Ronnie Charters of STV Sport did Celtic fans a real service today.
While the usual nodding dogs invited to the Celtic media conference went through the motions Charters asked the question that mattered.
He knows the answer to the question. Martin O’Neill also knows the answer but he didn’t want to highlight the serial failings of his employers.
Apparently O’Neill is engrossed in all things Celtic.
Given the slightest hint he will eulogise about Jock Stein and the Lisbon Lions.
But ‘strangely’ he wasn’t so keen to go into detail about six successive failures to reach the group phase of the Champions League.
Right now LASK, Kairat Almaty, Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Cluj and AEK Athens are far more relevant than Nantes, Zurich, Vojvodina, Dukla Prague and Inter Milan.
Before that Brendan Rodgers defied the odds to get Celtic past Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Astana.
You absolutely won’t hear Rodgers’ name mentioned at a Celtic media conference. Either by the invited messengers or from whoever is answering questions.
Every Celtic fan knows that lawyers and accountants haven’t a clue about running a football club.
CELTIC- FAILURE IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BY DESIGN OF THIRD RATE EXECUTIVES
No decent sized company would turn to Peter Lawwell or Michael Nicholson to be CEO. Their skill-set wouldn’t get them on a short-list for a CEO job paying 20% of what they take out of Celtic.
A football club requires a leader, an organiser and a delegator that is results driven.
Six months after Lawwell arrived as CEO Celtic won their last UEFA knock out match. In March 2004.
He mentored Nicholson as his successor. Dom McKay got 72 days in the job before the plan was completed.
Celtic have been on the slide ever since. Gordon Strachan, Neil Lennon and Rodgers defied the odds in the Champions League group stage. Their reward was having the assets sold off as Celtic settled for second best. By standers as the serious business gets done in European football.
Today the messengers at the Celtic media conference were in neutral gear. Treading on egg-shells
Gordon Duncan Sky Sports, Ronnie Esplin Press Association and Andrew McLean weren’t going to rock the boat.
Nothing about transfer failings, the weakness of the Celtic squad, O’Neill’s tactics or bizarre substitutions. Or the questionable fitness levels of the players.
Duncan, Esplin and McLean have no time or interest in Celtic. They were mourning last night’s news from Jablonec when they reported for duty at Lennoxtown. And duty it was with their softball questions.
McLean struck a real low at 6 minutes and 50 seconds. He suggested that putting on a good performance against Falkirk would help remedy the defeat to LASK!
BOUNCING BACK FROM LASK BY BEATING FALKIRK! YES THAT QUESTION WAS ASKED
Where do you start with that sort of thinking? Celtic beat Falkirk five times last season, four of them at Celtic Park. On what universe does another win over John McGlynn’s side compare with wilfully chucking away a Champions League place in order to turn a profit from every transfer window?
At 9 minutes Charters came in to inject some reality to the soft soaping.
There is more to the STV reporter than humiliating Jambo-bear Ewan Cameron every week over his split personality.
Celtic fans concerned about real issues can fast forward to that section for the reaction of O’Neill as he covers the repeated failures of Nicholson.
CHARTERS ASKS THE QUESTION THAT O’NEILL WOULD RATHER NOT ANSWER
That’s the sixth time in a row, in terms of qualification, Celtic failed to get through to the group stages or the league phase. Does that highlight that there’s something fundamentally wrong in terms of how the club prepares for these matches?
O’NEILL:
Do you know, whatever you point out to me, I’m not in any position to disagree.
If I went back to the Basel game, you know, and I thought that I wouldn’t get over that. We won 3-1 in the first leg, lost 2-0, and away goals counted at that particular time. And I really thought, oh my God, it’s the end of the world. And then the lads in the dressing room said, listen, let’s go and give everything for the, which was called the UEFA Cup at the time. And we got to the final.
The question wasn’t related to Basel. O’Neill knew that but decided to offer a heart-warming tale from 24 years ago.
Your point about the six, you would have to look at it and really do analyse it and see if there is a, you know, if there is a common denominator and things like that there. I haven’t had a chance to do that. I’m just, I’m part of the statistic now.
CHARTERS: The common denominator from supporters would be the likes of selling Arne Engels without a replacement, not having a left back in, if Kieran Tierney were to go off, that level of recruitment, not being to the standard, would you understand that?
O’NEILL:
Do you know what, I’m in no position to argue, you know, really, not today, not today. I’m really humble, so, is there such a word as joviality? I don’t know. If it does, it’s not there today.
And with that O’Neill knew that he was in a corner. He didn’t have a gag or a wacky aside to excuse serial failure. He faced a relevant follow up question. A rarity.
Initiated by Peter Lawwell and carried on by his messenger Michael Nicholson failure to qualify is the norm. Rodgers defied it twice then came AEK Athens as Lawwell played at games over John McGinn.
O’Neill knows the answer to the Charters question.
He knows that no attempt was made to plan for the sale of Engels. Marcelo Saracchi could have been signed as back up to Tierney but Nicholson couldn’t be bothered.
CELTIC- WHERE NO ONE BOTHERS OR IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FAILURES
Recruitment is an after thought at Celtic.
The December 2022 signing of Alistair Johnston in anticipation of selling Josip Juranovic is the only example in the last decade of succession planning
Tellingly there wasn’t a single mention about Nicholson in the questions from broadcast media.
In anticipation of qualifying for the Champions League Dermot Desmond dragged himself away from the golf course.
Did O’Neill spend some time after the match with the man that he considers to be the owner of Celtic?
Not a chance of Duncan, Esplin or McLean asking a meaningful question.
They’ll all be invited back again for the next match preview. And the one after that as well.
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3 Comments
by Michael Love
Common denominator is laziness of the board it’s embarrassing that they think that fans are so fuxxxx stupid that they have now trying to break every decent manager thrown under the bus and for the shit across the road giving us 300 well give them the same the week after
by Owen Dunn
Only issue Celtic have is that buffoon lawwell, he has stripped the club down to nothing at every chance he gets, time will come when the players will just turn up but don’t get involved in any match, high time to lay the blame at the feet of the person causing the problems
by PAUL O'DONNELL
MON was brought back because no other manager would accept what is happening at Celtic.
Mangers like Kjetil Knutsen would have asked for assurances oround incomings and outgoings but MON will happily accept whatever happens. Desmond was desperate to get his old pal back as a yes man who will cover the boards failings.
To think Nicholson takes about 800k out of Celtic ever year is beyond belief!