It is widely accepted among the Celtic support that Dermot Desmond is an absentee landlord, a disinterested billionaire.
However, that is certainly not how I read it at the moment.
Last night a very well-placed source told me the following:
“The Celtic players were still at Parkhead after the match when a call came through to the chief executive.”
My guy said that the instruction to Mr Lawwell was to “bring the manager with you”.
During the Zoom call, it was pointed out to the Armagh man that the board had fully backed him in the transfer window.
No major assert was sold-I’m told that this on Desmond’s express instructions- and that an array of first-team starters had been signed.
The first significant failure was against the Ferencváros in the Champions League qualifiers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7xXyqtZ17M
There were a few questions raised that night about Neil Lennon’s team selection and in-game decision making.
Typically after such a European failure, Celtic will sell a key asset to balance the books.
This has not happened this season and that all because of Ten In A Row.
I’m told that the Celtic accounts will not make for pretty reading when they are published.
Remember those are to the year-end (30th June).
Of course, all of the football world has been hit hard by the Covid shutdown.
Despite this, Celtic have continued to spend in order to strengthen the playing squad.
Consequently, it was “no more excuses” time for the guy that I personally like and admire.
In footie parlance, my understanding is that the guy in the dugout is now on a yellow card.
Next up for the porous Celtic defence is this guy.
However, it will be the two domestic matches against Aberdeen that will lay down the marker for this season.
For many of the Hoops fans, failure will be unforgivable.
That’s probably unfair, but it is the current mood.
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I dont think there is a single Celtic fan who doesnt support Neil Lennon however this is’nt about him, it’s about Celtic as a club. Under Rodgers the standards were set at another level, in terms of fitness, style of play…and yes he was brutal in Europe but he took us to another level. When he left I was happy NL got the job but I would liek to see top class coaching staff. Someone who will lift the standards again, someone like Rene Muelensteen would be brilliant. He coaches brilliantly, he knows tactics and he makes players better. I think bringing in Strachan was a chance missed, he ahs come from League 2 to one of the biggest clubs in the world and so far it doesnt look like he is having the desired impact. Maybe buying top players is only half the battle, they need to be coached into a team
Phil I posted a comment 3 days ago. Do you only post comments you agree with?
Sorry to spoil your conspiracy theory.
You might notice that very few comments have been approved recently
Simply too time-consuming with a manuscript to finish.
The truth is often prosaic-for future reference…
Celtic is Desmond’s train set.
Plays with it once a year then put is back in the Cupboard to go play golf for the rest of it.
You can’t leave to top class strikers on the bench, play one up front, then blame anyone but yourself.
Lennon has a simple fix. Believe in his players’ ability and play 433 or at least 352.
His uber cautious approach and non mea culpa post mortems will cost us the chance in a lifetime.
It is not “unfair” one bit Phil…..
our performances this season have collectively been nothing short of disgraceful.
our signings the past couple of seasons are well, just as bad as our performances this season. I assume we are all Celtic fans so no need to name names.
simply not good enough and the quicker we get Eddie Howe in there the better.
HH
Previous post not displayed Phil
First up…there are no comments published from previous thread…but one from here ?
Anyway…
I am at a loss to understand why you think its ” probably unfair ” Phil.
As far as I’m concerned, my opinion of Lenny falls into two categories…The man and the Manager.
As a man he has my total respect and support …following the way he handled the bigots and scum who personally attacked him in many guises.
Most guys would have decided that having your life threatened was a price not worth paying…and would have walked away.
He, however, stood up to the rabble…and for that will have my eternal respect.
As a Manager ,however, he has let standards slip in a variety of ways…and at the end of the day, in a results driven business…as the Manager, he has to pay the price.
People better qualified than me can point to 3-5-2’s …or 4-3-3’s …and discuss it in depth.
Me…?…I just look at players and how they are performing in games…irrespective of the system…and make a judgement on that.
Recently far too many players have been posted missing…and that’s been reflected in defeats…and narrow ( undeserved ?) wins.
That doesn’t seem to resonate with Lenny ‘though…he’s long been an advocate of ” favourites “…irrespective of their performance levels…and that just doesn’t sit well with me.
Players like Elyanoussi, for example, should have been nowhere near that team…along with a few others.
I could go on all day…but…to concentrate on the Sevco defeat…
I thought his team selection was wrong…the style of play was wrong…the way he handled the substitutions was abysmal…
and his after match comments were unacceptable.
Put all that together…and we have problems if he stays.
Just my opinion.
Hail hail
Delighted to see Desmond has made demands. The manager failed. His selection was a disgrace and the only person who would agree with his selection was Gerrard. He lost the dressing room after the Ferencvaros game and the players are not playing for him. If there were players who didn’t want to be there he should have named them or not selected them. It was obvious before the game we would not pose a goalscoring threat and that our only hope would be after 65 mins( his regular sub time) He only went earlier when we lost the second goal. Yes he was up against it – minus so many first choices but to leave Turnbull and our 2 goal scorers benched was criminal. Kilmala seemingly wasn’t good enough for a league start 3 weeks ago against a provincial club but is ok to start against Sevco!
I loved Lennon as a player( true Celtic great) and he came in last year at a difficult time and secured the treble with victories against Hearts and Aberdeen and we owe him a lot. However, the biggest obstacle to 10 is I’m afraid Neil. When managers lose the dressing room there is only one solution and prevarication is the biggest mistake a board/chairman or chief executive can make.
I have to totally disagree and embarrassed at some of the shameful vitriol aimed at the Manager . The result was disappointing no doubt and we got what we deserved 0. Nothing was wo or lost only 3 pts albeit a sore one with an opportunity to drive a nail in the coffin .
However I would urge Celtic Fans to stay calm and keep there own counsel. There is an element of entitlement starting once again to encroach into psyche of a lot of so called supporters. This club has won 11 Trophies on the spin , 2 games away from Quadruple Treble and the Holy Grail awaits of we hold our nerve. What good does the continued negativity of our Manager gain . It fuels the confidence in Gerrard and his cohorts it allows the media to stir up the disenchantment and try everything to undermine what will be a never again achieved feat. In 20 years time no one will went the manner or style its all about the trophy. Neil.Lennon for the time being is entrusted with the job and he is up for it and more than carapace. Be careful what you wish for and I recall similar scenario and enter stage left Tony Mowbray. I support my team through thick and thin and trust our Manager to deliver I trust our Board and Chief Exec to give NL the tools to succeed and let’s demonstrate that we are the greatest supporters in the world which with sheer bile and demonising is not merited . Compare the landscape at Man Utd for example who have ploughed massive amount of money in Billions and have won nothing. Yes we have some remedial tinkering to do and not to forget the impact of no fans seems to have had a huge polarised effect on both sides of Glasgow. We will adapt and I also would ask why there is never any questions asked about Gerrards position when he has won the square root of zero . Yet we hear so much from Celtic fans perpetuating this myth. Football is not a boxing match you don’t win on points and rather than look at the manner which Celtic dug in against the odds and retained the League Cup, instead we use this as ammunition to fuel the hysteria. A good friend of mine and I both same age mid 50s and I lamented the fact and now we are both more upset by the reaction rather than the result. We are not sycophants however we will keep our criticism measured and balanced as of all seasons we need patience and to go that extra mile. Its akin to self sabotage with some fans almost to ready to help derail project 10IAR. I make an impassioned appeal to calm down and wait till January at very least to assess where we are voice support because shouting for a Managers head with effectively a 1 pt deficit serves noone .
In Lennon we trust and hope that the doomsayers will be as quick to praise as they are to criticise
HH HWG10IAR
It’s no good having the best squad in the country if you don’t have the wherewithal to deploy them effectively. I have been behind Neil Lennon throughout his Celtic career and I greatly appreciate what he has achieved and the hardships he has faced personally for the Club. He made these sacrifices selflessly. However, I also recognise that he has made many costly tactical errors during his period of tenure. Every manager makes errors, but if you keep making the same ones, then something has to be done, especially during this monumental season .I feel there is no wriggle room left and action must be taken to get us back on course and more importantly, establish a settled juggernaut of a team that will achieve the goal we are all hoping for. Thank you Neil but it’s time to go.
Yes indeed and rightly so, your staunch defending of The Celtic manager may well be an Irish thing.
He has failed when others might have done better.
The question is who made the signings?
We have so called unfit players sitting on a bench having paid numerous millions of pounds on.
Celtic fan sites slagging off players left right and centre. The goalkeeper is now the number one target. He’s a Greek international player.
You would think we had not won anything for years.
We are definitely not playing well.
Something is wrong, and am afraid the buck stops at Neil’s door.
He is accountable for the team selection and tactics but not for individual errors.
It’s time for some hard decisions all round, and that includes the fans getting behind the team.
All the sport journalists, are now about to give there backing to Neil, in a sort of glad he is here for the long hall
Lennon must realise himself it’s not working, if he loves our club, there’s only one solution, resign and let someone else come in with plenty time to get us back on track and playing football the celtic way. If not 10IAR will be gone.
An intervention from DD – with a slap for BOTH NL and PL – is the very least to be expected.
Don’t think anyone’s going to panic: no hefty payoff for NL and no expensive, interim manager either. Not going to happen.
Even without knowing his best team, applying confusing tactics, and refusing to make substitutions earlier: NL will still deliver 10IAR.
Over the long season, (assuming it’s completed in full though), the squad with the best players and the greater depth of squad quality ‘should’ prevail in the SPL.
(However, the EL games could provide some embarrassment.)
Recent results are already unforgivable.
The phone call from DD and your account of its content is not in the least surprising.
I’m only surprised that NL is still in the job.
Can certainly understand Lenny being given a yellow, and that a second one would become likely if he fails spectacularly in next few domestic games. However, when is that same penalty going to befall the man who hired him, on a seeming whim, in the Hampden showers? When will DD do something about his man Lawwell?
It is fair first and foremost. This isn’t on the back of 2 results. This stems to last season as well, Cluj and Copenhagen and Sevco twice. His use of the squad is awful as such players aren’t match fit, then moans about it. Yet, he has no qualms about a 20 year old not playing in months, or a brand new player who doesn’t know the squad or having played in months either starting. To many square pegs in round holes in terms of the useless, head scratching formation 3-6-1. Players he signed not being played and not resting Brooney despite saying he couldn’t play all those games. He can’t change things as he is yesterday’s man in terms of coaching and Gerrard and his team team have his number. We have regressed on the park and this is down to him. All this with baffling interviews makes him look foolish. No doubting his passion and what he’s achieved for the club, but football and the club have evolved and he hasn’t. There is no room for sentiment. We need to move on, before it’s too late this season and Lennon tarnishes his own legacy.
If Celtic’s finances are bad, where on earth does that leave Sevco’s….why isn’t anyone asking the question?
Someone is backing them with big bucks,as there is no way they could survive with no overdraft facility despite losing 80 million plus since the beginning of their new club. More concerned about our own clubs finances and our bank reserves could be wiped out very soon.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail…That’s exactly what Lennons downfall is, he’s learnt the square root of f##k all in the last 12 months in big games, outplayed, out thought and out fought, the alarm bells were ringing loud enough after failing so miserably in the CL, tactically as poor as they come, and surrounding himself with a poor backroom team, tae constantly persist with 2 WB and no overlapping runners is farcical, plus 1 up top when he’s your 4th choice striker, farcical again, yes we had players missing, but would an under performing Eddy improved Saturdays game, would a Julien who gets bullied against the tramps improved us Saturday . The only thing that will improve Celtic is a change in manager and backroom staff before its beyond saving….KTF
If we lose the game in hand to Aberdeen and the semi to Aberdeen then he has to go. I’m a fan, like and still like NL but has no tactical nous when it comes to in game changes of formations and players underperforming.
From 10 mins in Rankers had our team second to every single 50/50 ball. It was clear Frimpong told to defend, Laxalt was a rookie out of his depth, Ntcham did feck as as did Elyanousi. Duffy and defence were woeful and only 1 player got any pass marks at all for me and the was McGregor.
I pay for a season book and buy merchandise, I’m entitled to say change is needed when it’s needed and I really thought we had the measure this time going into the game but I was so wrong I couldn’t shake the shock till today.
We should NEVER have been beaten by them, never. So it’s down to NL his selections and those feckers on the park.