I was disappointed to hear Neil Lennon was ‘mutually consented’ by Bolton yesterday. He picked the club up off the floor early last season, putting together a remarkable run of form which saw them talked as promotion candidates, but a reply cup defeat to Liverpool saw momentum dip. The year since has seen Bolton look like the relegation fodder they were before Neil’s arrival.
Forget all this nonsense the newspapers are throwing around this morning (anything to undermine the team ahead of Kilmarnock on Saturday), Neil’s ship has sailed in Glasgow, but he should plan to remain in the game.
The people of Bolton might not have seen him at his best, but he’s a genuine managerial talent. After a shaky 18 months at Celtic he turned a corner and became a remarkable success, crafting a team who could compete with anyone in the world.
Looking back now, I think the intensity of the Celtic job got too much for Neil. It’s a 24x7x365 life, you need vast oceans of patience, and need to be prepared to make enormous sacrifices. It’s not just about structuring a defence to subjugate wee Leo and his pals.
The Bolton job was always going to be a tall order. He picked them up in a relegation spot, there was no money to improve things, while each passing month the financial position deteriorated. He also had to find an unusual pre-match technique to address the ‘I know you’re not getting paid but how about giving 110% anyway?’ problem.
The same media who are trying to disrupt our title challenge have misread the mood music this time. If anything, they’ve focussed the support on the task in hand.
On another matter………….. I’m one of the many who have signed up to Zip Slide across Celtic Park on Easter Saturday morning in aid of the Celtic Foundation. This is a great initiative; all those who have signed up have paid event costs, so money raised goes straight to the Foundation’s mission to improve Health, promote Equality, encourage Learning and tackle Poverty.
The work the Foundation do in our name is incredible. If you can contribute, please do so here.
Thank you.
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Oops…
and a big thanks to BMCUWP who posted my selections yesterday… being on holidays, pints of Guinness, Irish whiskey, St.Patrick, and Danny Doolins nightclub… are a dangerous combination !
Fleagle at 11.03
I did bet them all though as a mix of singles, doubles and trebles, no accumulators. Not a betting man really, really enjoy the CQN tipster format.
HH
ONEMALLOY
Magic tipping,bud!!!!!
Connetable
Superb story
Champers on ice
Don poli
Paint the clouds
Children’s list
Dandridge
Gl
1.30 Sceau Royal
2.10 Superb Story
2.50 Barters Hill
3.30 Djakadam
4.10 Marito
4.50 Squouateur
5.30 Eastlake
Best of luck everyone
Reflections on Res 12:
Probably the biggest difference between now and when Fergus McCann was in town is that Fergus was effectively the executive chairman of the club; he was the majority shareholder and had a clear plan, which included maximising his investment over a short timeframe.
On the Cadete Registration Fiasco, it was he who ‘went’ for Farry, knowing that Farry’s misconduct had already cost him and that not to do so would likely put his (personal) investment in further danger: the club’s interest were very much his own interests.
In so many ways, Peter Lawwell is not Fergus McCann: he doesn’t have the clout or the financial investment: his personal stake is not nearly as high.
He may even think that he’s in ‘bonus time’ as our CEO, since it’s unusual for a highly ‘compensated’ club CEO to be in post as long as he has.
Although his pay and bonus is linked to the club’s financial out-turn, he’s really just an employee who takes instructions from the Board (not least DD, but also the Board as a collective).
On this Res 12 imbroglio, PL will most likely feel he has neither a Board mandate nor personal need to go after Stewart Regan and the rest of the SFA cabal and (again, unlike Fergus) is himself conflicted by his membership of several high-level SFA committees.
It would be natural to assume that the Board looks to Peter for advice on all sorts of fan and shareholder interface-related matters.
DD (the dominant presence on the Board) lives overseas and it is safe to assume that Celtic is but a relatively small item on his agenda, so that he, much more than the UK-resident Board members, is dependent on PL’s accurate interpretation of the mood and possibilities surrounding matters such as this.
With that in mind, I have the distinct feeling that this [the Board’s Res 12 vacillation] is a gigantic Board-level cock-up, the intensity of fan response to which will come as something of a surprise.
I also imagine that the Board meeting nearest to the ST renewal date could be an ‘interesting’ one for PL.
I hope so, anyway.
I also hope that by then it won’t be too late for the Board to restore a semblance of faith with the fans and other stakeholders.
Only time will tell …
VIP
Day 4 Cheltenham .
13:30 …. Zubayr
14:10 …. Blue Hell
14:50 …. Gangster
15:30 …. Djakadam
16:10 …. Paint The Clouds
16:50 …. Children’s List
17:30 …. Rock The World
Good luck to everyone.
Big thanks to Fleagle .
Gold Cup day… and here are the selections from the Auckland jury :
1.30 – Consul de Thaix
2.10 – Blue Hell
2.50 – Barters Hill
3.30 – Don Cossack
4.10 – It Came to Pass
4.50 – Label des Obeaux
5.30 – Sizing Codelco
fleagle1888
Ivanovich gorbatov
Superb story
Shantou village
Don Cossack
On the fringe
Squouateur
Dresden
Good luck ghuys
1..IVANOVICH GORBATOV
2..MONTBAZON
3..SHANTOU VILLAGE
4..DON COSSACK
5..IT CAME TO PASS
6..IBIS DU RHEU
7..THE SAINT JAMES
GOOD LUCK
HH
ZUBAYR
STERNRUBIN
BARTERS HILL
CUE CARD
MARITO
MONTDRAGON
SURFNTURF
1330 Ivanovich Gorbatov
1410 Modus
1450 Shantou Village
1530 Cue Card
1610 Mendip Express
1650 Mr Mix
1730 Rock the World
Been a great few days again this year, and well done to Fleagle1888 once more for the organisation. HH!
13:30 – Apple’s Jade.
14:10 – Blue Hell.
14:50 – Long Dog.
15:30 – Don Cossack.
16:10 – On The Fringe.
16:50 – Squouateur.
17:30 – The Saint James.
Good luck everybody.
Lads, good morning from Auckland, and here are the final scores on the doors :
178.89 – FrankMarker
167.10 – Onemalloy
145.52 – Hashadenough
138.48 – Graffitionthewall
133.52 – Gerryfaethebrig
129.00 – PFAyr
125.00 – Burgas Hoops
117.54 – Zihuatanejo
116.42 – Ohits
113.75 – Som mes que un club
109.25 – 21-5-79
109.14 – Nye Bevans’ rebel soldier
108.64 – Eurochamps67
105.98 – The Bhoy from the Village
97.85 – 16 Roads
87.42 – Cathal
87.25 – BMCUWP
76.92 – twists n turns
72.50 – voguepunter
70.17 – fleagle1888
58.25 – Eddieinkirkmichael
43.50 – Ard Macha
FrankMarker wins the Cheltenham competition with an impressive 11 winners over the 4 days of the Cheltenham festival – including the Gold Cup winner, Don Cossack.
Well done to FrankMarker who just held on from the late challenges of Onemalloy and Hashadenough (10 winners each).
The less said about my own performance, the better… although Don Cossack helped to restore some of the bank balance !
Until next year… CAN YOU HEAR THE ROAR ???
Cheers, fleagle1888
Fleagle…..it’s been my favourite Cheltenham interest
Hail Hail and thanks from Coatbrig
Great 4 days of racing.
Congratulations to FrankMarker,Onemally and Hashadenough.
Brilliant tipping .
Feagle ,thanks for your efforts in putting this comp together .
HH. GOTW.
Fleagle 1888
Thanks for the kind words
And all the work you done putting this competition on
It’s a nice little boost finishing top
To all the other competitors thank you
It was MIGHTY CLOSE in the end
Let battle commence next year
Hail hail
Frankmarker
Consistent through the 4 days…..excellent effort
Hail Hail
FrankMarker – Congratulations and well done chief.
Some phenomenon tipping over the 4 days by the crew.
Thanks also to the bold Fleagle for his patience and time organising the competition.
It’s a real credit to Celticquicknews.
No worries, no issues – pity soccer can’t be like the racing is.
God bless the Celtic of Glasgow.
HH.
Well done Frankmarker and all the other guys participating.
Wish I could carry this form into the Saturday challenge.
Thanks again to Fleagle for his efforts.
HH