There was an old adage in show business, “Never follow Sinatra”. If you were on a bill with Frank, make sure you appear before him; do not wait until the audience was whipped into a frenzy. No one could match his success, after him, the audience would be inattentive and disruptive.
We talked about this before when discussing the rolling managerial shambles at Old Trafford when their crooner hung up his mic. It wasn’t apparent to me at the time, but Moyes is no Sinatra and never would be. Their fourth tribute act is now clinging to his job while everyone knows he is not a good fit.
My friends, this is where we are right now. Our own Sinatra left early last year for the Midlands without dropping a trophy and scarcely a defeat. Neil Lennon took the interim job on the condition he would be considered for the permanent position. Having delivered league and cup and enhanced his CV, he should have let some other mug try their vocal chords out on an audience that had been taken to the heights with unmatched regularity. But that was never going to happen, he wanted the Celtic job, so would you or I.
Now you, me, Neil and apparently half the world texting me knows we don’t have Sinatra, and we’re midway through a gig. Does anyone have Dean Martin’s number?
We hit the jackpot recruiting Brendan Rodgers in 2016. Though not without his weaknesses (cough), he was highly talented with personal connections to the club. The parallels with Martin O’Neill are clear, both transformed Celtic on the field and commercially. Had there been a comparable option prepared to come to Glasgow in 2019, that commercial success would have made the decision clear, but there wasn’t.
The Dean Martin-types (Pochettino) are not coming. They know not to follow Sinatra and they absolutely know not to walk into a club displaying the toxic withdrawal symptoms winning 11 consecutive domestic trophies apparently expose.
If a new manager arrived today and won the Scottish Cup, he would be forgiven if he checked for hemlock before supping from it. That will deter those further down the food chain (Howe) from coming. Anyone building a serious CV, with options opening out before them, would know there is a huge risk to career progression coming to Celtic this mid-season. Instead, we would get those struggling for a job, or those who have never worked at our size of club/budget/pressure. This is not all conjecture.
What is happening in the dressing room is important. In the summer, several players had offers to treble their wages elsewhere but the manager asked them to stay, as it was a big season for the club. None of them ‘pulled a Dedryck’, there was no manoeuvering.
This week, I heard independently from two people with access to the goings-on at Lennoxtown who assured me the players are 100% committed to the manager. Everything is going wrong but the criticism and hostility has cemented their ‘sporting bubble’. I doubt any with options to leave will want to stay at the end of the season, with or without this trauma, but some of our top performers are here because Neil Lennon asked them to give it one more season.
What happens if you sack Neil Lennon and ask an assistant coach to step up, bring in an unemployed drifter, or appoint someone from a smaller club who has never learned from or been tested at this level, is open to conjecture. The possibility that you trip into the scenario Manchester United took feels highly likely.
As we all know, sacking your manager is the easy part, appointing a better successor is far more important. Objectively, we have a far higher chance of making a horrendous mistake that bringing in a competent turnaround expert right now. Our chances of getting it right in the summer will be influenced by how we, fans and club, react to the curtain coming down on our run of successive trophies. Read the headlines and ponder, what kind of masochist are we going to end up with next? This narrative needs to change or we will mix our own poison.
I’m not going to tell you we’re going to win 10-in-a-row because I don’t think we will. I don’t think Neil will take us there and I don’t think anyone else will come in and make the difference. None of us are accustomed to the defeats we have experienced in recent months, it is a bitter pill. If we fail, the regrets will be long lasting, but short of a transformational appointment that is not going to happen today/this week/this month, we need to figure out how to get through this crisis without becoming a toxic destination for an aspiring manager.
And please, for all that he has gone through in our name, respect Neil Lennon, forever a Celtic hero.
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285 Comments- Pages:
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“My friends, this is where we are right now. Our own Sinatra left early last year for the Midlands without dropping a trophy and scarcely a defeat.”
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Are you referring to the money-wasting poor recruiter by any chance?:
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/kt-medical-advice-player-hierarchy-being-ready-to-make-a-deal/
Multi-treble winning Brendan Rodgers is not a talent spotter. If we are going to spend significant sums of money this summer, better to have Neil Lennon with his hand on the tiller.
It felt like a bad day when Brendan left, but now I am sure it was for the best. There is no telling the damage Brendan and Lee would do with this kind of money.
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“Had there been a comparable option prepared to come to Glasgow in 2019, that commercial success would have made the decision clear, but there wasn’t.”
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Maybe if they had bothered to look at the many applications they would have found someone better or at the very least a manager in a similar mould to Rodgers who could have continued to develop the players.
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“Everything is going wrong”
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Now why would that be, I wonder. Things don’t just “go wrong”. People make bad judgements and poor decisions. If they keep getting rewarded for it and continue making the decisions then more things will go wrong.
James Gang
“I was appalled by the ‘generation of domination’ pash that was glibly posted on here in leaders from a different age/season. ”
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To be fair- we have had 9 titles in a row. We have won 15 out of20 titles this century. 9 (hopefuly 10 soon) out of 20 SCs and 9 out of 20 LCs.
That’s apretty dominant and lengthy generation.
The SNP could have made 10 attempts at a referendum in such a generational time
LAMBERT14 on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:45 PM
I would suggest you re read the article, maybe a bit slower this time.
If what a lot of fans are saying about the board not bothered about winning the league this season,Well what’s. the point in buying a season ticket or merchandise,I’ll need to think hard after many years of having a season ticket,to do the right thing.
TIMALOY29 on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 12:30 PM
It became apparent during the nine in the two Sevco games where we were comprehensively outplayed, that alarm bells should have been ringing approaching the crucial ten . Arguably even as early as the Cluj game .
Nothing was done.
.
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/we-are-celtic-ambition/
Some weeks ago I heard Peter Lawwell talk about the difficulty of landing a top tier manager in our current environment, however, he finished with a positive “But we are Celtic”. People want to come here; managers, players, even tourists. For all the Scottish game’s limits, we are Celtic, let’s not forget.
I agree.
We won’t win 10 in a row.
Which is criminal in its negligence.
I don’t blame Lenny or hold him any ill-will.
I blame your buddy Lawwell.
He didn’t need to re-hire Sinatra, but neither did he have to hire Des O’Connor.
And then assume the role of Des’ voice coach, working him from the back.
Even with Des in charge we should have won this league, but he’s been hamstrung by a friggin’ bean counter, wannabe Director of Football.
That’s why the place is toxic.
Oh, along with a long-standing suspicion that Lawwell has been very accommodating of the redemption of ‘Rangers’.
Don’t try and lay this on the fans. They’re far from stupid.
NOTTHEBUS on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:49 PM
Still in denial
LAMBERT14 on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:52 PM
I literally have no idea what your on about, but I think we are done here.
I think Donald Trump, will need to write the sales pitch for season tickets next year….
“What happens if you sack Neil Lennon and ask an assistant coach to step up, bring in an unemployed drifter, or appoint someone from a smaller club who has never learned from or been tested at this level, is open to conjecture. The possibility that you trip into the scenario Manchester United took feels highly likely.”
We lost our manager after 9 months of disconnect between his ambition for CELTIC & theirs.
We asked an assistant to step.
We brought in an unemployed drifter who’s last 2 jobs jobs were at smaller clubs.
He never learned from his previous stint at this level.
It’s NOT open to conjecture.
We ARE in the Manchester United scenario.
The board & the CEO are responsible.
SFTB
The claim was made much more recently than the start of 9 IAR.
And I’m unaware of the relevance of political parties of any kind in your reply. Unless you’re in the know, and Paul’s about to post a new leader, blaming Nicola Sturgeon for Christie’s corners, Duffy’s pace (sic) and NFL’s tactics.
Though to be honest, nothing would surprise me any more…..
HH jg
JAMES FORREST on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:11 PM
Wow. I thought I had read some defeatists stuff on this site but that editorial wins the prize.
I need longer to craft to that than I can do on here, but i’ll say only this much; of all the pieces that have ever been published on here reflecting the thinking inside Celtic Park, this is the one which convinces me most that a radical course correction is needed at the club.
It not only says “do nothing for fear of something worse” but it says “do nothing because the second rate karoake singer we replaced Sinatra with is the best we can get at the moment.”
And that’s just simply not true at all, I’d go as far as to call that a lie.
I don’t accept that there are no solutions just because nobody on our board can think of one.
it’s bollocks
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James rightly or wrongly its Paul67s view
Only his.
It is tho a starting point for discussion for Celtic fans
and that can never be classed as bollocks james.
ease up or i will take myself of cqn and read elsewhere…..any suggestions :-))
HH
Appointing a manager is difficult, so we’re not even going to try, even if ‘There Is Worse To Come’.
And no manager wants the Celtic job anyway – apart from all those who have their CVs stuffed in a drawer in Lawell’s office.
The reason we won’t get a change of manager, apart from an interim when/if it all becomes too much for Neil Lennon, is purely financial. Not that pur manager would cost a fortune to lay off – they’ll probably waste more on the next Moneyball project – they don’t want to take the chance that a new manager would struggle to turn this around and there would be no rush to renew season tickets next year.
Better to unveil the new manager with PR puff about putting Celtic back where they belong. A shiny mew manager to shift season tickets.
That’s why nothing will happen. Read Paul’s article again. It’s all about the financials. The 10 sadly is collateral damage.
SFTB at 1.07.
One of your best yet. Totally agree
AN TEARMANN on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:59 PM
James rightly or wrongly its Paul67s view
Only his.
It is tho a starting point for discussion for Celtic fans
and that can never be classed as bollocks james.
ease up or i will take myself of cqn and read elsewhere…..any suggestions :-))
HH
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I would suggest it’s Peter Lawwell’s view as well; the whole piece stinks of a ghost writing session for Celtic.
It’s not only James’ point of view, it’s mine as well as many others.
KTF
!!BADA BING!! on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:55 PM
I think Donald Trump, will need to write the sales pitch for season tickets next year….
You oan thi bleach Bada :-)
HH
Pingback: Never follow Sinatra, where Celtic are now , Celtic Quick News - Celtic FC News Aggregation
Oh, and congratulations to Ferencvaros for finishing their Champions League campaign with one point, which is more than either of our previous two conquerors managed! Thank goodness we are a “well run club”…..
James Gang
The claim was made much more recently than the start of 9 IAR.
Which is why I expanded the 9iar stat to include the figures for all of this century. We both know that Paul did not make this claim in the 20th Centur
And I’m unaware of the relevance of political parties of any kind in your reply.
I thought it was obvious but you have proved me wrong. I was referring to the definition of the word “generation”- as in “once in a generation” referendum to which the SNP committed. Hope that clears it up.
JAMESGANG on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 1:58 PM
SFTB
The claim was made much more recently than the start of 9 IAR.
===============
The claim was about the generation of domination that was to come – not about the 9 in a row past.
Paul was signifying – and he said it several times in the past year – that Celtic were in an unassailable position, and would stretch their dominance year on year such that the concept of anyone else winning the league was unfathomable.
Was an invite to Karma, and she duly accepted.
Lovely guy that he is, Paul is clearly too close to Lawwell to be able see the wood for the trees. His pronouncements on this subject in particular have so wrong, so far from the facts, so lacking in critical appraisal that he is losing a lot of credibility – only in my opinion of course.
HH
BGFC
VFR
Views with others will co-incide and be shared but you would not be happy to accept that all of your views are shared with James Forrest, nor would he in a vice-versa way.
That is why it is disrespectful not to allow Paul the autonomy of owning his own views.
Do you think PL views BR as a SInatra type figure?
If Neil Lennon is the man most responsible for us missing out on 10 in a row, is it also true that Neil Lennon is also the man most responsible for us achieving the 9 in a row.
.
5/9 titles
SFTB
The SNP comment was intended to make me ‘bite’ as I’m a known Yes supporter.
I’m not biting mate!
Take care big stuff
HH jg
CLINK\O/ 3X3 on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 2:18 PM
If Neil Lennon is the man most responsible for us missing out on 10 in a row, is it also true that Neil Lennon is also the man most responsible for us achieving the 9 in a row..
5/9 titles
——-
You could make a case that David Murray made the greatest personal contribution to our subsequent 9IAR
HH JG
BGFC
The claim was about the generation of domination that was to come – not about the 9 in a row past.
But you will acknowledge that he coined the phrase prior to the 9iar- and he did so in the 21st Century pripor to 9iar.
Paul was signifying – and he said it several times in the past year – that Celtic were in an unassailable position, and would stretch their dominance year on year such that the concept of anyone else winning the league was unfathomable.
I don’t read it that way but I’m sure we’d both prefer Paul67 to explain what he was signifying than to act as his interpreter.
I never read Paul state that a lost league was “unfathomable”; I would have taken it as a sure sign of delusion if he had done so.
Maybe I missed a leader where he did so or where he expressed hinself carefully but, speaking for myself, I have always considered leauges to be competitive affairs which is why I have celebrated everyone of them.
The huns have a narrative that says all our success when they were not there, does not count. It saddens me to see that point of voew repeated by some of ours , as it was earlier today with arrogant and dismissive talk of “one horse races’.
We were the bookies favourite in most of our recent triumphs but none of them were guarantees. Bookie’s favourites regularly fail – just not as often as non-favorites do.
JG
Well I am glad I did not make the reading of my comment as obscure as you pretended to take it
SFTB
It was just so not relevant to the discussion
You’re almost always much more precise than that!🤷🏼♂️😉💚
HH jg
I should have added that the voice coach also chose the supporting band.
This shitshow has been in the post because of strategic choices that were made and the things that were prioritised.
Lenny has only ever been Pedro’s scapegoat.
Don’t give us the fatalism crap. Especially as others have pointed out, after years of telling us we’ll never lose another league.
How’s not the time for the bullshit.
Harry M. 2.02
Yes, that’s my take on it, too.
Introduce a new manager at Season renewal time, along with the possible retirement of Peter Lawell and one or two others on the PLC board.
That will get the cash cows, back on board, because that’s what matters. Money.
There are so many holes on this piece including but not limited to,
The board knew Rodgers was leaving so had months to find a suitable candidate
The board didn’t consider any other candidates in summer 2019 and openly admitted that
The board have waited too long to remove Neil from post adding to the toxicity
There are too many questions about Neil’s back room staff
We don’t need another Sinatra, we’re a whale in a small pond
There are stacks of managers out there who could do better
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 10TH DECEMBER 2020
Nothing was done.
Not nothing, we kept our best players when we could have cashed in and spent a load of money on trying to improve a team that had just won the league.
DAVID17
The board did not know when BR was leaving.
He upped and left overnight
Apologies CQN
Red card-able copy and paste error by moi!
I’m sorry, Paul, but today’s article is little more than propaganda on behalf of the Board. Please don’t tell us that Celtic can’t attract a competent, knowledgeable manager with tactical nouse. We attracted Brendan Rodgers. Why? Because we paid the going rate. We got every penny back too when he left. We then, with indecent haste, visited the bargain basement and hired cheaply and we got what we paid for. What the Board need to realise is that the fan base is not comprised of stupid people. We do not buy excuses like today’s article. If Lawell/Desmond pay the going rate we will attract a manager from the upper tiers who will be only too happy to try to restore an ailing giant and to try to save TIAR because he will realise that the damage done to our efforts to restrain it was done BEFORE he arrived.
JAMESGANG,
I had a bit of Deja vu going on there……!! lol
How hard is it to not hit post comment when you’ve just pasted a massive amount of text into the comment box?
Jimbob
Soz!!!