With 12 minutes left to play in the 2-0 home defeat from Hearts the chant of SACK THE BOARD rang around Celtic Park, followed by Lawwell, Lawwell Get Tae F**k. These days there are two members of that family draining a salary.
Today’s performance and result came as no surprise, as a few podcasts have pointed out recently we are living through a rerun of the 20/21 season except that supporters are inside the stadium able to give vent to their frustrations.
A year ago Celtic announced the appointment of Peter Lawwell as Chairman, his prodigy Michael Nicholson told last month’s AGM that there is no substitute for experience when the unusual practise of appointing a former CEO as Chairman was raised.
Lawwell’s toxic influence forced Brendan Rodgers out in February 2019 although the Irishman never gave the fans a plausible explanation. The January signings of Oli Burke, Vakoun Bayo, Manny Perez, Jeremy Toljan, Marian Shved and Andrew Gutman told its own story.
Neil Lennon was conveniently available as a ‘caretaker’, a few months later in the showers at Hampden Lawwell put his seal on Managed Decline by making that deal permanent.
During the fan-less season of 20/21 Celtic lost four successive home matches in the autumn, after a managerial review the board decided that Lennon was the man for the job with Lawwell stepping down but not away after the disastrous training jolly to Dubai.
Ange Postecoglou dug the club out of a hole, halfway through his stint Mark Lawwell was appointed Head of Scouting and Recruitment with his Daddy announced as Chairman last December to ensure that CEO Nicholson stuck to the script.
For whatever reasons Rodgers opted to return in June, declaring that the brilliant recruitment work of Mark was one of the reasons for his decision to take on the job he had walked out on four years earlier.
Other than a win at Ibrox in September the season to date has been grim, Rodgers looks a broken man with a petted lip realising that he has been duped again, this time by two of the Lawwell clan.
Today all of the issues came to the fore, another tepid performance with a bored and disconnected manager on the touchline, a far cry from his first 18-24 months in charge.
In times of trouble, like when Postecoglou left in June Dermot Desmond rides to the rescue, bailing out executives who think it is cool to make jokes about Scottish referees at the club AGM.
Rodgers has now claimed responsibility for recruitment, today he finished up with none of his nine summer signings on the park.
This time he owes the Celtic fans an explanation- by pointing a big target on the club Chairman and his smug colleagues in the boardroom. With no lockdown this time around there is no hiding place for the Lawwell’s as fans watch their Managed Decline go into acceleration.
A change in manager will do next to nothing, last time Lawwell was around it took 104 days to find someone to come into a club where innovation is frowned on with the micro-management of the CEO in every corner of the building.
Lennon is still on the lookout for a job, a year after being sacked in Cyprus, next up is Livingston at home on Saturday with the attention of supporters on the Chairman, his son and his cheerleaders on the executive salaries.
Should Peter and Mark Lawwell be removed from their jobs?
Yes, enough is enough
No, big Peter will save us
Sorry this has nothing to do with the board and all to do with tactics, Rodgers and the coaches.
It seems any club that don’t “park the bus” beat Celtic.
By blaming the board you are saying that Hearts have a better squad as do all the other sides they struggle with.
Clear out Rodgers and the backroom staff and bring in people who know how to take and defend corners for a start.
McGregor dammed himself around the 60 minute mark by driving forward past two defenders and set up a chance. Something he should be doing constantly as opposed to his headless chicken act.
It is the tactics not the board.
Editor: The board appoint the Head of Recruitment and manager, they haven’t a clue, cross their fingers hoping for the best or wait for DD to bail them out for their repeated stupidity.
You are deluded Charlie, it’s the boards fault for not investing properly in the team in the summer
Ray, are you saying Hearts and Kilmarnock have better squads and that is the reason they lost to them. Lawwell is the perfect pantomine baddie with his big baw face but he doesn’t pick the tactics train or try to inspire the team.
OK, they will need to buy better for Europe but then again how do you explain Sevco getting to the last 16?
You want to give money to Rodgers to spend after he relagated Leieister?
The backroom staff must go as well as the manager.
That was one of the most dreadful performances I have witnessed. No fight at all. Better get act together or they will lose this league.
Lawwell disappears for a couple of years,,everything is good.
Lawwell returns and all goes tits up.
Both the Board and BR are at fault.
The Board lied to us about ‘progress in Europe’ but refused to tweak
the transfer business model.
BR has now been sussed out: a bang average manager.
And maybe not as smart as he thinks he is either:
he looks a chump now for coming back to work with 2 Lawwells!
I was pleased when BR returned: not now.
Rodgers can’t be excused from blame either?
Majority of treble winning players turned into a complete shit show lately?
Is kyogo, AJ, CCV etc etc all bad players now?
Certainly showing it presently and playing with zero confidence within them either?
Could no longer trust Rodgers upon his decision making, when so poor overall before and during games, I fail to see how his decision making is going to be any better in solving the current shit show that he’s played a major part in creating also imo?
It deff has the feel of he covid season and void after big ange left,, this season could be all but over if the next 4 games are played with the same way, there is no hunger or direction to the team game,, whether it’s the ego’s of Rodgers or the lawells I don’t know, but for employees celtic fc is not good enough,the dressing room needs to be in harmony, the supporters deserve better,
The rot starts at the top and spreads downwards. Rodgers didn’t become a bad manager overnight but he appears unmotivated at present and that has undoubtedly affected the team.
The fork tongue Lawwells should be nowhere near Celtic. They are slowly dismantling the club and it will only get worse while they are there..
I have no idea what their motivation is apart from self aggrandisement and personal financial benefit. However they are a corrosive element which, unless removed, will cause permanent damage.
Unless Desmond steps in and takes drastic measures, the future looks bleak.
I can see no other way out of this.
It makes me ask the question, what is Celtic now?
I grew up following a club which was special and meant something to me and others like me. We were not always successful and were often subject to the whims of the Kellys and Whites, even after Big Jock arrived, although the big man came on his own terms, which to be fair to Bob Kelly, he conceded.
The people in charge now are much much worse than the board in those days.
Why then would any sane person go along with this farrago of self interest and bloated self importance that we see now.
I no longer recognise the club that I love and grew up loving, and it has fuck all to do with losing a couple of games at home.
The Celtic that was part of my life no longer exists and I am immeasurably sadder for it.
Can’t believe some fans think its the managers fault. When will Celtic fans become aware that as soon as a gap emerges between us and Sevco the reigns are activated. After we were winning 5 nil after 53 mins against Sevco, Rodgers hardly got a bean. It happens time and time again. At what point and how many occasions does it take before awareness kicks in ?
I truly believe fan ownership is the way forward mcann told us no individual will own our club now we have a billionaire in control with 37% share I believe who has spent absolutely nothing of his own money to take Celtic forward could someone please explain to be who holds what in shares eg how many do the real fans have and if Desmond only holds 37% can the fans buy more to have a controlling interest 5 years ago they commissioned someone to see how much it would cost to upgrade the main stand to 80000 the estimate was £110 million why was it not done then if they had grand plans to challenge europes elite to do that project now after covid ect will easily be over 500 million as for hotel and museum there planning application has now expired everything about the club is outdated time for Desmond to go and sell his shares back to the fans we are the only ones who can take the club forward
Editor: Please try some punctuation in future, good points totally lost in a sea of words.