Soccer Football - Scottish League Cup Final - Celtic v Rangers - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - December 8, 2019 Celtic's Jonny Hayes reacts during the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
By the time I publish this, Jonny Hayes might have been confirmed as the new Under 18 manager of Celtic. It certainly looks like it is in the offing.
It is not an appointment which impresses me in the slightest, and having already written about this when he was linked with the role, and having condemned the shortlist of himself and Charlie Mulgrew as being woefully inadequate, I have no intention of pretending to have changed my mind or been won over. This appointment sums up the way we do things at so many levels of the club. The lack of imagination and ambition is appalling.
Look, I have nothing against Jonny Hayes. Why would I?
I’m sure he’s a decent enough person and has some qualities which led Aberdeen to believe that he was worthy of the job coaching their youths and I am sure he has certain qualities which lead somebody at Celtic to think the same thing.
But I’m left cold by it nonetheless. It’s a cheap appointment. It’s a low-ambition appointment. It is one that will not, in any meaningful way, progress our under 18 setup and that’s bad news for everyone because that is where players take the most important steps on their journey towards our first team. It is not an area of the club where you just throw a job to one of your mates.
We have too much of this already, and a lot of people don’t see what the big deal is. There are some people who will be misty eyed over the return of a favourite son; that’s Hallmark card sentimental claptrap which has got no place in this discussion whatsoever.
Whenever we do something like this, I ask myself two questions; first, what are this individual’s qualifications for the job?
And Jonny Hayes is 36, he’s only just retired from playing, and aside from his coaching badges – which you or I could apply for and work our way through – his sole qualifications are a few months with the Aberdeen youth team. That’s it.
That’s the basis on which we’re on the brink of handing him an epic responsibility with wide-ranging implications for the future development of young players at this club, a club which already doesn’t produce nearly enough of them for the first team.
That he’s well liked within Celtic both in the club and in the stands is of zero relevance to that at all, and yet that seems to be the over-riding factor in giving him the gig. He has no body of work upon which we can assess him. He has no achievements as a coach which we can compare to the records of others. Hiring him cannot be justified on the basis of his experience.
The second question is this; is this the best person we could have gotten? And since we all know that the answer to that is a resounding no, based just on his lack of proper experience in a similar position, that begs a third question; why the Hell are we hiring this guy then?
And that’s a question that can only be answered by those inside the club, and they don’t think we’re worthy of offering such explanations to.
They will never tell us on what basis they made this decision, or what criteria they were working to.
But it does not appear that the obvious qualifications formed any part of their thinking.
Their judgement is suspect.
The way this club continues to operate is suspect.
The way it brings people in is suspect.
It doesn’t seem to me that the “global search” for excellence extends much further than whose names are in the little black book. That we even interviewed Charlie Mulgrew for this role when he has no experience of coaching at all, and that he made the short list shows you that the people who ran this “search” didn’t do much more than look out the window.
It reeks of amateurism, cronyism and even nepotism, and no matter how many harsh lessons there are – and the Mark Lawwell one should be seared across the consciousness of everyone who had a hand in it – these people never learn and never stop doing this stuff.
Celtic is run as their own little personal plaything and this stuff continues to drag us down.
Jonny Hayes: great guy and an under rated player for Celtic, imo.
BUT, when it comes to recruitment, our club is no better than the SFA.
World class? Bollox.
A long overdue culture change across the club’s operations is needed.
Neither Nicholson nor Lawwell will recognise that fact, imo.
If O’Reilly goes fur £25M we will be NET in profit wae Tfers coz NAE WAY will we spend £30/35M! Board are a JOKE & RIPPIN THE PISS but STILL we win EVERYTHING so they’ll consider they’re doing a STERLING JOB! As we all kno & they DONT GIVE a Fuk we’re a COMPLETE LAFFIN STOCK in Europe!! Wee CLEEK JOBS FUR THE BHOYS BOARD.. PATHETIC!!
I see Lawwell hasnt ditched his little black book. He’ll be needing it for his next batch of underwhelming signings.
Johnny’s a good guy, but this looks like the first step in what’s likely to be another summer of disappointment.
Lawwell is still a millstone round our neck. As long as he’s around we’re going nowhere.
I agree 100%
It”s BR who hires and fires in all football depts., now.
And we know that do we?
Do you really believe that he wanted to hire someone completely unqualified?
Part of Rodgers’ remit is to bring youth players into the team … and you don’t think he wants the very best people available to guide that process?
Fair enough I guess. If you think so then cool.
Absolutely smacks of Desmond. Always lookin for ways tae ‘profit’. Hirin an obvious ‘pal’with slight regard tae ambition for the club. Still tae see what happens with strengthenin the team.
I can tell you for a fact that he will have been hired because he will toe the party line and will not ask for anything he’s not been given to do his job.
The whole academy is full of yes men especially McCart the guy in charge . It’s run on a shoestring budget and they are penny pinching more with each passing season.
Anyone who rocks the boat will find themselves out of a job very quickly.
They have dinosaurs whose coaching methods are from another era when Brendan Rodgers was there last time his plan was to gut it and bring in fresh new top academy coaches and revamp the whole set up.
I sincerely hope if he hangs around this time he has the same plan because it’s an embarrassment.
How do I know what qualities he possesses?
Are you thick that you need to ask that?
YOU LOOK AT HIS RECORD. WHICH IS NON-EXISTENT. It’s as simple as that.
And since the club is hiring him it stands to reason that he was interviewed by PEOPLE AT THE CLUB.
Or do you think he went for an interview at the Post Office and they sent him to us?
You have just made yourself sound like a yahoo.
Our greatest ever manager came through the system – so don’t judge a book by its cover.
This level of job is a Rodgers appointment and given the Mark Lawwell removal, done at the behest of BR.
I’m no fan of the cronies on the Board but this is a cheap (and easy, populist) shot
I think you are being a bit harsh on Jonny Hayes, Do you know his qualifications? I wouldn’t dream of giving a guy a roasting without checking it all out in the first place.
Do you want to fill the place with foreign coaches, with no knowledge of the history of the club?
And on inflated salaries, because they are from Europe doesn’t make them better coaches.
Hi James
you might be harsh on Johnny Hayes but you are right. This smacks of ‘I know best brigade’ It shows a lack of imagination and obsession with control -surely this should be the sole call of BR and one else? History repeating itself by board interference where they neither have the expertise or the awareness. As ever with Celtic a short lived honeymoon
If only he changed his name to Italian or Spanish he would have been accepted as a stroke of genius
It a mirror image of the BBC and, there way of hiring. EFFORTLESS.
Liewell’ hands all over this James. No doubts Hayes was a decent pro who gave his all at his time with the club, but he has no experience for such an important position that I’m aware of- either managing/developing/identifying young talent.
I wish Johnny well in his endeavours and I’m sure he will work hard & honestly with the clubs best interests at heart. However for me it’s another box ticked for Mr Liewell ie. Cheapest Option with no experience for the role.( See Mark Lawwell)
He’s cheap and available but above all cheap.
He should be coaching the under 8’s, not under 18’s. Then if he’s a good coaching he can move up the age groups
McManus was brought in after 1 year at Motherwell. O’Dea after 6 months at East Kilbride! Now Hayes who has zero experience. It’s beyond a joke.
I have long been very critical of our Board’s lack of a coherent strategy and their their awful communication with our supporters. They don’t explain anything and this appointment (when confirmed) is yet another example of this silence treatment.
The season ticket message was all about BR stressing the Celtic “family” so why the shocking lack of dialogue with the fans? Without communication there is a vacuum which just leads to lots of unanswered questions about issues such as Hayes.
The more worrying thing is going to be their backing of Brendan Rodgers in this summer’s transfer market.We desperately need a complete clearout of this incompetent board who are totally lacking any kind of ambition for CELTIC to progress in Europe.
so it goes on….ffs….
is there no-one at parkhead that can think of any names that have not been employed by celtic fc in the past…have they no self awareness…this looks, and is, cheap, lazy and unambitious…
absolutely nothing against johnny himself…..ffs.
You’re 100% correct James. The board shouldn’t just be backing Brendan to take the playing staff to a higher level, they should be applying the same principles throughout all areas of coaching and development. These are the actions of a small club with a limited budget, not an elite club with high ambitions to move up the ladder. They also seem to make the appointments under the radar, with no no communication till it’s done. This jobs for th boys strategy is holding the club back from their rightful place, and allowing the broken brothers to keep in touch.
L.A.W.W.E.L.L is still in the building ya know…
As for Lord Lucan-Nicholson who the he’ll actually knows he’s that secretive –
But that academy must run at a helluva loss…
Who was the last first team player to break through from it !
Liverpool uses this model and they steal our youth projects!
You know who runs Liverpool’s academy? Alex Inglethorpe.
Know what his background is?
He was a coach at Leyton Orient, then Exeter, then had a job with the England youths before he went to Spurs and then to Liverpool.
Jonny Hayes has been a coach for a handful of months. He’s had ONE job, as a temporary appointment coaching the youths at Aberdeen.
You make my point for me. No point in me labouring it.
Ohhh well at least we haven’t signed him as a left back .
Some very deranged comments here re Jihney Hayes . Do these armchair coaching experts know what he has or is studying for ? Sounds like the aamm same old sack the board chorus ? Whilst they have their faults they have presided over nearly two decades of supremacy ,success and financial stability. Maybe time to give it a fecking rest ?
Of course we know what he studied for. As I said in the piece, you or I could take that course and if we passed it, would we then be qualified to coach Celtic’s under 18 team?
Because THAT is what we’re talking about here. With NO EXPERIENCE as a coach at a major club there is ZERO justification WHATSOEVER for making him the head of our youth coaching team.
I know EXACTLY what his coaching qualifications are. He has no experience to bolster them. This is really simple. Is he the best candidate we could get? The answer is no. So on what basis was he hired?
Well Said James, a very Smart Answer. It is Clear to Me this is a CHEAP option by the Share Price Driven Celtic Board.
Here’s a wee idea maybe give the man a chance before you trash his reputation before he’s even got his feet in the door.Or perhaps find out at least if it was a BR decision or not
He doesn’t have a reputation. He has literally never had a job remotely comparable to this one.
That is the point of the piece. His feet should never be IN the door without that experience.
It doesn’t really matter to me who made the decision. It’s the wrong decision.
Think ur way off the mark Fred, we dominated in Scotland cause every other team is crap, Europe proved how average we are against class opponents and the board have hung onto the fact that if we stay ahead of Rangers its job done.Well i think most supporters know this is a short sighted ambition and we a laughing stock in Europe and that must change.
We need experts to run our academy not guys who are ex players with zero experience.
Bring back Damien Duff
A great opportunity for Hayes but I thought when Kewel was appointed he was totally under qualified but Ange wanted him and maybe Brendan is happy with Hayes
Take a holiday James. I played v Hayes about 16/17 years.ago and boy ripped me apart. Off the field he was class.. If you don’t want a top ex pro managing your youth team tell me what you want??
So let me get this straight … because you PLAYED against the guy 16 years ago and he tore you to ribbons he’s … qualified to be our youth couch?
How exactly does that work?
I WANT A QUALIFIED EXPERIENCED COACH. HOW DIFFICULT IS THIS TO COMPREHEND?
SPOT ON SIR!….
Just read your blog but nowhere in your article do you reveal your undoubtedly unquestionable experience in football coaching, some of the best football coaches haven’t had glittering careers, Ange as the most recent example, Celtic don’t just pluck a name from job center looking for work section and Jonny Hayes like John Kennedy could be an outstanding coach , good luck to him and for the sake of Celtic , unless you can say with certainty that Jonny is the wrong choice then stop spouting total nonsense.?Hail Hail
He’s not qualified. There are people we could have hired who actually are.
Therefore he’s the wrong choice. If you think our club should hire rank amatuers in every position then don’t complain if the manager gets them for the first team squad.
I genuinely do not get what people are not seeing here.
? Exactly!! Same here
James if you think johnny hayes is a bad signing wait until end off summer and see the shite they buy brendan again
Intelligent Answer!!!!!
You`d think Celtic would learn some common sense, especially after almost 60 years. I
remember around that time they, believe it or not, asked an old groundsman by the name of
Jimmy Gribben for his advice in naming a person who would be a fit for Celtic and he named
an elderly miner from FFfllllaannnechhly, or a name like that, to play centre half. Talk about
rage among the support. Some of them even burned their green-dyed shirts (you couldn`t buy strips in those days). To make matters worse, they gave this big gommerrel a coaching job
when he retired and, to cut a long story short, he finished up as manager. If I remember
correctly his name was Stean, or maybe Steam. What a laugh he turned out to be. He
didn`t even have the qualifications that Johnny Hayes has even. If you knew the correct air
pressure of an old leather T- Ball in those days that was qualification enough.
Of all the blogs you’ve written James I really didn’t think this would be the one to explode in the comments like this (not in a bad way). I think the statement is fairly clear or how I’ve taken it in anyway.
If his name wasn’t Johnny Hayes his CV wouldn’t get him a job at Celtic. As you say minimal to no experience & only just qualified. If his name didn’t bring back the nostalgia fuzzies nobody would be happy about the appointment.
Hopefully he works out for the better of the club, although that in itself is also bad for the club because they don’t see the initial error & won’t see this as getting lucky but as great business acumen.
I think what people are saying James is that the appt of an under 18 coach isn’t very high up the agenda of supporters and also that you may being over critical of a highly thought of ex senior professional player.
To say this board have been a bit cautious and made foolish appts in the past is an understatement, that is what you get when most of them are Accountants and Lawyers, but we can’t argue against the fact that this Century has been the most successful era domestically in Celtic’s history. We just have to look across the river to see the damage that a inept board can do
This Celtic board ain’t going anywhere, I’m not saying they should get a free pass and if they’ve got any sense they’ll open the purse strings a bit to compete a bit better in the new format Champions League. We’ve got to be realistic and realise that at this time in Football history Celtic are a medium sized fish swimming among financial sharks and surviving pretty well.
The appointment of a under 18 coach isn’t a big deal as far as most supporters go.