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| Wanderer: "I wonder if I could get back to Celtic" |
Now, I'm not going to forget the service Neil gave to Celtic as a player or as a manager.
On the other hand, anyone entertaining notions of bringing him back should allow themselves a reality check.
Neil got the Celtic job – his first in management – because he was prepared to take on a position in circumstances that other, better-qualified, candidates refused to consider.
It was a huge gamble. The last managerial rookies to be given the job had been Liam Brady and John Barnes – and look how those experiments worked out.
He did well – nobody could reasonably say otherwise – winning three titles and two Scottish Cups. And he delivered some memorable European nights, most notably that incredible win over Barcelona.
When he left, it was with the best wishes of most of the fans and he was quite within his rights to do so.
But, that doesn't mean he should be back – and there are several reasons why he should not be given the job.
Firstly, Neil left for good reasons. One of those was his wish to pursue higher aspirations; another was that the wheels were falling off the cart before he left.
Most of us could see that – a 6-1 humiliation at the hands of Barcelona being the worst kind of confirmation of that downward spiral Celtic were in. I thought it was a smart move at the time, indicative of a club recruitment-and-sale policy that was leading us to on-field ruin.
I recall a Norwich fan joking with me that I must be crying in my beer, as he was expected to go there at the time. I replied that I was relaxed about his leaving. I thought he would do a good, professional job but not set the heather on fire.
That was more-or-less how things transpired at Bolton. He made a big initial impression and, admittedly under difficult circumstances, the endeavour turned out to be a damp squib.
So, reasons 1 & 2:
There is nothing to suggest that the conditions at the club are better than those that Neil left and there hasn't been a cavalry charge for his services, since he parted company with Bolton Wanderers.
When he was on the way up, Celtic wasn't big enough for him, But now it appears he thinks the job should shrink to fit inferior managers, who have tested themselves at Championship level and would like to make a big splash in a small pond again. Thanks, but no thanks.
Reason 3: As has been pointed out recently, Neil's record in his last two seasons was very comparable to Ronny Deila's – which was just not good enough, right? QED!
Reason 4: Some of Neil's conduct has not been exemplary and while we are all entitled to a private life and to our transgressions, I do not want to see the sort of news story – “blackmail” or not – that he endured at Bolton coming to Celtic Park.
Neil endured horrendous abuse in Glasgow – and, no, he did not bring one bit of it on himself. But anyone who had ever met his hooligan bouncer when he was still a Celtic player would have been surprised to see him given the Celtic job.
We make mistakes and we grow up but I don't want to see the veracity or otherwise of certain stories being freshly tested for our manager. Yes, I'll say it – there are question marks around his character that most of us probably overlooked due to our natural desire to defend him against threats and violence.
We don't need the complication of the Scottish media looking for fire where there is a fair reek of smoke.
Reason 5: And, for me, the most damning of all. A few months ago, Ronny Deila was riding high but around the time that Neil's encounter with Bolton was clearly coming to an end, certain people started undermining Ronny.
Several of those people had close connections to Neil Lennon. His agent said that Neil and Celtic “needed each other”. His former teammate, Chris Sutton (remember how much we admired him?) had been criticising Ronny for some time – many of us blaming him having sold out to the tabloids.
Then we had John Hartson talking about conditions which should lead to Ronny being sacked.
And let's not forget the contributions of some of Neil's favourite players – like Charlie Mulgrew furiously denying being a little too ready to hide on the sidelines in a European match, with some questioning just how injured he was as he left the field.
Charlie, you may recall, was brought back to Celtic by Neil, Gordon Strachan having been prepared to let him go, allegedly due to issues with his attitude.
And that other favourite of Neil's – Kris Commons (who I would like to see kicked out of Celtic tomorrow). Who could forget his outrageous diatribe towards the bench when he was being substituted – again in front of the cameras for all of Europe to see. Commons should have been given his belongings in a bin bag the next morning but Ronny wasn't getting that sort of backing and was seemingly too decent a guy to demand that his lucrative contract (which Ronny had apparently questioned) be terminated.
And then there's Anthony Stokes – currently at Hibs, following his public criticism of the coaching staff for daring to reward his laziness with a seat in the stands.
Now, far be it from me to accuse Neil or his advisers of having actively undermined Ronny Deila to improve his chances of getting back a job he willingly gave up when there were few, if any, other options but you know how folk talk.
And I, personally, would never want there to be a hint that anyone could benefit from insidious attacks against the incumbent Celtic manager.
That would be a dangerous signal to send, enough to make Reason 6 – his playing the Level5 “same club” game to garner media support – almost obsolete.
So, thanks again to Neil for his service to the club as player and manager. I hope he continues to enjoy visits to Celtic Park as a VIP guest. And if there are no Championship clubs that want him, surely there must be some League 1 or 2 clubs or even some other Scottish teams he can manage.
But when anyone aims high and the arrow falls short, it would be a poor show indeed if “redemption” was achieved as a result of proxy stabs in someone else's back.
Enough of the Lennon talk; let's move on.
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