Celtic’s defeat at Kilmarnock opened up a multitude of criticisms with virtually no-one spared in the aftermath.
A defeat in the SPFL has been brewing for a while, there was a late win at home to St Mirren, a dismal draw with Motherwell and a salvage job at St Johnstone with three goals in the last 25 minutes.
The ingredients have been just as obvious starting with Mark Lawwell’s horrendous summer recruitment. Of seven signings only Luis Palma has made a positive contribution, the others including two loan signings are toiling to get into a team that is a pale shadow of last season’s.
Losing Jota, Carl Starfelt and Aaron Mooy created a problem but one that a well run Recruitment operation would have been prepared for with replacements already in the building or identified and ready to be signed.
My thoughts on the current squad for next season:
Joe Hart – Bench
Scott Bain – Times Up
Benji Siegrist – Sell
Alistair Johnstone – Keep
Greg Taylor – Bench *Euro HG quota*
Gustaf Lagerbielke – Needs a chance
Liam Scales – Sell
Nat Phillips – I’ll drive him back to Liverpool…— Celtic Stats & Trivia (@CelticFCTrivia) December 10, 2023
Summing up the summer recruitment was Carl Starfelt’s agent pointing Celtic in the direction of Gus Lagerbielke as he picked up a double commission. Again hardly the sign of a well run Recruitment Department or strategy.
Injuries have hit hard but are part of football and only highlighted the failings in the squad and the over reliance on a core group of six or seven players.
Lawwell Mini has masterminded three transfer windows, from them Alistair Johnston is a starting player with Oh Hyeon-gyu a promising striker that has scored at an impressive rate. Those two and Palma hardly justify the faith that Rodgers has in his new look Recruitment Team.
The list above is terrifying and underlines, not that it was needed, that there is absolutely no need for more projects next month.
Only players with over 100 appearances in mainstream European leagues are required- but does Lawwell Mini know anyone in that category after his unknown, low profile work behind the scenes at the City Football Group.
My thoughts, we need to start buying quality players in each position £7m, £8m, £9m & full current 1st team would be good coming off the bench, then again I’m a fan with vision not a conditioned fan who thinks we have anything near a quality team in Every Position
— CeltiCRa9??-IAR twice? (@CeltiCRab19671) December 11, 2023
O’Riley, Hatate and McGregor would have made MON squad the rest nowhere near, that is how far we have fallen, condemned to play in a tinpot league for the rest of eternity, throughly depressing.
— John Boyle (@johnboyle67) December 10, 2023
Come the summer at least 10 plus of those will be gone or on loan. Hart, Mccarthy, bernabei, seigrist,Phillips, bernardo, kobayashi,turnbull,kwon, haksabanovic, ideguchi, vata. They’ll all be sold, expired deals or loaned out.
Oriley, reo, abada will all move on aswell
— aww naw, Annoni’s oan anaw noo. (@PJOConroy) December 11, 2023
Frightening to think that many of us wouldnt differ in opinion much from that, which doesn’t leave us with much
— Steven Daley (@DaleySteven) December 10, 2023
Agree with all of these. We need some ambition. Board is a joke
— Paul Octavio De Flores (@de_mouge) December 10, 2023
I agree with all of that
— BDDM (@Michael14069763) December 10, 2023
P.lawwell tossed 10inarow away and now his son and him are tossing this title over to liebrox so the old firm tag stays lawwells thinks the celtic fans are stupit they have weakened our team yet again and replacing it with players that haven’t got the bottle to play for celtic that game yesterday was a disgrace to many weaklings its experience players we need and strength not f**king midgets..
Recruitment has taken a downward spiral ever since one man walked back in the door in January. The best thing I can say about him is that he should not be near our club. If I typed what I really think about him it would not get printed here. He is a condescending, self serving, power mad wretch.
Football, and sport in general, is a unique business where customers are treated abominably and yet their loyalty means they keep coming back for more. Any other business treating customers as badly as this would have a drop off in support.
The issue we have is that the ambition of our Board extends as far as keeping Celtic half a step ahead of The Rangers. They are content to preserve the illusion of competition with a club spending money they don’t have while we do not spend the money we do have.
We once had the highest paid Chief Executive in British football. Now we have the highest paid Chairman and it is the same person and that is the individual preventing our club growing.
How this situation is resolved I don’t know: if we don’t attend the club already have our cash or sell tickets to people on the waiting list. There is an ongoing malaise and acceptance of mediocrity at our club, always storing money for a rainy day. We are like a house owner buying buckets for the day it rains instead of fixing the roof.
I feel that in Roger’s last season the signs were there to suggest the team was going backward.
Neil took over and a debacle ensued at every level. Main culprit in both these events I am sure was Lawwell. He seems to be the catalyst in all this poundshop nonsense.
Ange comes in, does his own thing, builds the most exciting football side seen domestically for a long time,
New chairman arrives, Ange moves on. Rinse and repeat with both cabal and family dynasty again in place. Machinations ensuring serco’s survival.
Supporters and fans? … Meat in the grinder
Editor: With the Head of Recruitment with no background whatsoever appointed to assist in succession planning, amazingly then endorsed by the incoming new manager.
Absolutely Joe.
Move over Michael. De facto Director of football and Son have exercised PL’s sense of entitlement with DD’s imprimatur.
PR, puppets and string come to mind.
Extremely difficult to usurp DD and this board.
Back to the future with Lawwell and Lawwell
Mini Lawwell will be due his seat on the Board soon.
Watch this space.
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