Mark Lawwell leaving Celtic was the story that no mainstream outlet would touch but over on the Kerrydale Street forum, members were given a heads up and countdown to the exit of Celtic’s Head of First Team Recruitment and Scouting.
Back on the evening of February 13 Remy McSwain posted that Lawwell Mini was serving his notice and wouldn’t be involved next season.
McSwain wasn’t claiming to be the main in the know, the source that uncovered the news but was bold enough to publish the rumour. As someone that ‘knows people that know people’ he made a judgement call on what he was hearing, who it was coming from and concluded that it was a goer.
Video Celts picked up on the claim the morning after, a few other fan media outlets ran with it, many in hope that it was true after four horrendous transfer windows had set Celtic back badly after Ange Postecoglou’s brilliant recruitment during two windows free of Lawwell interference.
Social/fan media is a major source of stories for legacy outlets, they trawl through the internet for stories to pass off as their scoops but strangely none of them would go near the suggestion that Lawwell was on his way out.
Celtic365 understands that the club contacted fan media sites asking them to delete or remove claims about Mark’s departure which should really raise the alert that something was happening.
Another poster on Kerrydale Street, M1K3Y89 backed up McSwain’s claim, anyone that regularly uses KDS would realise that there was substance to the claim, neither of those two fans are attention seekers. It could be said that both are In The Know but detached enough to be able to reveal details without worrying about the consequences.
On February 23 Celtic published their Interim Report with the club Chairman announcing his disappointment about the lack of January recruitment- when yer Da starts doubting your ability to do a job that you were shoe-horned into it really is time to start looking for ‘fresh opportunities’.
Two weeks after the claims that Lawwell Mini was being removed from the club there was still nothing in the mainstream, even with two decent sources on KDS and the comments in the Interim Report no-one was prepared to put the final pieces together in the jigsaw.
Friday afternoons are becoming a popular time time for Celtic to break news, duly on March 1 the club announced that Mini had ‘resigned’, was taking his pal Joe Dugeon with him, the guy that spent three years watching Marco Tilio, with the undynamic duo on gardening leave as they await fresh opportunities.
A couple of media poodles had been primed for the announcement, Mark’s disastrous role over the last few years has been airbrushed with some painting him, Micky Beale style, as the Brains Behind Ange.
Nothing could be further from the truth, the brilliance of the now Spurs manager kept the horrendous judgement of Mini covered up until it was fully exposed with the 2023 Summer of Doomed Projects.
The issue now for Celtic is how they clear out 90% of the signings made in the last few windows with little game time to their name while sitting on four and five year contracts.
For supporters there are certain accounts on social/fan media to pay attention to, even more so if their claims appear to be embargoed by old style media outlets.
CLICK HERE for Celtic Supporters Association chief calls out Beaton for blatant cheating.
CLICK HERE for Celtic’s two statements on John Beaton.
CLICK HERE for You Don’t Know What You’re Doing over Beaton’s Joe Hart red card.
