Too much ego- former striker hits out at Lawwell’s Celtic return
Soccer Football - Scottish Cup Final - Celtic vs Motherwell - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Britain - May 19, 2018 Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell (2nd L) and Independent non-executive director Dermot Desmond (C) in the stand Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Charlie Nicholas has savaged the return of Peter Lawwell to the Celtic as chairman.
After 18 months of progress the man who was CEO for 17 years has been given a return ticket to the club where virtually every senior employee was appointed on his watch.
Dom McKay lasted just over two months as Lawwell’s successor before Michael Nicholson took charge on an interim basis with his permanent appointment soon confirmed.
Over the last decade Celtic have become an irrelevance in Europe with Malmo, Maribor, AEK Athens, Cluj, Molde, FC Copenhagen, Ferencvaros and Sparta Prague proving too strong despite much lower budgets.
After a 106 day search Ange Postecoglou inherited a shell of a club from Neil Lennon but the drive, ambition and commitment of the Australian has returned the club to winning ways and put the foundations in place to go forward.
Where Lawwell fits in to the big plan is hard to work out with Nicholas not holding back as he discussed the former CEO in the Daily Express:
I’m sure the majority of the Celtic supporters will not be welcoming him back. It is a negative in my opinion, although everyone will know I haven’t been a Lawwell fan for a long time. He has too much of an ego and it is too much about him.
It seems to me they are trying to get over the burden of messing up with the 10-in-a-row scenario. Now that has all gone and they can get Peter back in because it wasn’t his fault. Well whose fault was it? It seems like it is a camouflage, like it never happened.
Well, if you know your history it was down to him more than Neil Lennon or anybody else who fell asleep at the wheel. It is now as if he is back with a new car. We’ll start the journey again and he will get credit for Celtic winning the league or the treble.
The chairmanship, though, is different from being the chief executive but he is still there, with a voice.
Celtic have yet to release any video interviews explaining the benefits of Lawwell’s return with a start date of January 1.
Two of Lawwell’s star signings of 2020, Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas are currently out on loan and due to return to the club in May.