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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It will rekindle memories you had forgotten and give insight into how the leagues were won.
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Thanks Embramike , thought you knew the Mole!
Gene
That is 3-6-1 like against St J with Christie supposedly a striker. Moi isn’t one either
If we have no strikers on the bench then it is 3-5-2 with a midfilder asked to play striker. We do have strikers so it is a conscious 3-6-1
anyway , 2-1 to us
PS Conor Hazard’s brother works for the HSE. He’s called Trip
mon the hoops
Reasons to eagerly await tonight’s game –
Hazard
Soro
Turnbull
Klimala
I don’t expect a positive result. I do hope for a positive performance (recently defined as when one finds it difficult to narrow down one’s top player choices to just the 3 ;-) )
COYBIG
Some of the snyde barbs handed ooot to our host by the drunk/ digitally confused tourists say more aboot them than This Dear Green Place…………………..their own midden must be closed.
Ok
3-5-1-1
Are the huns being beaten? Is it safe to turn on the TV and watch with no volume?
Oh, and I think it might be 4-5-1 with Ajer at right back, Jullien and Duffy in central and Laxalt on the left? When I say I think, I really mean I hope as the chances of it being a back 4 are probably about 20%
looks like a damage limitation set-up.
Are the huns being beaten? no they are in total control
live updates up
maybe it is a 4-3-3 with frimpong on right wing
HOT SMOKED…
Evidence? CQN. Paul offers a view with which some ( many?) don`t agree so Paul must be a puppet for Peter Lawwell. As I disagree with the views of those posters, am I a puppet for Paul?
I think you’re employing a bit of a straw man here. Look at the history of CQN. Of Paul’s failure (latterly) to offer any sort of objective viewpoint on the board or even a dissenting voice. CQN started off with fine principles and was an objective and welcome voice. That has waned considerably: to the point of toothless punditry and an abject failure to address any of the pressing issues. His ‘leaving your politics at the door’ stance has also proven to be as hypocritical as it is transparent. ‘Celtic Quick News – Labour division’ or worse ‘Tory division’ might be a more appropriate moniker – the naked sectarianism that crept in has also not been a high point. For these things, as the head of CQN Paul is held to a standard. If he goes below that, people call him out. CQN remains the highest quality Celtic fan site – but that’s now entirely down to the contributors rather than the leader. Whereas before, it was entirely equal. Excellent articles attracted excellent contributors. Back then I frequently disagreed with Paul too, but his articles were well considered, objective and undoubtedly reflected his love of the club.
It’s not a single view that’s the issue, it’s the culmination of a number of views and a refusal to objectively review the custodians of Celtic that sees Paul take some criticism.
To be fair, there *are* some on here that are bad actors, but in general, the softball pravda-esque nature of CQN actually harms our club. It’s about what’s not said in equal measure to what is.
As far as I am aware, Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond have been here during the past nine years . If they are the problem, why has the current level of criticism not been seen in all those previous seasons?
Put simply – Because Rangers. And 10 in a row. It’s history. Or not, as the case may be.
That said, there was considerable unrest during the Deila years. The difference being that Deila was loaded into the ejector chair at a far earlier juncture – giving the impression at least, that Mssrs Desmond and Lawwell had an idea something was wrong.
People are angry because we are losing so often and they have to blame someone.
Are they wrong? Honestly? The board with no succession plan, no plan B, no forward planning. The reason is clear – they’re coasting. Asleep at the wheel. As I alluded to before, this was our Advocaat season, and our leaders proved to be no better than David Murray. The corporate arrogance involved in the last few years is staggering. We got a good manager (Rodgers), not for football reasons, not because Dermot Desmond had a grand plan for Celtic, but because Dermot Desmond’s nose was out of joint. Dermot’s idea of throwing his toys out the pram was to actually employ a professional or the required standard. Around that? More misses than hits.
Maybe we are losing because of a combination of factors where `blame` cannot readily be apportioned.
We’re losing because our ‘leaders’ are arrogant. Because they think that throwing money at a problem will solve it. And because they actually don’t think a manager matters. Money. It’s all about the money. The blam can be easilly apportioned. Dermot Desmond and Neil Lennon. Lawwell is a puppet. For that reason he needs to walk, but he does his masters bidding. And Neil Lennon – management failures aside, acquiesced to the demand that he didn’t bring his own backroom staff. He’s as culpable, on many levels. They are *all* part of the problem.
Of course, as you’d expect – my issues with the board run *much* deeper. The Scottish Labour link up? Stinks. The Tories on the board? Stinks. Lord Livingston? He should be nowhere near Celtic. Dermot Desmond? If the Castebeck outrage wasn’t enough, the info in the Paradise papers should disqualify him as a custodian of a club that we kid ourselves on is ‘more than a club’. Add to that the lies to the fans around Res 12. The failure to defend fans in face of some terrible abuse and, the crowning (IMO) problem – the failure of Celtic to acknowledge any sort of complicity or responsibility in historic sex abuse cases. The full cost of settlement would be less than we paid for Turnbull in all likelihood, but instead of truth and reconciliation? Obfuscation and viewing it as a monetary issue.
The custodians of our club have failed us. And failed us comprehensively.
Obviously, I am not happy with the current (!) state of affairs but, as I said a few days ago, hope springs eternal in the Hot Smoked mind.
I’ve now kind of become the opposite. I now expect the terrible. It’s like the days of the old board and that level of shambles. It’s a horrible place to be. And I’d love nothing more than a rebirth of our club.
To end this on a positive note. What I do know is this – as fans, there’s more links us than divides us. We have a common purpose and a common goal – for Celtic to be the best club she can be. For us to have a club we’re proud of in a manner that transcends football. And what bleeds through on CQN? We all love Celtic. United we stand.
/p
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 6:13 PM
ROCK TREE BHOY @ 5.58
Go figure CSC
________________________________________________
probably got a masters degree in obscurity – you go figure – say whats on your mind or ignore please:
I spent my teens in Downpatrick, so I am pleased for Conor Hazard. Only one issue with him – why not opt for the ROi?
Bain and Barkas on the bench wtf
WINNINGEMMELL
Hunners a’ Byrds
*****************
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Caught my eye too
Shortbread drooling…
SFTB
I salute your indefatigability, Sir. However, I fear that you are King Canute and the tide is rising to become a Tsunami. The tipping point has been reached, I fear that short of producing a capable manager before Sunday there is no way back for Peter Lawell or the Celtic Board. They are hopelessly misreading the strength of feeling of the fans. They will never be forgiven for failing to deliver TIAR from a position of overwhelming financial strength. I don’t think they’ll be closing just the upper stands next season.
I thought this,deserved a re post as it was posted on last thread after live updates,went up.
A lit of word I put into this post.
P8DDY on 10TH DECEMBER 2020 7:08 PM
HOT SMOKED…
Evidence? CQN. Paul offers a view with which some ( many?) don`t agree so Paul must be a puppet for Peter Lawwell. As I disagree with the views of those posters, am I a puppet for Paul?
I think you’re employing a bit of a straw man here. Look at the history of CQN. Of Paul’s failure (latterly) to offer any sort of objective viewpoint on the board or even a dissenting voice. CQN started off with fine principles and was an objective and welcome voice. That has waned considerably: to the point of toothless punditry and an abject failure to address any of the pressing issues. His ‘leaving your politics at the door’ stance has also proven to be as hypocritical as it is transparent. ‘Celtic Quick News – Labour division’ or worse ‘Tory division’ might be a more appropriate moniker – the naked sectarianism that crept in has also not been a high point. For these things, as the head of CQN Paul is held to a standard. If he goes below that, people call him out. CQN remains the highest quality Celtic fan site – but that’s now entirely down to the contributors rather than the leader. Whereas before, it was entirely equal. Excellent articles attracted excellent contributors. Back then I frequently disagreed with Paul too, but his articles were well considered, objective and undoubtedly reflected his love of the club.
It’s not a single view that’s the issue, it’s the culmination of a number of views and a refusal to objectively review the custodians of Celtic that sees Paul take some criticism.
To be fair, there *are* some on here that are bad actors, but in general, the softball pravda-esque nature of CQN actually harms our club. It’s about what’s not said in equal measure to what is.
As far as I am aware, Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond have been here during the past nine years . If they are the problem, why has the current level of criticism not been seen in all those previous seasons?
Put simply – Because Rangers. And 10 in a row. It’s history. Or not, as the case may be.
That said, there was considerable unrest during the Deila years. The difference being that Deila was loaded into the ejector chair at a far earlier juncture – giving the impression at least, that Mssrs Desmond and Lawwell had an idea something was wrong.
People are angry because we are losing so often and they have to blame someone.
Are they wrong? Honestly? The board with no succession plan, no plan B, no forward planning. The reason is clear – they’re coasting. Asleep at the wheel. As I alluded to before, this was our Advocaat season, and our leaders proved to be no better than David Murray. The corporate arrogance involved in the last few years is staggering. We got a good manager (Rodgers), not for football reasons, not because Dermot Desmond had a grand plan for Celtic, but because Dermot Desmond’s nose was out of joint. Dermot’s idea of throwing his toys out the pram was to actually employ a professional or the required standard. Around that? More misses than hits.
Maybe we are losing because of a combination of factors where `blame` cannot readily be apportioned.
We’re losing because our ‘leaders’ are arrogant. Because they think that throwing money at a problem will solve it. And because they actually don’t think a manager matters. Money. It’s all about the money. The blam can be easilly apportioned. Dermot Desmond and Neil Lennon. Lawwell is a puppet. For that reason he needs to walk, but he does his masters bidding. And Neil Lennon – management failures aside, acquiesced to the demand that he didn’t bring his own backroom staff. He’s as culpable, on many levels. They are *all* part of the problem.
Of course, as you’d expect – my issues with the board run *much* deeper. The Scottish Labour link up? Stinks. The Tories on the board? Stinks. Lord Livingston? He should be nowhere near Celtic. Dermot Desmond? If the Castebeck outrage wasn’t enough, the info in the Paradise papers should disqualify him as a custodian of a club that we kid ourselves on is ‘more than a club’. Add to that the lies to the fans around Res 12. The failure to defend fans in face of some terrible abuse and, the crowning (IMO) problem – the failure of Celtic to acknowledge any sort of complicity or responsibility in historic sex abuse cases. The full cost of settlement would be less than we paid for Turnbull in all likelihood, but instead of truth and reconciliation? Obfuscation and viewing it as a monetary issue.
The custodians of our club have failed us. And failed us comprehensively.
Obviously, I am not happy with the current (!) state of affairs but, as I said a few days ago, hope springs eternal in the Hot Smoked mind.
I’ve now kind of become the opposite. I now expect the terrible. It’s like the days of the old board and that level of shambles. It’s a horrible place to be. And I’d love nothing more than a rebirth of our club
To end this on a positive note. What I do know is this – as fans, there’s more links us than divides us. We have a common purpose and a common goal – for Celtic to be the best club she can be. For us to have a club we’re proud of in a manner that transcends football. And what bleeds through on CQN? We all love Celtic. United we stand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV4D_8QNrfg