Millions of Celtic fans woke this morning with that sinking feeling that has become far too common in the past few years. Celtic’s humiliating defeat at the hand of FC Utrecht was put simply so disastrous that the fans prayed for the same rain that had threatened to delay the game. This wasn’t a humping of St Mirren, or a shocker at Artmedia, it wasn’t even the embarassment at Clyde. It was so much worse.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, seemed to work for Celtic all night. The tactics, the players, the referee, the passing, the tackling and the mentality all seemed to be so far wrong that you wouldn’t be surprised to mistake Celtic for a junior U-15’s team. Celtic’s inability to string two passes together meant that the team never even looked like could carve a chance, never mind a shot on target, combined with every 50/50 going Utrecht’s way, Celtic were constantly chasing the match. Neil Lennon’s newly built side looked uncohesive which is to be expected considering there was a serious lack of European experience. But really what was most worrying was that our entire team looked devoid of any skill or ability, as if it had been sapped from them before kick off.

Yes, the two consecutive early penalties didn’t help but even at that point Celtic needed only a goal to put the match at rest, but with what can only be described as a lanky strain of pish upfront, Celtic never had a chance. Indeed, it took 81 minutes and a lame prod from Fortune before Celtic even recorded a shot on target. As for the bizarre substitutions of Juarez and Brown, Lennon showed huge inexperience on the night as he sat on the sidelines shell shocked.

But really, what else did we expect? Our most experienced player in Europe was Shaun Maloney, who has spent much of his career on the sidelines. The players brought in are all lacking of that and to be fair, they are young and untested at this level. Let’s not forget that all Celtic managers struggle notoriously in their first European campaign. It’s through defeats like this that the team can develop a mindset outside of SPL football that demands 100% concentration, simple football and being prepared to be under the kosh for the majority of the match. So for that, yes the players and manager are to blame but this is a recurring trend that we fans have had to put up with for too long.

£10 million pounds was made from Aiden McGeady’s sale but we have yet to see this materialise from the Celtic board (Make up for our Champions League exit?). And with news today that Anthony Stokes may sign, it seems our board have learnt nothing. Yes we have brought in some good looking players for the SPL but it’s only ever enough to just placate the fans. They said we needed experienced players, and we aimed for the likes of Bellamy, James and Campbell – all going elsewhere. We’ve yet to sign a big name player to galvanise the fans and squad, instead opting for a differing array of “projects” for nominal fees. This is understandable, but we need balance, we need an experienced star. Take out Robbie Keane from last season and then think – would we even have scored any goals?

Now we are out of Europe Celtic need to spend and not repeats mistakes of the past, a limited inexperienced team can only go so far. Players become good players because of the one of two great players around them, whether it be on the pitch or in training. We don’t have that, we just have a rag tag of potential for us to pin our ever critical and ludicrous hopes and expectations upon.

Last game: Celtic 2 – 1 Motherwell

Celtic form after 5 games:  LWWLW

By Séan Walsh (twitter.com/walshybhoy)


Josh Thompson saved Celtic from yet another embarrassment in front of subdued Celtic Park yesterday evening. The Parkhead stadium looked to be holding around 20,000 faithful fans, as many supporters choosing to spend their cash and time actually enjoying themselves rather than have to sit through what can only be described as turgid and depressing stress. Recent seasons have seen the fanatical support dwindle in numbers as well as many passively protesting against the PLC by refusing to buy overinflated merchandise to show their discontent. You might expect that the Celtic team wanted to redeem itself for letting the club down at the weekend, even answer calls by critics that the team ‘don’t understand what it means to play for Celtic’, well those expectations would be unfulfilled.

Celtic began the game with the rather odd omission of arguably their player of the year (which doesn’t say much) Andreas Hinkel and passionate goal stopper Artur Boruc. Rightly removed from the squad altogether was Georgios Samaras, whilst Marc-Antoine Fortuné relegated to the bench. Even more oddly was the inclusion of ‘captain’ Scott Brown and on loan Landry N’Guemo. Brown has failed to shine since his record £4.4 million move from Hibs whilst the dynamo Cameroonian N’Guemo has seen a stretch of poor form throughout the past 3 weeks. The failed midfield pairing was yet again entirely anonymous and between the two players amassed a performance for maybe a midget sized player.

The opening half was nothing short of lethargic petulance from the boys in Hoops. The expected passion, hunger and drive to try win back some shred of credibility was non-existent and instead the few Celtic fans in the stadium were treated to a performance akin to a teenager grudgingly going to visit his grandmother. The side did itself no wonders as it was booed off the pitch at halftime.

The second half was very much the same if I am to be honest. Motherwell took the lead barely after kick off and Celtic fans worldwide groaned in a fashion they are used to. Only 19 year old Josh Thompsons strike from a corner meant Celtic fortuitously escaped a growing torrid of abuse from the Bhoys. Not much later, Thompson utilised a corner to head the ball into the net, thereby securing the 3 points and avoiding allowing the current league leaders a chance to win the championship tonight against Dundee United. Fair play to the youngster, he has undoubtedly been given the worst possible start to his career – coming to a club impatient with youth players, being dropped into first team action despite only playing a few professional games and unfortunately been put under a huge amount of pressure from inept performances from the rest of his team. His two goals yesterday at least shows he hasn’t entirely given up unlike his other fellow “professionals”.

Celtic now awaits yet another anxious match at home to Hibs on Saturday, and now more than ever, watching Celtic has become a painful chore.

Last game: Ross County 2 – 0 Celtic

Celtic form after 5 games:  WLWWL

By Séan Walsh (twitter.com/walshybhoy)

Make no mistake about it, Celtic are in dark times and drastically need to be pulled out of deep waters if they ever hope to escape the whirlpool of problems they are currently caught in. For nearly ten years the Celtic board has persisted with balancing the books and treating the fans as customers. Too often we have heard that “football is a business”, and sure that’s true. Equally, I am pleased with the excellent work we have done behind the scenes – particularly during the recession, but although a business, Celtic, like any business, is in an industry – and we are failing to deliver in ours.

The board has managed several titles, cameos in Europe’s last 16 and produced a nice set of financial reports. Throughout that we have seen some genuine players in Artur Boruc and Shunsuke Nakamura come through and expand our brand internationally as well as producing some highlights on the world’s largest stage – the UEFA Champions League. But, at the same time the Celtic PLC has managed to alienate its very own fans through shoddy customer relations -see ticket office, official website and marketing department’s efforts to flog gear hours after embarrassing defeats. As ticket prices have risen, so has the price of inedible food within the stadium. Celtics famous  and primarily working class support has been snubbed and gradually pushed out to make room for ‘football tourists’ willing to pay overinflated prices to sample what was once an ‘electric atmosphere’. Now, it annoys me to see folk not support the team, leave with 15 minutes to go and fail to support the team but they have every right to be there if they pay and fair play to them contributing financially when locations such as Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge will probably produce better football, but, somewhere in the process of getting these type of ‘tourists’ in, Celtic have removed the element that make Celtic Park what it is reputable for.

Anyone in the Celtic message board scene will know of the ongoing feud between fan groups such as the Green Brigade and Celtic PLC. Groups such as the Green Brigade, aim to bring atmosphere to Parkhead through their singing, displays and colours. For large stretches of games, the only audible sounds are that of the Green Brigade and punters complaining about Evander Sno. So why then, does the Celtic board persist to try alienate these fans by heavy handed stewarding, CCTV recording and removing banners and flags that obviously took hours to create?

The answer is the same in regards to why Celtic has seen fit to fill our club with mediocrity and lack of ambition – because we are fickle to accept it.

Since the even the final season of Martin O’Neill’s squad, Celtic have adopted a policy of “use what you have”. O’Neill’s ‘Black Sunday’ team of 2005 was filled with great players but aging and tired players. The board refused to keep the squad fresh by refusing to give the necessary transfer fee’s instead opting to placate the mob with short term fixes (Loan signings anyone?). Gordon Strachan very much received the same treatment, although he spent just as much on players as O’Neill – he was never given money when he direly needed it to really take the club to the next level. We relied on hunting SPL pro’s and taking risks on players who never had (or never would) fulfil their potential. Even the appointment of Strachan (A manager I personally found deplorable in his tactics, signings and acceptance of mediocrity) was a cheap fix, a ‘yes-man’ who wouldn’t kick up a fuss even when the board signed players for him. Tony Mowbray’s endeavour was simply the board trying to rectify its problems in the wrong places at the wrong time. Anyone who watches football knows that to build a team you rely on a good manager with success (Mowbray had only shown that at Championship level), then you move onto your defence – ensure that at the very worst you’ll drag out bore-draws and then finally you mould your footballing philosophy. The Celtic board yet again picked a ‘yes-man’, tried to play up they were fixing the defence by taking risks on new unknown players rather than solid and reliable answers and then throwing money half way through the season in desperation that should have been made available in July.

And yet, we all saw this, but our hopes ruled our head and in typical fashion – Celtic delivered disappointment where we hoped. Drastic measures are needed and we all need to stick by our principals.

My recipe for success is this and one that I will continue to stick by:

1) The manager needs to be ambitious; he needs to understand what the job is (See my previous article on this here http://thecelticway.net/wordpress/2010/02/who-would-want-to-manage-celtic/) and he needs to have his own way. The Celtic board need to put someone in charge that can take ownership of the football and remember that their job is to facilitate the manager’s job.

2) Aim to rectify Celtic’s confidence issues, how can we possibly aspire to play in Europe when we won’t even try to. The SPL is dire as are the teams regularly beating us – so whats changed? Well, we have lost our confidence that we deserve to be one of the biggest clubs in Europe, let alone our own league. Too often we have seen Celtic play to our opponents; we rarely set the tempo or set the standards. How can a team that gives Manchester United a run for its money, then struggle against Hibs? Because, we never go onto the pitch looking and believing that we must set a standard.

3) Build from the back. We are lucky enough to have a brilliant goalkeeper so let’s help him out and ensure no one can score against us. For the time being, we need confidence and consistency, bring in someone tried and tested to steady the ship. Create an unforgiving defence that does its job first and then all the ball distribution and tempo setting second. To think of all our failed attempts at centre backs and how much we spent – we could have bought a really good player for that who could form the foundations of a strong defensive spine.

4) Continue to scout youth. It’s easy to mock “projects” and criticise Celtic for pursuing younger players but it’s a cheap way of catching stars and giving the squad more depth and diversity. Where Celtic is failing is that we fail to actually give youngsters a real chance. Too often we throw on youngsters when we are losing – talk about a confidence boost. Instead we should be rotating our teams in lesser matches such as the league cup or against weaker competition. Making only one change for 60 minutes shouldn’t affect a well formed unit.

5) Win and develop. Celtic and its fans need to understand that when we win something that shouldn’t be an excuse to turn off the gas and sit back and let it eventually come down to a simmer. We should always win the league, that’s a given, so when we have won that we should be aiming to win it in less games next season. There is nothing wrong with having a winner’s mentality – even if it’s unrealistic. As the saying goes, if you aim for the stars, you’ll get the moon. Too many fans only view things in regards to trophies – which are fine, but how can you expect to keep winning trophies without looking to develop and progress?

In essence, the next move by the Celtic board – choosing a new manager – may prove to be one of the most influential acts in several decades. It has all but killed off the fanatical fan base. If it doesn’t make changes to how it does business and fails to bring in the right man – then all will be lost at Parkhead.

By GWG

In a week that saw the death of Malcolm McClaren the creator of the Punk Rock era, a era that was not to everyone’s liking but still a man of great genius who was able to promote some pretty dire bands making them into household names and paving the way for other more talented musicians to further that style of music. McClaren knew exactly what he was doing and years later he produced the film “The Great Rock-n-Roll Swindle” which told the real story behind his creation and how he conned the music world and the media into accepting what was total rubbish, he set out to prove that if you have the people at your disposal you can sell anything and this he done extremely well.

Which bring us to the “Great SFA Swindle”

The successful era’s of Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan which seen six titles won from 2001 to 2008 with Celtic in the driving seat both financially and on the playing field whilst across the river in Govan Rangers were in meltdown with a chairman that had sold the crown jewels and every asset of any worth, many of us predicted armageddon was just around the corner with David Murray putting all his (and others peoples) eggs in one basket and lo and behold it happened, the Bank of Scotland, Glasgow Rangers and David Murray’s traditional bankers who had bankrolled them at their customers expense for decades giving them everything they asked for suddenly went to the wall with the English Halifax bank originally a building society taking up the reins and the debt at that time was a staggering 650 million for the Murray group of companies, give or take a few quid, even then it was clear that the new “English” bankers wanted their money with the interest paid on the set periods if that wasn’t bad enough for Murray the big bombshell came with the collapse of the banking world and the slump in property where Murray had put all his eggs into, suddenly his debt had rocketed to a unbelievable 750+ million with assets worth only half of that debt armageddon indeed. But more trouble was around the corner in the shape of Lloyds banking group who through taxpayers money was induced to take over Murray’s debt including 31 odd million owed by Rangers FC the figure of 31 million is what is ONLY owed to Lloyds and indeed there are other debts to finance institutions and other creditors bringing the total debt owed by Rangers to a figure nearer the 40+ million mark.
For a institution like Rangers they must have financial clout and to get that clout they must be successful in the game and the only way they can be successful in the game is to come out from behind Celtic’s shadow, this process began in June 2007 when ex Rangers player and former agent Gordon (Smudger) Smith was unelected to the high office of chief executive of the SFA a appointment that was somewhat staggering considering he had no experience in the administration of the game and has now been seen by recent events no knowledge of the rules of the game, many of us at that time voiced our objections to him holding the reins of power in a organisation that even then was pro Rangers, more was to follow.

2008 saw another questionable appointment to the SFA inner circle. Martin Bain was appointed a director to the SFA which is a limited company and is governed by the certain rules and regulations one being a director must be a responsible and a able person to oversee his duties as a director, part of his profile reads:

Martin Bain joined Rangers in 1996 and held a variety of roles including Commercial Director and Director of Football Business before being made Chief Executive in February 2005.

A Director since 2001, Bain has brokered many of the Club’s major deals in sponsorship, media rights and player acquisitions.

As Chief Executive he is now responsible to the Board, shareholders and supporters for the overall running of all Club operations, as well as strategic development.

Martin Bain sits on the Board of the SPL, which is responsible for corporate governance, strategic development, the delivery of the SPL objectives and the application of the SPL Rules.

Martin is also a member of the Marketing and Communication Group of the European Club Association.

The European Club Association is the authoritative, independent voice of European Club Football and it currently represents 144 top European football clubs.

If you go by this man’s previous record, a record that indicates overspending and carelessness with other peoples money (Banks)

Overseeing of assets being sold off.

Responsible for the dross that their club signed.

In fact this sentence say’s it all about him “Bain has brokered many of the Club’s major deals in sponsorship, media rights and player acquisitions.”

So what is the SFA doing appointing another man clearly not capable of bringing progress to Scottish football, the answer may lie in his brief at the SFA “Martin Bain sits on the Board of the SPL, which is responsible for corporate governance, strategic development, the delivery of the SPL objectives and the application of the SPL Rules“

So now we have two “Rangers” men holding the highest office’s in the national association but it doesn’t stop there, enter the head of communications one Darryl Broadfoot yes the same self confessed Rangers man who’s quest in his previous life as a journalist ( and a poor one at that) was to blacking everything Celtic and promote all things nice and beautiful for ‘ra Gers’.
Getting the picture? There’s more.

Hugh Dallas. And this is the most obvious one of the all. “Head of Refereeing Development” now this guy is the complete megalomaniac with dictates left, right and centre mostly about anyone’s right to question his declarations or his now discredited referee’s, this guy should not be under estimated he is the enforcer of this discredited and corrupt organisation, it’s his appointments to over ambitious referees that set the benchmark for what is expected and he makes Don Corleone look like a really honest guy. Dallas’s strategic placing of Stuart Dougal as a columnist on the propaganda rag The Daily Record is seen by some as a master stroke that nullifies any criticism that would come from dubious refereeing and there has been plenty!
The Dougal opinionated column in the Record is a total joke and has been exposed as such, shouldn’t be long now before he’s released to carry on with his grand tour of Scottish Orange halls.

So there we have the swindle all set up nicely over the past two years, obtain total power and you can CONvince anyone that it’s for the good of the game, the latest in this farce is Smudger Smith making statements that the rules will be changed for next season and it’s been an ongoing change over the past few years but in the meantime an apology should be enough to satisfy the punters, a bit like Basil Fawlty’s “Im So Sorry”
But wait a minute, the rules are to be changed to a three man panel that will oversee contentious decisions the panel made up with a ex-manager / ex-player / and a member of the public,

I give you John Gregg / Mark Hateley / and David Edgar. Watch this space.

Last game: Hibs 0 – 1 Celtic

Celtic form after 5 games:  WWLWW

By Séan Walsh

Celtic’s performance at Easter Road at the weekend might not have been the most stylish or inspiring we have seen this season, but credit to the team who came out unscathed and showing signs of progress. John Hughes side was typically well organised and resolute throughout passing, stamina and defensive duties and perhaps against a different manager the Leith side might have secured a point or three. However, it wasn’t to be. Neil Lennon, in what came as rather refreshing, named the same side from the week before – albeit missing Artur Boruc, away on compassionate leave. For starters, it is a relief to see a manager pick his side based on merit rather than tactical visions of grandeur and delusion. Too often, both Strachan and Mowbray bamboozled fans by dropping players who had previously performed the week before and replaced by ‘manager favourites’.

Lennon’s team, although lacking a sense of balance and a clinical element of self assurance, played very basic football, and whilst ‘basic’ essentially equates to ‘not taking risks’ in some situations, it is not a suitable equation to make here. Lennon has come in with no managerial experience, yet he has recognised that a team in transition and very much a crisis of confidence needs to be grounded. What better way of ensuring the team performs its job by giving simple orders and taking each match one step at a time. ‘Boring football’ inevitably led to the downfall of Gordon Strachan, but at the moment, it is what is needed to ensure the bedrock remains stable. Lennon is here to win points, nothing more, and nothing less.

The Hoops played very high up the pitch, rotating from wide to narrow play all over the park whilst the dynamic Robbie Keane looked constantly to exploit holes in the Hibs backline. Passing was generally quite simple and straight forward and no player tried to perform the impossible or ask too much of their own team mates. Granted, it wasn’t great to watch but against an organised unit, we controlled possession and eventually got the goal, if even through a clear penalty (despite the short sightedness of the Scottish “media”).

But what really impressed was Celtic’s vocal presence on the pitch. A major criticism levelled at past Celtic squads is their mildness and silence on the pitch, with the only visible signs of passion being a lot of clapping or the occasional poor tackle. Celtic players constantly put pressure on the referee and ensured that their opinions were at least heard from ear shot. The team looked a lot more confident tackling the ball and really putting physical pressure on the Hibs team. It’s not surprising when you consider that Neil Lennon regularly made this area of football his speciality when he was a player. Lennon was never the flashiest player, nor the most techniquely gifted, but to make up for his weaknesses he had bags of self confidence and an undying passion to treat the game as if he was in a round of boxing. Although he might not be the biggest and the fastest, he’d take the knocks and make sure he had the greater belief. So far, Lennon has done more in terms of confidence and passion than either Gordon Strachan or Tony Mowbray ever could.

Come the next game against ‘them’, some Celtic players will be getting an education (finally) about what it means and how they are expected to compete. I for one, sincerely hope the fiery redhead continues to “depart wisdom”. . . even if it’s a kick up the backside.

Last game: Celtic 3 – 1 Kilmarnock

Celtic form after 5 games:  WWWLW

By Séan Walsh

Neil Lennons debut taking over the managerial hotseat, what ESPN sensationally described as the “poisoned chalice” , began in great fashion with an evidently rejuvenated Celtic side looking to make up for the week’s prior embarassment at St Mirren. Although Lennon is viewed as an iconic figure in East Glasgow, there were no guarantee’s that he would be given any quarter from the vicious and temperant Celtic support. It was with great relief that 20 minutes into the game that Lennon had looked like dragging the players out of shame and stupour into some resemblance of passion. Its no coincidence that the fiery Irishmans first start saw motivation and fight from the team. Mowbrays Celtic looked devoided of motivation and belief throughout the season, and the introduction of Neil Lennon as interim manager would at the very least giving the players a first hand experience of what really is passion at the club.

Lennon, despite never being accreditted skills such as technique, flair or vision – very much delivered the main ingredients that made Martin O’Neils team consistantly cause problems. Lennons philosophy is obviously one that looks to invoke a sense of pride mixed with passion, determination with grit and effort with Johan Mjallby screaming at those who don’t produce! With the season very much over, there isn’t much room to develop his own team or brand of football from scratch. Lennon has clearly been brought in to great the team playing the basic game of football and make them understand the shirts history, culture and identity that it should represent to them every minute of every game. Lennon very much continued with the same team that Mowbray fielded, with only Edson Braafheid dropped to accomodate Englishman Lee Naylor at left back. Brown continued to remain as captain paretnering N’Guemo whilst Samaras gradually is allowed to become accustomed to his new role on the left flank. Lennon is here to change mentality, not the team itself, not yet anyway.

Celtic gave a solid performance that saw greater fluency and pressure against the opposition throughout. With most of the play being afforded down the wings, Aiden McGeady and Georgios Samaras produced excellent performances showing ability, willingness to pressure and confidence to continue dribbling at the defence. Scott Brown and Landry N’Guemo continued to sit fairly deep which was reflected in the lack of touches in the central area of the oppositions half – but Brown notched up a rare goal from midfield whilst N’Guemo continued to hurl his body at players in order to win possession. Undoubtedly the midfield worked at a much higher rate than at St Mirren, with a sense of urgency and rhythm previously missing throughout the season.

The back line had very little to worry about all game. Outside a deflected longball that gave Kilmarnock a consolation goal, Artur Boruc rarely touched the ball but when he did it was enjoyable to see the great Pole quickly distributing play with long range throws. Andreas Hinkel showed why he remains number one contender for player of the year, perhaps the only player to show any consistancy throughtout the season, eager to bomb forward and frustrating Killie with several tackles. Lee Naylor, a player who seems to be lambasted when he is on the pitch, and demanded when he isn’t gave an assured senior performance that saw him perhaps clinge to close to the halfway line but nevertheless an improvement in comparison to certain Bayern Munich loanee’s. In the center, youngster Josh Thompson worked well with an ever growing Darren O’Dea to keep pressure in the opposite end of the pitch. O’Dea in particular looked eager to move the ball into counter attacks on several occassions and despite Thompsons age and ever changing partners he has had – gave a decent performance for a teenager who has barely played in more than 30 games of football in his career – particularly at Celtic Park, where younger players are given no time to develop and ruthlessly criticised by the fickle pie eating football manager obssessed crowd.

Up front saw an ever industrious Fortune playing the role of target man, shielding the ball and allowing Robbie Keane space to run into, despite lack of goals – the £3.5 million man makes a mockery of his equivalent valued counter part and cheat 2 miles down the road. Most of the plaudits have to go inevitabley to Robbie Keane, who has now scored 9 of Celtics last 11 goals and continues to give the Celtic support something to discuss happily at walking down London Road. Both goals were magnificantly taken and his movement continued to torture Kilmarnock defenders. His absence next year will undoubtedly be something the ne wmanager must address immediately – and where better to look than this years World Cup.

Overall, a solid effort that was much needed orchestrated by some Lennon motivation and thinking. Now the hard part, how long can it continue – and even harder, if it does, what will happen to Neil Lennon post-season?

By GWG

So the media clock begins to tick down on Neil Lennon, how long will it be for the Media (Scottish) to begin the process of alienating and discrediting him to the public, they done their best when he was playing for us and there’s no doubt they’ll be back with pencils sharpened to a lethal point in their quest to demonise Lenny.
This is not a case of paranoid Timmy because history proves otherwise in the fact that the last seven Celtic managers have come in for some very obnoxious copy from the purveyors of lies, untruths, half truths, and down right slander.

1997 Win Jansen Who is that with the barnet? And the stream of opinionated rubbish that followed him right up until he stopped the ten-in-a-row.

1998 Jozef Venglos Dr Who? And the same regurgitated rubbish directed at him, despite the mans impeccable football credentials from the highest administrators in the game UEFA.

1999 Poor old John Barnes he didn’t stand a chance, rookie! And that was even before he put out a side.

2000. Dalglish Wife maes him take the job, he needs a golfcourse in his back garden!
Just some of the totally meaningless headlines that greeted the reluctant Scotland great.

Then along came the Irish, Martin O’Neill breezed into paradise like a breath of sweet nectar second division manager. And such ill-informed clap trap that was spewed onto our breakfast tables, stories about Desmond bankrolling his wages and he was a average manager with no tactical nonce ect ect ect . Happily the blessed Martin had a sharp legal mind and even sharper Lawyers and Barristers who quickly and very profitably seen off the media vultures particularly the Daily Record and the obnoxious little git Keevins who made O’Neill a very rich man when confronted with their bile in high courts.

Then we come to Strachan 2005 if ever a man that was able to put down the media with a rasp of his tongue it was him, an matter what they said or try to make him say he always has a put down for them they despised him.

2009 Mowbury. If there was anyone that was the opposite to O’Neill and Strachan it was Tony Mowbury the complete honest and open guy who found out the hard way that football is no place for nice guys, almost on a daily basis they hounded and harassed the guy to the poin the looked like he was in the process of having a nervous breakdown, just as well his tenure came to a end yesterday or we could be writing something far more serious than the demise of a football managers job.

And so to Lennon. He has first hand experience of what the Scottish media are capable of and he’s nobody’s fool when it come to calling it as he see’s it, hopefully he will use his past experience’s to guide him through what will undoubtedly be a trying time for him and hopefully he will use the same past experiences to treat this bunch of deplorable and narrow minded low life’s with the same contempt they showed him and the Club and the Supporters.

Good Luck Lenny & God Bless

Last game: St Mirren 4 – 0 Celtic

Celtic form after 5 games:  LWWWL

By Séan Walsh

Celtic’s were dealt another staggering blow to the already dead body that is the clubs SPL campaign this season. St Mirren ruthlessly hammered Mowbrays team in a manner so ridiculously that Celtic fans were left in angered amusement at their current situation. The manager saw fit to drop arguably player of the year Andreas Hinkel in order to test out Mark Wilson according to the Germans official website blog, elsewhere, an on form Artur Boruc could not remove Lukasz Zaluska. The midfield saw the return of a Korean Ki ‘Dave’ in place of midfield maestro Marc Crosas – which only adds further mystery to exactly why Crosas continues to be dropped by Mowbray despite evidence showing the team excels when he is part of the proceedings. Needless to say, the changes made did not work and youngster Paul McGowan gave a performance that he will undoubtedly worry about in regards to whether he can ‘cut it’ at Celtic. However, it wasn’t just the changes that sparked Celtics downfall. Recent Celtic regulars such as Landry N’Guemo, Josh Thompson and Edson Braafheid all turned in below-par cameo’s in the green and white – whilst Robbie Keane gave a Scott McDonald-esque performance of lots of huffing and puffing and complaining about those around him.

But surely, the brunt of supporters anger lies at the feet of Tony Mowbray, the man who sat face in hands, playing Aiden McGeady at leftback and six strikers on the pitch, as his multi-million pound team were pummeled by a club less noteable than Johnstonebridge service station. It is evident from just his body language that the pressure of Celtic is too much for the Yorkshireman and that he really has no idea of how to cope in the vicious goldfish bowl of Glasgow. But to be honest, he should have never had the job. The Celtic boards rightful dismissal of Gordon Strachan was met with hope amongst Celtic fans that they would show ambition and really try to push the club forward, but scouring the championship for managers such as Martinez, Mowbray and Coyle only showed that they wanted young managers. Young, not because we wanted to try snatch the next best talent (Even if the board tried to pass this message off) but because young managers are not set in their ways and are easy to manage, easy to reduce transfer budgets and easy to make scape goats out of.

After what I see as two failed managers – failed because they have not replicated the euphoria and belief Martin O’Neill created – the board cannot and must not continue with a third uninspiring manager. As the rival Glasgow club slowly crawls its way back into financial security through Champions League handouts, we cannot allow ourselves to continue down the drain pipe. A new inspiring and confident manager must be brought in,  allowed to spend and buy who he wishes and not have interference from a board, who lets face it, think that the football match is an extension of scones & tea networking events. Failure to do so, and the already impatient Celtic fanbase will see the apathetic fans depart, leaving only the hardcore element – ready to go to war with a board that they already have gripes with in regards to treatment within the stadium and how the club deals with the media.

I wrote last month about targets, and why would anyone want to manage our club, you can read it at http://thecelticway.net/wordpress/?p=15, the thinking behind it still stands. Any manager looking at our club will be met with high risk extremism – failure is career ending, success is complete adoration – there is no middle ground at Parkhead. Whilst all those managers remain untouched and available, I believe there is truly and realisitcally, only two men capable of achieving glory. The first, Guus Hiddink, but admittedly a manager who doesn’t seem to like long term plans and currently ready to take over the Turkey job in August – with Ivory Coast sniffing around for the summer World Cup. The second, the charismatic executor of the English national team, Slaven Bilic, a man credited to elevating unmknown youth players such as Modric, Corluka and Eduardo and creating strong, attacking and confident sides. He has openly said he would “walk to Glasgow” to coach Celtic, he is everything Celtic fans adore – iconic, aggressive and above all confident. Yes, he doesn’t have the football league experience, but then Strachan and Mowbray did, and it didn’t seem to do them much good. In fact, even without that experience, Bilic has gone on to scalp huge national teams and make a name for himself out of nowhere. The fact he hasnt been signed up by a club is startling for me, Celtic must take their chance – he is a realistic choice who would want to come, he is ambitious and above all, he will not be intimidated by a media, country and a PLC board, out to dominate his proceedings from the start.

Bring in the Bilic.

Last game: Celtic 2 – 0 Falkirk

Celtic form after 5 games:  WDWLW

By Séan Walsh

Whilst  Celtic fans and the media the collectively worry, argue and debate the current ‘problems’ at Parkhead this month, a much larger problem is growing evident as the season comes to a close. Mowbrays team has tried to encompass a philosophy that adopts fast and attractive football, its not always attacking, and its not always defensive, but he tries to make it attractive. Whether or not he has suceeded is up to you. But, for this to happen, surely the epicentre or foundations to build such a philosophy lie with the passing style of the team – the tempo, the distance or the height, and where are these factors decided? In the centre of midfield.

Under Strachan, we saw as many changes as Stalin’s cabinet, Gravesen, Sno, Lennon, Jarosik, Hartley, Robson, Crosas, Flood, Sutton, Caldwell and ofcourse, Scott Brown. Similarily, Mowbrays pairing has alternated though on a less extreme scale. The midfield trio of Nguemo, Crosas and captain Brown have been at the heart of many half time debates infront of the pie stall at Paradise.

Take arguably Celtic ‘golden bhoy’ this season – Landry NGuemo, the loanee is undoubtedly a powerhouse midfielder that snaps with such tenacity and the forever spoken about ‘dig’ that for a short player he is very much one who players may fear. But then his real quality is in that he possesses a keen eye of a pass, commands the midfield and can always use quick feet to waltz his way out of a tight spot into space.

Catalan coolhead Marc Crosas is another midfield maestro, yet he heavily divides the fans. Some state that the former Barcelona player lacks the ‘dig’ of a center midfielder, that he is easily scared out of tackles – yet, another look at the last game against the blue side of Glasgow and you’ll notice how much tracking back and clearances in the box the little midfielder actually made. Crosas is the stereotype selfless player – everything he does is for his team, and as such can easily go unnoticed or mistaken for being “pure anonymous”. Crosas dictates tempo, thats for certain, he can conjure up space from nowhere to give his teammates a passing option. Just as quickly, he can close down the options to the opposition without having to put in a tackle. His vision to play the throughball is undoubtedly his best asset and probably the only player with the ability to do so from midfield. He gives the Celtic midfield an anchor to keep their shape, tempo and ensure that the passing style remains the same.

Finally, the Celtic captain himself, Scott Brown. If ever there was an enigma, it would be him. Touted as tenacious, fierce, rapid and an eye for goal – Brown was Scotlands hottest property when he signed from Hibs for a record 4.4 million. But very much like Paul Hartley before him, we bought a fierce and goalscoring midfielder who always performed against us, and got an actually quiet dumbed down version. Many of the Celtic support hold Brown up on high for giving Celtic the ‘dig’ factor, but in reality, Brown wins very little balls during possession, and actually gives a fair few away himself. His scoring ability is a falsehood and his well deserved reputation of being a a ‘fierce player’ whilst at Hibs has transformed into a player ‘who stares a lot and makes stupid decisions’. Yet, the young player with so much potential finds himself Captain, even though he shows no sign of vocals on the pitch and has done very little in his performances to even warrant a midfield start.

Yet, I’m sure no Celtic fan would want to see any of these players go unless the price was right ofcourse. The reality is though, NGuemo is only on loan and fans are growing nervous about the lack of any noise about a permanent deal for the Cameroon international – the loss of Champions League football as well will acts as a deterrrent for a player who could realistically play in the Premiership. Marc Crosas doesnt seem to be favoured by Mowbray at all, barely making the bench for games unless either NGuemo or Brown is out injured, he surely must be looking to keep his career free from stagnation. Whilst, Scott Brown, well lets face it has been given a free ride by the manager now he is captain – just like Stephen McManus, we can guarantee his name will be on the sheet first irregardless of merit.

Basically, what I want to say his this. There are very clear signs that come the summer we will be without our only two midfielders who have actually proved they work together, and instead left with the over inflated ego of a pointless player. Losing either Crosas or NGuemo scares me quite frankly, as we are already dangerously thin with talent in the middle. Zheng Zhi seems to be entirely a non-entity and ‘Dave’ Ki, still very much too young and different to the Scottish game to be able to adapt enough to be our main man in midfield.

Last game: Celtic 1 – 0 Dundee Utd

Celtic form after 5 games:  LWWDW

By Séan Walsh

The “leak” that Celtic had officially complained to the SFA regarding refereeing decisions and the inability of certain linemen to keep up with Robbie Keanes pace was a master stroke in PR by the East Glasgow side. Celtic have over the years developed a very introverted personality which has seen the club attacked in the media, in decisions and even by its own fans. The lack of reply or action from Celtic PLC during the oppositions campaign of slurring the name of our greatest manager deeply frustrated the Celtic fan base, and this seasons consistent barage of questionable decisions from referee’s had Celtic fans demanding the club make a stand.

Celtic, very cleverly have not openly complained, nor have they made rash accusations that would inevitabley end up being penned as “paranoid” by the so called “media” in Scotland. Instead, they have obviously leaked that they are unhappy, thereby not giving any concrete evidence for the media to stamp on their reputation – not that has stopped the media from doing so anyway.

It is a tactic that the other team in Glasgow has been doing for many seasons now, tactically bringing in the reputation or reliability of a referee just before an important game through the “after school magazine club-esque” media – would usually put the officials under pressure and give them something to think about in the split second they might decide to give a red card or penalty. Do they really want all that grief? Maybe they are not up to standard? Maybe I am biased towards Celtic because of my religion (See Steve Conroy, who was even accussed of being related to a Celtic youth player – incorrectly!). Too often, Celtic sat by and let this happen, but now, they have snatched the perogative and putting the media and officials under pressure ahead of the big game on Sunday.

And I for one, salute them.

Worse case scenrio, Celtic play badly then we deserve to lose. Celtic lose game based upon a poor decision, we are proved right and the media either retracts its statements and agrees with us, or as I would suspect, makes up some other nonsense to focus on. Best case, the referee gives a good performance and shows no quarter to any team on the field, we outplay an aging and uninspiring bunch of elbow smashers and hackjob merchants and win. We’ve played our cards, now its time to show yourself [SFA and the media] what you really are.