Brendan Rodgers is a highly articulate man.
He chooses his words as carefully as he selects players and formations in order to win football matches.
Consequently, I do not think that he misspoke last night in the immediate aftermath of a potentially calamitous result in Lithuania.
This was no post-match rant on the touchline, rather it was measured and precise.
Therefore, when he questions the “pride” of his players this is major stuff.
Morale in football teams has an ethereal quality.
It is hard to nail down, but there is no mistaking what it is when it is absent.
This current Celtic team appear to be a shadow of what they have been under Rodgers since 2016.
It is almost as if the manager has been undermined from above and the players know it.
Moreover, it is almost as if someone, for their own narcissistic reasons, would want Brendan to be gone from the place and a more malleable chap put in his stead.
However, I’m sure there is another, less shameful explanation.
Indeed, there might even have been a perfectly good reason to brief against him to the BBC after the McGinn fiasco.
However, I just can’t think of one right now.
It would take a brave soul to completely discount the possibility of Suduva nicking a result next week in Glasgow.
That can all be traced back to how the recruitment shambles this summer has unfolded.
The current marketing slogan for the New Balance Celtic kit is “only the bold”.
After last night I’m reminded of the late great Bill Hicks and his views on folks who work in advertising.
There is certainly little that is bold about this psychologically fragile Celtic team.
That is a job for the manager and Celtic have a very fine one in Brendan Rodgers.
However, it is important that he isn’t being undermined.
Any Celtic supporter who doesn’t think this is a crisis of potentially historic proportions for the club simply isn’t paying attention.
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The idea that Brendan Rogers would stick around if he was being undermined from above seems extremely fanciful.
Dermot Desmond pulls the strings, and Rogers has left it very late to identify realistic targets.
But it’s not over till the fat lady sings.
The McGinn issue is a sideshow. He left because he will make a lot more money down South with a guaranteed starting place when fit. Neither of which would have applied at Celtic.
It’s a sensible move for a 27 year old whose career could be over at any moment.
This vendetta against Peter Lawell, reminds me of the one that the press started against Jock Brown.
McGinn is 23, not 27.
Imagine…a Celtic side…comprising players born and brought up withi 30 miles of Parkhead…who went to Parkhead with their fathers…who dreamt of playing for the club…winning cups and leagues…European cups no less…nah…it will never happen!
I think you are indulging in a little hyperbole with words like crisis. Administration is a crisis, having no nomad and being delisted as a company is a crisis, being ordered by the takeover panel to buy out other shareholders is a crisis, missing out on John McGinn because you try to take the piss is just plain stupid and someone in authority at Celtic is being incredibly stupid. There is clearly a problem and it needs sorting immediately. I’m not a Celtic supporter but I do think Rodgers is a fine coach and it would be crazy for the board to give him any less than 100% support. But crisis? No!
Are we really in a Mexican standoff between Brendan and Pistol Pete, who’s been firing blanks all summer?
If this has any substance then this time its up to Dermot Desmond to step in before the damage is irreparable. PL has served his time at CP and has made himself a rich man with some real kudos in the footballing world … i would not be disappointed if he was to leave