Has the chairman booby-trapped the Return of Brendan?
This article could look very foolish very quickly, I certainly hope so.
As Celtic fans flap around in the sunshine waiting for news on their new manager everything might be under control, the video interviews and social media clips being aligned.
The club could be planning to send supporters into the weekend on a high, basking in the satisfaction of a fantastic managerial appointment, taking advantage of circumstances that no fan would have imagined two months ago. Ange out, Brendan back.
As any watcher of Celtic media will know Stephen McGowan of the Daily Mail has a fantastic record on Celtic stories, others pick them up here and there but the former Celtic View and Daily Express reporter is in a league of his own.
Around 10.30pm on Sunday the Mail had news that Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay has been in Mallorca for talks with Brendan Rodgers following initial positive contact initiated by Dermot Desmond.
The momentum suddenly turned away from Enzo Maresca, over the next couple of days more detail was released by McGowan, with his track record there was no reason to doubt the developments. Some supporters turned into plane spotters, The Sun got pictures of Dermot Desmond arriving at Glasgow Airport, not with Ryanair.
The pace at the start of the week has virtually ground to a halt. Apparently all is well with just some details on the backroom staff holding things up. John Kennedy trapped in a tug of love…
It is strange if the make up of the backroom staff is delaying an appointment like Rodgers. If you are Neil Lennon you take what you get and are grateful to be in a job but Rodgers is in a different sphere from his fellow Irishman as Celtic fans appreciate.
Getting Rodgers to agree to become manager was the biggest obstacle- not whether John Kennedy, Gavin Strachan, Scott Brown, Shaun Maloney, Kolo Toure or whoever will be alongside him. There might even be a role for Jack Ross who earned the praise of Rodgers first time around for his work at St Mirren.
The most obvious stumbling block is Peter Lawwell, the person most associated with the events of February 2019. From the John McGinn fiasco in August through Youssouf Mulumbu and on to Marian Shved the writing was on the wall.
Lawwell escaped the fall out from that, he even escaped the flak of recruiting in the Hampden showers for a guy that knew the city because the chase for domestic success blinded supporters to everything else.
Those events further strengthened Lawwell’s position until it all fell apart spectacularly in 2020. Ferencvaros was more than a warning but surrounded by sycophants no one dared to suggest to the CEO that things were going in the wrong direction.
Apparently we should be so grateful to the former CEO for presenting Celtic with Postecoglou, his legacy according to his closest followers.
Frank Trimboli virtually forced Postecoglou on a sceptical Celtic, for months he’d been trying to get a European job for the former Socceroos manager.
With the Eddie Howe squirrel finally killed off Celtic turned to Trimboli, fortunately AEK Athens had just overlooked Ange- he’d be on a plane to London sharpish with low demands and no need for a backroom entourage.
Trimboli also doesn’t stop, that is why he is such a successful agent, after more than two months of doors closing Daniel Levy turned to Postecoglou’s agent, he arrived, again without a backroom staff.
Since returning as non-executive Chairman in January Lawwell has had more attention that his successor, Nicholson hasn’t conducted a single media interview and doesn’t force his way into pictures with Postecoglou for reflected glory. The non-executive title no longer appears alongside Chairman in Celtic media releases.
No-one knows the influence of the Chairman inside Celtic like Rodgers.
After 17 years as CEO every worthwhile appointment came on Lawwell’s watch, a ridiculous set of affairs and the reason well run companies change CEO every 5-8 years to retain freshness and purpose.
But not Celtic. In December 2016 Sharon Brown was appointed as a non-executive Director, she has had the same impact as Brian Wilson and Tom Allison, thankfully the underwhelming Ian Bankier has left without anyone really noticing.
Not only does the next Celtic manager have one Lawwell to deal with but his son now has a senior role, promoted way beyond his Linked In CV from a minor job at Manchester City, not the City Football Group.
Desmond might be able to give assurances to Rodgers on many issues but throughout the club there are people loyal to ‘Big Peter’. Apparently he is a ‘great Celtic man’ despite minimal growth in turnover on his watch while his salary ballooned from under £248,941 in 2004 to over £3.5m in 2018/19 rewarding failure to reach the group stage of the Champions League.
The staleness that has developed at Celtic since Martin O’Neill left in 2005 is at chronic or crony levels, every area is badly in need of an overhaul.
It is not ridiculous to suggest that these issues are being pointed out to Celtic’s biggest shareholder.
Hopefully this article is quickly dated. Rodgers is appointed, he adds some backroom staff to those that are already at the club and brings fresh enthusiasm, ideas and faces to the club as he started in 2016 before his wings were clipped.
There is more than the issue of a Chairman to be resolved.
Do Celtic need a new Chairman?
Top man, knows the city, be careful what you wish for
Change is badly needed, sooner the better
