Neil Lennon ‘got’ Celtic. He was a rookie appointment, and the early weeks were far from comfortable, a Hampden defeat to Ross County looked like an ominous early sign, but from the start of his first preseason he didn’t look back.
He was a hugely successful Celtic manager in Scotland and in Europe. The Barcelona team of the last six years, possibly the greatest team in history, were at their peak when they visited Celtic Park in November 2012. Neil came up with the game plan which brought Celtic victory and raised our profile across Europe.
What he had to endure off-field during his time at Celtic was atrocious and a blight on our society. But he overcame it. He stuck it out when you or I may have left, and now he leaves on his own terms – an undisputed winner.
More at another time on who next, but if we get a man nearly as capable we will be doing well.
Take care, Neil.
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Thank you Neil Lennon!
All the best for the future and I hope our paths cross once again.
For me:
Malky
John Collins
Steve Clarke
or David Moyes.
It is always sad when a successful Celtic manager leaves and given Neil’s emotional connection to the support and the club this makes it no easier but I have to say it may turn out to be the right decision for all concerned.
Neil could only win a treble to better his own record at Celtic. The last 8 of the CL is beyond any manager under the current circumstances and finances so the glass ceiling had been reached.
Effectively our season was about playing out time from the 9th of February whether people wish to say so or not and records for keepers and trying to get 100 points are soon forgotten.
Neil did everything he could at Celtic. He won trophies, got Celtic into Europe and gave us the best night to remember in a decade.
Thank you Neil for all of that but as WGS said managers now have a limited shelf life at one club so this would appear to be the right time.
As for a successor someone free cheap and available will doubtless be the preference.
Celtic need to move FAST now.
CL qualifiers are looming in World Cup year and we don’t have the fall back of a full house at Celtic park where the best in Europe have withered over the years.
Whoever comes in faces a baptism of fire in that regard.
The coming weeks will be crucial.
Pick the right one Celtic or much gnashing of teeth will follow.
As for Steve Clarke – seems to have an awful of admirers but for the life of me can’t think of him once making me think there’s a guy who could “bring the thunder back” (copyright NFL). Apologies to him if he is a charismatic and motivational master, he comes across as duller than ditch water.
Kitalba
With the exception of St Kris Commons, the football under Lennon and Strachan has generally been dull.
Sad to see Neil Lennon leave, but I am surprised he stuck it out as long as he did. The most hated man in football, because of what he was, and what he stood for. It has all been said by previous posters. Neil Lennon made mistakes, but who hasn’t . I loved him as our manager, he had Celtic Passion. I hope our next manager has the same feelings, has thick skin and plenty of fitba savvy, and that he tells the SMSM to gtf.
There will be quite a few reasons why Neil left, and I suspect the corruption in Scottish football is high on the agenda,
Good luck and good health and happiness to Neil and his family.
SPD 1956
…the red (an’ black) tops are well representit the day…………….
aye!
glendalystonsils
15:47 on 22 May, 2014
Gene’s a Bhoy’s name
15:42 on
22 May, 2014
‘Need to get a replacement in quickly -what’s wgs up to?
Surely there would be one almighty outcry of condemnation from the MSM if the manager of the national team deserted mid-term in order to take over at a club side?’
####
Never mind Strachan. What about Hodgson?
Stevie Clark or Malky for me.
NFL:
Will be sorely missed by me, love the guy.
God Bless, Neil.
Kit,
So who do you fancy for the gig and who do you think will get it?
Celtic will .. Ah Guess.. Stick wi the Plan
Whit Plan is That?
Why..
the..
Grab ’em Young.. Get ’em Cheap.. Build ’em Up.. Keep Expenses . at a PEEP!
Maks Sense Tae Me..
So..
Furgetaboot Us Goin’ Fur an Experienced Guy..
Daein’ That By Celtic.
Jist Wulllnae.
Fly!
Jackie Mac fur Me..
Kojo
Interesting to see the divergence of opinions on who we should replace lennon with.
We wont all be happy. Thats fitba
Absolutely right that Brian Wilson would never have a socialist! Is Brian Wilson still on the Board?;-)
CultsBhoy at 1537
Fair enough, coming from Aberdeenshire you’d know more about miserable faces than me, but many a torn-faced bassa has been a success in management and I doubt ‘cheery disposition’ features high on the job description prepared by Peter Lawwell.
For what it’s worth I think Collins deals with the press professionally and in an erudite way. He seems to be well thought-of at Celtic Park and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him emerge as a runner.
Feeling a little sad today about Neil’s departure. He wasn’t perfect, but, he had a nice vision for the club and was working with a promising squad of players mostly under 24, most of whom respected him and trusted him.
I’m wary of personalising anyone in the public eye, that is to say, looking beyond the job they do at the person they are. However Lennon was a man we all liked, and not just because of what he represented, but because we followed his own personal journey… it was emotional, impressive and an example to follow. Yes even if he did misbehave, and misjudge, he did so with an honest heart and always grew from his experience.
He’ll be an excellent manager for someone.
Speculation as to why he has left seems to be wild, agenda driven (as usual) and a little unrealistic. It is not a mistake, or a crime or a failure of policy that Celtic cannot afford a budget, today, that will allow Neil Lennon to fulfill his ambitions or realise his vision for the team. We’re probably only 2 or 3 players, in the mould of Larsson, Sutton or Lambert, away from having the best squad we’ve had in 40 years, but, instead of being able to find those players, we’re more likely to lose those players.
Lennon has, to his enormous credit, never taken a petulant stance on this reality. He has acknowledged it repeatedly, and always offered his support to both Lawell and Desmond, including today. I think he’s been clear on this issue, and I also think he’ll say if he feels let down. There’s a difference between him feeling let down by his employers and him acknowledging that despite their best efforts they cannot support his ambition.
So, in expressing our sadness, frustration or whatever at Neil’s departure, we should be big enough to recognise that his maturity and intellect, especially on the matter of club finance, are part of the package we’ll miss. It’s also part of what will make him such an appealing prospect for so many clubs. Contrast with that bloke at Rangers, who is currently toiling in his first and last managers job.
It’s worth reminding everyone of Lawell’s comments recently about the appointment of Neil, and the reason they felt they could take a chance on him. He explained that the club have a structure in place within the football side of the club, that ensures (a big word) a seemless transition when we change managers. He meant we have good coaches, scouts, medical staff, facilities and strategies that will carry forward regardless of the first team coaching situation. We are not looking for Jock Stein or Sir Alex, a man to re-build the club, we’re definitely going to be looking for a manager who can come in and work within the structure we have in place.
I’d say that whilst I don’t understand any immediate desire to bring Larsson back, it does make it more plausible.
Anyway, we’ll be absolutely fine. As long as we don’t lose the promising youth that Lennon has worked so well with in the last few years.
Finally, the other part of my sadness, isn’t about the man we’ve lost but the further confirmation of how unfavourable our league and market is. We can achieve so much as a club, more even than we have, in the current set of circumstances, but, the ambition I have, the ambition we have, and the ambition our manager had cannot be realised. It just can’t. Unless we can escape from the SPL.
I feel empty
For all the shit Neil Lennon had to endure as Celtic manager we could have overlooked the glorious balance sheet for one season
Rinds me of the way Celtic treated Jock Stein
Reminds
Auldheid:
Trash my last questions for the SF and please add this…
What did you do, or not do, to make Neil Lennon quit?
————————————————————————————-
Everybody knows you paid Johan Mjallby shit money a wee bit above the required living wage, everybody knows it, but you have no shame.
Shadows???
Still nothing on the Celtic site. I’m betting the next article is about the Lions trip to Lisbon …
Some great Servants to Celtic lost recently
Lennon Mjallby Samaras
Something is rotten in the state of
SAMARAS ! You canny put SAMARAS in the same sentence as Lennon and Mjallby!
Cork Celt
Shouldn’t you be at polling station ?:-)
Still no statement from the club?
Wtf is that all about? Amateurish to say the least.
kdc;
I think you can.
Maybe Russian swap? Lennon to Spartak Moscow, Dan Petrescu to Celtic. Petrescu did very well in Poland, Romania and Russia.
Kojo – perhaps dear Tommy was being prophetic when he sang about Mac being back in town :)
Lennybhoy 9-1 in Ladbroke,don’t know others prices
Denia Bhoy
At 16.05
HIya,Palomine.. Nice tae Greet Ye..
Good One, Pal.. Man. ..Ah’m Mad ,because …. AH didnae think o that ~!!!
Ye’r a Fly Yin.
Kojo
Lennon and Brennan ….. whit a pair :-))
what about danny lennon
wouldn’t need to change name on door
manager-mr lennon
has a ring to it
hail hail
I got a phone call from my brother a few hours ago asking me if I had heard the news. I hadn’t heard but I was not surprised, given the strength and consistency of recent rumours, many from people who are not known for running with ill-founded stuff. I had work to do and did not leave to read the blog and post my thoughts quickly.
I am not surprised that people have co-opted Neil’s reasons to their usual hobby horse. I find it unconvincing that Neil would leave because of the hassle in the streets and the press; not now when he has faced them down and effectively won.
Leaving because of downsizing is more of a possibility but there are some flaws in that thought too as he knew the score re budgets when he took over and he knew and accepted the markets he worked within. However, unless you are a close friend of Neil or his family and agent, and I am not, then the real reasons will not be known to many yet.
My best guess is that, having become an experienced managerial pair, thanks to Celtic, both Neil and Johan were looking for increased remuneration for persisting within the restrictions of Celtic’s budget. I would guess the club were unwilling to pay what he asked for. Despite his denial of any firm job offer, I believe Neil knows he has a chance of an English job at Norwich, West Brom, West Ham, or, possibly, Newcastle. All of these will pay him more and put him in more of a shop window with the big clubs, if he has success there.
It is the reason Wim & Murdo left and the reasons that players like Sutton, Collins, and McNamara left too. However, I have no inside knowledge and could well be very wrong.
What I will put on record is my appreciation for what NFL gave to this club at a time where we badly needed a unifying figure. I fully respect the views of all those who said Neil was not ready for the job because they were right. We were forced into accepting him as an interim figure because we had become a spiritless shambles very quickly under the listless management of Tony Mowbray. We needed a more combative manager and , did we not just get one. Neil got time to unify this club because he was a respected figure. He took a lot of the heat off the Board and, because of the reaction of Rangers fans and Press toward him, he became a figure around whom we rallied as a support.
It helped that we were winning. Neil produced an immediate reversal of the Mowbray/Grant form before coming a cropper in the Ross County game. I was impressed at how proactive Neil was on that day- subbing the hapless N’Guemo before half time, constantly berating Andy Hinkel for his nervous and unadventurous display and admitting that players like Sammi could get him the sack. His post-match press talk was brave and honest though the hot-heads among us did not recognise it as such at the time.
The winning continued in his first season and a first title should have been earned but for a late collapse, beginning with the postponed ICT game and the shambles of the POTY dinner dance. Neil was still showing signs of having lessons to learn. His struggles continued in the following year with the 3:3 Killie game where a petulant strike from Tony Stokes, an inspired James Forrest and a hapless Finnish keeper just about kept him in a job. We were, at that time, in severe danger of becoming one of those teams that changes managers regularly in a race to cause chaos, upheaval and failure.
But cool heads were kept. The team resumed winning ways and titles were won, Euro progress was made with another last 16 CL appearance and we basked in the troubles erupting at Ibrox. Neil played a huge part in keeping this show on the road through some dark and difficult times. I owe him a great debt of gratitude and I wish him well wherever he goes.
As for his replacement, who knows? I don’t think we need a unifying figure as much as we need a good coach so, for me, Henke is not needed as a No.1 coach at this time. My own preference would have been the Red Bull Salzburg coach, Roger Schmidt, but Leverkusen have got him, so I have no other favourites.
I would not consider Larsson, McNamara or Collins to have the proven record we would look for. Though I admire the Ian Murray/Jack Ross (a former neighbour of mine) combination at Dumbarton, it is possibly too early for them too.
Whoever we appoint will have my full support. Hopefully they will feel they have a young squad with promise and we will not suffer too much transfer upheaval but we live in interesting times. Expectations have been raised and the hazardous tasks of CL qualification has become an expectation we feel we have a right to achieve. Any new manager could be right up against it from the start, if those hurdles prove as challenging as I think they will be.
Thanks again Neil and I wish you all the success you can achieve at some lesser club in the future.
Did Lenny break Celtic TV before he left ? Or has it been shut down because that is the only place you can leave a public message for the club?Or is my pc just not collaborating today?
Don’t want to be a wise ass. However, I posted before New Year that Neil appeared to be paving the way for the old ‘Can’t take this club any further’ routine.
GUTTED
Still nothing on the official website.
HH
SJ
Don’t think Lambert ,Mc Namara or Moyes will be the next manager at Celtic. Malky McKay ,Henrik Larsson, Stevie Clarke .and Gianfranco Zola .im sure 1 of them will be the next manager of Celtic Football Club
DD an Pl will be doing mental jigs.
Transfer window looming and we really can’t be expected to provide unproven, and it will be an unproven manager with substantial funds.
Ah Hope fur Neil’s Own Sake.
That . He disnae Go Crazy..
n.. Join An English PREMIER League Club..
That, My Friends wid Be a Great Big Mistake!
He is No The Type.. He is No Ready Fur that Kinda Joab.. He is Still Half-Baked..
He Needs Mair Time In the Oven.
Take Ma Advice,Neil.. Tak the Norwich Joab..
That Joab, ye … Could Handle..
But.. The E.P.L.??
Furgetttabooooootit!
Kojo
Sorry but not distraught that Neil has left. He either left now or committed for another 3 years and I was of the opinion that the challenge in Scotland was over for him.
Very best wishes and a welcome back any time you can visit us, Neil.
Does anyone have any opinions on how this will affect the rest of the backroom or scouting staff? Are they likely to go with him when he pops up again?