{"id":16809,"date":"2021-02-24T13:42:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T13:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=16809"},"modified":"2021-02-24T13:42:26","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T13:42:26","slug":"celtic-diary-wednesday-february-24-the-storm-breaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=16809","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Wednesday February 24: The Storm Breaks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neil Lennon offered his resignation as Celtic manager yesterday, and this time the club accepted it.<\/p>\n

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Then someone told the Sun, who broke the story just as many of us were settling down to watch the Celtic fans documentary on Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

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Very quickly, others picked up on it, and it was confirmed this morning.<\/p>\n

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As a player and a manager, Lennon’s record stands comparison with anyone’s , yet there is a growing consensus that he’ll be remembered as the man who blew the ten.<\/p>\n

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A glance at the league table sort of backs this up…..<\/p>\n

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\"Image\"<\/p>\n

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Ah, wait, that was the last time someone “blew the ten “…. none other than Jock Stein, who it could be argued also failed to keep pace with the changes in football towards the end of his tenure.<\/p>\n

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Whilst Stein is the benchmark of Celtic managers, Lennon , this season apart, can hold his head high.<\/p>\n

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Quite simply, the combination of pressure , external and internal circumstances and a piss poor attitude from a number of players all proved collectively to be a bridge too far.<\/p>\n

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We wish him well, and we ask you to bear in mind that the full story isn’t out there yet, and to reserve judgement until it is.<\/p>\n

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After all, the ranch is still in shock, no one, no one at all was expecting this last night.<\/p>\n

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And so, what now ?<\/p>\n

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There is a sense of relief eminating from the ranch, not only because the head honcho has gone, but because he can’t do any further damage to himself . contrary to popular belief, he was extremely well liked as a man , on the whole, just not the coach that they hoped he would be.<\/p>\n

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Lennon was never going to be in charge next season, he was told weeks ago that his contract would not be renewed, so it follows\u00a0 that the search for a replacement was already underway, and with the first leg of the change already public knowledge, the retirement of Peter Lawwell, the regeneration was already underway.<\/p>\n

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Back in the early days of this website, we used to visit this place a lot…..<\/p>\n

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\"Old<\/p>\n

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where we could chew the fat and listen to al sorts of tittle tattle.<\/p>\n

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Known as the Rumour Mill, I took a trip there this morning, though due to lockdown rules, my role was played by a look alike as i sat and listened to the barman tell a few tales…..<\/p>\n

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\"9,231<\/p>\n

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Of course, the first thing I wanted to know is who is going to be the next manager.<\/p>\n

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Thing is, there might not be one, and lets face it we’ve turned up with no defence for quite a few games this season, so it shouldn;t be a surprise if we dispensed with the use of a manager.<\/p>\n

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However, our host thinks a Director of Football and a head coach is likely, and that Dermot Desmond, now pulling all the strings, is looking to install a partnership with the long term eye of getting the show back on the road.<\/p>\n

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By the show we mean the three core income streams referred to in yesterdays Diary.\u00a0 UCL, player sales and season books.<\/p>\n

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To do that, especially if you want to attract players with higher sell on values after the right development, you need two things.<\/p>\n

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The first is identification, it seems obvious, but talent isn’t the only thing to look for.<\/p>\n

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Analytics play a large part, and its felt that the balance between a players stats and a [players personality has been a little askew of late, and given the current circumstances with the plague, maybe that has been a larger part of the collapse than we have been led to believe.<\/p>\n

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With Brexit having changed the rules on foreign players coming to these shores -except in a dinghy with about four hundred others – recruitment will have to change, and be more loacalised.<\/p>\n

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So, someone with an insight of lower league or second string first class english football would be fairly high on the agenda, and talk has been of Fergal Harkin, currently working for Manchester City…who offers this CV<\/p>\n

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