Desmond and Lawwell: the unacceptable faces of Celtic

Lawwell briefed every friendly hack, ex-Celtic employee and blogging shill that the supporters could stick their views where the sun don't shine

I freely admit that I've had mixed feelings about the Green Brigade.

They have undoubtedly improved the atmosphere at Celtic Park – most of the time – their displays are often magnificent and I generally share most of their politics.

On the other hand, I sometimes feel that they believe themselves to be the self-appointed heart and conscience of Celtic; they can be too eager to be seen as European-style “ultras” (with that “style” perhaps more important than substance) and their displays sometimes miss the mark, occasionally to the club's overall detriment.

I was not in favour of their “Time to go, Neil” demonstration at Celtic Park last Wednesday. Not because I disagreed with the message but because it seemed like just the sort of action that, not so long ago, ultras of another local club would have pulled to the great amusement of Celtic supporters, as another episode of the “banter years”.

But, as a fan who has had almost no faith in the powers-that-be at Celtic for well in excess of a decade, even I had failed to anticipate the extent and brazenness of the contempt that the Celtic suits were prepared to direct towards the supporters. 

Thousands of supporters had paid hundreds of pounds for season tickets for matches that there was never any real prospect of attending because they wanted to support the club through extraordinary times and help secure the ten-in-a-row record that matters to those of us who care about football. 

Many more had spent eye-watering sums on Adidas kit – which is lovely – but, unless donned by players performing to the standards that should be expected of a Celtic team, is nothing better than lipstick on a pig.

I, for one, was not in the least surprised by the capitulation to Ross County last weekend. Admittedly, I had been taken aback by some of the worst European performances in my lifetime, suffering back-to-back 4-1 defeats by a Sparta Prague side that is, frankly, not a good team.

But as a veteran of the now-infamous 1990s, I know a team that has the Indian Sign over it and this Celtic side definitely qualifies. When a team is in this type of form, naïve fans hope that one good performance will turn it around while others know it usually goes from bad to worse.

So, I had every sympathy with those Celtic fans who got off their backsides and told the Directors, coaches and players what they thought of the whimpering defeat by Ross County.

Were there some regrettable moments? Yes – but spontaneous displays of anger are, by their nature, difficult to control and the essence of the demo was to confront the many impostors currently benefiting from the cash eternally pumped in by the fans with the feelings of the majority of fans.

In response, Lawwell briefed every friendly hack, ex-Celtic employee and blogging shill that the supporters could stick their views where the sun don't shine.

So, my views of the latest Green Brigade banner are more supportive. I have chosen to crop out the image of Neil Lennon because he does still deserve some consideration for his overall contribution to Celtic.

However, he assuredly does not deserve to be Celtic manager. 

Neil can remind us of all he has done over twenty years and he is right. He has, in the past, endured obscene abuse for being a Celtic captain and manager who had the temerity to be an “uppity Tim” in a country that is still nowhere near as welcoming to some communities as many of its citizens would like to believe.

But that doesn't mean that he has the credentials to lead a club that its fans would still like to believe should be a major player on the European scene.

Let's make no mistake – this isn't about the ending of any possibility of a “quintuple treble” – and the quadruple is no formality. (If Ross County was Lennon's Caley Thistle, Hearts could easily prove to be his Raith Rovers.)

This is about an ever-more power-crazed Chief Executive, so determined to control every facet of the club that he has now sabotaged the dressing room. Anyone who has ever worked for one of those managers who prefers to sow division in their own department – making each appointee beholden to them personally – will understand how toxic and fatal to aspirations of success that is.

Lennon is a problem because he is not up to the job; though his reluctance to give up his last big opportunity in football is somewhat understandable.

Peter Lawwell is a problem because he increasingly appears to be a narcissistic megalomaniac, who would cheerfully watch Celtic disintegrate as long as his bonus was paid and no one challenged his monumental ego.

And above the two of them, Dermot Desmond is a problem because he doesn't give a dam about football, never mind Celtic, but sees the club as a means to getting even more money through getting Celtic into another league and turning his investment from lead into gold.

Much is unacceptable about Celtic now – the performances, the professionalism, the attitude of some players, the coaching set-up and the manager.

If there is another demo at Celtic Park on Sunday, the main targets will be Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond – the real unacceptable faces of Celtic Football Club.--

Celtic's Bolingoli fiasco – one idiot, many culprits

Rather than continually waiting for the next act of stupidity or deliberate wrecking of the competitions, 
we should call for the charade to be ended and the season to be suspended now

Only a week ago the greatest problem vexing the minds of most Celtic fans was the awful prospect of signing a 33-year-old Steven Fletcher and the fearful possibility that he was being considered as a replacement for Odsonne Edouard.

And if a week is a long time in politics, it can seem like a lifetime in football.

Some of us thought we had problems on Sunday when a repeat of the performances we've seen all too often over the last two or three years at Rugby Park saw us dropping two points in our second game of the season.

The team showing was contemptible, Chris Jullien showed again why he won second prize in the wet paper bag fighting contest and there were serious questions over the approach of the coaching staff who have yet to find an answer to the Kilmarnock high press on their admittedly poor pitch.

If Jullien thought he would be the major talking point there were plenty of other contenders, namely the tiresome lack of availability of Tom Rogic, the paper-thin squad (particularly after the departure of Simunovic, thankfully, and Jonny Hayes), Bayo not being available and the mystery of Shved continuing.

Five substitutions should favour teams with stronger squads but with misfiring in all departments in a tactically hopeless mess, Neil Lennon clearly felt short of quality options to replace the underperforming players on show on Sunday.

Ironically one chink of light came in the form of Boli Bolingoli Nbombo who, coming on late, contributed to three good chances that our foxes in the box managed to foxup entirely.

Those few moments from Bolingoli were the equal of anything he has produced in his risible time at Celtic and if not quite a hurrah they will certainly represent his last contribution to the club.

The facts of what happened are indisputable. Bolingoli went on a moonlight jaunt to Spain for reasons as yet unclear and broke Covid-19 regulations, actually having the audacity to play at Rugby Park without telling anyone at the club about his exploits.

That provided Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP leadership cult with a perfect opportunity to indulge two of their great pleasures: deflecting from negative at media attention directed at the first minister and taking a swipe at Scottish football.

So, under pressure from the Joint Response Group, which was under the direction of Nicola Sturgeon, the SPFL decided to cancel Celtic's next 2 League games; one with Aberdeen who also had their Covid-19 issues.

If the facts of what happened are clear enough,  who's to blame and what should be done do not lend themselves so easily to such simplistic answers as might be imagined.

Bolingoli is certainly to blame. His actions were inexcusable and indefensible and no amount of apologies - sincere or otherwise - can mitigate those actions in any way.

He should certainly be punished to a far greater degree than the £480 fixed penalty notice imposed by police Scotland even if the apparent prompting of the Justice Minister, of whom the police are supposed to be independent, should cause concern.

In my view his punishment should be the maximum fine allowable under the rules as well as a substantial ban, preferably taking him beyond the next transfer window.

But simply ripping up his contract should not be an option. There were some suggestions on Twitter yesterday that Celtic could even sue him for breach of contract and recover some of ridiculous outlay they paid for a player who will surely go down as one of the worst purchases in the club's history.

To me, suing would be a step too far unless it could be proven that his trip (which looks very much like it was intended to discuss a transfer) was planned as some intricate scheme to get thrown out of Celtic. I doubt very much that he possesses is that intelligence.

On the other hand making a free agent of a £3m-pound footballer we dare not play - and who wants a move - would simply be rewarding a scurrilous activity that has already damaged Celtic and has been to the detriment and peril of Scottish football entirely.

Those actions should be non-starters but so, too, should be the suggestion of sending Bolingoli out on loan with an option to buy. That would be in the club's best financial interests but it would do nothing to protect the integrity of football or to protect Celtic or the game in general from potential sabotage through such reprehensible actions, in times of crisis, such as these.

Of course, the club must be careful to observe the law and not give Bolingoli any opportunity to leave through constructive dismissal or breach of contract. This is where the football authorities should show leadership and impose the most significant penalties within their powers.

But we should also remember that Bolingoli's culpability is not in any way diminished by having other targets in our sights.

The SPFL

It may been news to some that resisting the attempts of The Rangers to bring Scottish football to its knees - and force last season to be voided due to the pandemic - is not the same as endorsing the

leadership of the SPFL.

I do not and never have believed that this season would be completed.

Successfully completing the season might be possible in countries where there are clear policies and rules; effective, disciplined compliance and competent administration of the game.

Scotland is not one of those countries.

The SPFL may believe its guidelines are clear and that they can be sure that every club has communicated them effectively to young athletes of varied backgrounds, including different linguistic origins.

But there's a problem with that. With the best will in the world, it's difficult to convey a clear, simple message concerning complex and often vague conditions.

That may somewhat mitigate the actions of the Aberdeen players who went to pubs, legally opened and overcrowded, and found themselves in breach of distancing rules and guidelines over groups from more than 3 households.

And to Aberdeen's credit they did nothing to try to escape the consequences of their players' actions -  and were even quite ready to face what would surely have been a sound drubbing at the hands of a full-strength Celtic team, minus eight first-team players.

But the SPFL, having been quite frankly too afraid to punish the Rangers after fielding players without waiting for their covid-19 tests, have created an atmosphere in which it is difficult to know if any transgressions will be taken seriously, even in the unlikely event of every player understanding their responsibilities.

On top of that, the SPFL simply rolled over in the face of pressure from a government that has been hell-bent on attacking Scottish football ever since the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act was repealed.

Let's not forget that the government were threatening to intervene in Scottish football over crowd-control issues for more than a year, pre-covid-19, and now it has flexed its muscles over eight players in a pub and one player on a trip to Spain.

With weak-kneed leadership, being feart in the face of the Rangers and completely capitulating to the Scottish government, the SPFL and SFA have walked into a situation whereby the Scottish government can constantly threaten to bring the game crashing down.

And, if they can do so while apportioning the blame to others, they will.

SNP and Tories

Celtic are now in the unenviable position of being at the centre of an unedifying fight between the SNP and the Tories for the votes of the Rangers supporting loyalist Orange members of Scottish society.

We are often called paranoid but with buffoons such as Professor Adam Tomkins and Murdo Fraser openly courting the Rangers Supporters online; with their new Tory leader Douglas Ross insisting that he will still run the line in games; and on the other side with Ibrox Park being in the constituency of Nicola Sturgeon there is every reason to believe that damaging Celtic and stopping 10 in a row could be a major vote-winner fin next year's elections.

It doesn't help that Labour in the LibDems are so appallingly ineffective that nobody in their right mind would vote for them.

 

But, with the SNP, it seems that there is a genuine distaste for football and the football supporter. The Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, first introduced by Alex Salmond and defended to the hilt by Nicola Sturgeon criminalised ordinary actions in the context of football that would not be seen as illegal elsewhere. 

There is every reason to believe that football supporters are still considered an underclass in Scotland that is despised by the SNP.

It is also a convenient scapegoat while negative headlines are attached to the party or its leader.

Without strong, effective responses from the SPFL, including Peter Lawwell, who is on its board, Scottish football will continue to be battered by the Scottish government and Celtic will be the biggest losers.

Celtic

And as a club just what have Celtic done about all this? 

They issued the usual necessary statements against Bolingoli but have they done anything to defend the interests of the club and the fans? I see little evidence of that.

What they have done is completely capitulate when, without any requirement under the rules, our club has been penalised by politicians.

Thee club is exceptionally vocal when touting season tickets for matches that they know are unlikely to take place and even less likely to take place in front of fans. They indulge in wall-to-wall marketing of football strips, merchandise, Celtic media and every opportunity for the fan to put money into the clubs coffers. But when the fans need someone to stand up for them, Celtic - Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and Ian Bankier - observe a "dignified silence".

While these people indulge in a high-stakes game of corporate Moneyball the last thing on their minds is the interests of the fans who simply want to see a strong team on the park playing on an even field. 

And what no one in the media - mainstream or independent -seems to have asked is did anyone in Scottish football really believe that this season would be completed when they were selling season tickets in advance.

It defies all expectations of scientists and public health professionals and I for one believe that together they have perpetrated one of the biggest frauds in sport

The people who run Celtic are a disgrace but they have been enabled.

Fans

But the fans also have to take some share of the blame.

Firstly, by the annual act of faith of buying 53,000 season tickets, clearing the shelves of strips and pouring money into the club all on promises that are rarely fulfilled.

Yes we have won 9 titles in a row and that is a memorable achievement. It theoretically puts us in a similar category to Bayern Munich, who have achieved the same in the Bundesliga, and one step ahead of Juventus and New Quay Saints of Wales who have both won eight consecutive titles.

The point is that being a little better than extremely poor for a very long time should not be the aspiration of Celtic fans.

But it has been enough to mollify sufficient numbers to stop any protests in the only meaningful way possible - by hitting the club and its executives and directors in the pocket.

Similarly, amid the backlash against Bolingoli, numerous Celtic fans were only too quick to bend over and accept any punishment meted out, like children in the class all being belted over the transgressions of one and accepting that it was fully deserved.

What chance do we have of fairness, never mind improvement, while our own fans play into the hands of those who either don't care about us or despise us?

This is the club we've made and this is the game that our club has allowed to become.

Rather than continually waiting for the next act of stupidity or deliberate wrecking of the competitions, we should call for the charade to be ended and the season to be suspended now, with all season tickets being valid for 2021/22.

That may seem like a crime but I would see it as a mercy killing.

Celtic PLC – Peter Lawwell Capitalism

I have never met Peter Lawwell. And I don't care to.

This is unlikely to cause him sleepless nights.

I somehow suspect that there would be a minimal interface between our values but that doesn't matter a jot.

I have no desire for titbits from the top table, the kudos of being considered "in the know" or being able to humble-brag about landing a high-profile interviewee.

As a minor blogger, I have little of substance to offer and, as a Celtic fan, my importance is inconsequential. Easily-dismissed, barely missed and of negligible cash value.

Like you – or at least the vast majority of people who may take the time to read this blog.

(I hope you will not feel insulted by my being so presumptuous as to lump you in with me.)

But, as someone with no traction within the Celtic support to offer, there are other reasons why I suspect that Lawwell and I would have little in common.

To do with Celtic – in terms of ethics, vision and values.

I should start with my caveats. I don't believe that Lawwell is incompetent or unethical in the sense that would debar him from other executive positions.

He's no Craig Whyte, Charles Green or Dave King.

I don't believe that he would break the rules or bend the law in the manner that people at some clubs have done and do. And nor, I am sure, would he sanction such practices.

But there are other values, ethics and even professional practices that are anathema to me and which I believe will continually hobble Celtic unless they are rooted out.

And that, I believe, will only be possible when Peter Lawwell takes a bite of one of those sweet, fat cherries that we are continually told are regularly dangled in front of him and brings his expertise to another club.

Apparently, there are many to choose from.

Now, there are many Celtic bloggers, including some which you and I know are "close" to Peter Lawwell and the board of Celtic plc.

These are popular as their adherents like to believe they are close to the inside track at Celtic. By being on first-name terms with some blogger, they may boast about "one degree of separation" from the head honcho at Celtic Park.

Many of these like to bring their own knowledge of the business world and the complexities that naive, plebeian fans could never hope to appreciate.

It's not "the economy, stupid", as William Clinton used to say, it's "asset-management, idiot", in case you didn't know.

Because, you see, there are things at football clubs that lowly football fans can never understand.

You may think that football players' primary value relates to their performances on the pitch.

Oh, how you are to be pitied – with as much kindness and understanding that will allow you to recognise your foolishness but not alienate you to the extent that you will stop investing in the club.

Let me delicately tell you that footballers – Celtic-players, if you wish – are like property (real estate, as our American cousins might say).

It doesn't matter how nice or impressive they look, and far less how well they perform their notional function.

No, you see – and don't be embarrassed (because a lot of fans are as misguided as you) – football players are assets to be bought low and sold high.

Stay with me.

Take Scott Brown. One major Celtic blogger, who campaigned against buying players from Dundee United and Hibs, considers the signing of Scott to be a disaster.

For years, the said blogger was advocating selling Scott.

Don't feel stupid if you disagreed – even the smuggest blogger in the Celtic blogosphere regularly boasts about thinking that Scott was a great signing.

But don't you see why signing Scott was an abject failure?

Yes, I know. In your innocence, you probably think that signing a young Scottish footballer with huge potential, one who went on to captain his country and our club to a historic double-treble was a success.

11 years of outstanding service, blah, blah. Taking his place amongst the Celtic all-time greats, yawn.

Have you no idea of how much money Celtic could have made if we had sold Scott Brown before he reached his peak?

Now, I know you aren't stupid enough to have thought that, because Brendan Rodgers clearly wanted to sign John McGinn (painfully great debut for Villa), that spending about a third of the fee that we recouped for Stuart Armstrong would have been good business.

McGinn was already a Scotland International and 23 – so not a young player – and so there may have been a limit to his growth potential as an asset.

These are just a few examples of Lawwell-omics, the view that the playing squad is simply a collection of assets to be managed –bought low and sold high – which conveniently makes Peter Lawwell the most money.

Is this in any way compatible with building a team and gradually improving, year-by-year?

Of course not!

Continually seeking performance improvements is literally inconsistent with managing an asset portfolio based on buying low and selling at peak value.

You see, ideas that you may have of seeing promise in the team and looking forward to getting a little better the next season – and again and again ad infinitum – simply show you to be a fool.

Like me.

A few days ago, I noted that no Celtic manager since John Barnes had been sacked but neither had any left for a better job,. That's pretty damned amazing.

Equally amazing is that none of these managers have uttered a bad peep about their time at Celtic.

There are various possible explanations for this phenomenon.

1. Everything was just peachy and these guys left for reasons unconnected to the activities of the board.

2. No outgoing manager since Barnes wanted to rock the boat (Wim Jansen did a bit of boat-rocking but only criticised Jock Brown. )

3. They all sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of their contracts with Celtic and therefore can't say that all in the garden is not rosy.

Think about the times we have had – the managers who have come and gone – the times of great hope that were followed by deep disappointment due to the quiet policy of managed decline.

What are your values, hopes and aspirations with regard to Celtic?

Mine are to see a team of players on the field worthy of carrying our tradition as one of the great clubs in world football.

I want the best players to be encouraged to stay with us in their best years.

I want to see us building on success, in a sustainable manner, and believing that the next season should be better than the last.

I want to see us supporting Brendan Rodgers in every way, particularly in his club-building efforts, and never undermining him.

I want to see us focusing on football, not obsessively on finance.

One of the biggest weaknesses we have, in my opinion, is the fact that we do not have football people by any measure working with Brendan Rodgers but, instead, have one of the best coaches we have ever had working with a specific form of capitalism.

You see, in my world, there is more than one type of capital.

For example, the people who buy season tickets, merchandise and plough their money into the club in various other ways, invest more than money.

To me, those fans who invest money – often more than they can afford – are also investing a kind of capital.

Sadly, it's the most easily-scorned form of capital, and yet the purist. It's the emotional capital of hoping that their investments in the club's vision will bring pride, joy and lasting memories.

But, as with the boiler-room scammers who robbed countless pensioners and other vulnerable people of their savings, Celtic's Peter Lawwell Capitalism cares nothing for those who staked their real money on an unreal dream.

And that is the problem for Celtic supporters.

The evidence of Peter Lawwell's entire tenure as Chief Executive points to a supporters' experience of constantly building hope, investing their money and being disappointed when things were really looking up.

Every tantalising dream results in frustration.

Again and again and again.

Would it be so bad if – this time – we kept our exceptional coach, Brendan, and experimented with a new Chief Executive, and one who doesn't make money out of selling our best players?

It could be win-win for everyone.

Peter Lawwell gets the money his talents apparently deserve; Brendan Rodgers has to deal with a "Head of Recruitment" he believes in and the club formulates a plan that sees continual improvement on the field as a good thing, rather than a reckless ambition.

Think about it – it's not so crazy.

Is it? --

Celtic in Crisis? No, but bad omens after Lawwell loses John McGinn poker game

Too often blaming the mainstream media gives an easy out to Peter Lawwell and the Celtic board. We could lose Brendan Rodgers

Commodities

I once watched a documentary about craftsmanship in which a man proudly showed off one of his greenwood chairs. (A traditional method of woodworking using the natural moisture of the wood to create strong joints without glue or  metal.)

"That costs £700," he told the shocked person who inquired.

As justification, he said: "Well, I like to try to pay myself £10 an hour and it takes me 70 hours to make one chair."

Fair enough but when you can get a functional chair from IKEA for one twentieth of that price - both of which will support your backside quite acceptably, it's a tough sell.

But for some, only the greenwood chair would do while others will shell out even more for the one-off designer seat that captures their heart.

Now before you kindly offer help in recovering my marbles, let me say that I do realise that footballers are different to chairs in a number of key ways.

Firstly, they are people, not commodities, though the archaic transfer system might lead you to think otherwise.

Secondly, they have minds of their own and are capable of making their own decisions.

But, as a third point, footballers have something in common with any other item for sale - they are worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for them.

It is not clear that Peter Lawwell or the Celtic board recognise any of these key points. And that's a problem - perhaps a big one.

The John McGinn saga is one of the sorriest Celtic affairs of recent times, though by no means

without precedent.

Steven Fletcher and Kevin Thomson both spring to mind as players who the manager clearly wanted but who Lawwell either thought surplus to requirements or that he had a better-value alternative on hand.

With McGinn, you have read many unqualified opinions on the player's ability or lack of it - including from this blogger.

But a more expert opinion was apparently scorned - that of our manager Brendan Rodgers.

And, even if you have already declared McGinn of insufficient quality to get a game for Celtic, that should give you cause for concern.

The pluck of the Irish 

I have already put my  hands up to the fact that I was totally wrong about Brendan Rodgers before he took the reins at Celtic.

I could make excuses but the fact is that I didn't rate him as a candidate. And that causes me embarrassment. Because I really should have informed myself better, with a more open mind, and recognised just how good Brendan was and is.

We are extremely lucky to have him at Celtic and the shakers and movers at just about every switched-on club in Europe see that, too.

We have had a lot of excellent coaches in many ways but, in terms of being at the cutting edge of top-level football knowledge, I have no hesitation in saying that Brendan is our most outstanding manager since Jock Stein.

Anyone who reads this blog (and, if we can get the numbers, we might get a five-a-side team going) will, I hope,  realise that, while  not shy with my opinions, I rarely indulge in hyperbole.

But, as an admirer of Martin  O'Neill, Gordon Strachan, Neil Lennon and - yes - Ronny Deila, I have seen a level of coaching at Celtic that we would have been highly unlikely to have enjoyed had we not been a magical club who just happened to have a real Celtic man - a genuine one of our own - amongst the top tier of coaches.

The media will conveniently forget that the fantabulous Steven Gerrard, having played under Houllier, Eriksson, Capello and many more described our Brendan as the best one-to-one coach he had ever worked with.

But now, I fear, that's under threat.

3-5-7

When Brendan took over at Celtic, I listened to his interviews and he talked of having been "in a hurry", as young men usually are, in his earlier coaching career.

It was wonderful - let's not forget that he was made the bookies' second-favourite to be the next England manager within a couple of weeks of signing on at Celtic.

So, that, logically, brought the  numbers of 3, 5 and 7 to my mind.

If true to his word, he saw the Celtic job as lasting a minimum of three years - anything less would be consistent with a "man in a hurry", itching to get his next big opportunity.

As a coach and manager who has a reputation as seeing himself as a club-builder, five years would seem a more likely period in the job.

And, as Brendan has also said that he expects to be a coach for more than 20 years, a productive five years at Celtic seemed a solid prospect. Club-building, you see, involves player development with a view to the future.

To leave a club with a solid foundation for the future and to lay the groundwork for replacing a legendary captain over the next three or four years. Leaving something lasting.

For example, signing the player who Scott Brown himself praised to the heavens just a couple of weeks ago. Less secure players than Scott might have felt threatened by efforts to recruit a footballer who is so often compared to the great man himself.

But Scott signalled that there would be no tension between himself and John McGinn.

Can you see just how much McGinn was wanted by the football people at Celtic?

(For my part, I'll say that we might just have lost the captain of Celtic in 2021-2025).

My expectation was for a three-to-five-year tenure of Brendan. My wildest dreams were of seven years.

I dream of that no more.

Language, Timothy! 

Now, while the search facility offers copious evidence of my complaints against the Celtic board and Chief Executive - the vast majority of which I stand by - I am as sceptical of and hostile to the mainstream media shills who often do, in fact, mischievously sow the seeds of grief amongst Celtic supporters.

I've slagged almost all of them and, again I stand by almost all of it.

This week, the BBC's Chris McLaughlin was getting it for saying that the board were unhappy with Brendan's comments on the transfer window activity.

But, while I am decidedly NOT one of those "in the know" bloggers with impeccably-placed sources, dear reader, I do know a few things beyond the fiduciary duty of other clubs' executives (I know you read it, guys, because you parrot it occasionally with never a "chapeau".)

One of my interests is in the art of coaching, to which end I have read several biographies and autobiographies of football managers.

A recurring theme that I have noticed, from Alex Ferguson down (in the modern era) and from all the great Celtic managers is the importance of psychology.

And I can say, without fear of reasonable rebuke, that there is no manager in football more aware of the weight that his words carry than Brendan Rodgers.

(Trust me - you'll see this in other blogs, claiming that they always knew this.)

Now, remember that I don't know Brendan. If I did, I'd surely have trumpeted him from the heavens as the next Celtic boss.

But I do know, for example, that Brendan has studied neuro-linguistic programming for several years.

If you aren't aware of NLP, it can be roughly summarised as a practice attempting to achieve positive results through managing thought patterns through specific techniques, with a strong emphasis on language.

For example, when you make a silly mistake, do you say to yourself, "I'm so stupid", or something similar? Many of us do.

NLP theory says that the first voice we hear is our own and that we undermine our own confidence by using that language to ourselves.

Instead, why not say: "I made a mistake so I'll learn from it and do better the next time"?

Do you remember Jack Hendry after the Rosenborg match? (I don't believe that Brendan is educating players in NLP, but that they are echoing his positive language).

How often have you heard Brendan criticise the team or say anything negative about them?

How many times can you recall him saying, for example, "We didn't finish well enough" or "We didn't defend well"?

They are both negative statements, whereas "we could have scored more goals" and "we can defend better" are the sort of positive statements Brendan usually prefers.

On top of that, having been at one of the richest clubs in Europe, Brendan has had top-level media training.

That's partly why he is so adept at sidestepping the booby-trap questions that the media throw at him.

And the point of all of this is that Brendan is fully aware of the impact of his words.

So, when he chose to speak so negatively about transfer activity on the day his side had a vital Champions League qualifier with AEK, you better believe that he really is angry and that's not just another media fabrication.

I am confident that he will remain with us until the end of the season. Because, apart from anything else, he is on record as saying that managers should take new jobs before the season starts.

And, of course, in May he will have completed the minimum three-year period of a man not in a hurry.

Que sera, sera

But, dedicated to Celtic as Brendan is, he is also clearly conscious of his reputation and future aspirations.

For example, never mind the English Premier League, he is known to aspire to some day work in Spain.

He will not be so loyal to Celtic as to see his own reputation damaged due to the "Plan" of Peter Lawwell, who - let's not forget - gets a player-trading bonus each year and is therefore incentivised to favour selling over buying.

And the sad fact is that I doubt that Lawwell cares.

He has increasingly been allowed to run Celtic as he sees fit, seeing managers come and go, and using friendly "independent" Celtic bloggers to tell us that's just how it had to be.

He also knows that Neil Lennon and Steve Clarke would both likely jump at the chance to replace Brendan.

It's a remarkable fact that the last Celtic manager to be sacked was John Barnes.

It's equally remarkable that no Celtic manager since Barnes has resigned because he was lured away by a better offer.

Every single one has chucked it for different reasons that were never really made clear.

Time and time again, Celtic fans have thought we were on the road to something special, only to find that some unforeseen change had set us back.

Peter Lawwell and the board can keep Brendan Rodgers for the key five years and maybe longer if they want him.

But that will involve supporting him in his vision of building a strong Celtic for the future, not just pocketing the tens of millions of pounds that he has already made them.

So, do they want Brendan to remain at Celtic, continually building supporters' hopes in a manner that requires funding or do they want someone to make the most money out of the least possible investment while doing deals between Lawwell and his son, Mark, at Manchester City?

What is Peter's plan this time?
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More than 25 million reasons why Celtic want Kieran Tierney to leave

You're already fed up hearing about Kieran Tierney leaving Celtic and so am I – but some issues need to be addressed.

Many, in recent days have recalled the time when Kenny Dalglish – King Kenny, as he was known by then – was sold to Liverpool on the eve of the 1977-78 season and the disastrous impact that had on morale.

Mike Maher conveys much of the atmosphere at the time, in the excellent Celtic Star Mag:

The estimable David Potter, writing for the same site, makes references to the issue in two articles, which are somewhat odd as the first reads to me as a crudely sarcastic attack on fans who are upset at the prospect of selling Kieran (I struggle to believe that Mr Potter believes that the double treble would be rendered meaningless or that The Rangers would be likely to win the Scottish Premier League). A second piece seems to demand that Kieran be kept with sincerity. (Perhaps a rethink by Mr Potter.)

Kieran, already the Prince of Celtic Park, has no less potential than Kenny to assume the status of an all-time icon, though the circumstances of Kenny's departure were somewhat different.

As Mike Maher points out, losing Kenny was very clearly a sign that Celtic could no longer keep the best players and there have been few exceptions since then – Henrik Larsson and Scott Brown being two of a small number.

But this is the reality we have lived with since that summer's day in 1977 when Jock Stein was reported to have said, “Kenny, is there anything I can say to change your mind?”, before Kenny uttered a simple, “No,” and signed the contract.

Well aware of the coup in replacing Kevin Keegan with an even better player and the blow to Celtic – albeit for a British record transfer fee of £440,000 – Bob Paisley famously said: “We'd better get out of here before these people realise what we've done.”

(Accounting for inflation, that fee would be approximately £1.9m today.)

But the conditions at Celtic are very different today.

One fact almost lost in the annals of time is that, just prior to 1977-78, Celtic were the bookies' favourites to win the European Cup. Today, we are by no means certain of qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League.

Losing Kieran would make that extremely difficult task, a whole lot harder, particularly as he is the only defender in whom we can all be confident in the most vital games against quality opposition.

On the other hand, the rumoured £25m fee, would go a very long way towards compensating the club for any failure to reach the group stages of Europe's top tournament so it is likely that Peter Lawwell would consider a sale to be a “no-brainer”.

We all know what that money could do for Celtic – buy several more sets of fancy floodlights, for example.

But, seriously, huge money is tempting for Celtic as we operate on a very different financial level from clubs in England.

There would also be the potential added bonus (not the one that goes into Peter's bank account – that one is guaranteed) that players like Moussa Dembele would see the move as encouraging and tempt them to sign on, confident of being released for a big-money move in the future.

That's all very well and, in some regards, positive but what does it really say about Celtic as a football club?

To my mind, it says that nothing has really changed. That the prevailing ethos is to keep just ahead of the domestic competition and see Europe as an occasional windfall.

But what then of Brendan's stated aim of making Celtic a side that can compete in the Champions League? Though we did make it into third place last season for one Europa League round, it is clear that there was little, if any, progress on the European stage.

In fact, you can make a very strong case for saying that Celtic finished last season a weaker side than 12 months previously as the league tables showed.

So, does Brendan want to sell Kieran (and the sincerity of his comments that a club has a moral duty to young players is a given, and his track bears that out)?

There are, as usual at Celtic, more questions than answers.

If the rumoured discussions are true, that can only be because:

a. A release clause has been activated, allowing Kieran to talk to other clubs

or

b. Because Celtic gave other clubs permission to talk to Kieran.

By the rules, there are no other circumstances under which direct contact could be made between the player, who is under contract, and any other club.

If the answer is “a”, we can forget any fanciful talk of the fee going any higher as every club will know that to be the maximum they have to pay. It will also, though, be the figure agreed by Celtic when Kieran extended his contract, signing a six-year deal while just 12 months into an existing five-year contract.

If the answer is “b”, then Celtic are actively trying to sell a player who has only ever indicated his joy at being a Celtic player and his desire to remain.

So let the insinuations against Kieran, leaking from supposedly “in the know” Celtic people and apparently emanating from the club, end now.

Kieran has been an exemplary Celtic player in his years at the club. No amount of accusations of “greed” or claims that Brendan is “disgusted” change that and some of those issuing them should hang their heads in shame.

As a stupid football fan, I want Kieran to stay but I will wish him well if he leaves and hope that he collects the biggest gongs that football has to offer. He deserves everything good that the game can give.

This is not some Islam-Feruz-type of situation and nor has he, for example, signed a one-year deal before promptly opting for a hernia op to ready himself for a move elsewhere, while Celtic paid his salary.

This is a young man who has dedicated himself to his sport and to Celtic but, to some cynics, that counts for nothing when the aim is to protect certain executives by directing fans' ire at the player.

If we do get £25m to add to the £7m for Armstrong and the tens of millions from two Champions League campaigns, we can be fairly sure that a small chunk of that cash will go towards more diamond-mining, hoping to uncover the next mega-profit player as we struggle for respectability in Europe.

Some of those will flop, as several signings have done, and the few gems will be polished up to realise their full market value.

Celtic will continue to tread water in Europe while, hopefully (but not certainly), dominating in Scotland, prompting ironic questions of, “What more do you want?” and continued derisive remarks about our Scottish pub league.

As Hiram Johnson once said, “The first casualty, when war comes, is truth.” The same can be said of transfer speculation.--

What about the plan, Celtic? The vindication of the fools

It was announced on Friday, with no fanfare whatsoever, that John Park had left Celtic.

John Who? The majority of Celtic fans who have taken a close interest in the club’s operations over the past few years will know the name well.

Football Operations: John Park and Peter Lawwell

Having been at Hibs and credited with the discovery of Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Derek Riordan and Garry O’Connor, among others, it wasn’t surprising that Park would have been seen as an attractive target for Celtic. What club wouldn’t want a guy who had a track record of unearthing local talent that went on to earn international caps?

I should state here that no criticism of John Park is implied – I have no doubt that he did hs job exactly as he was expected to do.

However, despite constant denials from Celtic – and successive coaches, who may have been contractually obliged not to comment on negative aspects of the workings of the club – suspicions remained that Park’s role was not always consistent with the footballing aims of the manager/head coach, whatever we are supposed to call him.

The alarm bells first started to ring shortly after Gordon Strachan left the club. Overall, Strachan did an exceptional job for us and should be thanked for that. However, shortly after he left he made a cryptic statement indicating that he would never again sign a player he hadn’t seen.

During Strachan’s time, Celtic signed Thomas Gravesen and Roy Keane – both of whom he had assuredly seen, but neither of whom he apparently wanted.

Keane, in his inimitable style, went on to say that his future manager’s absolute disinterest in having him as a player was an extra motivation to sign – an “up you, Gordon!”

Gravesen was a different case in point, altogether. Stilliyan Petrov had gone to Aston Villa, having been kind enough to sign a contract with Celtic, meaning that the club would get £7.5 million pounds for him, when he could have landed a much fatter deal by letting the contract run down.

Gravesen was then brought in, meaning that Celtic landed a Galactico to replace Petrov, and pocketed a whopping profit at the same time. Great!

Gravesen was a tremendous player – built like a brick sh*t-house, with an irrestible drive and energy that allowed him to dominate the middle of the park. In that regard, he was much like Victor Wanyama but he also had an attacking instinct and a powerful shot that persuaded Real Madrid that he could transpose those qualities to La Liga.

But there was a problem – Gordon didn’t want him and this established pro was neither able nor willing to change his style of play to suit the more controlled passing game that Strachan favoured.

It still seems surreal to recall that many people thought that Gravesen wasn’t good enough for us. He certainly was – but RIGHT for us at the time; maybe not.

Roy Keane was a different case altogether. Keano is one of a select band of players who I admired greatly in a pre-Celtic career before finding that the reality of him in a Celtic shirt was one inextricably-linked to an image of him as an utter ******le.

Both Keane and Gravesen were known quantities – but the warning signs were there. Our manager was being asked to work with players he didn’t know – like Du Wei, for example.

Many of us rang the alarm bells at the time but we were mocked by those who thought themselves the more “intellectual” Celtic fans. You know them – the ones who talked about “The Plan”.

The Plan (as another blog noted this week) seemed to involve John Park being a de facto Director of Football, with Peter Lawwell doing the contract stuff while Park identified the players in his “roving” role.

We were told that this was what was needed, rather than the "homespun" approach of Celtic managers signing players they have identified.

We signed some good players – Forster, Wanyama, Van Dijk – and sold them to Southampton as soon as they offered eight figures. For this, Peter was rewarded greatly and, we must presume, Park was, too.

We also signed players who would walk into the all-time Hall-of-Guff, should such a thing ever exist. But that didn’t seem to matter – six flops were more than offset by one £10m pay-off.

Those of us who protested were decried as fools. We were asked how much money we wanted to spend and told that amount would bankrupt the club – even though we had never answered the question.

We were reminded of the mantra of The Plan, an entity lauded by the followers of one site (who routinely referred to its owner as if he was a knight of the realm). Those who couldn’t or wouldn’t sign up to said scheme of modernism were labelled as naive, wreckers who would see the club bankrupted.

There was to be no middle-ground between reckless spending and feckless recruitment with a view to player-trading being the primary function of the club.

We were reminded of Porto – we never came close to Porto’s achievements.

“Celtic fans” -- the new kind who understood business better than the common-or-garden “beggin’-yir-pardon-sir” plebeians – told us that the balance sheet was what mattered most of all.

What – you want to watch a good team, playing good football with aspirations to raising the standards year-by-year? “I suppose you think we should spend £12m on the likes of Tore Andro Flo? No? How much should we spend - £20m, £30m? Do you have any idea how well we’re run?”

Buy your ticket and shut your mouth was the mantra.

And yet – look what has happened.

The Plan has changed. Why? (Whisper it.) Because The Plan failed.

The Plan, which saw Celtic radically under-invest in the post-Rangers years, also brought Euopean failure, fans expressing apathy and anger, the club giving the Head Coach’s job to a virtual rookie and key players in the squad sold from under him.

And what was the response to this failure?

That is something you are never likely to hear from the “new realists” who lavished praise on the Celtic knight, while they munched their prawn sandwiches, laughing about their pie-eating, team-on-the-park days.

How many dissenters ever said we had to spend £10m-£20m, however hard the saints of Peter’s rapid news site asked? Few, if any. On the other hand, many welcomed the change of approach for this season.

A manager – not just Head Coach – who is in charge of the football operation because he understands it better than anyone. I’ll admit that I wasn’t convinced that Brendan Rodgers would be the best choice for us because I’ve always been suspicious of “highly-regarded” picks.

I cannot give him the backing that he has given to Scott Brown as both regular readers of this blog will know that I never give more that 100% to anything – it’s illogical.

But what have we seen – Moussa Dembele, who had shown his potential in the English Championship, persuaded to come to Celtic for the next stage of his development.

This was not part of The Plan.

Those of us who are old enough need only cast our minds back to the tears Henrik Larsson shed when it seemed as if Feyenoord would scupper his move to Celtic. That was not to do with love for Celtic at that time but, as Henrik said, he had seen how Pierre Van Hoojidonk had developed.

Neither was it part of The Plan – it was a straightforward reaction by a player who had potential, recognising that he could emulate or exceed Van Hoojidonk’s achievements, if only given the chance.

That’s one of the reasons why Dembele is such a great signing for us. It’s not just because we have such an exceptional player (whose comments on receiving player-of-the-month were just what every Celtic fan would love to hear).

But, when Moussa signed, Zinedine Zidane said it was a logical move for a player he had been watching. Zizou said he had to score in the Champions League – Moussa duly scored. France Under-21 caps – two goals in two games, drawing praise from Didier Deschamps, who has already discussed bringing him into the top squad.

This seems lost on some people – we have a manager who was influential in the development of Raheem Sterling and Luis Suarez and who Steven Gerrard described as the best one-to-one coach he had ever worked with.

His initial work with Dembele will also be noted by other players whose aspirations match Moussa’s – to play in the Champions League and get the attention of the coach of one of the elite European national teams.

If Moussa can get his full call-up for France, why couldn’t any other French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or English player seek to follow his path at Celtic?

That wasn’t The Plan – find some potential, give them a couple of seasons to show their licks, sell the best for big money. Figure out what to do with the rest.

The Plan would never have brought Henrik to Celtic and this is the time for those criticised for objecting to it, to recognise that.

There are two other distinctly “off-plan” signings but the sort who idiots like me always sought (you know, we were hell-bent on the destruction of the club).

Signing Kolo Toure did not fit The Plan. He was a “diminishing asset” before Brendan Rodgers persuaded him to leave Liverpool, where fans expected him to be offered another contract.

What Kolo has become is more than a defensive rock – he is the defensive coach in-situ; the guy who knows exactly what has to be done, where players should be and the decisions they should make. Any defender who doesn’t learn from playing with Toure will demonstrate much about his future potential.

(In this, he is adding value to his defensive cohorts, Plan followers.)

And the third “off-plan” player is – of course Scott Sinclair. Sinclair epitomises something else that we should be seeking to exploit – a player with abundant skill, who has had a hiatus in his career, but who an astute manager can assist towards fulfilling his full potential.

Players like Scotty don’t make any sense according to The Plan – you take someone who is paid a massive salary and invest a great deal to persuade him that he should come to Celtic and, if he has sufficient belief, might flourish again; even maybe play in the Champions League.

Once upon a time, it was Chris Sutton – devastating with Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers – but discarded by a too-rich club who paid £10m for him while most of the English media chose to forget how good a player he was.

Chris Sutton is one of the best Celtic players I have seen with my own eyes. Scott Sinclair need only look to him for inspiration.

There is, though, a fourth issue, and that is about keeping players. For that, look no further than Kieran Tierney. With major clubs said to be ready to offer in the region of the magic £10m, Kieran actually chose to sign a long-term deal with Celtic, the club he supports.

I’m not the only Celtic fan who gulped a little bit of emotion when KT chose to stay with us, a Celtic supporter ready to fulfill his dreams in a Celtic shirt. But again, many of us suspect that the prospect of working with off-Plan Brendan Rodgers was significant.

This is not The Plan – but neither are Celtic facing bankruptcy. In fact, the club is enjoying just the sort of financial rewards hoped-for by non-Plan exponents, while The Planners were espousing the benefits of the Europa League, instead of the other tournament we were supposed to qualify for, three years out of five.

It is worth remembering that nothing has been won this season. Fans and players need to be conscious of that. And it was wonderful to hear Pep Guardiola defining what it means to pull on a Celtic shirt – to win every week. When Pep is paying homage to the values of the club, it can also serve as a reminder that complacency never fits with being a Celtic player.

We respect the opposition, no matter who they are, and play to win.

We know that we do not have a divine right to win and that every point or victory must be earned on the park.

These are the values and ethos of the club – not any immutable Plan, supported by people who could well be called propagandists.

A proper manager who knows what he is doing (with astutely-chosen professional assistants), leading the football operations of the club – in charge of signing policy.

That’s not The Plan – but it’s what reckless fans like me thought could work, all along.

Some Celtic “fans” probably hope we’re wrong.

Ronny Deila speaks up for Lawwell but he doesn't speak for the fans

Well, surprise, surprise - Ronny Deila has decided to tell Celtic fans that we have no right to criticise Peter Lawwell.

In doing so, he has demonstrated something about both why he got the manager's job in the first place and why it proved to be too big for him.

I dare say that if I had been given a lucrative, high-profile job which I was poorly qualified for, I might also feel inclined to defend the person who put my improbable progress ahead of the club's.

 But one of the features of Celtic in recent years has been the fawning to the corporate strategy of a succession of coaches, even when players were foisted upon them or sold from under them against their wishes.

 Ronny, like the others, is unlikely to burn his bridges in terms of a possible  return but while there have been inklings of dissatisfaction when each coach going back to, and including, Martin O'Neill have left, these have quickly been airbrushed away in a disconcerting manner.

Can you manage Celtic without being prepared to kiss Peter's ass? It's not clear that you can and there is suspicion that contract clauses to that effect have been signed.

But Ronny also shows that he has never yet got to grips with the expectations Celtic fans have.

Despite the usual claims from PLC fans, acolytes and online shills,  few, if any, Celtic supporters want the club to “spend money we don't have” - we just want players signed on the basis of what they can contribute to the team, rather than the balance sheet.

Is it really too much to want to see good players playing good football and an improving team? Is it unrealistic to want to keep the good ones for  a few seasons, instead of selling them at the first opportunity, while we get to keep the crocks, the bottlers, the bad boys, layabouts and other assorted dross?

Shouldn't we want players and teams to become legends, rather than recalling them primarily for their plus-or-minus contribution to the profit-and-loss statement?

Does Ronny think we don't deserve better, that we just aren't as smart as Peter?

Perhaps he also thinks we are wrong not to have meekly accepted being cheated out of titles and Champions League participation, the acknowledgement of the fact of Rangers being liquidated and the innumerable flagrant rule breaches which Peter has remained silent on, if not actually being complicit.

Under Peter Lawwell's period of tenure, most of the values that have made Celtic special have been erased and, worse, the fans who wanted them upheld have been mocked and derided by the PLC/Lawwell camp.

Ronny Deila is a nice and good man, who should not be condemned for genuine loyalty.

At the same time, he should not seek to lecture Celtic fans on issues that  we understand rather better than he does.

We - and generations before us - are the ones who have sustained Celtic and made the club great. Ronny's two years of service do not qualify him to dismiss our concern at the decline of Celtic and declare Peter's way to be the only way.

Ronny Deila is entitled to speak for himself and still contracted to speak for Celtic PLC. He need not think that he speaks for the fans.--

Ronny Deila leaves Celtic with his head held high - others should be in our sights

So, Ronny Deila has gone. And, typically of the man, he has gone – or at least announced his departure – with dignity intact.

Like many Celtic fans, I had come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to be able to turn around the foundering ship that is Celtic at the present time.

So, yes, all things considered, it seemed it had to be this way.

But Ronny leaves with the respect, gratitude and admiration of this Celtic fan and many thousands more – seemingly the overwhelming majority.

We know that he didn't ask the Celtic Board to break with all precedent and appoint someone to the most important position at the club, with only experience at small Norwegian clubs to draw on.

We can see that his role in developing players who were sold on at a profit, including Martin Ødegaard, was what attracted the great player traders, keen to cash in on transfer fees to the detriment of the team.

We remember that he said he didn't want loan signings as then “you're developing other people's players” – a job he was given with Jason Denayer, who then promptly left. And we remember that the same board sold Virgil van Dyke, the other half of our central defensive pairing, leaving us with Tyler Blackett and Dedryck Boyata for the new season.

We can see that he was never given the support that he needed from the boardroom, certain team members and maybe coaching staff.

We could see the people from outside the club undermining him, many with their own selfish agendas.

We remember the ideals, the dedication, the standards with which he conducted himself and the trophies – hopefully a second league title in two years, to boot.

This Celtic fan has as much gratitude, respect and admiration for Ronny Deila tonight as I ever have.

There are many others remaining at the club and outside it – with big Celtic reputations – who I cannot say that about. In fact, the conduct of some has been shameful.

I hope Ronny goes to a club with an adequate structure to allow him to develop fully as a coach. If he comes back to Celtic Park with another club on a European night and wins, I won't be happy.

But a part of me will see it as just reward for a man who gave us total commitment in keeping with the finest ideals of our club.

We should not miss our targets in identifying those who have made his tenure so difficult.

There should be “blood on the carpet” – and on the training ground grass – at Celtic Park in the coming weeks and months. But Ronny's hands are clean.

All the best, Ronny – and thanks.

Related link:

• A (respectful) open letter to Ronny Deila

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Could any coach sort out this mess?

With just a few weeks to go to the end of the season, most fans are asking who will be the Head Coach next season. Here's a personal take on some of the candidates:

Ronny Deila

Sorry, but no. Most fans seem to like him but few seem to see any evidence that he can vary his

tactics for the team he is facing, reliably pick the best players, motivate a side or adapt to changing circumstances during the match.

That's quite a collection of shortcomings, which perhaps reflect his lack of top-level experience. It can't go on.

John Collins

Absolutely not. Collins has the air of a self-annointed aristocrat of football. Rumours of him rubbing people up the wrong way seem all too credible because he just exudes smugness. Sunnier climes await to keep that tan topped up.

Neil Lennon

No. Celtic were on the way down when he left, which seemed like a smart move at the time. Now, Neil's coaching career is on a downward trajectory, why should he be expected to make things better? And his “same club” nonsense may have won him friends in the media and the Celtic boardroom but it has lost him some admirers amongst the support. Time to move on, Neil.

David Moyes

Maybe. But would Moyes take on the job without a clear assurance that he would have funds to recruit players of his own choosing? Moyes's stock is not as high as it once was but he could do a good job at Celtic – only if the conditions were right.

Gordon Strachan

In our dreams! Probably the best candidate by far but he knows too much about the machinations of Celtic PLC to walk out on a crack at qualifying for the World Cup with Scotland.

Martin O'Neill

Forget it! This is the man who spent circa £6m each on Chris Sutton, John Hartson and Neil Lennon. He is not going to come back to Celtic under the current strategy.

Roy Keane

Let's hope not! The man punches people who ask for his autograph. Enough said.

Eric Black

Not on your nelly. One of the more bizarre internet rumours. Black has a long history of taking over as caretaker, having been someone's number two and then being let go. There's a reason for that and we don't need to find out precisely what it is from a second stint at Celtic.

Henrik Larsson

Seems like madness. Why sully a near-flawless reputation as a player by appointing him as manager of a club in the eye of a storm. Helsingborgs are currently 12^th in the Allsvenskan and Henrik's win rate with them is around 35%.

Alan Stubbs

A solid season with Hibs but nothing yet to suggest that he is ready to step up to the Head Coach's role.

Mark McGhee

The perennial stage-door Johnny no doubt reckons he has the club connection, coaching experience and lack of scruples to woo Dermot Desmond and is probably pleading with his mate Strachan to put a word in. Gordon should give him two words: “Get tae!” © John Brown

Derek McInnes

When hell freezes over.

Robbie Neilson

Not as bad a candidate as some might think and seems to know the game but he would be a hard sell to the fans.

Mark Warburton

Celtic plc wouldn't weaken the new club they have done more than most to create by wrecking their management structure.

John Hughes

A left-field candidate whose credentials shouldn't get him anywhere near the running but would probably do a decent job for a club with no European ambitions. At least he can coach, organise and motivate.

Brendan Rogers

A named that's bandied around more in hope than expectation but he sort of fits the bill in that he has top-level experience and is currently out of work. Slim chance.

Michael O'Neill

Hotly rumoured at one point and has done well with Northern Ireland but would the board really take on someone who they fans would struggle to accept? They would – the plc damned well would appoint him. Just to piss us off.

Malky Mackay

A name only suggested by a mainstream media pundit to stir things up. He would be a PR disaster and has a reputation for liking to spend on players.

Steve Clarke

One of those guys who is definitely well-respected in the game and knows his stuff but who is also bandied about by those who like to think they are smarter than your average fan. Doesn't feel right.

Steve McLaren

Just the sort of tosser Celtic plc would like to foist on us, accompanied by a puff piece on a well-known blog, telling us how smart a move it is.

Paul Lambert

Is currently with Blackburn Rovers, sitting 18^th in the Championship, having lost six and drawn one of their last 10 matches. This probably makes him the hot favourite.

Owen Coyle

Refused the job before Tony Mowbray, because he saw the conditions he'd be working under. Hard to imagine he'd leave the States to walk into the same conditions, having seen how hard it has been for the last three managers.

Jackie MacNamara

Ha! Just messing with you, Jackie!

Pep Guardiola/Jose Mourinho

Likely to be mentioned around season-ticket renewal time. You never know.

In conclusion, Ronny is on his way out and unless the board changes its policy, we're in big trouble.

Celtic season tickets: time for experience to triumph over hope

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

And you'd buy a season ticket because...?

The quote above is most often attributed to Albert Einstein, though there is little evidence that the scientist ever actually uttered the words.

However, it is repeated so often as it is not necessary to be a genius to recognise the truth contained therein.

Dr Johnson was talking about second marriages when he wrote of “the triumph of hope over experience”.

But clearly both quotations speak to the same thing: there are only so many times that it makes sense to repeat an action that has led to a disappointing result.

Celtic fans should be pondering this today.

Those of us old enough to remember Celts for Change in the early 1990s will recall a fateful Celtic Park match against Kilmarnock for which the fans' pressure group had organised a boycott. The people Celts for Change called in to estimate the attendance put the figure at 8225, while the official figure reported by the club was 10,055 – just above the assumed break-even for a match.

In doing so, Celts for Change demonstrated that organised fan action could call into question the club's viability, never mind its prosperity or the profiteering of its directors, and a major step was taken towards the Fergus McCann revolution that saved Celtic.

Those particular incompetents of the White-Kelly era had actively discouraged the sale of season tickets, in what now seems like a policy of buffoonery. Their alleged logic was that season book discounts robbed them of the potential earnings of repeated full houses fans paying for single, full-price tickets (though there were probably other reasons).

That mistake hasn't been made since, with the major focus in terms of revenue generation being a push for season ticket sales that has seen an annual love-in, promise of glory or plea for support from Peter Lawwell and the board. And tens of thousands of supporters have repeatedly responded, vainly hoping that the next season will be better than the experience of the last.

In doing so, they try to help the club and guarantee their seats for a whole season, watching diminishing quality and entertainment from a fixed vantage point. Over and over.

The other result is that the fans pay in advance to reduce their ability to influence the direction of the club – or even to demand satisfaction. They can vote with their feet but the money is in the PLC bank account anyway and they can be safely ignored until next renewal time.

To continue this cycle, with the club in its current state, would be an act of questionable sanity.

You may pay in advance for a product or service, the vendor reasonably claiming to need some money to buy materials. But if the quality regularly fails to meet your expectations, you will most likely decide whether to stop buying it at all or at least choose to pay per item, satisfying yourself that you are getting value for money.

How many other things do you pay hundreds of pounds for, up-front, feel frustrated and even deceived, then repeat the same act of faith again and again?

Being a football supporter is about more than being a customer but, unless that quality is fully reciprocated from the club, it leaves fans open to exploitation, while the PLC pursues its own agenda.

It's hard to admit that you can't trust the people running the club that you have loved for years but Celtic fans have experience of this. It's time to let that experience triumph over hope.

Instead of buying season tickets (and new shirts or other merchandise), it's time for supporters to make the club earn that ticket money by putting a team worthy of the name Celtic on the field, properly resourced both in terms of playing and coaching personnel.

If they do, then fans should keep buying the tickets, match-by-match and retain that one bargaining chip until confidence in the (preferably different) people running the club is regained.

It is hard to “hurt the club”, just as it was for those who boycotted that Kilmarnock match. But Celtic, as a team and an institution, is being destroyed before our eyes. In truth, there is little left that is recognisable, as we speak.

And you may miss out on the chance to watch Celtic struggle against minor European opposition or teams that are not even in the same division or even league, as has happened this season.

But it is difficult to see how buying season tickets will not simply keep enabling those running the club to continue what they have been doing, corrupting something that once represented the highest ideals in sport.

Do you want to do that?

Related link:

• Missing in action – the men who want your season ticket money (May 25, 2009)