Cup Final was on; this could only mean Man City were threatening to breach the British cup final record win. 62 years and counting.
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WITS
!!BADA BING!! on 20TH MAY 2019 1:31 PM
Turnbull at Motherwell might be worth a punt,rave reviews all season
____
Was thinking the exact same thing. He’s scored quite a few from midfield.
The leftback from Killie is also worth a look at. I know we have Tierney but how often have we used Izzy, Hayes, McGregor and now Toljan.
Get a stable number 2. He might even play 20 games!
BSR
Go on outta Dat
LAMBERT14
********
Incredibly naive as I am, I have enough acumen to realise that Rodgers played the club and other naive supporters for what it’s worth from day1.
That is not to say that he didn’t sort out the playing staff…..but he had to do that or else he would have been discarded like Ronnie.
The most important thing is that the club remains stable, through good seasons and bad.
We have been to brink and it wasn’t nice.
We have a CEO, who is responsible for steering the club, to a plan designed by the Board.
This is a Board comprising of men successful in the world of business and commerce. They are no mugs or soft touches.
If they consider their man has a salary commensurate to his duties, which are performed in a hostile environment and having to compete in a financially restricted league, then who are we to argue.
It may be against your personal philosophy to accept the PLC model, but that is the way top businesses operate. It provides stability and transparency.
I don’t know the ins and outs of our transfer details, unlike yourself. Therefore, my only guide is how stable is Celtic and how successful is the time.
Our enemies are not within Celtic Park.
The Celtic Blog
Big Judith looking glorious in royal blue……?
It is a fact that Celtic is enjoying one of the the most successful periods in its history. 1967 was, of course, anastonishingly successful season but for sustained success, the current time is a contender for our best ever period.
Why, therefore, do quite a few posters continue to complain?
My own view, is that they do so because they believe that criticism reflects a more astute mind than does cheering happily about what our club is achieving at the moment.
JJ
PS I exclude the likes of Canamalar from this view.The Res 12 guys are at the coal face and in a position to be very criticcal of some Board behaviour.
Summer of Rockets BBC2 Tuesday at 9pm……..just saying like…..
@ GREENPINATA on 20TH MAY 2019 1:27 PM
I think Lambert is merely raising the point that one character is suspiciously absent from mention in Paul’s article.
People can’t ignore the fact that there was a fallout and that we had a disastrous summer window (even going as far as to say that the last 3 windows have all been pretty bad).
Neil Lennon will do just fine.
HH. ?
Thomthethim
Well said
I have no great love of PLC’s or the capitalist system and if i was CEO of Celtic I would do it voluntarily
I would also expect players to play for twice the average industrial wage and wouldnt indulge in transfer fees as I think buying a selling human beings to be immoral.
I would make sure that any profits generated by TV rights etc would be distributed to the poor and to worthy causes worldwide.
I would sleep well at night with my Che Guevara poster above my bed knowing that I was contributing to making the world a better place.
Here we go to something or other
The Hands @ 1:45
`…we had a disastrous summer window (even going as far as to say that the last 3 windows have all been pretty bad).`
In terms of the all important results,what was the effect of these dismal windows?
I , quite simply, do not subscribe to the view that Celtic is being run in a pretty bad way.
JJ
@ THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 20TH MAY 2019 1:39 PM
Why is it the CEO/Board are seemingly immune to criticism but managers and players are not?
“If they consider their man has a salary commensurate to his duties, which are performed in a hostile environment and having to compete in a financially restricted league, then who are we to argue.”
So there can be no criticism?
By the same token, no one should complain if Lenny makes a bad substitution or deploys incorrect tactics. Brendan’s decision to deploy CMac at left back at Ibrox should also be beyond repute or his tactics in Europe when PSG/Barca gubbed us? I don’t think so.
The hands cant hit
Where do you get the idea that the board/ceo are immune to criticism???
They get stick on here EVERY DAY
WHAT IS THE STARS on 20TH MAY 2019 1:45 PM
We can then support Queens Park and be at Hampden every week.
@ WHAT IS THE STARS on 20TH MAY 2019 1:58 PM
Certain posters on here criticise the board. A lot of posters criticise those who criticise the board. Paul never criticises the board.
It just seems to me that they get an easy ride from the blog whereas others are not so fortunate.
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 20TH MAY 2019 1:54 PM
********
Apples and a citrus fruit.
If a manager or player makes a wrong call, we lose points or a cup.
If the Board make a wrong call, we could lose the club,
Kelly/White
Dodgy Dave/Whyte.
” David Murray is a sugar Daddy ”
Hugh Keevans 2011
The hands cant hit
Paul never criticises board…
Why should he.
If he thinks they are doing a reasonable job its his perogative to support them.
He doesn’t make any attempt to stop anybody else critiscising them
@ THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 20TH MAY 2019 2:02 PM
It isn’t as binary as that. It’s not this board or a Dave King-esque criminal.
It’s not Jock Stein or John Barnes.
It’s not hoarding money or administration.
There is a happy middle ground which we haven’t found yet.
@ WHAT IS THE STARS on 20TH MAY 2019 2:07 PM
So they have never been deserving of criticism? Not even for the poor window in the summer?
Brendan won a double treble and put us on our way to a treble treble and was (heavily) criticised at times (and rightly so on occasion) during his reign.
The board deserved some criticism for the summer, even if there was contributory negligence apportionable elsewhere.
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 20TH MAY 2019 1:45 PM
@ GREENPINATA on 20TH MAY 2019 1:27 PM
I think Lambert is merely raising the point that one character is suspiciously absent from mention in Paul’s article. People can’t ignore the fact that there was a fallout and that we had a disastrous summer window (even going as far as to say that the last 3 windows have all been pretty bad).
*that the same character that delivered 12 Titles, 7 possibly 8 SC, 6 LC, 2 possibly 3 trebles, 2 League/SC Doubles and 2 LC/SC Doubles, aye yer right he’s actually a breest.
Just be grateful that the bunnet rescued us fae the families that nearly put us out of the game.
The Hands,
The happy middle ground is mediocrity and Celtic aren’t mediocre.
We are excelling in our environment and the next level is a bit out of reach, but remains aspirational.
My final word on this.
The Hands
I have to go to the dentist now but I will have a look on my return to see if you have answered my 1:50 question.
Cheerio for now,
JJ
Karamoko learning from one of the greatest wingers of recent times :
https://twitter.com/Ciaran_O/status/1130147217950552064?s=09
@ THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 20TH MAY 2019 2:16 PM
Thanks for your last input on this.
I think we were pretty mediocre at the end of and during Deila’s reign.
Brendan revolutionised us, raising our profile, performance and expectations. I would argue that the last 3 years are attributable to his excellence as opposed to any long term planning by our executives.
He is now gone and they have to earn their corn again. Let’ see where they take us.
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 20TH MAY 2019 2:11 PM
@ WHAT IS THE STARS on 20TH MAY 2019 2:07 PM
So they have never been deserving of criticism? Not even for the poor window in the summer?
Brendan won a double treble and put us on our way to a treble treble and was (heavily) criticised at times (and rightly so on occasion) during his reign.
The board deserved some criticism for the summer, even if there was contributory negligence apportionable elsewhere.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Everyone deserves criticism from time to time and you are free to criticise whomsoever whensoever .
I happen to think that the Celtic Board are doing a fairly decent job.Good luck to them.
I dont remember Brendan Rodgers being “heavily criticised” on here at any stage up until he jumped ship…
The caravan is moving on
That mediocre moment when Celtic fans are 20, 000 tickets short for a Cup Final.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 20TH MAY 2019 1:18 PM
It’s taken seven seasons to get the new club by hook and by ‘crook’ to where they are this morning, second best.
——————————————–
There’s the rub. Any club starting at the bottom could get to where Sevco are in 7 seasons , provided they had the same vast sums poured into them , and the same….er…’influence’ . The fact that there has been no scrutiny of this is a scandal , especially in view of what happened to Sevco’s predecessor.
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 20TH MAY 2019 2:08 PM
@ THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 20TH MAY 2019 2:02 PM
It isn’t as binary as that. It’s not this board or a Dave King-esque criminal.
It’s not Jock Stein or John Barnes.
It’s not hoarding money or administration.
There is a happy middle ground which we haven’t found yet
——
Or an unhappy middle ground?
??♂️???
WITS- your stoic defence of PL is admirable, succession management, forward planning, is a huge part of his job.What’s your take on Boyata walking out the door for nothing, costing the Club £10 mil plus? IMO both him and Dembele were promised moves,and we reneged,because we had no replacements in place. I never paid much attention to Dembele’s stuff after he moved,but he was spot on re Rodgers, fair play to MD turning up yesterday. HH
Glendalys
Totally agree, but they were all in it together.
2nd is the only show in town for a new club, they have no clean debt free money to challenge Celtic on a near level playing field.
Their support is petrified of who Celtic can buy, or appoint as manager.
No money, no title, no players ‘they could not otherwise afford’ .
It’s Sevco there is no Rainjurz never mind an old firm.
If Celtic are looking for a CB I’d look at Van Der Hoorn from Swansea. Good player in the final year of his contract.
This season the Board faced a crisis which were not known to us. Brendan had asked to leave to go to China. The Board negotiated that he stayed at least for the CL qualifying by offering Rodgers a special bonus which he didn’t collect. After that it was obviously leaving but the Leicester Helicopter crash delayed the event.
As it was Rodgers left 2 days before 2 Important games.
The Board immediately appointed Lennon who carried out to the Treble(Hopefully)
The Board dealt with the challenges well,
Bada
I think Lawwell certainly got it wrong on McGinn,playing hardball with Hibs, but thats just my opinion.
Boyata walking out the door when we could have sold him for 10 million ??
Maybe if we had a centre half in place we could have sold Boyata…( Was Comper the replacement ?,if so you I could imagine Lawwell being pissed off with Rodgers for such a waste)
Glad to see Moussa on the pitch yesterday,dont know the ins and outs of his transfer.He was always destined to move on after a relativley short period though.
WITS- But we should have had replacements in,that’s the point, if guys of value don’t sign extended contracts, you need to punt them, Dembele was always leaving, unfortunately we didn’t get the right money for him,as it was late in the Window, but again we should have had a replacement in place, good luck to you,not had your troubles to seek recently.
Bada Bing
Rodgers vetoed the Boyata move because he had no replacement. He then proceeded to throw him under the bus, when he downed tools for the CL.
Blaming Peter Lawwell is plain wrong on this one, when it’s clearly possible the Fulham bid was accepted by the board.
You could also argue BR was correct given Boyata retained his place in the side as the available CB we had on the league winning
run.