Robbie or Roy? As a Celtic fan, I’m not that Keane on either of them.

There are moments following Celtic when I genuinely wonder if some people amongst our support have collectively lost the plot. Not just a wee wobble. Not just a bad take here or there. Full-on, head-in-hands, what-on-earth-are-we-doing territory.

This latest round of managerial links sits right in that category. I have seen some nonsense in my time, but the idea that we are seriously entertaining Robbie Keane and Roy Keane in the same breath suggests a special kind of madness has descended.

It feels like someone has thrown two completely different risky ideas into a hat and decided, aye, one of these will do.

Let me be clear from the start. I am not saying they are the same. They are not. One is, at least in theory, a football appointment you could attempt to justify if you squint hard enough and dim the lights a bit. The other is just nuts. Absolute, unfiltered, what-are-we-even-talking-about nonsense.

So, let’s take them one at a time, because they deserve different levels of disbelief.

I’ll start with Robbie Keane, because if I’m being fair, and I do try to be even when I’m raging, there is at least a football case you can piece together. This is a guy who lived his career in the final third. Goals, movement, instinct, that was his trade. He played at a high level for years, most notably with Tottenham Hotspur, and carried that same instinct onto the international stage with Ireland, where he became their all-time leading scorer.

He has been a successful manager as well with titles in two different countries. Taken together, that’s a nearly flawless CV.

So, from a pure footballing background, there is substance there.

That is where it gets complicated, and I’m not going to dance around it. The Israeli connection is not neutral. It is not something that sits quietly in the background while everyone pretends it does not exist. Football does not operate in a vacuum, and supporters are not daft. There are ethical, political and emotional layers tied into that association which would split opinion straight down the middle.

Celtic fans, of all people, are not known for sitting on the fence when it comes to that sort of thing. So even before we talk about tactics, style of play or whether he is actually good enough, you already have a storm brewing.

Push that aside for a second, though, and look only at the football. The question I keep coming back to is the same one I ask every time a name like this appears. If he is ready for a job like Celtic? He has had a good career … up until now. This is not a normal club with normal expectations now. Even without the political baggage, is he ready?

Celtic should be aiming higher. So, aye, I can see the argument. I can follow the logic. But do I like it? Do I trust it? Not really. It is the kind of appointment that does not excite you. It makes you nervous.

The politics thing makes it untenable. The next appointment needs to unify the support. This will do the opposite. It cannot be done for that reason.

Now we get to Roy Keane, and honestly, I don’t even know where to start without laughing. This one is not a debate. It is not even a risky shout. It is the kind of idea that makes you check if it is the first of April.

Let’s separate the myth from the reality. Roy Keane the player? One of the best midfielders of his generation. A leader in the truest sense. The heartbeat of Manchester United during one of the most dominant eras English football has ever seen. He dragged teams through games and standards. He did not just play matches, he imposed himself on them.

That version of Roy Keane was legendary. But that is not who Celtic would be hiring. Celtic would be hiring the manager. The coach. The man responsible for building a team, implementing a system, developing players, managing egos and navigating modern football.

That version of Roy Keane has already been tried. He started brightly at Sunderland, and I’ll give him that. Getting them promoted was no small achievement. There was structure, discipline and a sense that maybe he could translate his intensity into management. But it didn’t last. Results dipped. Relationships strained. The whole thing unravelled.

Then came Ipswich Town, and that was even less convincing. No real progression. No clear identity. Just a team drifting without direction.

After that, in managerial terms, there has been silence. Assistant roles, aye. Punditry, loads of it. Viral clips, cutting remarks and the occasional moment where he tears into modern players while everyone nods because it sounds good.

But being a great pundit is not the same as being a great manager. Spotting problems from a studio chair is easy. Fixing them on the training ground, week after week, under pressure, is completely different.

Again, I come back to the obvious question. If he is good enough, why has nobody taken the chance? Clubs love big names. They love personalities. They love managers who can command attention and bring a bit of edge. Yet for years, no one has thought Roy Keane was the man to lead them forward.

That is not a coincidence. That is a verdict.

Football has moved on. Management is not just about shouting louder than everyone else and demanding effort. It is about systems, analytics, man-management and adaptability. It is about understanding a dressing room very different from the one he dominated two decades ago. There he was a leader amongst players … now he would have to lead the team and set the example and keep the dressing room onside.

Do I think he could walk into Celtic and handle that? No. I don’t. I think it would combust quickly. You might get a few fiery press conferences, a few “back to basics” soundbites and maybe even a short-term bounce. But the moment things got complicated, and they always do, the cracks would show.

Celtic is not the place for experiments like that. Not now. Not ever.

What worries me most is not just the names themselves. It is what they represent. A club throwing familiar names into the air to see what lands, instead of working from a clear strategy.

Because let’s be honest. If you lined up every potential manager out there, with all the data, scouting and modern tools clubs have at their disposal, do we really believe these are the two best options? Really? Or are they just familiar names? Easy headlines? Talking points to keep things ticking over while decisions get delayed?

That is what it feels like. The Irish connection. The “Celtic minded” thing.

As a supporter, that is the part that frustrates me most. I don’t expect perfection. I don’t expect every appointment to be a masterstroke. But I do expect clarity. I expect a sense that the club knows what it wants and is actively pursuing it, and not just based on someone’s nationality or that they played for Celtic for five minutes.

With Robbie Keane, I can see the outline of an idea. It is faint, flawed and comes with baggage, but it exists. If it happened, I would understand the reasoning, even if I wasn’t convinced by it, and, of course, I would be appalled at an appointment which seems almost designed to create further divisions.

In football terms, it’s not the worst idea in the world though.

With Roy Keane, I don’t even get that far. It is not bold or exciting. It is not clever outside-the-box thinking. To me, it is just daft. The kind of suggestion that belongs in a heated pub debate, not in serious discussions about the future of Celtic Football Club.

Maybe that is the most telling thing of all.

When one option makes me uneasy and the other makes me laugh, you know we are not exactly shopping in the right aisle.

Choose The CelticBlog as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.