Ironically, being steadfastly risk-averse can carry its own risks.
One of them, for the Celtic board, is that they might lose an elite manager for the second time.
For the avoidance of doubt, I don’t anticipate a reprise of the February 2019 trauma.
However, it’s clear at the time of writing that this is a manager who will see out his contract and then leave the building.
At his presser today, Brendan Rodgers couldn’t have been clearer to the local media.
He even used the word “clarity”.
“For the sake of honesty and clarity, I can tell you exactly where we’re at”.
To underline his place in the organisation, he stated “I don’t conclude the deals”.
I sent this to a well-placed source who is close to the action in the upper echelons of Celtic.
He immediately replied with this:
“I believe BR, MN and DD met this week and they had a very frank exchange of views on the way forward. At least they know where each other stands.”
Brendan Rodgers is adept at getting his messaging right.
Consequently, he knows that repetition is key.
He put clear distance between himself and the board apropos player recruitment when speaking to Sky Sports Scotland.
“I have to convince the board to push to get the players in that we need for the gaps that we have.”
There’s that clarity thing again.
On the basis of that answer, the Celtic Board, according to Rodgers, needs to be convinced of the need to provide the Irishman with additions to his squad.
It would be inaccurate to characterise the Celtic board as being “asleep at the wheel”.
I rather think of them, in the motoring analogy, as having pulled over into a lay-by to observe the flow of traffic.
Meanwhile, across the city, despite having a comparably underpowered engine, the brown brogue is stamped down hard on the dignified accelerator.
Within their own financial restrictions, they are straining every sinew to put a credible threat on the pitch.
The contrast with Celtic’s stance is stark.
Indeed, it is not out of the question that the people in the Parkhead boardroom could preside over a car crash this season.
Why risk it?
Discover more from Phil Mac Giolla Bháin
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Not winning a european knock out tie since 2004 is criminal.
It’s also not true
We beat Hapeol Beer Sheva on aggregate 5-4 in a CL qualifier in August 2016
Just one that comes to mind. I suspect there are others
Unfortunately, it is true.
The record refers to knock-out ties beyond the group phase of all Euro competitions.
It’s something that needs addressed.
Not since they days of Gerald Ratner has a “Business” showed such disdain to its’ “customers”
Brendan. don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Elite manager, don’t make me laugh. If it wasn’t for his record at Celtic he has hardly won anything and that career commenced in 2004.
He talks w***speak on a loop watch every interview and its the same nonsense.
As for the vitriol against the board their results, successes and financial acumen would be praised by business people and organisations the world over.
I disagree. You need to compare us to other teams of a similar size around Europe. We have underachieved. They make more money than us and do better in Europe. They should be our bench marks.
Disagree. How many times did we not qualify for the Champions League? It was three seasons on the bounce. I’m not saying we have an inherent right to be in it, but that was at least £60-120m in revenue we didn’t get in those seasons. Would DD have tolerated that in his other businesses?
The Celtic fans don’t seem to understand that there is not a queue of quality champions league ready players who are willing to play for Celtic although there are plenty of ordinary players who would! take Lennon Miller for example who i am sure would be a great player for us but I don’t think he wants to play for us! Hardly the board’s fault.
I dislike the board but if Rodgers spends £20 million and ends up with Engles and Idah then I would be hesitant to back him any more.
Rodgers only identified the players. The board effed up on the price, not Rodgers.
£20 million on Idah and Engels is THEIR failure, not his.
It was the board and club (not BR) that messed up on the Idah deal. They did not push for the option to buy, arranged with other clubs, at £3m. They ended up paying £9m. Not BRs fault.
Thats far from certain. Who knows to what degree BR was behind the scenes pushing them to complete the deal with utmost haste. While BR has had significant success, there’s very few I would imagine that would conclude he’s made the best of the players that have been made available to him. Russell Martin by today’s showing is unlikely to press him strongly in the SPL, but BR needs to be held to higher standards than that.
I cannot think of any boards that would think Idah and Engels for 20 million would make you want to back the manager .
Rodgers only identified the players. The board is responsible for the price. By all accounts, we could have had them for less if the board had got its act together.
You might as well say that the Eddie deal was a vindication of Rodgers.
I really don’t understand what Celtic fans expect. This board and previous boards have delivered 11 titles out the last 12 including quadruple trebles plus decent runs in Europe. We shouldn’t really expect anything more without serious investment which we cannot generate from the backwater of Scottish football. Try to be realistic!
We expect this board to do all they can to make the best Celtic squad they can available to the manager. They have signally failed to do so. Not only that they are in serious danger of chasing the only elite manager Celtic could get and, realistically, the best manager Celtic could get.
We don’t need the serious investment right now to afford players. We have in the region of £70 million sitting there gathering dust (and tax) in the bank and in addition to that, we have a profit of about £20 million on transfer fees (and sell ons) this window alone.
There is simply no excuse for not backing the manager. We haven’t replaced Kyogo or Kuhn. Up front we are really, really weak compared to previous seasons. If we play Maeda as a CF, we have no one of the required quality fit to play on either wing. Yang runs hot and cold. Forrest gives everything but is simply past his best.
This board are dinosaurs who are no longer fit for purpose. They are asleep at the wheel.
100%
well said
Celtic Football Club has I believe well in excess of £70m sat in the Bank and an overdraft facility that it has no need or requirement to use.
How it has failed to spend any money in this window but rather has banked further millions whilst the Manager has on evidence asked for quality reinforcements that on the evidence of last Seasons conclusion we are in desperate need of is frankly absurd.
How anyone in their right mind would back the current approach with a critical Champions League qualifier only weeks away is beyond me?
Sure you can rightly bring up the signings of Engels and Idah as examples of overspending but you can also as easily point to the fact that despite this Celtjc still posted a profit in the same year through player trading.
Matt O’Rileys sale for example covered the cost of both players and if that’s not enough then Kyogo Furuhashi certainly topped it off.
This Board has no excuse ,they have the money,a Manage who proved his point in last Seasons Champions League and all he is asking is that they perhaps speculate to accumulate whilst simultaneously advancing the prospects of further inroads in that Competition.
A Competition that has reaped massive financial reward for those who are invested in it.
What we expect is to to be prepared for the start of the season yet here we are making the same mistakes year after year. Stephen Welsh has played the majority of his games for Celtic in August yet considered not good enough to play in other months, and don’t get me started on Nir Bitton (and others like him) style central defensive emergencies for August qualifiers. Let’s be honest this period of unprecedented success has more to do with the financial basket case across the city than the commercial genius of the Celtic board. They are in fact the luckiest board of Directors in world football
A board with zero ambition other than to finish ahead of the huns
Most Celtic fans I know have found the current transfer window predictably underwhelming so far. We’ve seen it all before and it’s not a good look. Time and time again the high heid yins appear to be on a completely different track.
Not just with the fans, but with the manager too. Celtic are lucky to have a manager of the calibre of Brendan Rodgers. The new club across the city have just installed a relatively rookie manager, but they seem to be backing him in a way that we are not seeing at Celtic. Brendan seems to be continuously battling with the Celtic over player recruitment, and you can see he’s growing tired of it. And who can blame him.
Falling asleep at the wheel barely covers it.
Celtic, a Board like no other.
Corporate greed, a nice big dividend as a reward for greed
Thinking back …we were cruising to 10 in a row when Brendan left the last time …giving them a lift and we capitulated
We are potentially going to win 56 titles …overtaking their 2 clubs total …and it’s looking like we’ll be giving them another boost …the board seem to want to keep up this neck and neck situation
I know there is a month left of this transfer window but it is unbelievable that we have not strengthened the team yet. We sold the scorers of 40 goals from last season, I cant understand the reasoning behind this. Are they wanting BR to leave?
No they are wanting a strong Rangers and the only way that can happen is if they win the league and get them hopefully champions league money.
Look what happened when the old Rangers died and the new team was playing in the lower leagues. What was the attendance figures like?
They got money so they don’t need a leg up