Celtic Diary Wednesday May 28: Anyone Else Fancy the Job ?

Apologies for yesterday and the diary not appearing. Simply, I didn’t get up early enough, and was due in Anglesey for a funeral at noon.

On a side note, the chapel where it took place, the Church of Llanbadrig was founded by St. Patrick himself in the fifth century. He wasn’t there yesterday, which was a bit disappointing, but the church itself is well worth a visit if you like that sort of thing.

Walking through the graveyard before, there was a surprisingly high number of  headstones that stated the occupant had “fell asleep “, and bearing that in mind, I made a special effort to stay awake during the service. They’re tough on the congregation down there.

One day, when I retire and do a sort of Celtic pilgrimage, this is where I would start. St. Patrick, as we know, used the shamrock to describe the mystery of the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and its the same emblem -bar the addition of an extra leaf-that is used today in the Celtic club emblem.

So, have we got a new manager yet ? Has anyone told the truth about why we need one ?

No, and No.

The drunk who asked me what I though about Lennon being sacked has had his credentials checked. He might well know something. He moves in those sort of circles.

So, lets turn it around and examine what was said, and what some of the players have said.

” What do you think of Lennon being sacked ? ” Note, not what do you think of him leaving ?

That was exactly what I was asked.

So, how did those closest to the manager  react to the news?

Scott Brown, captain and confidant said;

“I was surprised to hear the news – he’s been fantastic at the club, he helped us a lot and he’s made me the player I am today. We wish him all the best,” Brown said.

“It’s been great since he came in, even when he was caretaker he brought positivity into the side – he wanted to attack and play good football and he continued that throughout his Celtic career.”

 So, he didn’t see it coming.

Efe Ambrose, the Nigerian defender , also registered his surprise at the bosses exit. Perhaps Lennon never spoke to these two, so they decided to talk to each other.

 Maybe thats why theres stories of match fixing in tonights international. You  know how dumb the MSM can be. To be fair, its the police who have drawn attention to the match fixing possibilty, and they, of course,  are a bastion of virtue.

Attention was drawn to the game when a large number of bets were placed on a Scotland win. Seriously, did the Nigerians not think throwing a game against Scotland wouldn’t attract suspicion ?

 Sorry, back to Lennon. It looks like the parting of the ways was a surprise to the players-or at least some of them.

 Now, what of the boss-sorry, former boss, himself. Whats he been saying ?

 Well, the usual really. all very diplomatic, about a fresh challenge, new horizons, taking a break and so on depending who you listen to.

 But watch the videos. He doesn’t sound or look like someone with the air of relief that comes with looking for a new challenge, or taking a break.

 He went to Lisbon with the club for the Champions League final, which is a bit like telling your wife you are leaving her, but want to go with her  on the holiday you’ve booked anyway.

 It doesn’t add up. None of it does. Something just isn’t sitting right, and while it would be easy to look for reasons to justify what the old drunk said to me, its a little harder to look for, and find, reasons that back up the official version.

 There are several rumours that he wanted to leave, mainly because he’d had enough. No transfer money, no chance of building a team without selling his best players. It may be true that he was vocal in his protests about this, which I would hope  he was. It may also follow that Desmond had had enough of his moaning, and decided to call it a day.

 Too many are talking of Lennons legacy, of what he did while at the club. No-one is asking what really happened.

 But does it matter ? Well, yes, if we want transparency. If we want to be able to trust and believe in the club that takes so much of our time, money and emotion every week.

 I’d still like to think that one day we could have a club we can be proud of at all levels, which was how it felt-even if it actually wasn’t, and it was just that it was better than what went before, under Fergus McCann, but since then, I’m wondering how far we are away from that.

 Anyhoo, it looks like no-one in the papers or on the tv has the faintest idea who is being lined up for the job.

According to my man, its David Moyes if he wants it, which apparently he does, but its not down to him. Agents, accountants and all sorts of others stand in his way. Perhaps it affects his pay off at Manchester United.

 Desmond likes him, and that means everyone will have to wait until he gives his answer.

 Some of the other candidates have been interesting, to say the least.

 Henrik Larsson, a genuine world class player with a genuine affection for the club, might not have the best record in management, but he would get time to grow into the job at Celtic. No-one else holds the fans affection the way he does.

 If you came home early from work and caught him with your wife you’d pour him a drink while you waited for his taxi. ( Or his optician lol -its okay, she never reads this , but if she does I’ll be in St. Patricks graveyard, having fallen asleep )

 One can deduce that Larsson has spoken to Mjallby and Lennon about the lie of the land at Celtic, which may have caused him to remember he has a contract, and bow out of the race.

 Again, its only speculation and meanderings of the mind. But if I was Larsson, I would have made those calls….

 Then theres Owen Coyle and Malky Mackay. Both out of work, both hanging around staring at their phones. They want the job, but the board will have noticed what the fans are saying, so they probably won’t be considered until everyone else has said no. A bit like how we buy players.

 Add Paolo di Canio to that list and -actually don’t add him to that list. He’s not a serious candidate.

 Michael Laudrup, Oscar Garcia , Steve Evans ( Who ? -the Rotherham manager, thats who ) ?

Then theres Uwe Rosler, Murat Yakin and Jackie MacNamara.

 Well, outsiders at best. Though there are reports Laudrup has been contacted by Celtic. But there are reports everyone else has as well. But not Moyes.

Working under the radar ?

 There has been talk of a director of football, which coincided with the news that John Park, who scouts the good players we sign-according to how he sees it anyway- is on the short list for a similar position at Norwich….

 Surely even the MSM can see through that one ?

 Park is currently in charge of football affairs at Celtic, until a manager is appointed. Like the cabinet secretary, he may well control access to Peter Lawwell and therefore Dermot Desmond.

 We intercepted a memo the other day….

Peter, 

             Haven’t spoken to a suitable new manager yet, I’ll carry on doing it until we find someone. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you in the loop. By the way, theres a FIFA thing out in the Bahamas for the next three months. I’ve told them you’ll go. Housty says he’ll do any preliminary interviews while you’re away.

                                             John.

 Alright, I made that up. Perhaps it was a UEFA thing.

John Park and Peter Houston. Thats scary.

 Elsewhere, the punishment handed out to Hamilton Academicals after they removed Hibernian from the top division has been announced. They will be forced to play amongst the strongest dozen sides in the country for at least the next twelve months.

 Hibernian, meanwhile, will play in the new Superleague, along with other sides not good enough for the elite.

 Neil Doncaster has hinted he will renegotiate the television deal, and apparently wants to ditch some Premier division games and replace them with Superleague matches, because he is an idiot.

 Sure, add to the coverage, as long as you get the companies to pay you,  a novel idea for Doncaster, but surely worth a shot ?

 But don’t cut the top level games. It might look on paper like there’ll be big crowds and excitement every week in the lower league, and it may turn out that way. So sell that as a completely separate deal, and leave the Premier alone.

 Last season was quite refreshing. The introduction of the play offs, especially where they are weighted against the teams finishing lower in the league was a huge success. Interest in the game outwith Celtic has been very high.

 How about we wrap that up and sell it ?

 Well, get someone else to sell it for us.

On Monday , we showed a picture of Willie McStay, another who hasn’t been mentioned for the top job this time around. Perhaps he phoned Lennon as well.

 Today, we’ll move away from managerial candidates. Sort of.

Who is this guy ?

 Oh, something else I heard. James Forrest, on the radar at Everton will join the club on the condition that he isn’t featured in the next Panini Premier League sticker book. Apparently he’s worried that when they peel the back off his portrait, he’ll hurt his shoulder.