How do you know when an argument is worth having and not? It’s worth having if the matter can be easily settled one way or another. That’s the kind of argument a lot of us in Celtic cyberspace have been having since the appointment of Mark Lawwell, and then the return of Peter Lawwell as the club chairman.
All the way through that argument two things have been readily apparent; the first is that those of us who thought they would take us backwards badly wanted to be wrong and the second was that it would be easy for the club to prove that we were.
If these people intended to back the manager properly then they would. If Mark Lawwell was some sort of genius of recruitment we would recruit brilliantly and it would be so obvious that we were in good hands that the debate itself would seem pointless. The last two windows would have offered irrefutable evidence that we were hysterical cry-babies.
Instead, what? What can we take from two transfer windows which have delivered 12 signings, a trading profit of £11 million and not one guaranteed starting eleven footballer? Two of the signings have already left on loan. One who was on loan has returned to his club. Of the remaining nine, two have just arrived and of the seven left only Palma has been a regular and that due to the injury to Abada and absences from Maeda, and Bernardo who has been in the team due to Hatate’s absence, an absence which we can now extend another two months. One of the others has no future here at all, and is already well aware that the manager has no intention of playing him,
We came out of the window with the midfield weakened by the departure of David Turnbull. We failed to sign a left back. If Kyogo gets injured our forward line is Oh, who hasn’t done nearly enough to suggest he’s capable of scoring regularly and now our temporary striker from Norwich reserves, here on loan. We have no backup keeper, which is why Seigrist continues to suck money out of the club, along with Scott Bain. Carter Vickers is injured, and so Lagerbielke stays, the sort of unhappy player we’re told that a club should jettison immediately.
What does it all tell us? That our concerns were ridiculous? That we owe Mark Lawwell and his dad an apology for having doubted them? Had these windows delivered the kind of footballers the manager himself has called for, we would look pretty stupid, wouldn’t we? And we would be glad to look stupid. We would be delighted to have been proved wrong.
Let’s ditch the emotional reaction here. Let’s strip out of the discussion words like cronyism and nepotism. Let’s forget for a minute The Shower Scene From Hampden, much gorier and more horrible than Hitchcock’s black and white masterpiece. Put them to the side for a moment and just approach this from the standpoint of logic and reason.
Our contention was that hiring Mark Lawwell as head of recruitment was not a step forward but a sign that our club no longer looks to surround the manager with the most qualified people it can find. His record since taking over is that he’s signed over twenty footballers across four transfer windows and the number of them who are first team regulars in the side right now can be counted on one hand. That suggests that he has not been successful.
But of course, this is not the only criteria on which Mark Lawwell is being judged. The board will judge Mark Lawwell on how many of the players he has signed go on to leave for major fees, and return a profit. How many of them look like doing that?
Well, to answer that you have to look at who the current blue-chip players in the Celtic team are. They are, in no particular order, Maeda, Hatate, McGregor, O’Riley, Abada, Carter Vickers and Kyogo. Aside from McGregor, who gets in there because he’s captain and still the best midfielder at the club, each and every one of those guys was here before Mark Lawwell arrived.
That’s not an emotional appeal to march to the car-park and get out the pitch-forks. That’s a cold-blooded factual analysis which most organisations would be doing in-house right now, especially considering the money we’re talking about both in terms of transfer trading and in terms of what we’d potentially leave on the table if we lost this league.
To me, looking over the evidence, it seems clear that we’re not doing this right. We have a squad over-bloated in certain areas and badly lacking in others. Even without concerns over nepotism and cronyism, which I think are obviously well-founded, Lawwell’s record in the job isn’t standing up to scrutiny and if this was a manager on the back of two seasons of failure we would be entirely justified in asking how much longer he gets.
Which brings us to the new argument; accountability and again there are two sides to this; the one which claims that the people who run this club don’t believe in that and will protect themselves and their cronies (and their kids) no matter what, and those who believe that Celtic is built and run on merit. Once again, it’s fairly easy to demonstrate who is right and who is wrong … so look again at Mark Lawwell’s record and tell me if it justifies retaining his services or not, and then look at what happens to him, and if he’s still in post this coming summer.
Absolute embarrassin, disgrace of a window and one huge, contemptuous, slap in the face of the Celtic support. Groundwork could and should have been done months ago, tae bring in better cover when this window arrived. Instead and beggerin belief, once again lawwell and this board, culpable of season threatinin neglect. Ultimately, he could not care less what the support think.
They keep throwing back at us what we won in the past,but that’s all it is now Celtic are about the now and the future,my personal opinion is they lose this title it saves sevco from another death,we il still have more money come next season to spend just enough to stay ahead,and so the rivalry goes on,you may call me paranoid but also think that is what the board done with the ten ina row season cos had we won the ten they were all in and the damage would be back to ending or near ending
I have heard it mentioned on many podcasts – Kevin Graham on ACSOM, Harry Brady on Celtic Underground that Lawwell actually stated that the loss of the other mob cost Celtic 5 million in revenue and he was not saying that with a smile on his face. If THEY get the title and the 60 million injection that it brings then they would not hesitate in strengthening their squad to ensure that one title becomes two, would our board do likewise? Thing is oul Pete was forgetting one thing when he made that claim, with them out of the picture the path to the Champions League was wide open for us and that brought 30 million … now I don´t know about you lot but I am pretty sure they taught us in school that 30 is a bigger number than 5?! Did he not mention at this AGM that the club has to budget for not getting into the Champions League? So did our Chairman (The non executive stuff is pish even the club have dropped it) forget that this season´s league winners get automatic entry (for the last time directly) and the bounty of 60 million?? If so how does he think that we WONT get entry to the Champions League this season ??
Couldn’t agree more…it’s like we’ve turned into Lawell & Son Country Club.
It gets to the stage where you have to conclude it looks intentional. Like some sort ‘managed decline’.
I’m with you there Sir. I’ve suspected for some time that we put on the breaks so they can catch up and overtake us. It’s as if Lawell & Co are actively trying to keep the rivalry going rather than putting Sevco to the sword.
All you need to know about Mark Lawwell is that he is not there on merit.
Mind you neither is his father.
Could a sworn enemy of Celtic do any better a job of undermining the club than the Lawwell’s are doing right now?
Could a man with the largest share in a football club be any less interested in its progress?
Could a manager of a football club that is being damaged by the actions of his board by any less upset or angry?
Could the board of a thriving football club be any more complicit in the systematic deterioration of its fortunes?
Could the new club at Ibrox be any more thankful to Celtic for the inactions and complete capitulation of the League Title 2024?
How more contemptuous can a business be when it treats its valued customers by rubbing their face in the mire of its own arrogance?
This is not going to end well.
Not going to end well at all.
Sums it up perfectly
@ NB. Well put comment and just about sums up the mindset of ah would think, the vast majority of the Celtic support now. It stinks of bein deliberate.
It’s time for Dermott Desmond to open his eyes and see the damage the dynamic duo is doing to th club. He was hands on in reappoining Rogers so he should clearly see that he has not been backed by Lawell.
Good post Nicky, I agree with everything you say and I just hope we’re wrong on what the outcome will be. The next 8 days is going to be very interesting, drop any points or exit the cup,or win the 3 games and the game against Killie at Celtic Park on the17th could either be a reasonably happy return home or a hatefest aimed towards the board.
The next 4 months or so will tell us if Brendan Rodgers can coach players into proper Celtic FC quality players ,or not ! The challenge has been laid bare ,the rewards are financially astronomical with reputations at stake too . It’s going to be very ,very testing with constant injuries to the squad , incompetence of match officials and with another city clumpany being afforded every preferential treatment possible by governing bodies and officials . This will be the hardest and most pressurised environment Rodgers has ever worked under .To be second ,is to be last . Brendan Rodgers is a proven winner on many occasions I have a strong feeling he will have the last laugh at the doubters . Class will always out .
The only good thing is that the window is now closed, we have what we have and the football people need to make it work while the board and recruitment team start plotting how to sell our best players in the next window and what cheap option to replace them with (if at all).
The Grey brigade have played a stormer, turning a footballing institution into a financial institution, world class in everything we do, ha, don’t make me laugh
Oh but one thing – they’re absolutely world class at awarding themselves preposterously high bonus percentage rises though Carlow !
There is an old story in which a “saint” attempts to save a drowning scorpion from a pool it has fallen into and each time he is stung. As this goes on a passer-by asks him why is he doing it and is told by the rescuer that it is the nature of the arachnid to sting and it is his nature to save.
It is the nature of the Celtic fan to support and the only way he will not get consistantly stung is to walk away, something he is not prepared to do.
Unfortunately, Lawwell knows this as well.
Very Very well put Charlie !
Organised chaos to help the paupers grave 11.Rigged by the money men and a manager who is an absolute fraud of a man,riding the Celtic gravy train
Tully nonsense gie it a rest this is our own doing ,nothing to do with our 2nd removed cousins.
Sevco 2012 are still ongoing they have never died.
Absolutely not in the eyes of The Celtic ‘Custodians’ Scouse Bhoy…
They have never ever said anything but – allowing programmes to be printed etc etc –
And with the dead club’s original name on the said programmes and the official club website fixture list…
It’s the reason that I very much took the absolutely correct decision to not renew ma season ticket –
It’s an unfashionable English Championship club and The most successful club in The Highland League that benefits from that cash nowadays and their local pubs as well !