I have no doubt this morning’s press reports on Celtic’s plans for the months ahead are correct. We are told the club “is planning an overhaul of their football operations in the summer that would see significant changes to their set-up.” There is a great deal you can surmise from that statement.
“Overhaul… of football operations”, “significant changes”, leaves zero doubt Neil Lennon will be moving on and suggests wider changes are likely. It is also safe to assume Neil is on-board with this and has agreed to remain in charge until the end of the season, or a suitable replacement arrives.
Neil would not go through this torture were it not out of a sense of responsibility towards the players, several of whom he personally convinced to stay for this ‘important season’. Malicious talk of holding out for a payoff is well wide of the mark.
What is also clear is that Celtic are not happy to appoint any manager who is prepared to come to the club right now. This precludes those out of work, or those who are not prepared to ‘Do a Brendan’ and leave their current project with trophies still to be won and lost.
The new industry is not always as helpful. Last night reports that betting was suspended on Eddie Howe getting the job received plenty of clicks. Eddie has his eyes on a different target and will almost certainly pick up an English Premiership job this year. He is as likely to come to Celtic as another fantasy appointment, Mauricio Pochettino, was, before choosing Paris when he could have made his home in Glasgow. If only it was that easy.
If we take the ‘Get real’ suggestions off the table, I know the photo fit you are working with. Someone who has over-performed in a different environment, who is technically razor sharp and can bring knowledge of a value market.
They will have a successful track record, one that is short enough that they have not already moved up the food chain, but one longer than Ronny Deila’s mercurial rise at Stromsgodset. We now know that the skills required to achieve one season of spectacular success is Norway does not automatically equip a manager for what on paper looks an easier task. The Goldilocks candidate, enough of a spectacular record, but not too much that they have already got their move.
The quick fix if Neil leaves is John Kennedy as interim or someone, like Ronny, who cannot believe he’s been offered the Celtic job. Or let Neil complete the season and attempt to add the Scottish Cup and leave his second term trophy report reading 6 out of 8. I am not recommending either option, it’s too complicated to sit on the outside and suggest a fix with any conviction – not matter how convinced this is an easy one, it’s not.
If Neil remains until the end of the season it will not be because he needs the money, or because he deserves the respect of a Celtic hero (although he does), it is because the business of succession has to be settled. My preference would be to spend these months doing reconnaissance; better to do it right than to do it early, but the galleries have loved a blood letting since the Colosseum, we know how it works.
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As my son gets older, his kick off time’s will likely shift more towards Saturday afternoons. I’d always dreaded that dilemma of which game to attend.
I now reckon there will be no dilemma.
HH jg
Coneybhoy – Laugh or you’ll cry eh ?
Could say we have plenty in common with Dallas Cowboys right now though.
TJ
There might only be 20K of us there next year watching Alex Neil’s (or if he knocks us back, John Kennedy’s) young (average age 20 after we sell off the first team to balance the books) hooped warriors battle gallantly in the slipstream of the mighty, all conquering The Rangers.
We might not even be in the Champions League qualifiers after our collapse to 4th place this season under Lenny’s masterful management.
But we will be there, faithful through and through. Fully behind St Peter, unlike all those soon to be absent fairweather huns in disguise!
Let’s face it, anyone could have led us into this place, despite all of our structural advantages. It’s not like Big Pete was smugly asleep at the wheel, putting his own narrow interests first. Perish the thought.
Hail hail all real Tims.
BOB on 22ND JANUARY 2021 5:22 PM
Coney boy. The huns only need be lucky and get into champions League group stage … They will have no debt .
Pardon?
Still find it incredible to suggest any future manager may be at the sharp end of important games at the moment.
Are we really recruiting from any team towards the top of a division? Any division?
The truth will out. I suspect, in time, we’ll realise the new manager could have been brought in pretty much now.
Disappointingly unambitious.
As we watch sevco parade the league trophy shortly, ask yourself – have the Celtic board performed well over the past 18 months?
Many on here seem to believe they have.
Johnjames. (Who is this guy?0)tweeting that Deal all but finalised with E Howe and Jason Tindall as his assistant. To be unveiled by29th. How reliable is this ? I find it strange Celtic leaving a change until the summer. The CL is in the summer and any new manager would need to be in well before then.
Every time I think CELTIC now the image that comes into my head is a snowstorm under the floodlights with our 10 men hemmed into our own half hanging on for dear life for a draw against the Livi B team. who are going flat out for the 3 points and banging crosses into our box – personally I thought at the time a 3rd goal for them had to come,
even then I wasn’t sure if a 3rd goal for them would be a bad thing, because surely that would have led to Neil being given the old tin tack, it was their reserve team ffs. We hung on for the draw which imo was the worst possible result of the 3 (win lose draw) options available. Hardly slept a wink thereafter, not good for my health.
Jason Tindall? Current MANAGER at Bournemouth?
File under His Usual Pish Stained Rambling.
To remain as close as 20 points behind a magnificent The Rangers team in a league admittedly much diminished in quality by COVID cutbacks it nothing short remarkable stewardship by our CEO.
That gap may well grow to 30+ points by the end of the season, but that’s still a fantastic effort in the face of such a wonderful opponent. Sometimes like Peter I just can’t hide my admiration for those huns.
There is NO man I would have greater faith in to chart our way forward to endless mediocrity but our highly (rightly) remunerated CEO.
The man is a visionary and all true Tims agree with me. Only huns in disguise would disagree with that assessment.
CLIFTONCELT
JohnJAmes had a “take it t the bank” exclusive that Davie Moyes was having his hair combed in the wings waiting to be revealed. 2 days before Neil lennon was confirmed
Like most of the ITK crowd, stabbing in the dark.
PETERLATCHFORDSBELLY on 22ND JANUARY 2021 5:44 PM
Apologies for reacting to one of your posts yesterday, missed the satire due to my continuing rage with Celtic. Keep them coming.
Once met big Peter, long story, I’ll wait until better times to relate it!
CELTIC40ME on 22ND JANUARY 2021 5:29 PM
Always find it strange when people over estimate the so called financial distress the Huns are in the seem to be coping well with loans or shareholders cash just fine the huns have debt circa 20 million according to there books .
A good year in camp LGE or a good player sale it’s gone bless you know more that what’s published !
Btw this is a problem many of our own fans gave looking and pointing to at the Hun so called problems but not looking at our own .
Our financial results next year will be stark wake up call they will have more revenue than us !
Celtic40me
Think you must have misunderstood my post. I didn’t say we should “copy what Norwich do”.
I said if clubs LIKE Norwich, (Wolves, Southampton, Leeds, Brentford, heck – even Kilmarnock!) – can appoint good coaches then Celtic should certainly be able to.
What to take from that article?
Two options:
Option 1:
Howe knocked us back – he’s waiting for an EPL job;
Having had a knock back from Howe, Lawell/Desmond are looking at a level below – not even considering good out of work managers for fear of another knock back;
We’re probably now looking at the likes of Alex Neil, who have said they’re interested but not until summer so as not to be associated with our current shambolic season and because they still have a chance at promotion to the EPL;
We’ll probably end up seeing Neil/A.N.Other get promoted and be scrabbling around for Jack Ross in summer.
Option2:
Desmond’s boy is taking over in summer and Lawell/the Board have been told not to do anything as Desmond’s boy will make the decision when he takes over. This article is Lawell spinning it so he isn’t seen as yesterday’s man!
Depressing stuff either way! I have no issue waiting for the right man if that’s what we’re doing. I have no confidence that’s what we’re doing though!
Anthony Haggerty on ACSOM today accusing the Celtic Board of proving that they are not Celtic men, they’re businessmen. Suggesting they are insulting the fans’ intelligence and taking us for mugs.
What a hun, eh?
Imagine suggesting they’re pissing on us and telling us it’s raining? Through kites flown in red tops and favoured blogs. These guys get top dollar from our spending and then deserve every penny.
I want Lennon, Lawwell and Desmond to all go.
In those three we have: an absentee landlord, an overpaid CEO and a Manager who is… well… totally useless. An unholy trinity if ever I saw one! Keeping Lennon in role I believe to be Desmonds doing. The guy who goes with his instinct even if everyone else is telling him its wrong.
If there is no change then I am not going back. I’ve had my season book 21 years and it’ll break my heart to not go back if there is no change by the time the renewal letter is received. If Lennon is still in position by that date it will be going straight in the bin. Forget all the chat about “overhauls” we’ve seen our overpaid CEO feed this type of crap to the MSM for 15+ years.
I just hope and pray Lennon is sacked. Once he’s out the door the next target will be Lawwell. And then Desmond.
OnenightinLisbon
I hear you mate, Look forward to hearing that story.
if the league is called this season by the spfl is it true that Celtic have
a clause inserted in the terms and conditions that prevents us from
claiming a refund again?
Spidey101
Option 3
The re-structure is in the summer and it is Hammond, Strachan and Kennedy leaving. Garry Parker is coming back as coach and Tommy Jonhson as chief scout. Lennon blameless and is now set up to shine
Celticforever
I renewed in March (before season called) so there was no new clauses put to me. Can’t see that being the case as people would have been up in arms in the summer. If they didn’t show new clauses then its not legal
I just remember how they tried to hide the refund forms last season deep in our
website which meant some didnt even know they had offered a refund
Coneybhoy,
Garry Parker the performance analyst at Oxford United and Tommy Johnson the head of recruitment at Blackpool – what could possibly go wrong?
Sorry, dont agree that DD and PL encouraged the huns back to where they are . Unless we have solid evidence then its maybe what people want to believe.
I dont and never will.
I think PL need to go at the end of the season but the other stuff is pie in the sky IMHO.
HH
The present board remind me of the old Soviet regime that you would see atop Lenin’s tomb at big celebrations like the Victory Parade or October Revolution commemorations.
Old, grey haired guys watching much younger versions of themselves passing by and wondering how long do they still have at the top of Politburo? even although most of them now struggle to remember what it was they did that got them there in the first place!
Their dead hands now strangling the life out of the thing that they helped create and love, allegedly!
Or are they only interested in the Dacha with the heated driveway?
The trips abroad that sometimes happen but now usually in the EL not the CL where they still think they belong.
Their time has come and gone and we desperately need the Tsar himself, sorry the Kaiser, himself to intervene and select his Gorbachev to bring in some “Perestroika” and hopefully some “Glasnost” as well and start treating the comrades as comrades not consumers before the consumers wake up and walk away!
well said Croppybhoy
Think about it, we are paying a guy £1.3 million a year, and doesn’t have the balls to give 53k ST Holders, shareholders, fans,a statement? He drip feeds it to blogs, and WhatsApp groups,what kind of man does this,and still keeps his job? Meanwhile Dermot is teeing off at the 6th in Barbados, what a complete and utter shambles this Club is.
@ CELTICFOREVER
Yes, there were new Terms and Conditions put into this years season ticket sales/renewals which effectively stats that if the season is cut short or not completed, or if we didn’t get to see any games live then there would be no refunds.
ADI
Agree it’s not a plan to let newclub win the league it’s Arrogance – that’s why we are where we are.
@ !!BADA BING!! on 22ND JANUARY 2021 6:26 PM
A chancer – which is what Lawwell is – would do that. I think he’s uneasy in front of the cameras when under pressure as demonstrated last week in his scripted interview with Gerry McCulloch.
I also mind seeing him up close at that Celtic roadshow as well when he gave his spiel. I was front row and the thing I noticed most over and above his bullsh*t was that he seems awfully nervous being interviewed. Twitching and umming and ahhing all the way through it…
LENNONLAWWELLOUTNOT
Thanks I seemd to have seen that somewhere
Also were we not promissed that those of us who renewed the virtual season season ticket
would be remunerated in some wau during the season for the loyalty which had us thnking
maybe we are going to get a voucher for the superstore
CELTICFOREVER on 22ND JANUARY 2021 6:34 PM
The immortal words “added value” were used by the club. Other than some digital match day programmes I’ve not saw any “added value” thus far. My mate who sits in the posh seats got a Christmas hamper!
I got lied to by JPT and the ticket office so that I would renew
Does that count as added value
In a season we’re locked out, we buy a record number of season tickets and replica shirts.
I can handle the disappointment of not winning the ten.
I can’t handle being treated like a mug.
Twice in a matter of weeks P67 has penned an article which I find to be insulting the intelligence of the support.
First it was that Lennon had to stay to oversee transfer Incomings this window !
Today Lennon is doing us a favour by staying till the end of the season because we can’t get anyone on a permanent or temporary basis who would do a better job against Livi reserves.
There’s zero communication direct to the support except through papers like The Sun and Daily Mail.
And these arrogant tories and free staters have the audacity to lecture to us about the values of Celtic Football Club.
Not a penny more.
We are in the middle of a pandemic , no crowds , transfer market for players and managers understandably stagnant …. our guys all at sea … other mob who used to crap it front of their own crowd can now play with no pressure ….
We will just need to suffer the rest of season , pray the pandemic eases and football gets back to normal and we then make a sensible switch in regime
Corrective action is fairly straightforward, we have gathered up too many small players and others not suited to rough and tumble of the Scottish game or just can’t last the number of games we cram in ….
I’m sure there is an alternative view to bin the manager yesterday , buy someone etc .etc …. there must be lots of quality mgr in the middle of a pandemic just bursting to flit to Glasgow
I believe it is a wider problem of shaping a team for the demands of modern football physical side and tactics , we need to stop filling the team with tanner ba players I’m relaxed about waiting in order that we kick on with a plan ….
CELTICFOREVER on 22ND JANUARY 2021 6:15 PM
And while we were locked in our house they wanted you to print the form (how many have a home printer and you found the webpage) ; join the queue for a stamp and post it. All that in the same week I paid £1100 online for my and my daughters ST which was instantaneous….😈
I posted the following article on Sentinel Celts ..
But I also wanted to post it on here for anyone else who wants change.
1) Celts for Change 2021 ..
Although not part of your current group. I fully understand your frustrations.
So it was interesting to see the group Celts for Change 2021 being formed.
I remember going along to the City Halls back when the original movement was just getting starting.
I also went along to the old Albany Hotel when Fergus, along Brian Dempsey, Billy McNeill, the lawyer Len Murray if my memory serves me right, all spoke to the Celtic business 500 group, I think it was at the time.
I wasn’t part of the business group, but I went along anyway.
Anyone could ask a question, or make a point, so when it was my turn with the microphone, I was much more direct and frank than most, and stated in my opinion that all Supporters should boycott, and this would be the quickest and best way to get change.
Fast forward to 2010, I then went along to Celtic Park and had a meeting with one of Directors in August 2010.
It was a very amicable meeting, covering many different issues.
Celtic had already lost 2 Leagues at this point, and I gave my very honest and frank opinion, that I thought the Club Director’s were not doing a very good job at all.
Celtic Directors back then had on their business cards, that they were striving to make Celtic a world class football club.
I concluded from my meeting that although the Celtic Directors were doing the best they could, for me the worry and concern was that their best, was not very good, and was miles away from anything approaching world class.
I felt as a supporter their decisions were insulting my intelligence, and I had a decision to make.
I had my first season ticket originally when there were only about 7,000 had them, even before Fergus and the PLC.
After my meeting at Celtic Park in 2010, I gave up my season ticket in protest for 9 seasons.
I have had so many wonderful years watching Celtic play.
My first full season was 78/79 when Celtic won 4-2 against rangers to win the league.
I was at Love Street in 86.
I was fortunate enough to get a ticket for Seville.
Also I was incredibly lucky to go and see Celtic in pre-season in New York and Boston in the summer of 2006.
The highlight was along with a few other supporters standing beside and chatting to Tommy Burns during a practise session at Harvard University, when Gordon Strachan was the Manager.
I always remember Tommy asking me if I stayed in America. I said no, that I stayed in Glasgow, but was just over for the games to see the Celtic.
He smiled because he knew and he got it, he knew what Celtic means to each and everyone of us.
But that point of principle, meant that I missed out on the Invincible Season, as well as the Double Treble and the Treble Treble.
So missing out on going to games was as I said complete and utter hell.
I never ever want any Celtic fan to feel the really horrible feeling of missing a Celtic game, when you want to be there.
I did purchase a season ticket again for season 19/20 season, and I still have a season ticket as we speak.
The reason for posting the above information is that for 9 years of my own season ticket protest, I did nothing else to evolve change.
I am actually ashamed and embarrassed that as a Celtic Supporter, I didn’t do anything else to help change our football club for the better.
2) The Celtic Trust .. Democratic One Member One Vote Membership.
So now more than 10 years later, here we go again, as our Club falls apart again, and is a complete shambles.
We as Celtic Supporters have to watch from the outside, as our Club falls apart again on the inside.
It’s like insanity repeating itself over and over again.
Which is why, I recently joined and became a member of the Celtic Trust, and I think this is the best way forward, I’ll explain why.
A) The current Celtic Directors are not bad people, they’re just not very good at running our football club.
B) Today Celtic have 50,000 Season Ticket Holders. I call us 50,000 Members.
We as Season Ticket Holders and Members of Celtic currently provide around 50% of Celtic’s income each season.
Which will now be at least £750 Million of income to the Club so far, since it became a PLC.
As we know we are not entitled to a vote for our £750 Million.
Whereas Lindsell Train probably paid about £18 Million for their 18% Shareholding.
C) Celtic already has a Membership. But we as Season Ticket Holders are excluded members, rather than included members.
D) At one of the recent trust zoom sessions, I suggested finding out how many Season Ticket Holders were members.
That questions was included in the recent survey.
E) For me, I hope that the democratic one member one vote trust membership numbers will grow substantially to include tens of thousands of Celtic Season Ticket Holders, and Celtic supporters in general, as well as shareholders.
F) There are 2 opportunities for Celtic supporters to grow their influence and voice.
The first is for Celtic’s 27,000 small shareholders with 25% shareholding, to come together and work together.
This will take time, as so many shareholders are unknown currently.
G) The second and best and real opportunity as I see it, is for tens of thousands of current and former season ticket holders to come together and work together for a better Celtic.
Can you imagine if we as Celtic Supporters created a Celtic Trust membership with 30,000 current or former Season Ticket Holders.
When the democratically elected representatives then go to have meetings with Celtic Directors, it will be from a position of representing a huge number of the match attending Celtic Support.
This would be an incredibly strong position for the Celtic Support, as we would also be providing 50% of Celtic’s income.
Whilst not legally having 50% shareholding in the club, we would as supporters and members have a real mandate for change, and a starting base to facilitate and create a future path towards a World Class Celtic Football Club owned by it’s members.
I) The Trust structure is already in place for a potential future buy out or share transfer scheme, if and when enough Celtic Supporters join and become Celtic Trust Members.
H) I would urge everyone with to come together now, rather than having to wait another 10 years again, and with good grace, work together and rally together to unite and bring the Celtic Support together, with one voice that won’t be silenced, on the journey to help create a World Class Celtic Football Club, owned equally and democratically not just for us , but for our children and our grandchildren.
3) Celts for Change 2021.
The Celtic Trust now have about 1500 members.
It would be incredible if your group of Celts for Change 2021, could in fact help rally the wider Celtic Support to come together.
The opportunity for you as Celts for Change 2021, to put out a rallying call for all Celtic Shareholders from 1994 to come together and help give Celtic fans a voice would be incredible.
We shouldn’t have to walk away or boycott, it’s our Club, trust me it’s heart breaking when you stay away on a point of principle.
We as Celtic Supporters were here before the PLC, and we will be here after the PLC.
As Celtic Supporters is vitally important we all come together and work together, for the greater good of our Club.
4) I urge everyone who reads this to please do whatever you can to have our voice as Celtic Supporters heard.
If we don’t do whatever we can individually and then together, someone else will just be posting similar articles to this in another 10 years time again.
Thanks for talking the time to read this.
Hail Hail.
yes i was the same paid my 666 quid with my visa and was out of my account immediately
but had to wait 6 weeks for a refund and am now so glad I claimed it
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Hail Hail.