Today another player arrived to strengthen the Celtic squad.
The new Bhoy is clearly the manager’s choice, and the current CEO would have been involved in processing the paperwork.
That is as it should be.
Of course, Celtic fans will know that for over a decade, the club had an unofficial director of football who occupied the CEO’s office.
It was the era of Lawwellball, of Managed Decline.
So, this dropped on the very day Ange got his new player.
File under “snatching discord from the jaws of dominance”.
Well done, Celtic.
Not…
There are now several canaries down the Parkhead mine.
The main one will be when Ange has his Marian Shved moment.
Within weeks of Brendan Rodgers very publicly disowning that acquisition, he was gone, and Lawwellball was back.
This from the Corporate Governance Institute is worth your time.
Here is a crucial section on the ex-CEO becoming the Chairperson.
Of course, “constantly looking over his shoulder” is what Celtic managers had to endure during the Lawwellball years.
The critical interface going forward now is between a chairman who was once the all-powerful CEO interacting with his erstwhile underling.
Starting to see the problem?
Dear reader, there isn’t anything that Mr Lawwell brings to the Chairperson’s role that another candidate could not.
Moreover, A.N.Other would not have the soiled baggage of Heated Driveway Productions and the Ten In A Row season debacle.
Perhaps Hoops fans should get accustomed once more to scratch teams attempting to get into the Champions League.
Remember that?
In this tragically brief interregnum without him, I have been aware of several projects behind the scenes proceeding along rather nicely.
These were all shot down when Mr Lawwell was CEO.
One of those projects was finally addressing how Celtic reacted to events across the city in 2012.
I would not be surprised if they’re opening the champers in the Blue Room today.
Odd puff piece with gers slant… windfall £250k) for january signings… with 1 ex-player in world cup group stages,
while ignoring celtic had 3 players in current team players in group stage (Mooy, Dizen and carter-vickers)… bizarre… so they have £1million windfall……
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/rangers/rangers-land-six-figure-windfall-ahead-of-january-transfer-window-thanks-to-borna-barisic-3939524
For the avoidance of doubt…. I neither know nor care what Mr. Lawwell’s duties or influences will be.
What I will confirm is that I contacted 15 fellow Celtic supporters (3 Ladies and 12 guys) …and asked them their opinion on his appointment…and here are the results of the Scottish jury.
3, on balance, thought his contribution over the years was good enough to welcome him back.
3 said they were on the fence.
The remaining 9 were totally against …citing the damage he had done in key areas.
Now I am not claiming that this ratio would be repeated across the entire support…. but what cannot be denied is our main shareholder (DD) cares not a jot what the support thinks…and that really is my main point.
He must have known that there would be ” objection” to this appointment…but he would also know that whilst there would be much ” white noise ” from the support…at the end of the day they would roll over and accept it….and all would be well again.
Sometimes you get what you deserve.
Dermot Desmond is without doubt extremely good at what he does.His reputed wealth to be over £2Billion, including some spectacular deals, like the London City Airport sale. The finances at Celtic are minor in comparison to the rest of his financial activity. If the majority of the support were in his position, the club would be awash with financial support, and we would have the very best of everything that went towards making the club up. I have always thought that Celtic isn’t really that important to him. Also he doesn’t seem to derive any great pleasure from the club, he cant even be bothered turning up at the AGM,s etc. Brendan Rogers was appointed predicated on a perceived personal slight at the deathstar. There have been times that a few million quid could have made all the difference to Celtic, but he has never done that to my knowledge. I’m just at a loss as to why he bothers at all. I have no idea what kind of dividends that he and the rest of the board have taken out of the club. He is most definitely in charge though, however, he always flies under the radar, and that’s what bothers me the most. Lawwell is not “back” in there because of Lawwell, he’s there because of Desmond.
Phil,
PL is the non-executive Chairman. The small section from the Corporate Governance Institute in your piece is about an ex-CEO becoming Chairman and the potential problems that this can bring as the Chair has executive powers. Therefore, it is not really relevant to the matter at hand.
Yes – and Lawwell claimed, in front of an AGM – that he hadn’t seen the 5 Way Agreement !
After 18 years as overbearing CEO – in practice Lawwell will not /cannot merely be a “non-exec” Chairman.
Maybe Nicholson will leave Parkhead before Ange…? 🙁
You’ve stirred a hornet’s nest here Phil.
I think this is being over thought. Non executive chairman to me is just an overseeing role. Ensure the company, or is it holding company/engine room subsidiary?, is run correctly. Chair board meetings etc. It has no day to day financial power. Name me the last 5 Celtic chairmen without resorting to google. That’s how important they are and should be to fans.
Granted going for 10 was a disappointment but does PL only get pelters for that season? No credit for the previous 9, the quad treble, increase in turnover, club on a very stable footing? Losing 10 was a perfect storm of several events. Lenny, discontent players, covid. Not everything is the big boogy man Peter’s fault.
JS
but if you have nepotism, you can have your voice control, in any boardroom
What increase in turnover? The turnover has hardly went up since he took over in 2004 except when Rodger’s qualified for the Champions League. This is despite record income from season books and merchandise, so the really the rest of the business hasn’t grown in 18 years. The guy is a charlatan who done just enough to keep enough people happy to prevent the crowd turning on him. I just wish the fans were in for the 2-1 home defeat to St Mirren at the start of 2020. There would only have been about 10,000 left at the final whistle, but they would have been straight to the car park after it to chase him and the other chancer Lennon out of Celtic Park for good.
Peter Lawwell and Desmond were dully responsible for bringing in Lennon, he was brought in for 2 reasons and 2 only 1: he was the cheapest option 2: he came in as a yes man that would not fight any interference from Lawwell, especially when it came to buying players in and picking the players for the team, the role that’s supposed to be for the manager (biggest 2 reasons Rodgers left).
Both Lawwell and Desmond knee how important that campaign was to not only the manager and players, but also the club and they were let down as bad as you can get.
When things were going bad and we were losing sight of second, Lawwell had that chance in the Nov to get rid of lenny and bring in a manager who knew what he was doing, he didn’t and let things get steadily worse, he still refused after the winter break to step in, the team still had the chance to turn things round but lenny was kept in place.
Lenton had a big part to play in all this, he was tactically inept, he was losing the dressing room if he hadn’t already, he says he loved the club but he put himself and his oversized ego first, he wouldn’t step down and let someone in who could salvage the season but refused.
By the time he did go the 10iar was gone, that was all because of the twin overinflated egos of both Lawwell and Lennon. They both claim to be true diehard fans but they let the 10iar go because they loved themselves far more than the club.
The fact that Lawwell stood in the shower rooms at hampden after we won the SC, he gave the job to Lennon and said he hadn’t even spoke or looked at any other person for the managers job, that’s a shocking admission from the clubs CEO, his job was to find the best man for the job.
A manager that would go out and get the 10iar that everyone yearned for, he knew Lennon wasn’t really good enough, but he must have thought that because sevco were so bad that all Lennon had to do was turn up.
But Lennon didn’t possess the skills to manage the players, for all the bad defeats (and every defeat is truly bad) Lennon never once took responsibility or even part responsibility for those losses, he blamed the players every single time, do that ling enough and you lose their respect and willingness to give their all for him.
He didn’t have the skill or knowledge to change the team around, sub’s were used on a like for like basis, not putting on a player and changing formation, it was put them on and do the same that was losing us the games and those precious points.
He was booted from Bolton because he couldn’t change things around tactically and he lost the dressing room, same thing at Hibs yet Lawwell knew this and still hired him full time, that decision lost us dearly, we could’ve been going for title no12 and maybe even sixth treble on the bounce, we had the far superior players and would’ve had the same with the manager if only Lawwell had gotten over his super o reinstated ego of his, sevco were there for the taken, but they went for our throats when they saw the huge weakness we had in our manager, and they finally got their bragging rights and even their mystical title 55, not because they were good but because we were spite and its all the fault of Lawwell and partially Lennons as well
Boak.
What a disaster,I cannot believe our club can endorse PL as a credible candidate in the Celtic faithfuls eyes.
Where is Nicholson in all this?
What are his views on Res12 and 5 way agreement?
What’s his reaction to this appointment?
When will we hear his voice?
Will he ensure the Chair sticks to his limits within his position on the board?
If the next statement from Celtic Park is from the new Chair and not the CEO, then it’s over I’m afraid.
Just when things were going so well…..
And what a coincidence…
The announcement of Lawwell’s appointment is made on the same day,
as the annoncement of a new signing, Kobayashi. Cynical?
Everytime I see Lawwell’s face in the media, I automatically think “secret 5 Way Agreement”. 😦
The only stakeholder happy with Lawwell’s return must be Desmond?
Also, Maxwell of the SFA, smugly declaring VAR a success and we’ve nothing to complain about.
I’m sure him and his ilk would’ve been comforted that it was going to be BAU.
It’s like watching uk Labour declare they are the party of the business owner and property speculator…which, for the removal of doubt, is exactly what the workers party, led by a man who owns a £10miliion donkey sanctuary, has done.
He is a force of good….. for the Rangers.
He is an incompetent appointed by other incompetents.
He has caused us more damage than the Ibrox club ever could, disgraceful appointment of an arrogant buffoon by a bunch of quislings.
Sooner they’re all away the better.
He never left. He stopped down from the role of CEO because he had to. The fans were in open revolt against him. So he gave up his title, stayed in the background for a season & a half to let the fans’ anger die down.
You you really think that the club carried out a proper recruitment process and the beat candidate was Lawwell’s son ? He hired his son.
The club thinks the fans are stupid. They have Ange out at the press today saying ” Lawell brought me to the club”. They wheeled him out to say the same about McKay, then when he left, the club wheeled him back out to say the exact same thing about Nicholson. They also wheeled him out to say all good things about Lawwell’s son & how he’s looking forward to working with him again. Now when did they work together before? As far as am aware one worked for man City and the other has never worked for them.
Ange better watch himself before the fans start calling bull on what he says
Ange might tow the company line to a point but if you think he will be played for a fool then you’re sorely mistaken. This man walked away from his national team after guiding them to a World Cup.
If he walks because of Lawwell interfering I would imagine fans would just about burn the joint to the ground.
Lawwell Jr worked at the Man City group not the football team per se.
In fact, he had nothing to do with them, despite the PR puff, but that’s fine, as we’re not in the same market as them for players.
He worked with the lesser teams, including the ones in Australia and Japan, which is where, I think, Ange encountered him.
I expect Ange will be happy to support the board, as long as the board support him and he doesn’t seem to be given to public criticism eg officiating and the only time I heard him speak out on brutal assaults on our players was days after the Alloa game, when the extent of the injuries to McGregor and Ideguchi became known.
I suspect the only time we’ll hear of his unhappiness is when he suddenly leaves with no apparent indication previously.
Still, with Lawwell back in tow, we’ll conduct a worldwide search for his successor before appointing someone who knows the City.
I hope he doesn’t steer us to another Quadruple Treble.
He didn’t, that was Rodgers, who wasn’t appointed by the sidelined Lawwell, who then seethed rather than celebrated Trebles and then was allowed to slither back and cause it all to come crashing down.
His legacy was appointing Lennon, a managerial lightweight under Lawwell’s control, unlike heavyweights like O’Neill and Rodgers.
When it inevitably came crashing down in the Not the 10 season, he did absolutely nothing, whether he was incapable or simply unwilling is immaterial, the club suffered greatly due to him.
That’s the measure of the man, whatever was good for him (everything micro-managed and subservient to him, PR spin not substance, no action on corruption despite given evidence etc) was done and players, managers and the club itself would not be allowed to get in his way.
Rodger’s legacy is one of what might have been. An incredible first season built on some excellent signings rather stalled after Lawwell discovered the bold Brendan’s attempts to instigate moves for Celtic employees to a Chinese club behind his & Board’s back.
That is the measure of the men. You side with Rodgers who put himself so above the club that he left 2 days before Hearts away with the vast swathes of the coaching staff in tow and who would’ve done a Chinese flit with dembele & whoever else solely to enrich himself & with no concern for the club or the fans.
If you believe that then you’re truly deluded.
There were many contributing factors to Rodgers leaving, with Lawwell not signing identified better players after others had done all the hard work being a significant one.
This was after the efforts of Rodgers and the team had driven revenue from £50m to £100m and record profits without any input from Lawwell.
It’s difficult to think of a major managerial figure who would put up with that.
Rodgers left after Celtic agreed compo of £10m, enough to source a similarly high-class replacement but your hero, naturally, didn’t spend a penny and the die was cast for the inevitable catastrophe.
I simply can’t believe anybody thinks this is a good idea. His legacy goes back a long way, 10+ years, costing us a title when he wouldn’t give Strachan the striker he badly needed. And that’s just one example. I despair.
Fletcher was not Celtic standard , get over that one
I jumped over to read the corporate governance thingy before reading on… the exact same section jumped out at me.
Lawwell will not be able to help himself — he will interfere. There is only room for one head on Ange’s shoulders and that is his own. He will not tolerate another’s. His is stock is very high and he will walk if Lawwell interferes.
Lawwell might be a good “businessman”, but Celtic won all those trophies “despite” him, not because of him — every silver lining has a cloud. He, and only he, lost us the 10. There are many who won’t forgive him for that — you can count me among them.
This is a very poor decision by Celtic and nothing good in the Stands or on the playing field will come of it. He is there to enforce, as he has always done, the ‘old firm’ model; raise it from the dead.
As you say, Phil, corks popping just along the road from me in Ibrox. Man, I can hear them as we speak. HH.🍀
The job title will be academic, he is officially back in , that is , if he ever actually left. I fully expect normal service to resume accordingly. I have heard the argument that we dominate domestically, and anything else is an unrealistic expectation on the part of the support. if you look across Europe teams with half our resources consistently do well in European competition.
The ambition at management level has to be there though, i’m talking director level, however, season books sold out, European three game package sold out, any tangible assets sold, job done for another season.
The Chairman that just left, made no visible contribution to the running of the club in any way that was discernible, i have a feeling those days are gone. We better prepare for a whole other level of chairmanship.
Where this board are concerned, as a support were due all we get in a way. We are faithful through and through, but after losing the ten in a row, this lot should have been ousted. The only way to do that is to hit their first love, which is money.
They, especially him, expected a huge backlash after losing the ten, it never materialised, and so, here we are looking at Lawwell 2.
I fear for Ange more than anything else. I hope i’m wrong, but, power mongers very seldom accept a diminished role in my experience. People are either going to have to defer, or alternatively leave.
This news has well and truly fkd up my weekend, & I don’t think it will be the only one.
Although I’m not over the moon about his appointment I think people need to calm down, some of the comments are over the top, Joke, Disaster, unbelievable ect bringing things up about lost titles and that if he’s to blame for everything that went wrong he must get all the credit for one of our most successful periods in our history.
I doubt he’ll have as much influence as before and if he does that probably says more about the others running our club than him.
Thought this was a joke, unbelievable action by the board.
looks like there could be a dollar to be made hear, PETE with a few players up for sale, and getting in early the shareholders rubbing their hands that Pete, is back and able at Will to put all sales monies back into accounts and some into the biscuit tin
It seems to be a recurring theme at Celtic.
The team are motoring along nicely, the support are united behind the tea and manager and then BOOM 💥
Celtic manage to make an arse of things.
I hope the incoming Chairman will be content to cut ribbons and provide the comments in the yearly accounts hut I think we are all aware that that’s not his thing.
I’d also be interested to see how the chairman’s remittance changes in his tenure.
Only Celtic can manage to do this
Celtic is running like a well oiled machine at the moment.
If this appointment in any way disrupts that, then we know who to blame.
I’m prepared to wait and see, even though my gut tells me it is an unnecessary risk.