Seventeen years is a considerable length of time in the life of any organisation.
Indeed, it is long enough for relatively rigid custom and practice conventions to be implicitly built into the fabric of any operation.
At Parkhead, this has been particularly evident when it comes to player recruitment.
Most Celtic supporters would be able to rhyme off a litany of botched transfer negotiations since 2003.
In the end, quality players were not signed after tortuous wrangling or acquisitions that seemed to surprise both the manager and the supporters.
For the avoidance of doubt, the common denominator would be the role played by the untitled director of football.
Only the Rodgers interregnum saw player acquisition being handled by a suitably qualified football person-i.e. the manager.
Will it be different now?
I caught up with a well-placed source last night who was in a position to bring me up to speed with the goings-on at Parkhead.
He mentioned the name of a senior functionary at Celtic who would typically have input into transfer negotiations.
Let’s just say that said person has been dropped from the first team, and Dominic McKay has now assumed full charge of that part of the operation.
It was always going to take time to eradicate the Lawwell way of doing things at Celtic entirely.
A glimmer of good news is that it is now very much the Ange n Dom show regarding player recruitment.
Of course, the ex-SRU chap will be spinning a daunting array of plates at the moment.
What neither he nor his manager has is that precious commodity:
Time.
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Problem there is Phil, they’re working from the same shortlist comprised at Lawwells request, seemingly thousands of players all with ‘filters’ to make it there, young, cheap, easy to negotiate with, potential resale
The real footballers aren’t even on the list, they never made the criteria.
And we’ve no director of football or head of scouting to bring along their own black book
So you see, the Ange and Dom show is still the lawwell show
There has been very little change sofar and I can’t see any optimism for change in the near future. I know ange has only been in charge for a few games but surely its time he realised you can’t fit square pegs in round holes and needs to change tactics/formation to suit the players we have at present until he can recruit players for his system.
One more thing.Joe Hart is atrocious and is an expensive panic buy. Even at his best he was mistake prone. Pep sussed him day one City. If Dom and Ange buy him then our manager and CEO don’t have what it takes. Please please please no to Joe. Old ex Premiership players are always expensive and a mistake. Dublin Lundberg Juninho Gillespie Kasim-Richards even RoyKeane etc. We should never buy such.
Not convinced by that. I think Hart would so a job for us. He was England’s no 1 for donkey’s, (not England’s no 1 donkey!) He knows his shit like. Anyway, it’d be good for Barkas to have some proper competition, no?
Somehow and for some unknown reason, Desmond, Lawwell and Lennon have conspired to bring the club to it’s knees. Kudos to those who saw through Lawwell when it looked like he was the “bee’s knees” as far as running a football club.
Hope you are right Phil. But any CEO worth his salt knows you negotiate the role before you take the job and land and take charge day 1. Dom has made a huge mistake it’s his ship and he should have taken the wheel months if not weeks ago. Massively Underwhelmed by Dom so far.
How does that square with Desmond’s leak that he’s taken a hands on approach to transfers, Phil? On current form Ange and Dom seem simply to be repeating the failures of the past. The deadline for Euro transfers was today and there’s no-one new available for Wed. Putting Starfeldt in front of the mefia today is typical deflection tactics.
Can’t criticise the new manager, and possibly for the whole of this season, if he stays. He has been sold the proverbial pup!
As for the new CEO…
yes, he has also come into a mess, but no clear statement of intent so far.
An easy win, to generate some much needed goodwill amongst the support – and maybe also to buy some time – is to manage the Chairman out of the Boardroom.
How Bankier has remained in post – after the Howe farce alone – is both a mystery and an affront to the paying punters.
My first Celtic match was in 1958 when we beat Queen Of The South 3-2 at Parkhead. I remember Charlie Tully was in the team that day. Celtic finished 6th in the table that season behind Rangers, Hearts, Motherwell, Dundee and Airdrieonians. They were pretty mediocre in those days but I was hooked. I have travelled to many European away fixtures mainly by hitchhiking and have celebrated the highs and suffered the lows along the way but I can honestly say that I have never felt more depressed about my club as I do today.
Been watching Celtic since the early 1970’s. I’ve seen a lot of poor teams and players during this time. But last season was the worst I’ve seen, as Celtic players just chucked it in our biggest league season since 1975. Ange and the young Bhoys will turn it around given time, but time is the one thing Ange hasn’t got. However I’m encouraged by Phil’s report that Dominic McKay is working with Ange in recruitment. All we can do is keep the faith and support the team – and maybe a wee prayer or two as well.
I’ve been following Celtic since 1972 but this is not the worst time as the 90s were the worse. At least we are in rude financial help this time around and change is in the air. I have faith in Ange and Dom but I don’t like the major shareholder but I hope he proves me wrong. On a brighter note we have an unbroken history and there is more history to come once we sort ourselves out. HH.
I’m sorry but once Dermot rode in on his white charger Dom failed his first big test.His position is becoming untenable and he’s been told to be a good boy and dont rock the boat
It’s perfectly clear to me that some Celtic supporters ( but in the 100 or so number of fans I know well. , only a tiny minority thankfully ) have pressed the ‘ panic button ‘….sadly you seem one of the panic-brigade Phil.
” Time ” is precisely what Ange has…and what Ange needs…
If fans realise that if we can give him at least a full season ( 2 or 3 transfer windows to get in who he want and remove who he doesn’t) and in this season , be allowed to gel and mould together a Celtic team that will play the Celtic Way…fast , exciting , attacking football then in a season or so we will have a team to be proud of…
However that takes courage and patience from our support….looking forward with positivity and optimism and belief in a manager who has a clear vision of what all Celtic supporters yearn for…..
Winning…but doing it by sheer entertainment….by playing the game The Celtic Way…
We have to man-up /woman-up as fans….and not put the pressure of a “time ” gun to Ange’s head…and yes that includes you Phil…
Let him develop HIS team in HIS image…
Time….
Courage…and…
Patience…
Only with those three elements as a support can we hope to make Ange’s stewardship a success…
In Ange I trust !!
Hail Hail ☘
I think you maybe forgetting the early 80’s
Really?League Champs 81,82 against a very good Aberdeen side,Scottish Cup & League Cup wins,decent Euro results.If you dont remember 89-95 you weren’t there.
I assume you mean the early 90s, as the early 80s team was good.