Michael Gannon of the Daily Record has performed a very sharp U-turn on Wilfried Nancy.
Back on November 14 Gannon broke the EXCLUSIVE news that Celtic were in advanced talks to get the Columbus Crew coach to replace Brendan Rodgers.
It was an incredible concept, almost the perfect storm. Wilfried who? Wilfried why?
After the carnage of two transfer windows driven by Paul Tisdale the Celtic squad has been stripped of quality. And goals.
CELTIC AND THE PERFECT STORM
Rodgers couldn’t get a tune out of the leftovers. With an injury crisis, demanding fixture list and outright hostility from the board towards those anti-establishment fans the Celtic job was one to be avoided.
No credible manager would put their reputation on the line trying to make a success of players signed up by Tisdale, the self acclaimed Football Doctor.
Incredibly a 48-year-old Frenchman was the top candidate. Someone with four years in North America on his CV as a manager. Someone who had played lower league football in France.
Assisted by his pal that used to be the youth coach at Exeter City. For continuity Nancy had Gavin Strachan to lean on, the original bibs and cones man whose surname has provided him with a career in the football shadows.
Nancy was either a high risk or horrific appointment. Three matches in Celtic fans know the answer to that.
NANCY IS ANGE II?
After coming up with the Nancy exclusive Gannon went to town banging the drum to back up his scoop.
Nancy was about to bring the best playing talent in the MLS to Celtic, a bizarre comparison with Ange Postecoglou was used at every turn.
Four days after his ‘advanced talks’ scoop Gannon was on a mission to portray Nancy as an emerging managerial superstar.
Quotes can be picked up from all sorts of sources to back up a theory. Celtic fans read glowing testimonials to Shin Yamada and Hayato Inamura to soften them upo for sub-standard signings.
Nancy wasn’t the new Ronny Deila, absolutely not. No way, kick that notion into touch as Gannon told Daily Record readers:
While the bold Ronny defied the odds to win the Norwegian title, the step up for Nancy in terms of the actual job won’t be as wild.
Columbus Crew are no small town outfit. The 48-year-old has an extensive coaching staff, analysts, fitness and conditioning experts, he was backed by a superb recruitment set up. He had all the bells and whistles.
Nancy will be more prepared. He might meet the similar resistance Delia got, however, and then Ange Postecoglou after him.
The in-built snobbery among some fans when faced with something of the unknown.
The only snobbery was thinking that Nancy was competent to manage Celtic. Based on four years in the MLS and a mutual friend from Exeter.
In a lot of ways, Nancy is the kind of manager Celtic should be looking to. Okay, the circumstances are rough, with the club midseason with a pile of problems.
But it might come down to the name. If Thierry Henry has stayed out in the States and won the MLS Cup, would Celtic fans be happy with him?
Too right they would. So why scoff at this guy, who is cleary rated as one of the best head coaches in Major League Soccer and has been tipped to make the jump to Europe for more than a year?
SCOFFING?
That is a bit like saying ‘why scoff at the guy who is clearly the best reporter at the Daily Record’. Henry has no track record in management, he might excited reporters at the Record but Celtic supporters want to see people with a track record in the top jobs.
They don’t want a bloke from Exeter in charge of recruitment, they don’t want a rookie manager discussing projects and solutions. Results come first, not performances.
Nancy was nowhere near being one of the best head coaches in the MLS. He had one good season with Columbus Crew. One.
In the 2025 season Columbus Crew finished seventh in the Easter Conference. There are currently six more successful coaches on the east coast. America is a big country, it also has a Western Conference.
NANCY’S NIGHTMARE
Three matches into the heralded Nancy reign even Gannon can spot the red flags.
Results, performances and comments under Nancy have been horrific. On top of that there is no connection between manager and players.
Various incidents have been highlighted. The contrived substitution of Kieran Tierney at Hampden, the ridiculous positions that players were deployed in. Taking Arne Engels off as he prepared to take a corner kick. Etc etc.
Today Gannon is backtracking, almost as if he knows that he has been sold a pup.
The Celtic structure is crumbling and Wilfried Nancy is guilty of naivety or arrogance but either way it’s disastrous | Michael Gannon ✍️https://t.co/BXgifNuvIu pic.twitter.com/o5citvTHOw
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) December 16, 2025
Welcome to the party Michael, better late than never. Today he back-tracked with
O’Neill knew this side wasn’t up to much so he tried to reduce the number of square pegs in round holes.
Nancy has decided to create even more round holes while trying to hammer triangles, pentagons and parallelograms into them.
It’s either naivety or arrogance – either way it was disastrous.
As many Celtic fans predicted. What could possibly go right when you have Michael Nicholson and Tisdale working on deals. Still, he’s not Deila…
Nancy has gone full Graeme Murty handstand into a roly-poly and it’s hard to see how he can’t back on his feet.
The danger for the new man is not just that he’s already lost the faith of the supporters – it’s that he might have failed to gain it from his squad.
But at least he isn’t Deila. Whew.
The new gaffer does need time and desperately needs a window or two.
Many Celtic fans don’t want to give Nancy a game or two never mind working with Tisdale’s January project signings.
But he also has to quickly learn the environment. There is no trust the process in these parts. Nancy has Dundee United up next, Aberdeen and Motherwell on the horizon and Rangers coming up soon. If he doesn’t get to grips with it sharpish he’ll be exiting the window before it even opens.
The inevitable isn’t too far away. Most fans can see it coming, it is only a matter of time.
Despite all of the Deila comparisons Nancy is incredibly unsuited to manage Celtic. He has none of the skills needed, or the personality.
It is crystal clear. Even Gannon probably realises it and wishes that his post November 14 Google history could be deleted. Just as a former billionaire from Motherwell once did.
RECOMMENDED READING
- Why Nicholson, Tisdale and Nancy need sacked
- Irish Independent journalist delivers home truths to Dermot Desmond
