Hibs Cannot Possibly Be Daft Enough To Follow Celtic In Hiring Lennon A Second Time.

In an internet age which is stacked wall to wall with written dreck, where you come across things recommended by others, check them out and think “meh”, it is a genuine pleasure to read something that is original, witty and brilliant, and this morning I read a superb thread on Twitter by a Hibs fan comparing his club’s previous bosses to … hard drugs.

There is genius in this on so many levels, not least of which is that it leans knowingly, with a nod and a wink, into Trainspotting stereotype and the way their club is mocked by other fans whose clubs don’t have an ounce of history or tradition or passion. I’ve got a soft spot for Hibs, as everyone who reads this blog regularly will be aware, having shared a flat with two mad Hibs boys during university and having dated at least one Hibs supporting girl since.

You can read the thread here; I highly recommend it. This is what I love about the internet; amidst all the rest of it there are little flashes of insight and genius like this.

Of our previous manager, Neil Lennon, the writer wrote this; “Neil Lennon was ecstasy- popped at the right time it filled us with euphoria, togetherness and fearless swagger, the party lasted quite a while, but near the end the comedown was rough and left us in a slowing down malaise … stop at the right time and you’re fine …”

This is an example of how insightful that is amidst the comedy.

Because had Neil Lennon been “stopped at the right time” all would have been fine and he would have left our own club as a genuine hero who would have earned the thanks of every fan.

When was the right time? Right after guiding us through the aftermath of the Rodgers departure. Had he gotten us through that season and then walked, declined the longer offer and left to pursue his career elsewhere there is not a Celtic fan who would not be singing his name until the end of time. Because that would have been incredible.

One of the greatest heroes of the Roman Republic was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus.

He was a former patrician turned simple farmer, living off the land, when the Senate asked him to take dictatorial power for a short time to fend off a crisis involving two rival Italian factions.

He was initially given absolute authority for six months; he made several appointments to key military positions, formed an army, relieved the besieged forces of the consul Quintus Fabius Vibulanus and restored Rome’s pre-eminent position in just 15 days.

On day 16, he gave up the dictatorship willingly and went back to his farm.

This is cited by modern historians as one of the greatest examples of civic responsibility and virtuous leadership of all time.

To walk away from absolute power and to hand it back to those who granted it to you as if it was nothing at all … it’s awesome.

And Lennon, who took over the most important job at Celtic when we could have been spiralling downward, could have been remembered just like that had he stepped back when that season ended.

But there is a streak of egotism and arrogance in Lennon which will not allow him to do that. In fact, he didn’t come in to play the heroes role in the first place, although people like to make out that he did.

We plucked Lennon off a dole queue and rather than be grateful for that he made it clear he would take the job only if he was made the front-runner at the end of the campaign. And our board, which should have waved him cheerio for even daring make that demand, agreed to it instead.

Let me quote you the man who knows. Lawwell, after the Cup final. “We had approaches from many, many agents, many representatives of managers across the board. We put them in the file, just left it and kept our word to Neil, really.”

And that echoes what I wrote earlier about these people living in a sealed bubble listening to only their own voices. During that same interview, Lawwell said this; “(Honestly), I’ve said hundreds of times, you need blinkers in this job. And if you react to online, or social media, or media, then you’re dead. You just need to keep on doing the right things and believe in yourself and making the right decisions. That’s what we’ve done – without any outside influences.”

It’s all there for those who want to see it. The proof of how narrow are the range of views this board considers, and Lennon’s own basic selfishness. It was an act of utter folly for those people to have given him that job a second time … surely nobody in football, knowing Lennon’s range of weaknesses, would ever do that?

Well, they did. And now Lennon wants to return to Hibs, and that he reckons he has a chance of ending up there genuinely does make me laugh.

I want Lennon in a management job, and soon. Because he has way too much time on his hands, and more and more he spends it poking his nose into the business of our club.

it is infuriating to see him sit on that sofa alongside Peter Martin and others and offer his unwanted and unwelcome opinions on stuff going on with Celtic.

He has no business doing that and he’d be damned well pissed off if another ex-Celtic manager had undermined him in that way. Maybe he and Rodgers don’t see eye to eye, I don’t know, I just know that I genuinely wish he’d keep his mouth shut.

But think of the arrogance without borders that you need to believe that the club which fired you in spectacular fashion because you had caused a meltdown behind the scenes would ever even consider you for a return.

That he’s publicly put his name forward as a candidate for the Easter Road gig is mind-boggling. You wonder which planet he’s getting in from that he doesn’t realise that this is a preposterous idea, about as realistic as the plot of a Transformers movie.

Hibs fans, and especially the one who wrote that thread this morning, get that Lennon is to be taken in small doses only, because long term exposure does the predictable damage.

Those who run the club certainly do not need reminders of what it was like. Everywhere he’s been he’s left angry fans, angry directors, angry players and a trail of destruction behind him.

This is a guy whose managerial career has been spectacularly unspectacular outside of two spells at Celtic Park, where The Brains Trust gave him responsibilities he ought never to have had.

Because is not a good manager, he was just a very well-resourced one at Parkhead and able to outspend his opponents and rival bosses by a significant margin. When asked to work in more restricted surroundings he’s been a disaster.

He had never held a job in management before he was at Celtic, and the only club willing to take a punt on him after his first time in the gig was Bolton. That ended chaotically, and this Hibs board – no geniuses themselves when it comes to picking managers – should not have gone near him.

His career after Celtic Park? A brief spell in Cyprus. Not Serie A. Cyprus.

Which is an indication as to how the rest of football sees him.

Are those inside the Parkhead boardroom getting it yet?

Literally no-one else in football thinks this guy should be in a major management gig, and yet they’ve hired him twice. Is that not enough to make you doubt your own judgement, and maybe even your sanity with it?

I really doubt that Hibs will make the same mistake.

They are way too smart over there for that, and as bad as their next appointment is likely to be – just given the history, you can see it a mile away – this is a step too far even for them.

They have more sense than our custodians do.