John Kennedy is in the running for the Hibs job; that’s the whisper tonight and if it turns out to be true he should go and not look back … but he should make damned sure that the Easter Road club is committed to giving him at least a season before he does.
I wrote about them today; their chairman took an astonishing decision last night to dispense with Shaun Maloney. Football is an unsentimental business, but the verdict was not so much brutal as it was unbelievably short-sighted. Kennedy would need to be wary.
But still, if he’s handed an opportunity like this it’s too good to turn down.
There’s a chance that Scott Brown might join him as well in a potential “dream-team” which their fans might well be inclined to accept. The move is a good one for him.
Kennedy has clearly worked well with Ange.
We cannot guarantee that whoever came in to replace him would be equally as effective … but there are still clear areas of our team where we’re not as sharp as we might be. Set pieces remain a worry. Cross balls remain a big problem, as the cup semi-final demonstrated. Change would not necessarily be a disaster.
For the guy’s own sake, he should consider it.
Does he want to be a number two forever, or does he want to get out there and chart his own course? Another Celtic minded manager in the league would be no bad thing as well … better than some Derek McInnes type who will turn Hibs into a defensive side that won’t try a leg at grounds like Ibrox.
I would like to see him do this, and I suspect many Celtic fans feel the same way.
If the big guy gets the chance to go and does nobody will accuse him of disloyalty. Ange will wish him well and warmly congratulate him, and then find himself a new assistant.
And things will change, at Hibs and at Celtic and probably for the better. Kennedy has given our club the whole of his professional life. We have given him a place at the table after an injury stopped him being the player was meant to be, one of the finest of his generation.
This would not be a bitter parting of the ways. It’s right for everybody.
If this isn’t just paper talk this is what our assistant manager has been waiting for.
… or he might want another season with Ange then go out having learned from WGS, the rat and Ange… then take the best of each and become a superstar manager…… I suspect not, but I hope I’m wrong. He does have to make the break at some point.
Mcinnes had a better record against sevco than he did us
Better watch out you might trigger Scud the Fud by suggesting Kennedy….
Agree it might be a good move for him but I’d be wary of Hibs who seem to be turning into
Jesus Gil-era Atletico Madrid in terms of hiring & firing. As for him being one of the finest players of his generation? I never saw what it was that made people think that, but that’s just my opinion…
I pride myself in identifying three players as “stars” in the making after seeing them once or twice. The first was Larsson even allowing the fact he was responsible for a goal against us in his first match. Awesome movement.
The second was Kieran Tierney whom I predicted wrongly would be at Man U in a couple of years. What an engine and he just seemed to glide past players
The third was John Kennedy, nothing got past him and his dominance in the air was incredible. His injury was probably Barcelona’s loss.
I knew Larsson was a good player before he signed for us….just how good I didn’t realise. Tierney was an obvious one too but Kennedy I just couldn’t see it at all. To me he looked like just another fairly solid but nothing special defender of the sort we’ve had many times over the years. Hands up I didn’t see every game he ever played but then again I could say the same for Larsson and Tierney…
Prepared to eat humble pie on this but as far as Im concerned JK will never leave Celtic of his own accord.
He has a very comfy safety blanket where he is and would be quickly found out as a No 1.
Personally I would be happy to wish him well and see him move on as I have never rated him in his role at the club.
JK was a very promising player who had his career cut short by a thug in a football shirt, but no amount of badges studied for makes up for experience on the park IMHO.
James
I get your point on Kennedy but when you say “cross balls remain a problem” what can Kennedy do when big GG is not playing…….those short corners that we take most of the time are woeful because we have no big players to aim for….cross balls in to our Japanese boys wont do much good against the 6ft hammer throwers we are up against most matches………we need more height and steel in our team and IF John Kennedy goes then i wish him well……Hope too you take note of Seppingtons good post about scud the…….hun
HH
He won’t take it.
Why throw away a guaranteed meal ticket for life
with Celtic for the uncertainty at Easter Road?
The Celtic Board will pull all the stops out to keep him
at Parkheid. They need their eyes and ears in the dressing room.
It isn’t his Coaching skills that has seen him outlast the last 3 Managerial appointments.
I’m not sure that this is what Kennedy has been waiting for. I’d barter that he had eyes on the Celtic manager’s job and in many ways the club hierarchy seemed to be behind this, supporting and guiding the plan even. That was of course before Lennon part two f@cked that for him good and proper. Maybe the Hibs job would be a good move for him now as a result but the way they operate it could a short career. If I was him I’d stay at Paradise in my secure job
Why do Celtic continually do the short corner thingummy when we know the huns are crap at defending them. We are bad at defending them too, they know it and always launch their corners into our box. So why do we let them off the hook by playing short ones which most of the time don’t work, it’s a relief for them when we do that and why does Ange allow it to happen?