As we digested the team news on our way to Celtic Park for the Premiership clash with Hearts on 7 December we all struggled to guess how Celtic would line up. Wilfried Nancy had a ‘get to know you day’ and one training session before throwing a completely new formation on the players.
This was an unnecessary and arrogant gamble. In the weeks since, the same aloofness led to the squandering of momentum in the title race and the loss of the League Cup Final. By his fourth consecutive defeat (at Dundee United), it was clear the course we were on was not about to quickly resolve and would ultimately lead to the loss of the league.
Respite came against 10-man Aberdeen and in uncomfortable fashion at Livingston, but Celtic were bossed by Motherwell, then by a Newco side who have never won so easily against Celtic. Results were not just bad, they were historically so, and notwithstanding the mess left behind after Brendan Rodgers, six defeats in eight games was down to Wilfried Nancy’s inept tactical decisions. He admitted players did not have time to learn and that the squad was not a fit for his requirements, but he persisted in some naive hope that things would magically improve.
His substitutions and tactical changes never once benefited Celtic, in stark contrast to those made by opponents during his short reign. My worry when he remained in position yesterday morning, was that we would beat Dundee United on Saturday and delay the necessary change until it was too late.
Paul Tisdale put Nancy’s name on the table but was not responsible for the appointment. By the board’s own words and deeds, they have made two successive bad managerial and one bad chief exec appointments since 2021. After so many decades of managerial excellence, that is a significant slip in standards. To quote Marvin Gaye, What’s going on?
We should all be grateful to Martin O’Neill for answering the call one more time. He will be 74-years-old in seven weeks and he is clever enough to know what a challenging environment he steps into. Far more so than the one he left last month. Success, even against Dundee United, is not guaranteed.
Transfers are hard enough in January but they need to happen as though we had a permanent manager in place. It will be difficult, try selling ‘The manager wants you but he’s leaving in May’. This is not in a good starting position.
We are now in an 18 game season with momentum against us. Hearts, Newco and Celtic all know they can take this title; the eventual winner will be required to put in an enormous effort. And you just know, the last game of the season is bound to be at Fir Park. On the positive side, if we overcome the travails of this season and win the title, they can pave over Ibrox. If anyone else cannot win the title this season, we all know they never will.
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So managers are just for Christmas,
Brendan Rodger’s it turns out didn’t even need to open his mouth after all, the Celtic Board yesterday chimed in with the conclusion of the Wilfried Nancy affair. The sacking of Paul Tisdale also shines new light on the principle shareholder’s legacy whenever that gets written it won’t reflect well. He’s been having a bit of a mare since his nuclear D-Day statement and the subsequent fall out. It would seem him and his bhoys have been duped somewhere, somehow, perhaps as far back as 2024? – it’s a dirty world and football is too, three managers all gone on the same day.
A future case study in ‘duping’ might include the board’s identifying staff , selection, then there was the glorification of Wilfred Nancy as the messiah, we all make mistakes. Off field, on field, left field. I feel very sorry for the big millionaire, ( and wee old guy beside him ) who in the end just wanted to be the manager of our wee Celtic. The Celtic some people seem to want to keep wee, whilst supporters adore more and more. You need qualifications and credentials, WN’s were expressly in doubt even for 20 minute Celtic broadband sleuths. Whatever the CEO and the great guys ‘looked into’ it surely couldn’t have been, where everybody else did?
Celtic lost six games in eight, unheard of and a phenomena from which the French/Canadian/American guy was just never going to recover. He thought he was going to show us how to play football, a reinventing of the wheel, whilst sometimes playing disconnect 4 during the game with CalMac his reluctant partner. Danny Rohl gave the show away as did Jim Goodwin and a few others, and when the Sevco manager whispered sweet nothings in his ear at time up, you knew Wilfrieds was too, tunnelling out of Parkhead.
It’s been a torturous route with mistakes all the way there’s alot more behind this story, as ever at Celtic. Contrition and conciliation is the only direction for a boardroom that was busy making itself toast, when Hibs, Hearts, and Sevco outshone us for a centre forward? Eight games, six defeats for all that ‘due diligence’ deserves a spotlight somewhere and an apology to the only active investors in town.
We’ve had our ‘development manager’ how did that work out? the theory was good but it doesn’t work in practice, Wilfried Nancy barely got time to see the Campsies never mind develop a player. Columbus Crew play every week Celtic win every week, the first thing MON thinks and says is ‘we need to win a football match’
So far, from Munich to Motherwell we’re suffering Celtic supporter’s “ cannae take it “ syndrome. Celtic are way off best, the board on the other hand, were never on it, they need help from football men. Patch the clamping, banning, and blaming we’re on this season’s managerial stints 1-2-3-4 and rising, get focused and reboot the squad and the match day experience
Draw a line under this masterclass in worldclasslessness.
“We should all be grateful to Martin O’Neill for answering the call one more time. He will be 74-years-old in seven weeks and he is clever enough to know what a challenging environment he steps into. Far more so than the one he left last month”.
Thankfully I don’t think he would have come back if he didn’t genuinely believe he could lead this squad to the league title.
“Transfers are hard enough in January but they need to happen as though we had a permanent manager in place. It will be difficult, try selling ‘The manager wants you but he’s leaving in May’. This is not in a good starting position”.
We seem not to have capability to properly scout and analyse potential signings, so don’t do it until we have. That’s why I’m sounding like a broken record saying it should be loanees only. Get 3 more of them who have a point to prove between now and the end of the season. If it’s expensive, so be it – you drink the wine, you pay the fine.
“On the positive side, if we overcome the travails of this season and win the title, they can pave over Ibrox. If anyone else cannot win the title this season, we all know they never will”.
Only if they undertake an thorough and honest review of the (faulty) processes and procedures that led to “two successive bad managerial and one bad chief exec appointments since 2021”.
Onward and upward (hopefully).
Oh well, yesterday’s moment of unity on here was nice while it lasted – kicking a happy ball around in no man’s land.
But everyone is back in their trenches today lobbing Brendan Rodgers shells at each other.
We have a mighty fight on our hands. Can we park the infighting for a while?
We have to hope that Jota comes back soon and the injury hasn’t affected him too much.
Similarly with the Hamstrung Brothers – Johnston, Saracci, Osmand, Iheanacho.
And there’s the African Cup duo – Tonekti back soon and Balikwisha – to come back.
We paid a fair few quid for the latter and he’s been the Seldom Seen Kid.
A big , big fight ahead as Martin says. That will only be achievable with unity of purpose ,from those who supply the tools for Martin’s depleted toolbox to those who fill the stadium with the right kind of noises .
Neither the boos nor the rustling of sweety papers (copyright BSR)
At season’s end comes the big,big, BIG fight to restore Celtic football club to something resembling past glories and to do so with some permanence.
First team squad
Kasper Schmeichel
Viljami Sinisalo
Ross Doohan
Anthony Ralston
Colby Donovan
Kieran Tierney
Auston Trusty
Liam Scales
Dane Murray
Callum McGregor
Reo Hatate
Arne Engels
Paulo Bernardo
Luke McCowan
Benjamin Nygren
James Forrest
Hyunyun Yang
Michel-Ange Balikwisha
Sebastian Tounekti
Daizen Maeda
Johnny Kenny
Shin Yamada
Alistair Johnston ( injured )
Callum Osmand ( injured )
Kelechi Iheanacho ( injured )
Marcelo Saracchi ( injured )
Odin Thiago Holm ( illness )
Jota ( injured )
Cameron Carter-Vickers ( injured )
Glendalys
Get the loans in, we’ve lost enough money via whoever it was.
March with O’Neill 🍀👍
Aff oot
Hi Mr Brennan
You and I have discussed many times the number of trophies that Brendan Rodgers brought to Celtic. You and I have discussed how he had ambition and was here to improve not maintain. You and I have discussed how he hit his head against a brick wall all summer until he was eventually resigned. You and I have discussed how subsequent events have vindicated him in how abject a window it was.
Remember the Dermot toys out the pram assassination….
“What has failed recently was not our structure or model but one individuals desire for self preservation at the expense of others.”
How did that work out eh? This season have cost many millions more than supporting our multi trophy winning manager in the first place.
BURNLEY78 on 6TH JANUARY 2026 12:51 PM
..
agents , heard similar tittle / tattle rumours , it felt like grassy knoll conspiracy stuff re who the identity of the agents ; so best leave sleeping dogs lie.
HH
bournesouprecipe on 6th January 2026 1:32 pm
Mibbe Paul will tell us who ‘whoever it was’ is .
Paul….
I think that it is pretty obvious that the ‘mistakes’ were made at the very top:
Maxwell;
Rodgers;
Tisdale;
Nancy.
The fact that DD is able to make these decisions, with no consequence, demonstrates the fragility of our club. As such, we are likely going to continue to be driven off the road every 12 or 18 months.
The Rodgers decision stands out. DD KNEW what he was getting, having had Brendan as Head Coach before. Brendan’s biggest ‘weakness’ was his ambition. Including ambition for the club. DD would have known that he wouldn’t sanction the spending that Brendan’s ambition would require.
I can’t understand what WN had on his CV that would have caused us to give him the job. Changing from a back 4 to a back 3 in mid season, without getting to know the players, was crazy.
Bottom line, if we were a properly structured organization, any ONE of the four mistakes would have had the decision maker booted out
We are at the mercy of an arrogant old man – and his son.
Weeron
BSR @ 1:24pm.
Thank you for squad list.
Looking at the unavailable players
Balikwisha’s Congo take on one of the favourites today.
Tounetki already oot … so both could be back soon.
Anyone know more about anticipated return dates for our injured players.
I’m guessing CCV is out for the season with the others coming back in the following order over the next two months …
(Happy to be corrected)
– Marcelo
– Kelechi
– Alastair
– Callum
– Jota
Oh dear. Bad day for the old firmists, who would have been hoping for us to keep our dud manager a bit longer. Shame…….
EKBhoy on 6th January 2026 1:37 pm,
BURNLEY78 on 6TH JANUARY 2026 12:51 PM,
:)))))
How much did those first team regulars cost in transfer fees…
Let me add it up for you?
0 + 0 + 0 = 0 what’s ten percent of that!?
Peter Lawwell got out over 20 mn out of Celtic PLC with a moneyball trading model that put a lot of money in his and the PLCs bank account.
Unfotruately not many decent players on the football pitch.
Hail Hail
Jan 6th . . . One would have hoped that we would have had players ready to join as soon as the window opened to bolster a decimated squad. What was Tisdale doing since the summer window shut and when the board admitted they had made an arse of it? Four months and all we have is a loan player from Bournemouth who last played in August.
Hoop hoop Hooray @ 1:33 pm,
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Hail Hail
B2B
Short term Saracchi Iheanacho? the rest unknown you’ve highlighted another thing WN didn’t do – update on injured, come to think of it I don’t remember him using a players name?
Paul67! How dare you have an opinion different from what the mob I follow tells me my opinion is?
Burnley @ 12.51,
What a bitter twisted man you are.Your adoration of PL has addled your brain.” A fat goalie”.Would this be the Goalie who was fantastic for us in the seasons after Joe Hart.Getting. on a bit now,but not his fault he is still our No 1.Maybe your Board could answer why?
KT,dear God,really leaving your spite out there fall all to see.A free transfer,and still the best FB we have had since he left.
Iheanacho,.Your spite now blinding you to the fact,he was not even bought during the window.
Your darlings on the Board had supplied Shin and Kenny,and a young project,to replace,Kyoto,Idah,Kuhn,70 goals worth,countless assists.BR had to go scrounging up anyone he could find.Another stain on this Boards transfer record.
As I said,bitter and twisted.As most on here have found out.
B78 @12.47pm
Practically speaking it makes no sense to waste resources on permanent signings in this window. Our recruitment team is in flux, we don’t know what type of player the next permanent manager will want etc. So use the contacts book to bring in 6 month loans of proven ability in key areas of weakness. This timescale coincides with MO’N’s time in charge, hopefully those guys benefit from good performances and play their way into WC contention/ position themselves for club opportunities next season. Win-win, practical and can happen quickly.
As for MN, I agree now is not the time, but it needs to be signalled it’s coming, ideally in the summer. Any sense he will survive unscathed will be a further point of contention we really can’t tolerate right now. I am not surprised he himself wants to move on. He is temperamentally ill equipped for the CEO role. He would struggle to assert himself generally let alone with a ferocious character like Desmond. I am sure he’d be much better suited to a less visible supporting role.
I actually think Brian Wilson can perform the role of envoy/ bridge very well. He’s always been an excellent communicator and is making the right noises about unifying everyone. Yesterday was a crucial start to the healing process and it must now continue. That includes a return for the Green Brigade and no more Board vilification of the wider fan base, which is incredibly ill advised and self-destructive. For their part the Green Brigade must also make concessions around aspects of their conduct that are legitimate concerns for the club.
United we cannot be defeated. Still time to do that under MO’N’s stewardship and to save the season… despite everything.
No point in expending more energy relitigating the fights over Lawwell, Tisdale and Nancy. They are all gone, a huge result for those of us who were calling for it. We need to focus our energies on fighting our common enemies now and strain every sinew to win this title.
Turkeybhoy @ 1:54 pm,
We were trying to get KT in this time last year.
West Ham offered Arsenal 10 mn for him.
KT refused to go and signed a pre-contract agreement with Celtic.
Arsenal got the hump and refused to let KT go to Celtic on the cheap.
Come the summer, come KT…
Yet some would suggest the deal only happened because our manager was taking secret back-hauners
We do have our element of lowlife in our support…
Hail Hail
How much did it cost Celtic to rebuild the Goalkeeping deparent under Brendan Rodgers?
While there has been a lack of form by Kasper since his injury, he’s still a good and highly experienced goalie…
There is always the option of Celtic PLC actually spending some money to sign a better keeper… :)))))
Hail Hail
We’re fluxed 🤦
Moisey mentioned a couple of signings in the last article.The two boys from Motherwell .
One a very good striker,the other,a midfielder who conducts the way they play brilliantly.
Just WTF was Tisdaale ,and the Board doing in the lead up to this window?
You know,this window which is notoriously difficult,bla,bla,bla.So difficult,seems no one was bothering their ass.I will love to apologise when signings come in. 🙄
Chairbhoy,
My words to Burnley as well.
I agree with the view that Brian Wilson has the communication skills that could become crucial for Celtic off the field over the coming months. He also has the political nous to use these to good effect in unifying the club over the coming months. Both interim posts have a major role to play in saving this season.
Hearing Nancy was summoned to a meeting on Sunday, he refused saying he was having a day off,got sacked over the phone
How difficult was it for Rennes to sign a striker last January?
Hope i am wrong but i just can’t see us winning this league.
There is still way too much division in the building and in the squad. I don’t mean the squad are infighting but that there is too many with thoughts going in different directions. Add to this everything that has gone on so far this season regarding the mismanagement of the squad and the wider football dept does not just get fixed overnight. MoNs strongest suit is being able to drive and motivate players but it will take a monumental effort to coral this squad together and get them really fighting for it.
With an existing 6pt gap we cannot afford another loss and we simply are not good enough to manage that. The only hope would be 3 or 4 real quality first teamers arriving within a week or so and having a big impact and dragging other up with them – chances of that happening?? Think we all know the answer to that.
Sorry to be pessimistic but i fear the damage is to long and too deep.
M17
As far as Micheal Nicholson working on player recruitment goes.
I’d find some else to do that, some with a skill-set for it.
Meanwhile MN can be dealing with the settlments from the last ten weeks…
Brendan Rodgers,
John Kennedy,
Adam Sadler,
Jack Lyons,
Glen Driscoll,
Jay Leferve,
Peter Lawwell
Wilfried Nancy,
Kwame Ampadu,
Jules Gueguen,
Maxime Chalier,
Paul Tisdale.
And that’s the ones we know about…
More power to your elbow Micheal, we knew you’d come in handy one day…
Hail Hail
The strikers that we currently have look piss because they don’t have a partner to play with up front.
One striker guff from Rodgers was found out.
Two wingers works when Two strikers are there to feed.
If fans can’t get over the fact that Rodgers got found out then we need new fans NOT Rodgers klingon cliques.
Rodgers is in a Arabia just like Stevie G was in Arabia.
Rodgers dropped our best GK for speaking the truth when he was asked what happened to him at Ibrox, and GK said he was assaulted by 40+ missiles from the Rangers end.
I mean, is it Sinisalo’s[sp] fault that he finds himself at a club were truth is forbidden?
Sinisalo played vs Livingston with a wacky races defensive set up in front of him, one of the reasons why WILF has gone.
Playing with one striker = a club that cannot accept that Rodgers got found out, over and over.
Larsson was tried up front on his own under MON-1 and KOK’s was piss, so don’t blame Johnny Kenny, Shin Yamada, etc because the club is still trying to look like Pep clones.
Fk Pep. Fk Rodgers. Be Celtic and reality will return again.
If that sounds disrespectful to Rodgers that is because his sleekitry deserves ZERO respect.
Hopefully auld MON hasn’t been sussed…..
HH
oot.
Brian Wilson pinched my nipple once.
Aipple
God only knows how that happened
Moisey,
I get what your saying.Yes it will be difficult.Remember though,we have to play our rivals twice,and they have to play each other twice.Add in Hearts have 2 Derby games.If,a big if,we get players in,we can do a lot of damage,and they can damage each other.
Hope that helps 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Ebt Mccann gets killie job
No worries your BBC job will be kept open when you bomb
Naipple,
I hope you mean Apple.
Shee’ wit ah did therr.
BSR
Met him on the Isle of Lewis. He was at an agricultural show with Neil Kinnock, Donald Dewar and a few other folks. I was a wee lhad and had a Celtic tracky on. He approached me and said “I like this son!” And as he grabbed the badge my mum thought he was tweaking my nipple.
Such joyful childhood memories. A prestigious event as you can see from the stage set-up.
https://x.com/RuairidhMaciver/status/1839719230930890946