19/04/05.KEPPOCH CAMPUS - GLASGOW.Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Succulent Lamb isn’t a dish served up on only one side of Glasgow.
Almost effortlessly Dave Murray was assured of the most glowing and fawning coverage by the major newspapers and broadcasters in return for a trickle of transfer tales and access to the Rangers chairman and a back page story only a phone call away.
At Celtic things are done slightly differently, it is more low key but involves similar levels of admiration from a select group of media messengers who are equally reliant on crumbs of information to retain their job.
There is one blogger who has no dependency on that trickle of news but 20 years later can’t see past his corporate hero despite a changing world, especially in football.
Back in 2004 finishing above Rangers was still something of a novelty for a generation of Celtic fans.
On the back of the groundwork put in by Fergus McCann Celtic’s football operation was transformed by Martin O’Neill to deliver three titles in five years, denied two more on the final day of the season by a club fielding ineligible players.
O’Neill also won European ties, raising the standard until a new CEO arrived in October 2003 with austerity and empire building the motivation.
Barcelona were beaten on aggregate in the spring of 2004, six months after the arrival of Peter Lawwell, more than 20 years later the follow up is awaited.
The Lawwell Legacy https://t.co/dJ6H4hbdP2
— Paul Brennan (@CQN) September 6, 2024
The replies below articulate many of the failings of Lawwell. To his fan-bhoys like the author above not doing a Rangers is apparently the barometer of success. In fact there are many more than two ways to run a football club. Many more ways.
Staying ahead of the 2013 Third Division Champions isn’t an incredible achievement, many clubs in Europe with far lesser resources than Celtic, with less well rewarded executives regularly achieve more. Many clubs have won European knock out ties. Some far lesser clubs have won UEFA competitions or reached finals. Two clubs from Glasgow have played in European finals since Lawwell took control of Celtic.
Among the names on the Lawwell legacy missed out by the fiction writer are Cluj, AEK Athens, Malmo, Maribor and Ferencvaros. Each of those defeats cost Celtic around £20m plus from lost UEFA income and the related benefits of playing in the elite tournament.
Tellingly there is no mention of managers Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou who delivered success and memories despite the ways of the network constructed by the current Chairman.
There are way too many failings in the legacy to list them all, they are endless but scratching the surface you can run with the following:
Twice appointing Neil Lennon as manager after being a caretaker with no proper recruitment put in place to find the best candidate.
Appointing Ronny Deila as manager after he impressed (he’d be easy to manipulate) at an interview to become assistant manager. The Norwegian may be the loveliest guy ever but he did manage to half empty Celtic Park in his time in charge, losing to Ross County and a Championship club in national semi-finals.
Celtic have a horrendous Academy set up that last produced a first team regular in 2015.
Lawwell traded off home advantage in Champions League qualifiers for the prestige of hosting the opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Getting Ivan Toney in the building at Lennoxtown but opting instead to sign Albian Ajeti.
Having no meaningful recruitment system leaving Ange Postecoglou to rely on his own agent Frank Trimboli to bring in 75% of a team in one transfer window.
Scheduling a Champions League qualifier around July 12 events in Belfast.
Sabotaging a deal for John McGinn with Youssuf Mulumbu lined up instead.
Allowing Steven McLean to avoid scrutiny and explanation for the 2015 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle thanks to the Josh Meekings handball. McLean still referees top SPFL matches.
Requesting transparency over John Beaton’s performance at Ibrox in December 2018, getting a meeting with Ian Maxwell of the SFA with zero action or explanation. Six years later the man from the Crown Bar in Bellshill still influences Celtic matches.
Telling the 2019 and 2023 Celtic AGMs that he hadn’t read the 2012 Five Way Agreement which gives Celtic’s only realistic domestic rival a separate set of rules.
Celtic Park doesn’t have meaningful Wi-Fi, the Main Stand rarely has hot water in the customers toilets, there are two ladies toilets available outside or corporate.
There is no meaningful youth development at Celtic with the St Ninian’s school project and Lowland League effectively an obstacle course that no player has navigated.
Celtic’s 10 year UEFA coefficient standing is below that of a club founded in 2012, a club that spent their first four years in the SPL/ SPFL Challenge Cup while Lawwell’s Celtic made up the numbers in Europe.
And then there is talent spotter Mark, a former admin on the Manchester City website.
Fergus McCann is the reason for our dominance in Scottish football, building a bigger stadium compared to rangers gives us £10 + million more in revenue and this caused rangers to use EBTs which resulted in them going bust trying to compete. Lawwell only held us back.
— Socbhoy (@socbhoy) September 6, 2024
Far to blinkered a view to call your piece a legacy, a more rounded article will eventually appear about Pedro the good the bad and the nepotism.
— ROY (@Airthreycastle3) September 6, 2024
Only telling half the story. Outline the European success under his watch, his complicity in allowing the 5 way agreement, how he allowed our fans to be criminalised,how he has allowed the refereeing go unchallenged save for a few quips, how his negotiations cost us players.
— paul (@greenwhitehoops) September 6, 2024
utter drivel not won a european knock out tie in twenty years . appointed a manager in the showers who had been sacked by hibs and bolton gave jobs to his sons and cronies lack of ambition has seen us embarassed in europe countless times the lawell legacy.
— jj67 (@jj671383450) September 6, 2024
His legacy……
nearly 2 decades of failure in Europe,
a transfer strategy that was out of date by about a decade until a week ago.
a stadium that’s a mess,
a youth set up that is dreadful
no meaningful recruitment team in place
.What a job he is doing— Lee (@Itswayoverther2) September 6, 2024
Honestly give it up, his legacy is also closed upper tiers, not backing BR effectively 1st time around, rehiring Lennon and not sacking him when during the ill fated Covid season and throwing away the 10. Oh and continually not building from a position of strength.
— Brendan Farrell (@blamemonkey) September 6, 2024
Whatever way you spin it – our record in Europe while he was at the helm was shocking. That’s the true measuring stick for Celtic – not dominating clubs with a fraction of the budget
— Patrick Murphy (@PatrickMurphy89) September 6, 2024
This Lawwell legacy?
Ffs put your pom poms down. pic.twitter.com/4ISs944eLH— Roger Moose (@RogerMoose4) September 6, 2024
Lawwell’s so-called legacy also includes Celtic’s second worst period of European involvement – only the disastrous 90s are worse. He might have kept us financially buoyant but has presided over numerous humiliations on a stage where Celtic were such once proud participants.
— A J N ??????????? (@AJN1967) September 6, 2024
Celtic FC is a business which is there,ultimately, to make money…and so from that standpoint…its doing the job. However its not just a business..The Club means so much to so many people…and its people have been shafted. Everyone knows Lawwell’s shortcomings…so I won’t repeat them…But unless there’s a seismic shift in the power structure… ( NO CHANCE ) then we’re stuck with him….Never forget…MONEY TALKS.
Sadly I would Agree with That
it is really is time for this board to go. After the Stephen fletcher and John Mc Ginn Fiasco’s he should have been chased year’s ago along with the rest of the charlatans
When you get rid of what is considered to be the most successful Board in UK professional football where exactly do you go from there .. ??
Oh dear! The CQN guy is right. Dunning Kruger explains all.
CQN is a cult involving old guys who spend the time condoling each other, wishing each other happy birthday, arranging to meet up for drinks and worshipping the cult leader the sainted Paul, who in turn worships Lawwell and acts as his shill.
Most of them are out of touch with the feelings and views of younger supporters, who understand that we have a genuine class A manager in Brendan and want to see the club do well in Europe rather than just stay ahead of the huns every year.
It’s why people like myself view CQN as largely irrelevant, and only look in every now and again to see if anything has changed.
It hasn’t.
If you do look in now and then , you’ll see that there are some contributors ,older and younger, highly critical of the club’s/board’s priorities .
It’s just that whenever they post, there’s a pile in of around half a dozen board/Lawwell worshippers waiting to pounce . They seem to wait by their keyboards like blog police , almost as if they’ve been recruited for that very purpose .
It’s important to have the naysayers to challenge the narrative .
A Sycophantic Web Site??
CQN that’s a nickel&dime version of wee Coco klown the ibrox noise TADGER sorry blogger.
Lawwell earned premier league wages at the same time as telling us we can’t afford them, which I agree we couldn’t, but for him it doesnt apply. He lied to us, he held our team back massively going into european qualifiers. Wish he would gtf, Brennan is a lawwell puppet.
Aw Jeez .. not another anti-Lawwell rant.
FACT: Celtic supporters have never had it so good in terms of domestic trophies. As for Europe it was always going to take years to build the finances in order to compete and this is now happening. Our trade model is second to none and the envy of most other clubs. Even our fringe players have been sold for considerably more than the so-called ‘stars’ on the other side of the city.
I remember the day when some Celtic fans booed Fergus McCann and even when the same sort of fan booed Santa Claus! Fans like this have always been around and they’d still be criticising Peter Lawwell even if Celtic were to sign the whole Real Madrid squad.
It all gets a bit tiresome eventually, tbh.
Editor: If it becomes too tiresome head back to the lads on CQN for a top up on group think.
In season 2015/16 Lawwell had taken turnover down to £52m (it was £67m when he arrived in 2003/04) with Deila knocking thousands off the attendance every second week, almost like a managed decline to anticipate the arrival of business partners from across the city.
DD appointed BR, things would through the roof, or off the radar, for two seasons then yer man reasserted control with Mulumbu over McGinn with the season ending with the appointment in the shower. Knows the city blah blah, the seeds for season 20/21 were sown, halfway through they held a managerial review and concluded that Lennon was the best man for the job! A month later Ross County was a defeat too far.
Well said Peter…( We’re no daft )
The comments pretty much sums him up, yes he was in situ since 2003, but the players and the staff won the domestic honours in spite of him, certainly not because of him.
The day he goes for good will be a red letter day!
I’d say that as long as Dermot is there…and our support keeps pretending to be upset…He’s there for a long time.
Nothing worse than über-Celticry on a Celtic blog
Everything is binary
Happy clappers vs Mineshafters
Biscuit Tin vs Just gie them what they want
Celtic Da’s vs Cool young hip guys
Suits vs Fitba men
Video Celts v CQN
It’s Lawwell vs It’s Fergus
Life’s a wee bit more complex than this shock jock stuff
Whatever your opinion on Lawell, one thing stands out, he is a liar, he lied over and over about the five way agreement, he coveted the blue pound so much, why not explain to our fans that without them we will not be able to earn anywhere near the income we will without them.
He could have forced them to give up the trophies from the cheating Era, and still let them re exist as a new entity, but no, he resorted to treating us like fools, and for that I can never forgive him.
Yeah this thing always got me as he is supposed to be an accountant. So lets look at the facts .. he stated supposedly on the record that the loss of them was worth about 5M a season. Obviously Sky wouldnt get their beloved 4 Derbys so they could possibly pull out .. oh dear what will we do without the thousands that Sky give us ?? NOW here is the alternative view .. without a strong opposition then you are almost guaranteed the UEFA money .. knowing that you need to manoeuvre through a few play off matches and you know the rough dates of when those will be .. you get the players in to give yourself a strong chance in succeeding and thus entering the Champions League and a possible 30-40M income. Hmmm 5+2 (maybe from Sky) is around 7M with them in VERSUS the possibility of 30M without them … hmm isnt 30 a bigger number?? BUT what happened year on year .. we gambled and ONLY strengthened the team when we got through (or in the case of Cluj .. both Julien and Bolingoli (yeah ok) were signed too late and were not up to speed, and what happened ? we got knocked out). Ferencvaros in the COVID one off match and we play without a striker … the fact that they joked when we signed Willo Flood instead of Steven Fletcher that Pedro was Rangers (they were still Rangers at the time) player of the season … this is his legacy!
The article mentions”the replies below”? What a piece of nonsense.
The PL legacy will always be remembered mostly for his final act of sabotage, upon the 10iar season?
To act in such a manner was nothing more than an act of treason upon the whole Celtic support, just to keep the scum in business again?
This is after making numerous bad decisions beforehand, that held our club back instead of moving forward?
Regardless, there was never enough done at the time when he was officially reappointed, when in reality he should never have been allowed to darken our club ever again imo?
So as a support we still remain responsible for not doing enough at the time, for the eventualities actually allowed to happen?
As much as I don’t trust the man whatsoever, I don’t believe in the amount of abuse that is directed his way either at present?
Personally don’t believe that he has any real involvement within our transfer policy now, especially as the son was arguably worse than the father in that regards imo?
So at present the PL legacy still remains that I don’t trust the man whatsoever, very doubtful that I ever will either, yet don’t believe that he deserves the amount of abuse that is directed his way also?
We’ve been dealt a decent draw in the UCL. That is why I think we signed Engels late, as a sign we would make an attempt in the UCL. You couldn’t do tah in the past, being drawn against Barcelona, PSG etc.
You have to be a realist. POunds, shillings and pence is the bottom line in the life of any individual or football Club. If youyIf you don’t recognise this, then you have already handed over your fiscal freedom to a higher authority!
We have a decent chance of qualifying!
That drives up deman and maximises assets. It is an upwards spiarspiaaralling of events. If we qualify, we can strenthen in January. We can at last build a tem with an eye towards the UCL> WE could not possibly do that if we didn’t have the cash reserves, like it or not!
We are perhaps at a point to go forward to success. You could not have reached that place without a plan. You have to hand it to the people who control the financial side of the CluB. Maith Thu!
Aside from the all the other drivel in that CQN article, the idea that we have to wait to to get players in because we don’t understand how it works is plain insulting.
Our UCL opponents Club Brugge had 2 signings lined up for the window opening as well as a €33m sale, well before July even ended they had all their signings made spending €28m, increased that profit with another player sale for €20m
The deals can be done a lot earlier than the club would have you believe
This is a matter of record but I remember, Deila declared he was shocked at the fitness or lack of it, of the players after 4 years with Lennon when he arrived at first and it looked to me like they “went on strike”.
That is what caused the half empty stadium.
Heat hear Charlie. Ronnie was robbed of a Treble because of some clowns with badges on and a whistle!