ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - NOVEMBER 27: Celtic head of football operations Paul Tisdale during a UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match between Feyenoord and Celtic at De Kuip, on November 27, 2025, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Brendan Rodgers turned down the chance to sign Shin Yamada during the January 2025 transfer window.
With Michael Nicholson working round the clock to sell Kyogo Furuhashi Celtic were in need of another striker.
Rodgers rejected Yamada, he would rather go without than bring in a player in that wasn’t upto the task.
In July Yamada joined Celtic. A club signing. Paul Tisdale’s influence had grown, he returned and imposed the J-League striker on a reluctant manager.
TISDALE AND HIS J-LEAGUE ADVENTURE
Yamada had been scouted by Tisdale playing for Kawasaki Frontale. During the 2024 J-League campaign he scored 19 goals and provided four assists from 39 appearances. A decent return but an outlier in his career.
While in Japan Tisdale was also impressed by Hayato Inamura.
Rodgers didn’t want Yamada, he was nowhere near the levels of Kyogo or Adam Idah.
His judgement was spot on. In the 2025 J-League season Yamada scored two goals in 21 appearances. Yet Tisdale pushed the transfer through.
Celtic never bothered replacing Kyogo even though they had a Champions League play off against Bayern Munich in February.
From the turn of the year Rodgers lost what control he had at Celtic.
LAWWELL AND TISDALE RECRUITMENT
During 2023 Mark Lawwell signed Yuki Kobayashi, Alistair Johnston, Marco Tilio, Odin Thiago Holm, Yang Hyun Jun, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Maik Nawrocki, Gus Lagerbielke and Luis Palma.
Rodgers wrestled control back in 2024. Celtic signed Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah, Auston Trusty, Luke McCowan and Arne Engels. First team players, contributors, assets. Players that you could trust in the Champions League.
With Tisdale now in charge Celtic resigned Jota in January then Ben Nygren, Kieran Tierney, Inamura, Yamada, Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Other than Johnston and Jota the signings made in 2023 and 2025 are a complete waste of money. A lot of money.
RODGERS REMOVED
During the summer Rodgers realised that he was losing control.
Tisdale had climbed the ladder. The striker rejected by the manager in January was a July signing. Still Kyogo hadn’t been replaced. Nicholson was trying to sell off Idah, Daizen Maeda and Yang.
After losing to Hearts on October 26 something happened that pushed Rodgers over the edge.
Many times previously he had repeated his promise to see out his contract.
The strength that he had established during 2024 had been wiped out. A player he had rejected in January was forced on him six months later.
Yamada, Inamura and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey were left out of Celtic’s Europa League squad.
Funnily enough, other than a 60 minute appearance for Simpson-Pusey under O’Neill two subsequent managers have snubbed Tisdale’s signings.
Terrifyingly the former Exeter City boss will be in charge of Celtic’s January recruitment. Don’t be expecting 2022 level arrivals such as Maeda, Hatate and Matt O’Riley.
Maybe the football doctor should take early retirement on health grounds
Aye…our health!
Hail Hail.
Belter! To laugh in the face of adversity………
Everything about the board and their acolytes and familiars is cheap and nasty, with the accent on cheap.
Lawwell Desmond and Nicholson should be hounded in public for the rest of their lives for destroying the club in their own self interest.
I would love to see Desmond’s face if he were to be harangued every time picks up a golf club.
Tony B, exactly what I feel and have been saying for some time, in Lawwell’s case for approaching 15 years. If ever there was any doubt this proves it, i.e. that Lawwell has his stinking, accountant’s mits all over CP right up to now. If the new CFC don’t get their act together rapido we’ll just get more of the same and we’ll blow this Title.
Remember Lawwell, the man who blew THE TEN assisted by NL.
SACK THE BOARD or HOUND THEM OUT, I’d be delighted with either and the sooner the better. Tisdale has now become a target too, IMHO.
It’s a shit show. Thank you, Joe for consistently reminding people that our board runs a PLC for money and ego’s. This has nothing to do with the Celtic that we have invested in.
Good work here.
Apologies for any wayward grammar and spelling
Mind all the folk who rejoiced at Rodgers departure and even before that happened, people who couldn’t see what he was saying since January as correct. The Honda civic hysteria over a metaphorical ball booting to the board was utterly mortifying.
What is it now? Who is now saying we are brilliant? Are we pish but no a civic? Are we a super card?
Quality
Pace
Power
= Firepower
Gutted from the team. Every window the Team is negatively sold against. Celtic are the only club in the world who actively sell against the good of the football team. Look at our stats at the same stage last season, frightening numbers. Maeda wasnt even the fastest player in our team, Kuhn was! Wee triangles, rampant down both wings, goals from every where, assists aplenty. Oh is that right…..let’s see how we can change that.
Sell our talismanic hero Kyogo. People don’t understand how impactful that was. He was the player in the team that would miss but never hide. He will always stick one away when needed. You can’t dismiss his influence to other players. Fans think it’s just easy to replace these guys. We can’t and won’t even replace the guy who was understudy to fuckin Kyogo, Idah. ‘Hes pish anaw’ it makes me sick seeing folk who support Celtic talk aa much shite as they do. I am no Celtic fan who is always right in what I say. But I know how fitba works and I know how Celtic works.
From when I was a boy we always had quality in attack, always wingers, magicians, ball players, And a 20-30 goal striker. The Celtic Way isnt a slogan thats just a guideline. Managers and players tje world over know about it. Fuck the Dutch we invented the total football those Dutch masters ‘invented’. We were the trailblazers.
Brendan is gone and forget another like him coming in. Brendan being a fan meant not as much to me as Him being a quality football coach. I don’t use the word e**te for anything it belongs in some athletics village with team GB and Clive Woodward. Rodgers was outstanding in how he saw the game, the so called ‘horseshoe of doom’ may be justified in attacking him but it also covered a multitude of sins in that a lack of attacking quality at times meant the ball was ‘recycled’ a lot. We were barely ever dominated. We dominated. We control. What we seeing now? No control. No dominance. No ball playing. Indecision.
A comment BR made regularly was that youth or B players dont get a sniff if they can’t train every minute for a match week with his first team. If you cannot do that, you will not play.
What happened to Osmand after 1 half game? The same for Nawrocki and many more, Players can’t reach the levels required that is why they don’t ply. Rodger’s had standards. Ronny had standards but not the authority. Nancy has Tisdale.
I feel sorry for the guy and have no idea where this will go. Celtic standards are Celtic standards. If you don’t know your history and get paid 1 million + a year to manage Celtic, then you’re not Celtic class. I could manage this squad better. As could many.
To sum up, all the signings Brendan didn’t want yet got and then fans told him he was to blame cos he wouldn’t play these guys, I guess he knew better. There’s a reason Osmond, Pussy, Yamada et al weren’t in squads. Because they aren’t good enough at this point, and football has never worked in a microcosm of one goal in one game for one result.
P.S Go to Celtic Wiki and Peter The Pricks page. Go back to his announcement. Brian Quinn and MON quotes are telling. We went from Seville ‘needing additions to the squad’ ….Porto went from Seville to champions league and super cup glory. Thanks Peter.
What could any self-respecting do, if forced into that scenario?
A lower league manager overruling a manager of BR’s experience?
Sounds like PL and/or DD were forcing him out – and in a humiliating manner?
Constructive dismissal?
Whatever: along with the Board, Tisdale is not exactly ‘world class’ either.
And to counter PL’s previous, arrogant claim: they should be paid peanuts instead! 🙂
Exeter City cast offs…
Oh my – How far we have fallen these days !
Bob, “Constructive dismissal?”
I hope Brendan goes for it and calls the rats at CP out for what they are.
Is there no Companies House or other ‘authority’ that can be brought in to look at this?
Celtic is being run like a wee family business by Desmond and Co yet his ‘ownership’ is just over 1/3rd? Is this even legal? Lawwell’s been doing Desmond’s bidding for over 20 years and the Lawwell appointees appear to have no skills other than doing what they’re told, e.g. MN, an overpaid, ignorant moron just like the two leeches who appointed him.
Sickening is not even close. Accountable? That would be both nice and fair.
That whole filthy shower make my blood boil!
This is exactly what you get when you appoint an accountant who knows nothing about football, to run a football CluB!
Wednesday is huge he absolutely needs to win by any means
The scum or the mini scum will be dropping points on Sunday either way will be good for us
Are we at the stage where we want Celtic to lose just to be rid of him (Nancy)…
Actually no I cannot bring myself to go through with that thought process however it did cross my mind !
How could tisdale a manager at Exeter city and hopeless even there as well as other lesser clubs ,how could he possibly rise to being a director of football at Celtic,the man is a chancer,he done nothing for Exeter,I’ve been down here in Devon 25 years and even Plymouth argyle have been better,which is not saying a lot but how did some nonentity become so powerful that he even superceded BR when it comes to transfers,our board is fucked ,but btw Celtic football club is fucked unless we change things fast.
Does anyone know how much is the plc down in merch sales this month .
Hopefully a helluva lot Martin !