I wrote the following last Wednesday:
Yes, it is a distraction with the cup final at the weekend, but the Ange to Spurs rumour continues to gain traction.
In the argot of the Fourth Estate, the story now “has legs”.
Inevitably the Celtic support has reacted with a mixture of scorn and anguish.
Spurs are undoubtedly a managerial bin fire.
The owner Daniel Levy has a reputation for being capricious when it comes to the managers at his club.
Rather unsurprisingly, quite a few candidates have turned down the offer to manage the London outfit.
That said, Celtic’s Australian messiah would be entering the EPL promised land on life-changing money for him and his young family.
That is something that will factor in his decision-making process should Mr Levy come calling.
Today I was told by an excellently placed journalist in the London footie world that Celtic’s manager WOULD want to be allowed to speak to them.
[My emphasis]
That final sentence prompted some fairly emotional responses.
Apparently, I was making it all up, and Ange was perfectly happy with his exalted place in the Parkhead firmament.
Sadly, some of the comments strayed into ad hominem territory.
The good news, dear reader, is that you don’t get to read them.
For the avoidance of doubt, it isn’t the first time that events have quietly vindicated your humble correspondent.
Perhaps managers that last only two seasons angling for a better move while fist pumping and badge slapping are the new normal.
The same excellently placed source has now informed me that Brendan Rodgers has “already been sounded out by Celtic”.
Last April, the ex-Leicester City legend stated that “I’m now looking forward to having a chance to reflect and recharge and get ready for the next opportunity.”
I’m told that Mr Desmond is rather keen on his return.
If Rodgers isn’t interested in returning to the club that he so suddenly departed from in February 2019, then that would be a smart move, in my opinion.
He seems to be a person who needs adulation, and I doubt that there would be much of that awaiting him in Paradise this time around.
As per my offering last week, you can choose to believe or disbelieve this report that power brokers at Celtic are keen on his return.
What isn’t up for debate is that I value and protect my sources and trust their integrity.
Addendum
Not all of those in the command structure at Celtic are in unanimity on the next manager.
Enzo Maresca has at least one powerful advocate at Scotland’s richest club.
I understand that he was spoken to today about the possibility of replacing Postecoglou.
The unsensible season is now truly underway.
Discover more from Phil Mac Giolla Bháin
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big age eh. jumped ship first chance he had. after celtic gave him a good platform to show the football world what he could do. gave him the freedom of our club, now back stabbed in the back. hope he fails quickly at spurs, then hope it will be in his mind shit i shoulda stayed at celtic. but celtic still goes on. the way im thinking now is give kennedy the job, hees worked under some good managers i think he would be good for celtic, second choice bodo glinte manager he plays nice attacking fitba to, but for some reason i think martin oniell will get the job
Well, you be back stabbed in the front 😂
I think he was using as a stepping stone all along. If John Kennedy is not ready now he never will be. Give him the job or get rid.
I also have a funny feeling that Martin O Neil might be considered.
I have seen 17 Celtic managers come and go in my time from Jimmy McGrory to the present day but Ange’s departure is the most hurtful. I thought he was here for the long haul. I still love him for what he did for our club during his short stay and I wish him all the best in his future career.
On all sorts of levels Phil, i’m sorry to here there are arseholes out there, supposedly Celtic men that think your fair game for abuse, especially as the vast majority of your findings are proven correct. Given who you have been up against down through the years, i’m sure its water of a ducks back, not needed none the less.
I cant help feeling we have been played, AP tapped into us on an emotional level
The known history, punching the Crest, quoting the late Great Tommy Burns,the promise of things to come. As it turns out completely disingenuous.
I am totally fkd off accordingly.
Well he is now down in a city with no heart, managing a club with no soul, and i really don’t give a fk how he gets on tbh. He can tell them how he,s clued up on being Kosher, and hit them with quotes from Jimmy Grieves. Good luck with Levy.
For me our deadly duo strike again, AP was a Hail Mary appointment that paid off, first season he did the trick, and at that stage should have been given a 3 year deal, but no, as per it’s double down time.
lawell’s job title may have changed but his MO hasn’t. DD will go under the radar as usual.
When Rodgers left, there was heavy rumours that the transfer of his Italian target had been scuppered by lawell when Rodgers was out the country.
Rodgers leaving and in particular the timing and manner of it was a huge blow, and that should never be forgotten, forgiven ..most certainly.
Three Trebles in a row, including the Invincible’s Year. A 4th Treble set up, did the tribute act over in style time after time. I would take him back in a heartbeat. Does he want to come back though. Regardless, we have shot ourselves in the foot yet again. The opposition being all but on their collective arses. Again we will have to wait and see, the Treble win has had the edge taken right off it though.
Btw…respectfully to the gentlemen above, we are not loyal…were faithful.
Well said.
Yes please to Brendan, you’ll all forgive and forget after the next 5-1 thumping at Ibrox.
As a North East London based Tim of over 30 years I live amongst the Hammers, Gooners and the Spurs. It is hilarious to watch them celebrate even the slightest of victories, whereas we demand that as a minimum.
Ange is not joining a sleeping giant, merely joing a club that is sleeping, probably permanently. Good luck waking them up. They don’t even need to win the title – just place high enough for Champions league.
Good luck to him anyway – he gave us tears and memories that will last forever. My daughter enjoyed her sweet 16 at Celtic Park after the title win at Hearts. The love in that crowd was real. Very, very real. There will be another.
On a different point – in marketing or politics you always get the bad news out first when the difficult pill to swallow will follow.
The speed with which Brendan’s announcement was made is telling.
He was undone by certain persons who need not be named. We are in a different place now. Personally speaking I would not be averse to his return. He has a proven track record.
Like the managers and players do, we need to leave emotion out of it and just get the best athlete in the role. If that’s BR and he wants it then get him in. Maresca has no track record in management that I can see so, please no.
I spoke to many young CELTIC fans after he left and most of them would have B R back , he had won the first treble they had seen us win . At the time I wouldn’t have him back at CELTIC but now I think I would as he’s quality
How anyone can defend what Ange has done beats me, and for some to try and blame the board is bizarre. Ange had probably more freedom in the transfer market since the days of Martin O’Neil. Most of his team were players that he signed and he did well in the transfer market. As most of these players were Ange’s signings,
you do wonder what they are thinking at his sudden departure.
The six Japanese players and South Korean boy must wonder what the future holds. Where Kyogo and Hatate could be highly sought after, other than Maeda the rest of the lads were Postecoglou’s projects and he has abandoned the long term team build he had promised.
Hopefully the new manager can keep the togetherness and team spirit that has been built over the past 2 years.
Ange has plunged us from a position of total ascendancy to a period of uncertainty. Who will he take with him and will he try and sign any of our key players.
Let’s hope the Board can Identify their managerial target soon and get him in quickly.
What do you mean ‘take with him’? They’re on long term contracts. They’ll pay, a lot, if indeed it is judged that any of them are of the top end of the EPL standard, which is highly unlikely.
The six Japanese players he signed will be more aware than most that he left his last club when we poached him, halfway through a league campaign (though this was hardly a secret, from anyone). But, they’re not babies. They’ll get over it.
Know why? Because he hasn’t done anything wrong.
A manager has left a football club. It’s the most banal happening anyone could imagine.
He left the club having brought it huge success. Anything he owed, he paid back again and again.
If the club is so badly organised that it cannot withstand a good manager leaving, then it is not fit for purpose. And leaking against Ange just shows them up.
If fans don’t want successful and talented managers to leave for demonstrably bigger and better opportunities, then they should lobby the board to appoint loyal mediocrities from here on in.
Let me refresh the memory’s of some of the Bhoy’s.
Rodger’s scampered out the door quicker than concord for a small English club.
( probably for more money)
I couldn’t think of another Celtic minded individual running away with the possibility of achieving a historic Treble Treble, absolutely unbelievable with weeks remaining of the season. He’s a selfish parasite his credibility is zero
I wouldn’t trust this fake alleged Celtic minded fool near paradise.
His performance’s in Europe were school boy tactics massive gaps everywhere chasing the game away in Europe leads to disaster.
All top managers flood the midfield and shut down other opponents.away from home.
His transfer dealings were diabolical his choice of goalkeepers laughable
The money he wasted was pathetic from a possible 27 players he bought in only 3 made impression.
Why he’s allegedly considered for a return is embarrassing.
As I’ve commented elsewhere, if the choice is a proven successful mercenary or a dyed in the wool fan who would never leave, guess which one I’d pick? The last true fan to have been in residence in the Celtic Park managers office was Tommy Burns (Lennon may have been a fan but he wouldn’t have attended matches often and maybe not ever, not certain, never read his book), and his trophy haul was 1 from 9 – the same ratio we deride Steven Gerrard for, one nervy 1-0 win over Airdrie elevating him above Liam Brady’s record. So since him, we employ professionals. Mercenaries, some might call them. And if they enjoy the adulation, fist-pump and ham it up, so what? They’re enjoying it, we’re enjoying it, footballs meant to be a form of entertainment after all. But they’re still mercenaries – they enjoy their work too.
As for Brendan himself, I’d have no objection to his return. He was hugely successful last time and he’d inherit a better squad than he left. I’ll tell you one thing that’s 100% certain – if season 23/24 ends with another treble, nobody will give a Castlemaine XXXX for the events of 2019. We eventually stopped deifying players who had no connection to the club before they signed for us, it’s high time we stopped doing it with managers too. They are employees, not fans in the way we are. Sometimes, like players, they are commodities to be sold on for a profit. If people don’t care for this grubby side of the business, maybe rugby or GAA sports are more their thing, because todays events encapsulate professional football – everyone has their eyes on the prize, and the prize needs to have zeros at the end of it. Lots of zeros. The more the better.
Sorry to hear you had personal attacks, Phil. I was one of those who didn’t believe that Postecoglou would do a Rodger$. Still finding it hard to process. Integrity and loyalty, being here as long as the club wants him, it was all bullsh8, and I believed every word. I can’t bring myself to wish him well. Perhaps when he’s sacked after 7 games, he’ll realise what he’s traded.
Good call over Ange Phil.
Sorry to see him go but reflecting back on the badge thumping and the comments about building something special here are pretty sickening, you’re either born into Celtic or not, he was clearly not.
Anyway,I’d have Brendan back, his record at Celtic was outstanding. He’d destroy the Bealey boy’s and could bury sevco in the plot next to rangers.
No one knows what was going on behind the scenes when he left, he could be the injured party in all this.
With lawell gone and Celtic flying he could take them to the next level.
Don’t bear a grudge if he comes back, he was actually born into Celtic
It was a punch in the guts when Rodgers left, but he did know how to fill our trophy cabinet.
I can’t see Brendan Rodgers working with Lawwell, after all Lawwell downsized Celtic playing staff which cost us the 10.
Why didn’t Ange just tell Emma Dodds on Saturday night that he was going? If he’d said he wanted to leave he’d have went with our supports best wishes. We would’ve been disappointed certainly but we’d have understood as he’d be securing his and his family’s future. There’s a way to leave a football club and now Ange is as bad as Brendan Rodgers to me in the way he’s left. Spurs have obviously tapped him up a while ago and he’s known he was going while he pretended he was fully committed to Celtic, when you said he’d want to talk to them Phil I knew you’d be correct, as you usually are, but to me that didn’t mean he would actually leave because Spurs are a shambles with delusions of grandeur. They’re not a big club they think they are but they’re not, they’ve got more money by accident of geography, they’re not close in stature to Celtic but we’re a feeder club now in terms of players and managers and the reality is we’re going to have accept that whether we like it or not. What Ange achieved from the shitshow he inherited was phenomenal and he should’ve left Celtic a hero with his legacy intact but that will be tarnished now and I feel conned. We don’t know what goes on behind the scenes at Celtic and it wouldn’t surprise me if the board cocked this up as they’ve got previous in that regard but it all leaves a bad taste how Ange’s reign has ended.
No doubt Rodgers is a world class coach but left us in the lurch but has Ange not done the same. If I’m right intends to take some players with him to Spurs at least Rodgers never did that. Could the fans accept Rodgers don’t know but our club and our fans need to accept modern day football for what it is and loyalty is a thing of the past. ☘️☘️☘️
Rodgers “not interested” according to the rags.
Bit surprised at that, Dermot usually gets his man.
Rodgers style of football was boring.. Against poor Scottish opposition still played 20 sideways passes across the defence before any prospect of forward movement. Hadn’t a clue in Europe. Would need a bomb shelter rather than a dugout if he’s allowed anywhere near the job. Maurice Johnston could be an apt assistant.
It was a punch in the guts when Rodgers left, but he did know how to fill our trophy cabinet.
We will likely get someone from this sporting conveyer belt: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/which-football-clubs-do-manchester-citys-city-football-group-own
Which is exactly what they should do. A coherent coach. All of the other midlevel European clubs that outperform us year on year do that.
Rodgers,.please no… if for no other reason than he was terrible I’m Europe. A manager that can take what Ange put in place and evolve it rather than revolutionise it to retaun the league and have an impact in Europe. A few candidates but I hope they have spoken to Knutsen
Why in the world would Rodgers take the job? He was at Leicester for three and a half years. He finished fifth twice then eighth and won the FA Cup. He’ll be a top pick for any mid-level EPL (or equivalent) jobs that come up throughout next season. His CV is excellent (quite apart from anything else). The idea that he needs or wants a Celtic parachute is ridiculous. His severance will likely have been more than Celtic would pay him in a year – and it probably prohibits him from taking a new job for a period (as his Liverpool one had; that had to be worked around with Liverpool essentially paying part of his salary in his first year at Celtic).
I genuinely likes James from the HB’s suggestion of Muscat. He’s worked with Ange. He took Ange’s job in Japan and won the (very competitive) league playing the inherited style.
Can anyone think of a good reason not to appoint (or at least interview) him? What’s the main reason? Ask yourself if it’s a good reason.
If not him, then someone like him. Someone coherent. There’s an excellent squad assembled for a very particular style. If you get someone who lives apart from that style entirely, you’ll spend tonnes of money just trying to stay still (and our advantage over Rangers is nowhere near enough to withstand that). So, coherence, more than anything else.
As for Ange: that’s the way to do it. Win the treble, then go. Class act. Best Celtic managerial exit in our history. I’ll take that every time. Same again on that front, please.
The club is in a prime position to do the right thing here. They already have my season ticket money, and everyone else’s. So, they don’t need to dangle some stupid Hollywood name in front of us. They don’t need to appease the fans. They can make a coherent call.
We should have a DoF, but we don’t. Our half-arsed compromise was a HoR. If a HoR is any good, he should have four or five coherent replacement targets every day of any week. The CEO should be able to step into his office unannounced and ask who they are. A manager leaving a football club should never be a surprise. You can have a good manager who will go, or loyal mediocrity.
So, we’ll soon see. Are we coherent like our European benchmark equivalents in Salzburg, Bruges and so on? Or are we the typical British ‘Manager-is-God’ headless chicken shitshow we always show ourselves to be at these times?
There are a couple of good options (Knutsen, Marsch) out there in the Ange style of play mould that we should definitely consider. However your DoF point is a good one. We need o change the structure (ironically Ange’s appointment stopped that) so that managerial changes have minimal impact and we retain a long term strategy. It’s why Salzburg, Ajax etc cope with regular upheaval.
Precisely. And the fans of those clubs don’t behave in some ridiculously servile manner every time a manager leaves. You just move on.
If a Celtic manager is in a job for two years then off to a big league club, that is only ever a good thing. It won’t happen without good things in between.
Ange was great. Never lied, at all. Was always straight. People are now presenting things that they projected onto him as declarations of long-term loyalty from him. They were only ever hearing what they wanted to hear.
The Huddle Breakdown guys were always great on this, Juco James in particular. Every time Ange spoke about players coming and going, the words he used implied pretty clearly that he wasn’t opposed to moving on himself for the right opportunity. It was easy to follow for anyone that wanted to hear it.
And that’s how it should be. Underlying all of this is an assumption that so long as Ange was here, Celtic were untouchable. Why? Rangers’ points total this year usually wins the league comfortably. The slightest slip could blow it. He could say no to Spurs then be sacked in a year. He’s lived long enough and has more than enough sense to know all of this.
He’s made a good call. I’m sad to see him go, but I’m grateful and even a little proud of him.
Meanwhile, we need a football operation that’s always prepared for a managerial departure as a nailed-on certainty. It’s going to happen, so know what to do. Look around Europe. There’s no shortage of clubs like Celtic, and they know what to do.
Long haul managerial appointments are largely a thing of the past anyway, and that’s largely a good thing too. There’s little recent evidence that they work terribly well, and they only ever worked when you happened to have a high-functioning sociopath in charge.
With the exception of Mowbray & Barnes, I can’t think of any other manager that we have had that would classify themselves as being “british”
Is this for me? Fair point, though I’d be amazed if Stein didn’t. That’s fine, people can think of themselves as British or not or whatever else if they like.
My point was about the traditional British football manager model, which leads to collapse of a manager leaves, and which is completely unnecessary.
Celtic are astonishingly, and – to me – disappointingly, British in that sense.
If I were Rodgers I would take your advice. I think his race is run at Celtic Park. His ego too fragile. Have to find someone who can play the high press fast moving game we love to watch.
I was surprised to see Martin O’Neill carrying the League trophy up the Celtic Way, and then too the pitch for presentation. I though it was a nice touch by Celtic, but , considering the events over the last few days, I’m beginning to think it was a way of softening the blow that the club new was coming. Perhaps Martin is not so far out of the running as most people think. In my view he would be welcomed back by most supporters.
Only thing is they players aren’t oneill players totally different style
Stevie Clark for me if we want to win games in Europe again. That’s were it’s at for us now.
I like SC, but that would mean a complete overhaul of the squad. We need to appoint a coherent replacement.
I am inclined to agree Phil, it seems that Brendan is buddies with DD and there has been a distinct lack of pest control over the last month or two at Celtic Park. I can’t see though, how BR could expect to come back to a different place when his adversary is now in the top chair. How does DD think that the fans will take that decision. Or is DD thinking, its my baw, if you don’t like it then ye can …..
I see why the ST renewal window was slammed that hard the glass would have fallen out, the plans to bring him back in reeks of offering jobs in showers without sounding out alternative candidates first.
So far all this saga and the outlook suggests strongly Ange was no master stroke appointment, Celtic got lucky, nothing else. I always wondered how a man we had been “keeping tabs on” for 2 years was never sounded out in Q4 of the year before we got him, when we were doing a managerial review. The Japanese league was completing then, so would have been ideal rather than mid J League season and even then, only after Eddie Howe filled his breeks.
I’d take Rodgers back in a heartbeat. Why? Because I’m a Celtic fan and want what’s best for the club
I could stomach Rodgers coming back as it would be a continuation of a modern,front footed approach and given the candidates that have been linked to the job, probably sensible. It’s just how contrite he’s willing to be I suppose as to whether the majority can be convinced. As long its not a chronyistic appointment, like lennons prolonged second stay turned out to be. Needs to be a big statement signing from the celtic board to show how serious they are about continuing what ange has started, not a panic buy
I do not have the slightest doubt that you are correct. Statler and Waldorf sitting in the Hampden stand were only concerned about how they were going to deal with “presentation difficulties” re. fans and media.