Sutton Responds to Boyd's Comments Confidently

Chris Sutton was side by side with Kris Boyd last night- putting his Sky Sports colleague firmly back in the box.

On Sunday at Tynecastle Boyd was in his element as he sat alongside his mate Neil Lennon calling out Sutton and Brendan Rodgers.

From the commentary box Sutton was at a clear disadvantage. Not so last night.

DEBATING MISMATCH

Sutton more than set the record straight even though debating with Boyd is an epic mismatch.

Rodgers’ record was discussed before the action at Easter Road but Sutton firmly put the emphasis on Dermot Desmond and the statement he issued less than 15 minutes after Celtic announced Rodgers’ resignation.

There is a whole world of a debate over why a non-executive Director is able to use the club as a platform for a potentially costly attack on someone who had started the day in one of the most senior positions at the club.

Like nutrition, corporate governance isn’t a strength of Boydy. He tends to get fed two thoughts at a time that he uses on a loop for a month then gets fed two more.

TRANSFER CALLS

Sutton called out the madness of Celtic’s recent actions, a structure that is as clear as mud, highlighted by the Desmond statement.

If Desmond’s statement is true Rodgers wanted to replace Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah with Shin Yamada, Callum Osmand and Kelechi Iheanacho. Without Lennon by his side Boyd had no comeback. There is no counter argument. No

Sutton went through almost every element of the Desmond statement and demolished it. Boyd claimed that it must all be true because Desmond is a hugely wealthy businessman. Great argument big man.

Summing up the position that Desmond has put Celtic in Sutton said:

You very rarely hear from Dermot Desmond, but he didn’t miss on that occasion. He absolutely butchered Brendan. He filleted him.

Some people may like that. My view on that is, you think further down the line, there may be high-profile managers who would look at the treatment of Rogers and how vicious that attack was on Brendan Rodgers, and think twice about maybe coming to Celtic and their reputations being damaged if there’s a fallout.

ln many ways the job of managing Celtic should attract the biggest names in the business. But not just now.

TRANSFER CHAOS

The recruitment operation seems to be a committee job with various parts of the club involved. After a year in the job supporters have still to hear from Head of Operations Paul Tisdale.

Celtic do appear capable of identifying useful players but transfer negotiations appear horrific. Go Ahead Eagles Sporting Director Marc van Hintum shed some light on the issues when he discussed interest in Jakob Breum.

A starting bid of £1.5m for a £5m rated player isn’t going to open up much of a dialogue. Or returning with an improved offer of £2m plus add-ons.

Then when Michael Nicholson does get down to the nitty gritty he needs to email Non Executive Directors for approval. It isn’t known what qualifications that Sharon Brown and Brian Rose have to judge footballers.

CHECKS AND BALANCE?

What is known is that all of the NEDs are content with the handling of Rodgers and the statement issued by Desmond on Monday night. Losing out on a £40m Champions League place hasn’t resulted in any internal changes. A CEO that shrugs his shoulders when asked about transfer policy is fine with the Celtic Board of Directors.

The immediate issue facing Celtic is appointing a manager.

A dysfunctional infrastructure and dubious recruitment policy is an obvious hurdle. A phone call to Rodgers will surely be essential for any potential successor.

Sutton articulates those points and issues, Boyd squeals back stock answers for attention.

Boyd hinted that Celtic could have their next manager keeping a keen eye on events at Hampden on Sunday. Challenged to elaborate he blurted ‘I don’t know’.

Premier Sports and TNT Sport will cover the next two batches of fixtures, allowing Boyd some time to get briefed before he is next shown up in a grown up discussion.