There's something oh-so-familiar about this close-season.
It follows a pattern we've come to know well. The team looks shakey - they come good - we start to look like we've got the makings of something with real potential - players become restless - we sell more than we buy (in financial terms) - there's speculation about the manager.
As ever, fans are divided.
"The board's not backing the boss!"
"We can't invest for a manager who won't commit."
"Why are we hoarding cash in the bank?"
"Do you want us to go bust?"
I've been a Celtic supporter long enough to have become jaded by the whole carousel.
But amid all the angst, the navel-gazing and the infighting, something is going almost unnoticed.
The return of Shaun Maloney.
I'll make it clear that I like Shaun and respect what he has achieved in football. I have nothing whatsoever against him or his appointment as "professional player pathway manager".
And change was evidently needed in that department. In recent years, Celtic's youth development has been like a production line with nobody to man the end of the conveyor belt, while talent was whisked off by opportunistic clubs offering baubles and big dreams.
As with most things, that led to all manner of finger-pointing within the development setup as well as the manager "not giving youth a chance".
That's another conversation but there can be little doubt that Shaun, with his CV including coaching Belgium under Roberto Martinez while the country was ranked 1st in the world, has huge talent and experience to bring to the role.
But are we being told the full story?
This isn't the first time that Celtic have appointed Shaun to a similar role. The previous occasion was in 2017 when the first-team coach was... Brendan Rodgers.
Of course, things were different then. At that time, Peter Lawwell was CEO, not chairman of the board, as he is now.
There are those who will tell you that anyone who thinks the Chairman directly influences policy doesn't understand business.
Those people, in my humble opinion, are either liars or fools. You can forget about the extent and limitations of the remit of an executive role when personal relationships are at play.
Celtic tried an outsider as CEO - Dominic Mackay lasted approximately two months before he left in mysterious circumstances, only for insiders at Celtic to brief against him for failing to take Lawwel's advice in the transfer market.
That caused a ripple of disquiet before Ange started exciting us with some sensational football and issues like club governance seemed too dull to consider.
But Shaun, like John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan, is very much an insider with key members of the board.
Unlike most clubs, the Celtic board have kept an iron grip on the coaching team for years, with the core being board appointees, rather shaped by changing managers.
There can be a lot to be said for the stability that brings, especially with little interest in retaining ambitious managers, but it's also a strategic bargaining chip when dealing with those same head coaches.
It means that replacing the head coach is a relatively simple logistical task and that weakens the hand of someone like Brendan Rodgers, when the prospect of a new contract arises.
I'll come straight out and say it - I believe that's the main reason for Shaun's appointment.
"You want guarantees over quality signings and control over who comes in? Well, we've got alternatives to you already in place."
Many will dismiss this as nonsense but, from a strategic point of view, Celtic have coaching team in place, that could be headed by Shaun "on an interim basis" at the drop of a bunnet.
Add in the prospect of the up-and-coming Ayr United boss Scott Brown or - gawd help us - the ever-available Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon - and you have the sort of continuity options that would require Peter Lawwel to have his sheets changed.
Is that a coincidence, as there are again hints that signings have been brought in without the enthusiastic support of Brendan?
Do key members of the board want him to stay?
All will be revealed by the end of the season but you can be sure that those who refuse to communicate with the fans directly already have their PR ready for when he next "abandons" us.
Imagine starting season 2026-27 with the dream team: Head coach, Shaun Maloney; assistant manager, Scott Brown; team coaches, John Kennedy, Gavin Strachan; Direct of Football, Neil Lennon - all happy to work within the existing recruitment strategy.
The only downside is, of course, that Shaun's forays into management have been less than stellar.
But, of course, should he fail, Scott could step up "on an interim basis", with Neil as "a safe pair of hands".
It all makes perfect corporate sense.
