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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For the BR haters,and the fans that 139 goals in a season,with added Trebles was boring,
“Do not spoil what you have,by desiring. what you have not,
Remember that what you now have,was once among the things you only hoped for.
_______Epicurus.
Bada at 12.53, let me try to help with that:
How much is CEO Michael Nicholson’s actions and inactions going to cost the club?
~£5m hiring & firing of Nancy & co
Unlikely to be anything near that. He’ll be on garden leave and we’ll pay his salary – and that of his coaching team – until he gets another job. Then there’ll be a reccie for the difference – if any – between his new job and his Celtic contract. Unless there was a ‘with cause’ clause in his contract, in which case he’ll be paid whatever the contract states given those circumstances.
~£10m on inactive squad players
I don’t know what this refers to, but clearly we don’t have enough squad players atm, all hands to the pump. Who are we paying but not playing, excluding the injured guys? The injured guys are the responsibility of the medical and conditioning teams which are football dept functions. There’s a problem with conditioning as we can see with the number of premature recurrences, but that’s not the CEOs brief, surely.
~£1m Cup Final losses
The prize money for the new sponsorship was announced May 2024. Winner gets £400,000, runner up gets £200,000.
? Brendan Rodgers pay off package ?
Rodgers resigned without notice. He’s due nothing from us. We may be due something though depending on the terms of his contract – a reverse of the WN type situ.
£2m+ loss on Adam Idah
I’m not really sure we can hang Adam Idah on the CEO. While there may be a loss on disposal to factor, the matter of his signing and departure are surely a matter for the then football manager. As a fag packet, he was signed for £9m, sold for £6M and there was about £1.8M amortisation booked against him in the previous year, so we’re looking at a Million or so if the purchase and sale prices are right.
£40m Champions League exit
Yip, we missed out on that as a consequence of failure to beat Kairat. No strikers, no goals, no qualification. We don’t know what was going on behind the scenes but the CEO needs to take a fair share of the blame for our inability to sign replacements for Kyogo and Khun. Mind though Idah was hooked at half time in the first leg and not selected for the second leg, further suggesting that the CEO had little to do with the decision to patch him.
However, despite all of that we qualified for the Europa league and the net difference is a £20 Million bath. Dull yin, but not £40M.
All of which s simply to counter the succession of crap I see at large, not to defend the current CEO.
On the contrary, I’d say he was persisting with a 3-4-3 approach to leading the business, and all the evidence suggests he doesn’t know what else to do, if you catch my drift. He has no substantial credentials to lead an organisation as complex as Celtic and the evidence for that is scattered a around us.
But if folk want to nail him, best do so for the things he’s responsible for, otherwise it’s all so much hot air.
“…whilst sometimes playing disconnect 4 during the game”
😂😂😂
BSR just won the blog.
The mess left behind was not of BR’s making. Not once, but twice, they let him down. Whatever squabbles happened in the background, he delivered titles and trophies. Does anyone doubt that he always wanted the best for Celtic?
In my opinion, BR will go down in history as one of our greatest ever managers. I dislike hearing the disparaging remarks about him.
A better line would be…..’the mess which continued through Rodgers second stint’
Otherwise, good article
James Bell-Walker is most probably going through his wee black book to find us some players, por cierto
The Battered Bunnet @ 3:11 pm,
“Rodgers resigned without notice. He’s due nothing from us. We may be due something though depending on the terms of his contract – a reverse of the WN type situ.”
Well could you please tell me where that information is coming from?
My understanding is that Celtic PLC stated that Brendan Rodgers had “tendered his resignation”.
As you are aware, that is a legal position when terminating employment with an organisation.
It is a legitimate way to terminate ones employment and nothing in the statement suggested that Brendan Rodgers vered from the terms and conditions of his contract.
There is no indication that Brendan Rodgers was not prepared to work any notice period and plenty of reasons to suggest, what he said beforehand, he was more than willing to manage the team during that period.
Of course you could point to Dermot Desmond’s statement and suggest he had breached certain conditions.
However what these were far from clear.
Also, there were a great deal of inaccuracies in the statement…
So the Brendan Rodgers walking away narrative doesn’t wash, does it?
Unless, as I ask, you can tell us where this new information is coming from.
Also the small fact they sacked four members of his staff when Brendan Rodgers went, raises a multitude of unanswered questions.
DD’s rant, Roger Hannah’s Sun piece even on their own gives a huge amount of ammuniction for the legal beagles to sue or counter sue.
Definitely one (actual several) for the Lawyers…
Hail Hail
He was raving about Osmand last night at the Kilsyth gig
Loving the documentary about Big John on Sky 👍☘️☘️
BSR @ 1:53pm – Lol.
Looking back, I used to enjoy the way Ange updated the presser about injuries.
Casually done but always to the point.
“I tell you. Then no more questions about it”
“Coach at heart” operating as a Director of Football.
What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cedw8qq9l7po
“”I am a coach at heart. I am a coach inside even though I know I have a different job now. That is a strength in my role but it also causes me a bit of a problem because I always want to interfere in what the managers are doing.”
BR signed an £8 million a year contract 7 weeks after leaving us.
Mark Lawwell, Tisdale, Nancy & Nicholson (when his time comes – probably this summer) will never see a bigger wage than that they got at Celtic.
The football market has decided who the mistakes were at Celtic – they’re the guys left unemployable.
Thank god Martin is back. We have given ourselves a chance. I take my hat of to him for answering the call.
Nicholson, needs to go. Green brigade need to come back, There needs to be a full review of the football side of the club and lessons learned, for real this time.
Martin has a huge job to do here. Everyone needs to be onside, if we can manage these three things it can be done. With, squad additions of course.
I think Martin said yesterday we are in a real fight. I’m in the sick bed so not getting all the info. We have many on the outside that seek to divide us. If Martin is in a real fight we should all be fully behind him.
Everything, anything else can wait.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/czejpg4jw8ko
B2B
Could be interesting if he is genuinely fit – he seems to have spent a long time out through injury in the last few years.
bit late reading the article (wasnt sure if it was a new one or a cut n paste or whatever)
so right now we are in a total mess because of BR (he really was some piece of work) and the guy who more or less admitted he should never have been hired mid seeason – oh and btw its still really really hard to sign footballers – you wouldnt believe how hard.
move along now, nothing to see here (and Behave).
MoN’s presser:
https://youtu.be/iVZhpyRjUEw?si=KWOcbVZoiV_N-Sby
b78 – we also pay 800k for a sports lawyer turned ceo who went to the same school as the finance guy (a school without a football team no less)
pretty easy thinking dont you think
can’t believe we’ve hired someone called Jimmy Bell !!! :)
HeadTheBall
Are you off your nut ?
It was Peter Lawwell who delivered all those titles.
Lennoxtown Unfiltered (06/01/26)
https://youtu.be/4Cu3DVXOEDc?si=_pgU-2BDIakDvlOB
7 MINS PLUS Rare insight to Training session
Some excellent passing moving exercises
Communication very good, tempo excellent, just whats needed
Enjoy
So jealous, miss that training pitch vibe
spikeysauldman- I believe our Head of Security is an old school pal as well…
Hope it wasn’t in your room…
😜
Head of Stationary is also a former alumni.
Martins press conference priceless as usual ,Sean and his Mrs in the firing line !
HH
Parkheadcumsalford on 6th January 2026 12:41 pm
I am one of those who was happy Brendan Rodgers went. The football we were playing was totally negative. Plenty were complaining at the time, and rightly so. Strange how that has been conveniently forgotten.
*aye me tae, in fact as I keep repeating I didnae want him back in the first place, that memory of him and his big implanted cheesy grin at the King Power Stadium leaving us with two away fixtures where he had struggled at still remains with me, oh and elite managers don’t take clubs to the brink of bankruptcy as well as relegation.
He twice came to us only to rebuild his damaged reputation, the 2nd time when the much maligned board didnae want him and in their opinion had much better candidates lined up, wonder if we are still regarded as a big club now, as for DD well as you all know I am a big fan of his due to the excellent corporate work he has done for us, wtf he put the rag and bone man in his place so much so that he had to sell 1872 for a county down, however for all the good business work he has done for the club he should leave the football side to those with an aptitude for that, mibbees a director of football.
Let’s hope MoN and crew can work a miracle or two.
*in more ways than one, btw again IMHO he didnae lave us for a better job down south or the much touted “life in the slow lane” as seemingly Brian Quinn related, in fact on leaving he suggested WGS as his replacement and again IMHO a great choice especially for the much touted life in the fast lane.
It was due to his spouse who was fighting a deadly disease and wanted back to the family home and her weans, the fact that she’s still with us 20+ years later is evidence of the loving care she got, oh and MON joined Villa 15 months later and with NO cheesy grin from the Villa Park stands either.
Also, under MON we won 213, drew 29 and lost 40 of 282 games played, making him the most successful Celtic manager since the Big Mhan, in his five seasons at Parkheid he won three Scottish Premier League titles, three Scottish Cups, and a League Cup, the two titles he lost were by margins of a goal and a point, respectively, he also oversaw a record seven consecutive victories in the Glasgow Derby, and in the 2003/4 season Celtic created a British record of 25 consecutive league victories, his win rate of 75.5% is the highest of any manager in the club’s history.
And thats what I call an ELITE MANAGER and no a 2 season wonder who couldnae buy a job with any of the BIG clubs own south or in Europe now
I presumed our Head of Stationary was Kasper Schmeichel
Aye , Kaspers jobs on the line…😉
AN DUN
As far as I recall, the first CQNer to come on and suggest that the appointment of Nancy was a huge mistake and that he should be sacked, was TINY TIM.
So there.
celtic40me on 6th January 2026 12:56 pm
Hopefully the bloodletting over the last few weeks will calm things down a bit. If we are to win this league we need everyone working together, we’ve lost two managers, a chairman and a head of football operations in a couple of months, no club could succeed with more change at the top. I don’t share it but I get the anger with the exec team but to get rid of any other key members between now and the end of the season would seriously damage our chances. We’ve had PL’s head on a stick, now PT’s. Perhaps that will do for right now and we can think about the rest in the Summer? And unite behind someone we can all agree has the best interests of Celtic at heart? Or is that birthday card pish?
*as the late but great Michael Lee Aday aka Meat Loaf once said “you took the words right out of my mouth”, oh and happy birthday lol
PeterLatchfordsBelly on 6th January 2026 1:55 pm
B78 @12.47pm
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.
*well he is a former politician as well as the author of the Celtic Centenary book which makes him qualified twice over, one knowing the political lay of the land and two ‘if you now the history”
United we cannot be defeated. Still time to do that under MO’N’s stewardship and to save the season… despite everything.
*absolutey and also STOP listening to the hunterlopers on here tah are revelling as well s being revolting on this site
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM @ 4:52 pm,
Excellent presser from Martin, thanks for posting…
Loving the idea that Shaun is trying to identify players for recruitment and Martin is going to run the rule over them…
If they fail Shaun get’s the blame and if they’re any good Martin takes the credit:)))
Obviously MO’N has got what ot takes to be a Director of Celtic FC…
Seeiously…. I’m now looking forward to the transfer window, can see us making real progress.
Hail Hail
Spikey,
Is this guy Bell any relation to the Bell ends on the Board?
No Reply TBB!?
Still sticking to the idea BR&Co had a job lined up and baled?
Seen that nonsense was repeated by Tom McLaughlin recently.
Do you guys get your same misinformation from the same Whatsup groups…
Whose pulling your chain I wonder.!?
Try some free thinking guys, novel, challenging but really worth it;)
Hail Hail
The January 2026 Transfer Window
Here we go again we’re on the road again because those evil eyes they have no place in Paradise
IN
Julián Araujo 🇲🇽
on loan from Bournemouth till end of season.
OUT
Hayato Ianmura 🇯🇵
on loan to FC Tokyo till the end of season.
Jahmai Simpson – Pusey 🇬🇧
recalled by Man City
martin was cheated by the ebt rangers
Tontine Tim
ParkheadcumSalford,
Another belittling the accomplishments of Brendan.What would someone need to win to avoid the snide comment at the end of your nonsense.
Yes Martin was very good manager,but he was financially backed like no other manager before.Sutton,Lennon,Hartson alone,£ 18 million,and nothing recouped on them.
If BR had been backed the way MON was,we would not be where we are now.
One load of nonsense.
Glenowen on 6th January 2026 5:26 pm
I presumed our Head of Stationary was Kasper Schmeichel
______
Head of catering more likely. Or head too often in the catering, even more so😁