Consider this.
A football manager returns to a club that he once played for, captained and managed.
During his original period at the club, he was a central part of a highly successful era in the club’s long history.
As a manager, he won leagues and on one immortal night, he contrived to fashion a game plan that saw his team beat Barcelona in the Champions League.
Sadly, because of things that have nothing to do with on-field events he becomes a hate figure for some very dark forces in society.
They don’t know the real man, but they fashion a cypher with his face on it.
He is assaulted in the street and is his postbag included bullets and parcel bombs.
Consequently, he and his young family are forced to live in a world of bodyguards and panic buttons.
Yet, he sticks with it and continues to manage the club he loves.
When he finally leaves he does so as manager of the reigning champions.
That might have been the end of his working relationship with the club, the universe conspires to knock on his door and ask for help.
At a crucial juncture in the season, the previous manager, who had been highly successful, simply walks out without notice.
The squad is devastated and there is a series of very tough fixtures hoving into view.
Then the other guy answers the call.
With no backroom team accompanying him he sets to work with that players he didn’t sign.
Indeed, he meets them on the day of a crunch match and gets them over the line with a last gasp winner against tough opponents on their home ground.
Game by game he gets the results.
It isn’t pretty, but the results start to build up.
He would be the first to admit that as a player he was a pragmatist, not an idealist.
That was because he always realised it wasn’t about him, but about the team.
During his time as the manager of the club he loved as a lad he had a substantial track record in bringing in millions from player trading.
He has to cope with players being sold to finance the football budget, but he seems able to source new recruits to continue the process.
When he left the club they were champions.
Then, just yesterday he was integral to the club he loves achieving the unrepeatable in their domestic sphere.
In the crazy chaos of the dressing room post-match he is told that the job is his on a permanent basis if he wants it.
This news is greeted by some of the club’s supporters as a crushing defeat, as a huge betrayal by the board.
However, in a parallel universe, this news is met with a rational response and the supporters are grateful and delighted.
Perhaps I would be more at home in that particular corner of the Celtic multiverse and that’s because my only thought today is “welcome home Lenny!”
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Here we go again, another close season, still the same MSSM pish.
Rangers improved 2nd offer for the Oldham defender thrown out!
As ever there are attached add ons…. that will be the usual Champions League caveats plus a payment plan to cover the transfer fee.
The reporter, whose never spoken to the lad, goes on to explain that Rangers are his preferred choice of club, really?
And of course it wouldn’t be an Ibrox transfer story without the media printing that Rangers won’t be held to ransom and are prepared to walk away…..wow, you don’t say.
Congrats to UEFA for their Baku choice of venue for the Europa Cup final.
Thousands of free tickets given away to locals yet the stadium still thousands below capacity.
11pm local time kick off and the pitch and the crowd separated by a huge running track.
I doubt if they were actually trying to create a farcical situation that they could have done a better job.
Within days of Lenny’s interim appointment the culture had changed. After a bad result Rodger$ would have the players in analysing the game: after the Sevco 2-0 , the team was given 2 days off. Anyone who was around Celtic in his first tenure will tell of the drinking culture he espoused. Ronnie tried to fight it but wasn’t supported, Rodger$ had turned it around. I really worry that 9iar is in jeopardy never mind 10.
Irrespective of whether you wanted Lenny or a new guy altogether….one thing is absolutely clear…Our Board have acted true to type and fecked the whole thing up again.
If Lawwell is to be believed…that no one else was ever going to be considered…then Lenny should have been made the offer weeks and weeks ago to stop all the bullshit that invariably had to follow.
We now find ourselves weeks away from a CL qualifier and we still don’t have a Manager ( officially) …what a joke.
Rumour has it that Lenny is holding out for Gary Parker as his number 2…and if that’s true….that’s another joke.
I honestly thought that after last summer’s debacle with John McGinn…the Board would take stock of how they handle things…and ensure that everything from now on would be thought out sensibly.
Not a hope…..Because the way that this has been handled…the support has once again been ignored and taken for mugs…and taken for granted.
I really am concerned about next season…There is no doubt that the Liverpool Gobshite has improved them considerably….and they really think they are better than us…and next season will prove to be a watershed.
Lenny’s appointment won’t cause them any concern….so we now have to frighten the crap out of them by bringing in some new quality players….and change our style of play.
And isn’t it ironic that we’ve joined the top 30 elite clubs in Europe…and still don’t get it right.
The bottom line is…Given our financial and overall superiority in Scotland ….we shouldn’t be in this ridiculous situation where the support is arguing amongst itself ….when we should be celebrating a wonderful history making achievement.
Only our Board seems to have the ability to produce that.
Dear oh dear oh dear.
There must be some kind of warped skill in getting so much, so wrong, so often.
We got away with a monumental fuck up last season. We were lucky.
Luck does not last forever.
We need proper signings. Good signings. NOT loans. If we’re going to develop players, let’s develop our own. Not someone else’s.
Mmmm?
Couple of thoughts
#1 The Moyes, Benitez etc red herrings could have been a way of smoking out potentially dangerous moles/leakers in the back room staff at CP.
#2 The ‘Biscuit Tin’ as many have dubbed it, is, IMHO, a way of pushing down demands from agents of players we may sign. Nothing more, nothing less, just good business sense.
#3 Lenny is the manager now, so he deserves our support.
P.S. a la Solskjaer at United, it could be a gamble, but if it goes wrong – it won’t cost much to pay him off. We won’t be talking £9M
The fans in Glasgow’s Deep South aren’t the only gullible ones in this city. Many Celtic followers are extremely naive. Names like Marco Rose had somehow circulated as possible replacement for BR. Certain clubs in the German Bundesliga have more assets than the entirety of Scottish football. Mr Benitez earns between 5 and 7 million quid per annum. Celts could be the next Deadco if they start splashing money like that around. As for Mourinho-don’t be deluded. Enticing decent managers from the EFL will always be a huge challenge. A lot of time’s elapsed since Neil Lennon’s first reign at Parkhead. Interesting that he introduced Wanyama and Van Dijk to Celtic Park. They’ll be facing one another in Madrid this week. Hopefully there’ll be equally good recruitment this time around. NL deserves and NEEDS all the support in the season ahead.
applaud every Celtic player who contributed to the Treble Treble, the greatest feat in modern Scottish football history, in fact 2nd only to Celtic’s European Cup triumph in 1967. There were many players involved over the last 3 years and they should all be proud to have taken part, moreso the players who were part of the Club for the full 3 years. Some of them though went out on loan, were not first choices for some periods, some were injured for parts of the season, and therefore did not play in all 9 trophies, the most recent of whom was Leigh Griffiths.
Assuming that if you do not play any games in a particular competition then you do not get a medal, then it reduces the number of players who won all 9 medals down to a measly 8 players by my reckoning. Those players are :- Lustig, Simunovic, Tierney, Brown, Sinclair, Rogic, McGregor, and Forrest.
So I think we should give a special thank you to those players who were involved every step of the way.
Well done every last one of you and thanks for the eternal memories.
Don’t think KT gets a medal for Saturday. He didn’t make the bench. In fact I’m not sure at all that all those named featured in all the finals. I’m pretty sure it’s only the Final match day squad that get a cup medal
Phil; got a follow-up question to you on something you reported about in your post on May 15th. According to Peter Lawwell they did not speak to any other managers about the job, yet your sources said that they had interviewed several people about the position.
Just curious what is going on behind the scenes here and what is the real story. Did Lawwell believe he had someone else lined up and at the last minute they changed their mind (or wanted different terms), requiring the pivot over to giving it to Lenny?
Good question..which makes me wonder what would they have done had NL said no? What would they have done had we lost in the final? All very odd really
The whole timeline of events is bizarre here…
Announcing an ‘Offering’ of the job rather than waiting until accepted and announcing an ‘appointment’ is utterly bewildering and reeks of a reactionary response fuelled by the desire to ‘go cheap’ for the foreseeable future.
When thinking back now … my cynical self can’t help thinking how convenient (too much so) NLs departure from Hibs was. In fact .. if I was really cynical I might think .. ooooh .. for example – that the Celtic board knew much earlier that BR would be going and that Mr Lennons Leith bust up was … ‘engineered’ to suit all parties.
I see Mr Lawwell is already downsizing the scale of any spend in the coming weeks. It doesn’t fill me with optimism regarding the improvements required.
I fully expect the net spend this summer to be an inward one. Between the BR money and inevitable asset sales as well as the ‘hangers on’ being offloaded.. it wouldn’t surprise me if the club is an 8 figure sum in the black for this window.
If giving Mikael Lustig a further year or two is a barometer of business to come then my fear might just turn to terror.
a lot of negative comments here , may i remind you all we are the CELTIC family and as a fan of over 60 years i for one stand by our great club , our team and our manager , everyone should be focusing on the 10 , oh how the scum must be loving the critisism, get behind our bhoys or get another team , a nice piece phil ,HH
I for one am delighted that Neil is back in charge and so should every Celtic supporter be, all the crap put in the media about all the big name managers who were in line for the job was just that “crap” Mourinho, or Benitez etc was never going to happen these big heads need billions to spend on players to satisfy their own egos, and all Celtic fans should know by now that the media try their best to put doubt and spread discord among our support.
Neil is back he delivered on the job he was brought back to do, he loves Celtic, and let no one doubt that he will do his upmost to keep us where we belong, and he will do it.
Keep the faith and stay true, WE ARE NEIL LENNON.
Has Lenny agreed to take the job yet…??
What’s the chances that what he’s been offered doesn’t tick all his boxes…and he says no…?
Yeah…in your dreams pal.
Thing is…whether you agree with it or not….Lenny is now the Manager and we need to accept it and move on.
The two main areas needing addressed are new players and a change of playing style.
PL has suggested that new players may not be a priority, and if that’s the case….then the biscuit tin is alive and well and we are going nowhere….again.
We all know that we have money spare…but spending it seems to be a cardinal sin.
When will we learn..?
As for playing style…That’s totally in Lenny’s hands and its the first thing I’ll be watching for.
No more of the slow boring pedantic build up…please.
Over to you Celtic FC.
Said many times on this board, Celtic don’t need to spend big to win this diddy league.
Lawwel has three choices:
1) Spend big to win a league they have already won before kicking a ball
or
2) Spend big to get nowhere in the Champions league as there are bigger and better teams there.
Or
3) Trundle along spending little and filling the coffers for the shareholders to make a profit.
Choices one and two are pointless, Next season is already won and there is no way Celtic or any Scottish team will win the Champions league again in the near future.
Jim, you are hereby elected to the board. Report to Celtic Park at 9am tomorrow please
We are Neil Lennon
Looking back to when Tommy Burns left, Celtic have generally struggled to appoint managers. Win Jansen, nobody really knew and regardless of the final result, it was really tight and was almost lost. Venglos, a late selection, Barnes and Dalglish should have been good, hopeless. Martin O’Neill was a great choice but at a point where we could compete with the EPL. Strahan an available choice. Mowbray, a great choice but utterly depressing. Lennon a good choice. Ronny, seemed good but lost his way. Brendan was available with not any EPL offers so saw us as a good opportunity to get noticed again.
Who could we get now realistically, Benitez was always stay EPL, just trying to get a better deal for himself and more transfer money. Mourinho, never.
Who else could we get. Moyes – no way. Roy Keane – why. A European manager – could be a Le Guen.
It’s easy to say Neil should not get the job but can anybody come up with a realistic / available / somebody who would come.
To all all the anti board / Lennon what is your answer ?
Steve Clarke
Phil, NL answered the call and we limped over the line but with the names being linked to the job and the way the board announced it on Saturday the timing could have been better. NL is a true Celtic legend but the game has moved on from his management style and for every Van Dyke there was a Bangura. The board have went for the cheap option which is very disappointing the next season is massive don’t think NL has tactical awareness to get us there. NL is our manager so we will back him to the hilt. HH
Some Celtic ‘fan’s are miserable as sin. Treble Treble is unprecedented/unrepeatable. There’s an element who put a downer on everything. Lennon’s been given the job. Genuine supporters will get behind him. Also important to thank NL for stepping in amidst the upheavals last February.
Look there is no way a ‘top of the tree’ manager from tbe EPL, or, Europe eas coming to Scotland. Brendan but he had special ‘Celtic’ reasons, as we all know.
So, say we had appointed an up and coming European boss with a glowing CV, like the Ibrox mob did with Paul Le Guen?
There is no guarantee of success, even if we had enticed Marco Rose, or, Cocu.
The board reacted to Ronny’s setback against the huns by bringing in Brendan, however remember it was not total failure that prompted this – with only 2/3 additions to Ronny’s squad we became invincible treble winners under Brendan.
We are Triple-treble winners – Lenny knows and is respected by the squad – after three years of success it is obvious from our recent displays that a re-boot is required – PL is right, Neil can pick good players.
Our successful players will return from holiday secure in the knowledge of what they are coming back to and ready to repeat our success – they know how it is done.
Sure Lenny is not the ‘sexy’ appointment, but given all the circumstances it could well be the right one on our way to TEN.
Lenny wouldn’t have been my first choice but he’s here and he gets my full support.
I only hope he gets the same from Lawwell and Desmond.
I also can’t think of a more appropriate man to take us to 10 in-a-row.
Hail! Hail!
As I’ve stated on here, Lenny was not my choice for the job. Love him to death because I know he does love our club. I just believed he has limitations as a manager.
That said, it isn’t about Lenny now. That’s been decided. Now the problem becomes Lawwells estimation of the team and what direction it needs taken and how much spent on it. If he really believes that there isn’t much of a rebuild necessary then 9 in a row is in jeopardy.
This team needs at least 2-3 immediate signings, the kind that are immediate plug-play types. Don’t need prospects, need to be already a high level player and they don’t come cheap.
Add these to our returning players like Henderson, & Morgan, new signing Shved and return from injury Griff, Tierney and Christie and this will look and play like a totally different squad.
So it’s over to you Peter Lawwell. If you screw this up, there will be nowhere to hide!
Nowhere to hide and NO ONE will forgive him if the complete clusterfuck that was last year’s summer window is repeated.
Dermot Desmond has (to my knowledge) stepped up to the plate 4 times….
1. Martin O’Neill
2. Robbie Keane
3. Refusing Man United to speak with the King of Kings
4. BR appointment
So I ask all Hoops supporters, Why not now?
* I remember Lenny saying when he first came back that he was astounded as to how much has changed behind the scenes, how meticulous BR was in everything he did. I bet they think they can wing it with Lenny on everything BR built.
CHEAP OPTION…..FACT
Yup
When our strongest team is on the park there are few BR signings present.
Lenny it is then!
Much as I wanted Marcus Rose or Rafa Benitez as manager
I realise that was a big ask but it looks like the board did not
even ask!
That is why I am disappointed Neil has been offered the job.
The board had the opportunity to cement ten in a row but again
have sold the fans short preferring balance sheet over footballing
ambition.
Having made their decision they now have to back Neil with money
for the quality additions we require to see us through next season.
Will they do that? I like many others somehow doubt it!
If Neil accepts the job I wish him all the best and he goes on to
further enhance his legend status.
It certainly won’t be an easy task.
To take the job under the circumstances outlined above shows he is a Celtic man. I am not convinced by his record. Bolton and Hibs did not end well. To leave because he was “bored”? Huge strategic, and tactical, decisions have to be made. Celtic have incorporated new training methods and sports science. We will see what Lennon does with these. I am not hopeful. Under Rodgers Celtic won every game at Parkhead this season. Some of the football played at Parkhead was superb. Under Lennon, we never looked comfortable there. We could see our playing system deteriorate before our eyes. The final game against Rangers at Parkhead was a close run thing, however much we have denied that it was. Rangers could easily have drawn. Or won. The reason they did not was Callum McGregor. That was fitting because he is the best player in Scotland by some margin. When Tavernier gave that ball away on the half way line any other player in Scotland would have ran into the space. Instead he passed the ball immediately with a beautiful fade from left to right. I am amazed that no English side wants him. Lennon needs to think. Who will work with Edouard up front? Will Rogic be back with a pre-season? WTF is wrong with Ntcham? And a dozen other things? Feeling it is not enough.
I would not bet ANY money that no EPL club will come in for Calmac this window. Leicester spring to mind!!
Evidence-based?
How about leading Bolton to relegation?
How about being mutually let go with his previous team 8th in the SPL?
0-0 at home to Livingston.
2 other 0-0 draws and several games requiring last minute goals to avoid dropping more points including almost being embarrassed at gone by 10 man Sevco.
Absolutely drubbed by Sevco at the Death Star (and I am not buying this “meaningless game” crap, this is Lenny the passionate Celtic man who “knows what it;s all about”. If he sends out a team with the mindset it’s a meaningless game he should be sacked on the spot).
Strange habit of selecting injured players and having to sub them, thereby reducing options to influence the game later. This directly led to us reduced to 10 men against Sevco.
I could understand if he performned an Ole Gunnar Solksjaer massive turnaround in fortunes, but if anything we’ve gone backwards.
This is a crony appointment, that will result in a return to “Heated Driveway Productions” (who was it again who came up with that phrase?); the cheap option dressed up as a populist “he’s one of us, he understands the challenges” appointment..
We don’t meed “one of us”, we need someone with knowledge, ability and experience.
The “one of us” mentality is what leads to stupefying appointments like Super Salary at Sevco for 4 years.
This feels like Ronny Deila all over again.
The evidence points to this being a cheap, short-sighted appointment
Backwards step once again
Sorry Phil, whilst you’re post is true it is also pish. We hired a “top class” manager in BR and now for some reason we decide to go back to a “celtic man” who has nowhere near the ability of the previous manager but we are meant to jump through hoops “no pun intended” because he is a celtic man !!
Not for me, I want the best manager that we can afford. are we to assume that Dermot Desmond played no part in this process? he brought us BR, so why did he not push the boat out again?
Brendan Rodgers’s appointment was a total one off. He was still smarting from his time at Liverpool, he was unemployed and in a state of limbo and along comes Celtic who he always had an affection for. He was available, and he also had it in his cunning mind that he could use Celtic to restore his credibility as a stepping stone back to the EPL. All the pieces were in place for Brendan and he took the job at Celtic Park. Is it likely to happen that way again, the answer is no. So we are back again to reality and to who we can afford and more importantly who is prepared to do the job. Lenny is out on his own in the present circumstances, forget all the fancy names that were being touted by the press for a lot of fans got carried away and bought into these press fantasies. We should all appreciate what we have, we have Lenny, one of us, so wake up and smell the coffee.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, why is Phil being so blind to this appointment
When Napoleon was appointing senior military figures he was often quoted as saying, “I don’t want to know if he’s good, I want to know if he’s lucky.” BR in my opinion was lucky. He inherited a team built by Lenny and RD. He got Broony and Lustig at their peak. Forrest approaching his peak. He got guys like KT, Calmac, Boyata, Simunvic and Armstrong with two years more maturity and experience. RD also brought in Gordon, Ajer and Christie, and was responsible for the Dembele signing. I really believe RD was dumped too early. But for a couple of shockingly bad refereeing decisions there is every chance he would have delivered the treble in his first season. He was as unlucky as Rogers is lucky. BR also sidelined a 40 goals per season striker for no apparent reason other than the fact his face didn’t fit.
“in a parallel universe, this news is met with a rational response and the supporters are grateful and delighted.”
The implication being that it is outright irrational for Celtic supporters – who part-fund each managerial appointment from their own pockets – to respond to the board’s parsimony with anything but delight and gratitude.
No Celtic fan denies that Lenny loves the club. No-one denies the huge contribution he has made as player, captain and manager. Whenever and however he returns to Celtic Park, he will *always* be welcome home.
But the reality is this. Just two weeks ago, after a string of poor performances and seemingly-unfathomable managerial decisions, a poll was conducted on the largest internet forum of Celtic supporters – Who would you like to see as the next manager. And Lenny – who as we all know has more credit in the bank of fan goodwill than almost any living person – was the choice of 2%. That’s *two percent* of the fans in the poll.
There was overwhelming support instead for some more forward-looking manager, who would implement the extra work in training, statistical analysis, sports science, and health & lifestyle that are so key to the modern game – and which have become the club’s new direction over the last few years – a direction which has generated a level of domestic success unprecedented at any other top flight club in world football. Nearly everyone wanted to continue with that modernisation program which had resulted in an incredible treble treble. And the Celtic board – thanks
to the fans, whose money funds the whole show to a percentage level unthinkable at any other major European club – had more than sufficient resources in the bank to make such a forward-looking managerial appointment happen, safeguard the 10-in-a-row, and continue with the modernisation of Celtic FC.
Instead, they have chosen a manager whose outlook and methods were backward-looking when he first took the helm in 2010, and are positively antiquated now, almost ten years later. We all know fine well that if his name was anything other than Neil Francis Lennon, his CV would never have been considered for a job of this magnitude, at any club.
Welcome home? Whenever Neil Lennon arrives at the gates of Celtic Park, he will always be welcome. And he will always be home.
But the board, by choosing to ignore the fans’ wishes for further modernisation, and instead smashing the gearstick jarringly into reverse, have brought uncertainty and division to the club that he loves, that we all love. And if, as many fear, their decision does lead to the historic 10IAR being surrendered, it will never be forgiven. And Neil’s own legacy – so worthily earned, and at no small personal cost – will be unfairly tarnished by them placing him in a situation he should never have been placed in.
This is the fear. This is the cause of the anger.
Good piece and very well written.
Well said, Lenny having some role at the club, just not manager, no matter what Phil says it is a retrograde step, And I will never trust Lawell again, all about the money!!!!
Absolutely great post.
Bolton & Hibernian……..I rest my case
Bolton were a financial basket case with a signing embargo. Lennon paid the players out of his own pocket on at least one occasion. Rogers NEVER won a league game against ‘s Hibs. TWO of his signings playing in the CL Final on Saturday.
Well said ! No disrespect to Lenny – he is and always will be a Celtic Legend .
Facts – when Ronnie D came in after Lenny walked out ( bored ? ) he was unhappy at the fitness of the players and the diet being pursued at Lennoxtown . Who was to blame for this ?
When Lenny arrived back he was astounded ( he said ) at some of the technical innovations brought in by BR and his team . Why was he ‘astounded’ – has he not kept up with football developments off the field ?
Will Lenny be appointing dieticians , fitness gurus etc… to help the squad in the coming seasons ?
Others have pointed out Lenny’s limitations in this ever evolving football world – we should have been expecting someone ( not necessarily a BIG name ) with the background to push us on to a new era – not look back with nostalgia because he is a Celtic Man – aren’t we all ?
We have been let down badly by a complacent Board .
Hi Phil
The next goal is 10 and I sincerely hope that neil achieves that how fitting would be me thinks a meltdown would ensue. If that happened the return of their Nemesis and 10 in the bag what a prefect outcome for everything that they threw at him.
Now it’s going to get interesting there will be absolutely no excuses this time around and I hope that the powers at be are
listening to all that goes on rather than pointing out what we Celtic fans may be doing (wrong tho that me be) rather than the sporadic mutterings we get every now and again . Are we about to witness the return of a particular MINORITY (no laughing now) which to be totally honest has never gone away.
P.S Is it to much to dream of a QUARTET OR even a QUINTET now that would be something.
HAIL HAIL
Bravo Phil. Sums it up for me. Maybe some of our supporters should realise what Lennon has done for them at, as you rightly point out, to his own health and security.
Nicely put, can you teach JJ a thing or 2 about rational journalism?
Well said Phil,let’s get behind NFL and back him to the hilt.
Lenny for me all the way. You sum it up perfectly, Phil and he will prove all the negativity/ doubters wrong. These people, who dream of fairy stories involving Mourhino, Moyes, Benitez etc, really do need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Wake up and smell the Cenko 😉
He was not my first choice, but now he is my manager. What more could we realistically ask of Neil Lennon? He has always brought us success, given us all he could, paid an enormous price in terms of his personal freedom – who knows what it has put his family through? – it has taken a toll of his mental well being. The man is Celtic! 100% behind him, he deserves the job and our unerring support. At times it will not be champagne football and the board will not give him what he deserves but if anyone can get us there, Neil Lennon will.
I love Neil Lennon but i love Celtic more…imho he is a mediocre, at best, manager. Further, i don’t think he has the dignified persona of a Celtic manager, all that silly running around doing airplanes and running down into to corner flags is, at best, exceptionally childish and his embarrassing press conferences, especially the one before we went to ibrox are just a joke . Then, as we’ve already seen, he has a tendency to blame the players publicly when a result doesn’t go our way…THE SAME PLAYERS WHO JUST WON A HISTORIC TREBLE…Trebles which we would never have won with Lennon, the johnny hayes experiment and his relic long ball out of defence footballing style…and remember, both Lennon and Deila had 5 attempts between them to win a treble and both failed miserably…in fact some of the cup results we had under these 2 were nothing short of a rid neck. We also have to take into account his mental health issues and how these will effect him next season when we’re being cheated, in one way or another, left, right and center…does he have the savvy to keep his trap shut when being interviewed about decisions that have gone blatantly against us?…I think not, so he’ll probably be spending chunks of the season sitting in the stand rather than the dug-out. This has been a very, very poor appointment by the board when we stand so close to 10.
Now i feel like i have 2 options. 1] Abandon the team i love or 2] Get behind Lennon and give him my full support….and 1] is not an option…ever!
BTW, does anyone know the real reason why he left the Celtic job before?
To be fair Ronny could have won the treble in his first season if the officials had spotted Josh Meekings deliberate handball … honest mistakes anyone ? What I don´t like is Lenny saying that we only need two or three players and Lawwell saying that not great changes are needed ! In my mind we need at least a class first team right back .. a suitable deputy right back as personally I can´t see Ralston being the answer. We definitely need a decent back up for KT .. we have absolutely knackered that kid as he has had to play far too much over the past few years .. and the experiment with Johnny Hayes and Izzy .. lets face it it is sticking plaster type at best … We need another Centre half at least .. if not just to keep Jozo and Ajer on their toes .. preferably one that has NO PROBLEM in playing on a plastic pitch. If both Devries and Gordon are leaving then we will definitely need another keeper … We need to do something UNCELTIC like and actualy PLAN for the future in looking at a replacement for Broony … there is no way that we can expect him to play so many games next season! Up front we need another quality striker .. someone good in the air as obviously Odsonne likes the ball to feet or played in front .. We have the unknown quantity in Bayo and hopefully the returning Griff but as a team looking to push on .. we should definitely look to refresh the team every season … otherwise the team can get stagnant .. and as we are well aware … EVERYONE will be looking to stop us using whatever means possible. So Pete open up the cheque book … because we will need two players for each position with sufficient quality that you can interchange … as Big Jock always said .. we should always plan for Europe because if you have that type of quality then the league will take care of itself … Was obviously hoping for another exciting appointment but we have Lenny … lets get this 9 and 10 and really get it up the Sevco Zombies ..
God Bless Neil Lennon
Chapeau Phil 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Can’t imagine Lawwell or Desmond ‘does sentimentality’.
2 separate points;
– Interim, rescue job: Lennon saved CFC BIG TIME in our hour of need. No doubt whatsoever, and the fans will always remember/appreciate the significance of his interim role.
– due diligence for a permanent manager. Of course, Lennon would be considered – but along with several other potential managers – in a dispassionate, objective manner by the Board.
Nobody would expect anything less.
I don’t think underwhelmed / suspicious fans can be blamed if Lennon takes the job though.
Off the top of my head, I have been suspicious of this Board since January 2009 (?) with the token purchase of Willo Flood.
[To be fair: since then there has been the one and only time I was impressed / amazed, and that was the signing of Rodgers.]
Whoever is appointed manager I will support, and guess most/all other fans will do likewise in time.
However, as a paying punter I don’t necessarily support the Board or some of its decisions.
They still haven’t struck the correct balance between on the field ambition, (in Europe), and off the field, fiscal prudence.
I’ve been a consistent Peter Lawwell defender for years now, but this episode has changed my outlook. I don’t mean just the appointment, but the *way* it was done – apparently without so much as interviewing candidates, a complete abrogation of diligence. And then announcing it on the day we should all have been celebrating the 3×3 – the whole thing just smacked of sneaky, manipulative bullshit.
I feel it would be counterproductive to change chief exec at this point in the 10IAR, but if – God willing – we still do achieve the ten, he should then leave with our thanks. His era has exhausted its shelf life – and my trust.
Rogers was available. And let’s face it, he’s a very persuasive, world class, BULLSHITTER.
Well said Phil HH
I guess everybody is entitled to an opinion, right or wrong. The way it was done does not sit well with a lot of people. Names were being thrown out there, supposedly by people in the know, now we know it was all “smoke and mirrors” bulls**t. Anyway, Hail Hail NL.
Neil to seal 10iarHH. WE DONT NEED MOANING NOW WE’RE GOING TO SUPPORT NEIL FRANCIS LENNON 100% HH
Phil he left the job the last time because he was bored.
The board have admitted that they never spoke to anyone else. Which is shocking.
PL has came out and said the club doesn’t need a major overhaul.
Lenny doesn’t have a great track of winning cup and got lucky at the weekend.
I think that he is a cheap option fo& PL to start headed driveway production.
Will Lenny accept the job ?
Does he want to be hamstrung by PL and be that manager that loses 10IAR.
I personally think that for his own safety, as sad as it is, he’s better off away from the Scottish knuckle draggers
Neil never said at anytime he was bored, where did you get that from?
He did say he could not take them any further, and that was borne out of frustration as the board would not back him up financially at the time to get to where he seen as the next level. He left the Club on a point of principle.
Totally agree
The board always selling our best players and not giving Lenny any funds for replacements. He left out of principle.
And…Lenny was never going to get a substantial purse from PL at that time as Deadco were playing in lower leagues so the board didn’t need to pay out on players as the league was already won…as RD also showed.
In Lenny we trust Hail Hail
It’s rather fitting that just as the old manager sneaked out the back door, the announcement of the new one was sneaked out in the euphoric aftermath of the treble treble.
No unveiling in front of tens of thousands of fans.
The board get a lot of stick for not understand the mood of the fans but they’ve judged this perfectly.
I am 50/50 on Lenny, love him to bits but you have to remember that along with the fantastic wins, we had some crushing and embarrassing defeats. I think that’s what a lot of fans are remembering Phil.
He is and always will be a legend in most of our eyes but if god forbid we don’t do 9 or even 10 then I am afraid his legendary status will not be there anymore.
He needs a lot of financial backing in the next two years because we need to be twice as good as the previous three seasons, the men in black and 5th floor will do almost anything to stop us this and next year, big time.
We had FAR MORE embarrassing defeats under Rogers. His European record was woeful. Lenny engineered a home win against what was undoubtedly the best team in Europe at the time, probably in the world, and but for an individual player error would have got a draw in the Camp Nou. BR’s reign started with a defeat to Red Imps, and other than very occasional good performances, was littered with regular hammerings. He was tactically inept in Europe.