Another Sunday, another Sunday league goal conceded.
Anyone surprised by the result in Dingwall tonight clearly hasn’t been paying attention.
Twelve months ago, Celtic had a dependable spine of Forster, Ajer, Julien, a year younger Scott Brown and a fully focussed Edouard.
One year later, the collapse has been Shakespearean.
A few weeks ago, a well-placed source told me that the managerial situation at Celtic had descended into a payoff standoff.
He told me that it was a case of being sacked was much more profitable than walking and the difference being a seven-figure sum.
Now, that is one possible explanation for Neil Lennon still being in the job.
The other one is that no viable candidate wants to take over at this point.
Of course, those two propositions are not mutually exclusive.
Actually, they might be connected.
In the post-match interview on BBC Sport Scotland, Neil Lennon stated that he was the man to carry out a squad re-build in the summer.
Oh dear…
Indeed, on Sky Sports, he seemed relaxed enough about his situation.
If my information is correct, the decision on the manager’s future needs to happen at CEO level.
That’s because the man himself is happy enough to sit tight.
Of course, the Celtic CEO is someone else who has massively failed in this historic season.
These words from Mr David Cunningham King in 2017 should haunt Mr Lawwell because they turned out to be accurate.
Veteran Sports journalist and Celtic fan Brian McNally nailed it on the final whistle.
Amazingly at this stage, the man with the heated driveway still has his shills in the Celtic end.
No doubt they will be Quick with alternative News that everything is in hand and that there is a process.
For the avoidance of doubt, I’m not buying.
Moreover, many folks with virtual season tickets won’t repeat the remote donation unless there is a radical change.
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I’ll tell you how bad Lenny is at his ” job “…
I came on here, quite a while ago, and asked why the boy Welsh was being ignored after showing up well at Hamilton…I then later suggested that Turnbull and Soro should consider asking for a move away…as they were being overlooked in favour of mediocrity…and guess what ? All of them have now found favour and are flavour of the month.
Question then…
If I spotted this anomaly way back…what the hell does he do all day ?
Apart from sticking to his obvious favourites that is.
Does my head in.
And one final thing while I’m on my high horse…
A wee message to whoever takes over…get the players to spend an hour a day learning to pass/ chip/ cut back/ and cross…the final ball…We must be the WORST team in the world for wasting final ball opportunities.
So much good build up…so much pish at its conclusion.
The game is simple…ffs keep it that way.
Desmond is like an absentee landlord in 19th century Ireland, sneering at his indentured charges while his incompetent estate managers insult and abuse them.
Simply don’t buy Season Tickets or Virtual Season Tickets. Plus don’t buy any merchandise. Don’t bother protesting outside the ground either, you will just embarrass yourself and the clubs name.
Eventually the Hierarchy will simply get the message.
Hierarchy have made so many mistakes since Rodgers walked out, now you can understand why.
Celtic have been simply like an amateur club recently. Whilst aiming for history.
In my opinion Neil lennon has to be sacked as he is not going to walk away or resign. Money talks and he wants his pay off. We have had every excuse in the book from the Tactical inept Lennon, its everyones fault bar his, he hasnt been man enough to stand up and say” i am not up to the job im outta here get someone else in” while there was still a chance of the Ten. lennon was backed with plenty of millions and all of our best players were retained. He is not up to the job and hasnt been for months, the dressing room was lost last Autumn, i believe the players saw through him quicker than the fans. if he really cared about the supporters and the club he would go.
The players don’t care, the manager doesn’t care, and the CEO doesn’t care. But the rot starts at the top, and it’s time to make clear to Desmond that he has failed too, and his asset will only decline in value with each passing day. His cynicism and greed are behind the collapse of this club, and the integrity of the game in Scotland, and probably neither will ever recover. As for Neil Lennon, he’s playing the McCoist because like Fat Salary he knows this is the last job he will ever be given. I’d like to see the next owner and CEO put him on gardening leave and then publicly shame him, on a weekly basis, for ruining ten in a row (twice). He’s entitled to his seven figures, or he’s entitled to his dignity. He’s not entitled to both.
Emile Z. “The next owner”. Is there something afoot? Is the club being sold to one owner? I haven’t had any correspondence regarding purchase of my shares as would be the case if a new owner were taking majority control. There is a popular misconception that Dermot Desmond owns Celtic. He may be a significant, and the largest, shareholder but he is far from the majority shareholder nor the owner of the club. Many individuals and institutions hold substantial shares in Celtic and were they so inclined could out vote Dermot. While Dermot may drive the club’s direction through his large shareholding, it is perfectly feasible that he could be out voted if any decision he made was not acceptable to the other shareholders.
Some seem to think it is Dermot who should bank roll the club. Why would a minority shareholder in any company bank roll them?
So there will be no “next owner” singular any time soon
JS
First of all …thanks for enlightening me here…I confess to having been totally wrong about DD’s ” involvement ” in the Club…You have put me right.
Tell me this ‘though…Is it ” the norm ” that the largest shareholder gives out the impression that he is in charge…and acts accordingly ?
Is that what usually happens ?
Genuine question…because he gives the distinct impression that ” he owns ” the Club…wouldn’t you agree ?
Thanks again for info.
Whaaat, wee neilly is holding the club he ‘loves’ to ransom…C’mon man he wouldn’t do that… he ‘loves’ Celtic sooo much that he once left us for the world renowned Bolton Wanderers.
I’m not sure how the tired old “biscuit tin mentality” relates to this season. Plenty money was given to Lenny. He has spent £10m on a keeper and striker and they warm a bench. He brought in Duffy, probably at high wages, and he seems to be towing an anchor. He spent a significant amount of money in Scottish terms. Certainlyenough to beat Ross County, Livingston et al. The issue is not the spending, it was who was charged with that spending. And don’t let’s go down the road of “money in the bank”. Yes, there was/is money in the bank for a rainy day. However, it has been pouring for the last year. Covid will have a lasting impact on many clubs and those in debt even more so. Sevco threw the kitchen sink at stopping 10. Whether they should be allowed to under FFP is another question but they did and their directors will be paying for that with their additional confetti shares. Unfortunately if someone at the poker table goes all in you have to decide whether to call their bluff in a gamble of your own, which could put your finances in serious danger, or allow the other player’s bluff to succeed. Anyone could gamble by going all in and get a player who doesn’t work out at great cost. You only need to look at England to see double figure millions spent on failures. So to go all in for the parochial victory of 10iar is madness. The manager was given ample funds. He chose to spend it on the wrong things.
Of course we could have spent a lot on a manager and given him the purse strings. That is a gamble too. How many well respected managers just don’t succeed when they move? And what level of manager is available to Celtic? We can’t compete with any top league in terms of wages and competition. We only got rodgers because he was unemployed at the time. Once he re-established his credentials he was off.
So let’s not use the tired old “biscuit tin” complaint. Enough money was made available, more than expected under the current circumstances. It was just invested badly by someone who wins the occasional game of poker but really is not the poker player he thinks he is.
Sevco may find out that stopping 10 has been a pyrrhic victory once all the bills and court defeats start dropping.
JS
I totally agree with your comment..
Spending money hasn’t been the problem and ” Biscuit tins” shouldn’t get a mention.
The truth is…our buys, in the main, have been shocking…no other word for it…and someone needs sacked.
Last night’s poor result brings down the curtain on this shitshow of a season but worse is to come if Lenny is still at the helm when we play sevco as we will undoubtedly be slaughtered by a team of journeymen who have been well-drilled and organised to make up for their lack of individual talent. That will be one step too far and surely to God someone at Celtic will have the balls to show Neil the door at that point if they don’t do it today.
These players need to get fit, get organised and get the correct training and tactics from someone who knows what they’re doing. This does not include anyone from the backroom staff who have to take responsibility for their part in the downfall. Lenny has lost the team as well the coaches who don’t seem able to change things.
Supporters are sick to the stomach of the penny-pinching Board who are more interested in dividends than their ‘customers’ and their aspirations for the club but they should be aware that the fans who pay the wages won’t continue to as long as NFL is still (mis)managing the team and picking players for the future. He’s talking about next season, dear God, Heaven forbid that such a calamity like that happens as he wouldn’t know a decent player if he met one in his porridge.
Please Celtic, do the right thing and give Neil his P45 as soon as possible. HH
It really is descending into a farce at CFC.
The longer the lame duck manager remains in post, the more annoyed / frustrated / disillusioned us paying punters will become: the players stopped playing for NL months ago.
An ambitious club would have punted NL long before now – and at least try and win the SC, whilst securing 2nd spot.
But then again, we all know that an ambitious club simply would not have considered NL for the manager post on a permanent basis.
And off the field?
We have a lame duck CEO who presumably is ‘demob happy’. He should be on gardening leave.
Forget about the size of any NL payoff.
The damage being inflicted on the club as a whole – by having both NL & PL in post – will prove to be significantly higher, in my opinion.
…and this crazy scenario just confirms that the Board is simply not fit for purpose either! 🙁
Not ALL the reasons for the disaster this season has turned into can be laid at the feet of Lennon.
From the cancellation of the two games after Bolingoli incident we’ve been chasing the game. The first four or five games of ANY season are where you get up to match speed. We had one game then a two week lay off which basically put us back to square one. We just got going and then we had major guys out isolating because of covid contacts during an International break. Then Forrest, who was arguably our best player last season, and big Julie got crocked.
THAT was followed by the next bunch of International caused isolations. A perfect shit-storm going into the first sevco game where we were short of at least 6, maybe 8 players, who WOULD have started. For some reason I frankly can’t get my head round there are Celtic fans who still thought we had a realistic chance in that game and blamed the defeat on Lenny.
We were STILL WELL in the league despite ALL of the above going into the second sevco game. We were playing them OFF THE PARK in that game until we went down to ten men AND they got an OG.
Then came the Dubai fiasco and yet more isolations. This was followed by the disaster that was January. From Dubai to the present shitshow can be laid squarely on the shoulders of Lennon AND the players, many of whom seem to have spent much of last year’s extended, covid induced break, inflating their ego’s.
Going back to the start of the season. The VAST majority of Celtic fans, including many on this site, were delighted when we signed Ajeti and then Duffy. I was sceptical about BOTH. After Ajeti started well I thought he would work out. He hasn’t. HE might yet. Duffy? As long as he’s got an arsehole on his body will NOT make a Celtic CB.
The Celtic fans who are blaming all and sundry, from DD to PL to NL to the recruitment team, to the cleaning ladies, for signing these players are the very guys who were hailing them as great signings. Hindsight ALWAYS has 20-20 vision and is generally viewed through an arsehole.
Lennon was 100% CORRECT when he said Celtic have been affected MORE by Covid than any other team in Scotland. AND, other than Bolingoli, probably none of it was the fault of either the club OR any individual player. It’s 99.9% certain that big Julie was infected BEFORE he went to Dubai and any contact with any other player was as likely to happen here as there.
Sometimes shit just happens.
On a brighter note, one positive from the season, is the emergence of young Welsh. I think there’s the makings of a right good CB in that boy.
the first 4 or 5 games? Then why did Lennon give the players 2 days off after we beat Hamilton? Any one watching that game could clearly see that the players were a yard or 3 short but our manager gives them 2 days off which lead to the bolingoli disaster…and to make matters worse, after the killie game, he tells us big julianne is a ‘slow burner’…but hey let’s give them 2 days off between the OPENING 2 games of the most important league campaign since we stopped rangers from claiming 10. Lennon is to blame for costing us 10…and not once but twice. But i’m guessing the Lennon fanboys will be blaming Lawell for the catastrophe in Inverness?
Only a poor rank amateur would give players 2 days off at the start of any campaign never mind one as important as this.
Lennon is a disgrace to Celtic football club, an embarrassing individual who is so stubborn and self indulgent it shocking, no other Celtic manager in its history has survived such incompetence as Lennon, for him to state that hes a true Celtic man is beyond a joke now, to continually oversee such horrendous performances on a weekly basis yet not having the self awareness to see the catastrophic harm he’s inflicting on the club is staggering, Neil Lennon is an embarrassment to himself, to the board and to Celtic FC….
Lennon should have been sacked on the spot the first time he was caught on camera taking snus in the dugout. What next, him sitting there swigging a can of beer?
As I said in a previous, (not printed) post. The WHOLE restructuring process is six months out of sync with the season. I think ANY change has to come right now to give us any remote chance of being ready for the European qualifiers. But PL has to go FIRST. NEW CEO. THEN, if one is to be appointed, Director of Football. THEN management team.
The timescale is already tight, I personally think the process should have started months ago, but ANY other order is highly unlikely to work. The relationships betwee these guys are the most important at the club.
If this logical order is followed, and the new CEO is NOT in place until the date previously published, then the existing management team WILL still be in place.
Let me paint a scenario here which could fuck things up further. The existing management team is still in place. We breeze through the European qualifiers. We get off to a flier in the league. Do we THEN risk the disruption of bringing in a NEW management team with NO guarantee that it will improve anything or even work out at all. THAT would be s real rock and a hard place situation.
Radical change has to happen way before season ticket renewal. How many are likely to renew for more of the same?
Lennon is like a beloved child who keeps borrowing the family car and pranging it. Of course you still love him; but eventually you have to take away the keys.
The Espanyol of Glasgow seem to be doing quite well.
By definition the Barcelona of Glasgow are having a nightmare of a season with a clueless selfish imposter of a manager in control of football matters.
Regardless of the cost he must go soon.
He inherited a Rolls Royce and turned it into a Lada.
Something has always gnawed at me about that day at Hampden when Lenny was reported to have been offered job in showers.
Is it possible that Lenny, knowing how desperate Lawwell and club were that he got a poison pill provision in deal that gave him a huge payoff if he were to be sacked before seasons end?
Or is it possible that he got this provision in aftermath of club being screwed over by Rodgers. Used his leverage at that moment? If that were case, it might explain why he got offered job in showers.
In either case it could explain why they won’t sack him before end of season. Are the extenuating circumstances Lenny hinted at financial ones?
I don’t really care now what the reasoning is for keeping Neill in the job
But I do have a major concern about his safety
He’s becoming a hated figure now
Got to agree with you , nobody wants the job, and he is not for walking.
Might be he needs some gardening leave till the end the season.
He seems to digging a bigger hole than anticipated in his demise. But continues to keep the shovel in his hand.
Might be a few years before they get back on track but the investment will need to be massive.