BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - MARCH 12: Robbie Keane, Head Coach of Ferencvarosi TC, looks on following the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg match between Ferencvarosi TC and SC Braga at Ferencvaros Stadion on March 12, 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by David Balogh - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
This is far and away the strangest article I have ever had to write for this blog.
Nothing else even comes close.
I have never written an article where I ask someone who may be on the brink of coming to Celtic to think again. Not to do it. To walk away while he still can.
I don’t write this with any expectation that Robbie Keane will ever read it. I don’t write it because I think it necessarily has to be read. But someone on our side of the fence has to say this, and I don’t think anyone else will.
By our side of the fence, I mean those of us who are concerned about this appointment. Someone has to spell out the full implications of it in a way that leaves no ambiguity.
So here we go.
First, it has to be said that whoever led Robbie Keane to this part of the process has done him no favours.
When he was unveiled here as a player all those years ago, supporters turned up at Celtic Park to cheer a loan signing in the January transfer window as if we had just signed Ronaldo.
I guarantee there will not be similar scenes this time. There will not be similar acclaim for this homecoming.
If the people who have brought Keane to this point have not told him that this is going to be difficult, they have done him a gross disservice. In truth, I think they have done him a gross disservice by bringing him this far at all.
Because this is not going to be difficult.
It is going to be many stages beyond that.
There are a lot of people in the support who plainly and simply do not want him here, and who will never be reconciled to his appointment no matter what he achieves or does not achieve. For those people, this represents a slap in the face.
There are many thousands of them amongst the fan base.
So “difficult” is an understatement. It significantly downplays the obstacles that are about to be placed in front of him. Fair play to him if he wants to try to overcome those obstacles, and I am sure those on the board have told him that he can handle it, that he will be fine, and that the anger will pass once he starts winning games.
With all due respect to those people, he should ignore them.
Because they are not the ones who will be out there on the touchline, unable to make the slightest mistake. They are not the ones who will be out there every day, inching further and further out on the limb. They are not the ones whose backsides will be twisting in the wind.
When they say they will be behind him, that much he can believe. Quite possibly a considerable distance behind him. Quite possibly behind a locked and bolted office door.
If he thinks these people will absorb blows for him, he has not been paying attention. These people will not defend this club even when it is under attack from every avenue, even when the truth is on its side, even when the facts are on its side.
They send a 74-year-old man out to do their fighting for them.
The largest shareholder sent his son to read a prepared statement with quivering hands rather than face supporters himself at the AGM.
These are not people you want with you in a foxhole.
I have read enough books by football managers and listened to enough of them talk to understand one thing clearly: when they say the touchline is a lonely place, they mean it.
No matter what else is going on at a club, no matter who else is under the spotlight, no matter which defender is not playing well or which striker is misfiring, no one is in the crosshairs more than the manager.
The manager is the rod that catches the lightning.
Standing on that line, you are surrounded by people, but you are on your own.
The decisions you make are yours to live with. The cost is yours to bear. No matter how many people tell you they are in your corner, you will go through every one of the agonies of hell by yourself.
Robbie Keane already knows this. He has walked that touchline before.
But I assure him, never like this.
At Celtic, every decision he makes will be measured against the fact that some people never wanted him here in the first place. The season has to start with a bang. Champions League qualifiers are coming up, and while a new manager would normally get some benefit of the doubt, there will be none to be had here.
Keane has to remember that he is not walking into a benign environment.
He will be walking into one that was explosive before the announcement, and which afterwards will be positively thermonuclear.
This appointment needs to unify people. It needs to bring the support together. It cannot cause further division and disharmony.
The people who have brought Robbie Keane this far without explaining the awful reality of what his appointment will do to this fanbase, or without caring about it, are putting his neck in the noose. I cannot be more brutal about it than that. They are throwing him to the wolves before he has even given his first press conference.
Because they know this will infuriate a section of the fan base. That may even be part of the attraction for them.
When you are being hired by people, and one of their reasons for giving you the job is that it will annoy a significant part of their own customer base … man, those are perhaps not people you want to work for.
So please, Robbie Keane; according to the news, you are going to interview with the club tonight. Tell them you don’t want the job. Walk away.
Do us a favour. Do yourself a favour. Do the club a favour.
This board may not get that yet. The people running the club may be lost inside their own little bubble, inside their own little fantasy existence, unable to realise that they are about to inflict another act of harm on Celtic.
That is where people like us have to stage an intervention.
I am writing this. Keane is the one who needs to do the truly difficult part.
This is not a job you are going to enjoy.
This is not a place where you will be welcomed with open arms. These are not people you can trust to have your back when the going gets tough.
And the going will be tough from the first minute of the first day.
Do us all a favour and tell them thanks for thinking of me, thanks for your consideration, but I’ll take my chances somewhere else.
If you care about Celtic at all, do it. Give the club the greatest service you can.
Do not come and work for it.
Spare us, and yourself, what follows.
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I’ll kick off. Free Palestine, fuck Keane and his cosying up to the right wing fascists. Cue som false equivalence comments……
100%
I find it hard to believe Robbie Keane is going for an interview considering the abuse his wife and family got in Ireland.
Having said that if he does get it the vast majority of the support will be behind him and maybe he knows that football comes first for most fans.
Rodgers was here for 2 years and failed in europe so Keane will not take all the blame if he lost the qualifier but I would fully expect him to get us through!
If him above me is for RK’s appointment, then I am against it…. but for no other reason.
Hey Johnny, no surprise there mate.
You cannot back up any of your statements when challenged, which was obvious in your comments about the Scotland fans.
Some advice for ye…leave the hatred to the huns!
I’m kinda of the opinion that it could be the man in the moon in the dugout if he’s bought the success to Celtic that’ll do me…
And having not watched the news for over six years (far too depressing) I don’t know enough about the conflict there though it’s clearly Palestine under attack from what I glean from on here…
It as James says could bring issues and to be honest if an Uber loyalist was gonna be Manager I’d probably be apoplectic with rage given what atrocities The Brits inflicted upon The Island of Ireland for centuries so perhaps ma statement in my first paragraph was a wee tad premature !
CELTIC FC – FIRST HERE ALWAYS !
Cant disagree dickyme
This is so disappointing from you James.
You say that you want to spell it out for him with no ambiguity?
Well you failed miserably, so let me help you out.
Robbie Keane, you are a mercenary piece of shit. You have no principles and no morality. Your hands will forever be stained from your Israeli blood money and we don’t you putting those hands anywhere near our beloved club.
It’s not that hard James.
Haha you see why I didn’t need to?
You said it all my man. Bravo.
Fair play for coming back.
As a decades long season ticket holder I wont be attending matches witb Keane in the dugout. I dont need to explain why.
A Club ” Open to all” …except when it isn’t…Explain how SIR Rod Stewart is allowed his Tory voting politics and his bauble…with only an occasional comment of condemnation….Or why Paulo De Canio was elevated to super stardom, despite his dodgy politics…As far as I’m concerned James,this article is reckless and verges on hysteria….and it saddend me to read it…I despair of our support at times.
You don’t read me much if you’ve not seen the piece I wrote on Rod Stewart after he endorsed Farage. It made the stuff I write about Keith Jackson look tame.
Yes I read it…and applauded it…The point is, however, he’s still ” welcome” at the Club and feted…despite what we might think of him…So why shouldn’t Keane be ?…Are we open to all…or not ?
Robbie Keane can f#ck off back to israel and when he gets there he can f#ck off again!
All these comments are irrelevant, for DD will decide on the new manager, in fact he probably has already, and his decision if final whether we like it or not.
Disappointed with this James. RK took a job in Israel to develop as a manager, no other reason. The comments on here are bordering manic. Dalglish, provan, Broony and many others were Rangers fans, FFS should they not be welcomed at Celtic park because of their previous allegiance. I agree he will be monitored on every bad decision or result but if the guy has the balls to take the job then we should all be behind him.
Not sure we’re talking remotely the same thing.Huge difference between ex-rangers fans and taking Zionist blood money
Do you even know what a zionist is?
And yet James you want the club to lavish praise on Rodgers who is now holed up in Saudi taking sportswashing money (not that he needs it) from a regime that launched a genocide in Yemen? Who made you the arbiter of our social conscience? Are we allowed to sign French players who may have voted for Marie Le Pen? Are you going to ask for voting records from prospective managerial candidates? Which countries are deemed unacceptable to you? Maybe we should cancel season tickets for any and all fans who have holidayed in the Gulf or Israel or Egypt (that’s me out) – all countries with bad human rights records. And maybe we should strike MON’s record from our history – after all the man had the temerity to play for Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
Keane should be considered on his managerial record and any public pronouncements he has made. And I think you will find that the vast majority of Celtic fans will take a similar view.
This exactly.!
The oppression of woman and the persecution of gays for some reason is perfectly acceptable to the Celtic support. Brendan and jota going to saudi is fine…I dont really get this.
The genocide in Yemen half the guys on here dont even know about.
What a fucking joke!
To clarify.. the oppression of woman and persecution of gays is not acceptable to the Celtic support. I am totally against Brendan and Jota for going there but I can accept they made a mistake. Obviously they only went for the cash and not the culture. I just dont get why for some the yemen genocide is perfectly acceptable but they are shouting from the rooftops about Israel?
Good points Portojoe, Some people are talking as if Keane was Netanyahu’s right hand man, I detest what Netanyahu and his Zionist fascist Government are doing to the Palestinians and the Middle east in general, but I accept it is a lot more complicated than one man in football management. Keane probably saw the job in Israel as the 1st rung on the management ladder, The current war hadn’t begun at the time, I think some of the personal hatred towards him is way over the top and misplaced. Concentrate your hatred on the real evil men in this on going genocide.
Are you seriously saying that anyone who worked in Israel is not welcome at Celtic Park ???
What about if you visited Israel ?
What if you’re of the Jewish faith ?
How far does the cancel go ?
On a slippery slope here ….
John this is not mainstream.
The vast majority of Celtic fans are not anti-semitic.
Some did support the murder of jews on oct 7th even some on here but the vast majority find this abhorrent.
Just to clarify James Forrest has made clear he was horrified by the events of that day as have most Celtic fans.
So glad that an element of the support on here,can see past idiotic ” ideology” and remember that we’re a football club…So if Keane is appointed…he, as manager of our Club, gets my full support…End of.
TN, I find it highly unlikely that Robbie will take the job but if he does ….on flag day the stadium will be packed to the rafters…you can bet your life on it.
Mr Mojorisin @ 12.10am…
Something to do with the song “The Rivers Of Babylon” !
It mentions Zion or Sion in the lyrics somewhere but it might have sweet fuck all to do with the discussion on here – I honestly wouldn’t know…
Used to dance to it with the ex bird especially when we were both bladdered with booze !
Hahaha. Nice one Clach, but you better watch what you’re saying..you will get blackballed on here by some of the radical dudes!
If MON wants the job then there’s no point interviewing him or Keane. There isn’t a world where you would choose Keane over him. Keane might turn out to be a good manager one day but his club were going for 9-in-a-row this season and blew it so he’s not coming from success.
I think that your article is slightly hysterical James. While I have no doubt that many fans will be against the appointment of Keane, equally there will be many, I would say the majority, who will be ambivalent about it and just want to see a manager appointed!
I should add that I’m not keen on Keane but not for any ideological reason, I just don’t think he’s the right choice at this particular time.
Let’s be honest, people are up in arms because he managed an Israeli football team, SO WHAT?!?!! He didn’t serve in the IDF, he didn’t make propaganda speeches supporting the Israeli Government, he gained experience managing a football team ffs!!!
There are probably many of us who worked for companies or people we detested, but needs must and you get on with because you want to gain the experience. Okay, I know there’s a vast difference between those two, but that’s life sometimes.
If Keane gets the job, you can bet your last dollar that there will be many, many thousands of Celtic fans cheering him on come flag day and, if he’s successful, those cheers will become louder. Yes, there will be boos and jeers from the minority who oppose his appointment, but they are a minority. Your average Celtic fan only wants our team to be successful, they are political idealists, they are FOOTBALL FANS!!
Sorry, the last line should read “they are NOT political idealists”
James, not really sure what the point of this article was. You sat on the fence and did not say why he was not welcome. Surely that should have been the center of the article and the article should have been written around that. A new reader would be asking why is RK not welcome.
Paulina has written an article about managers and basically said it does not matter what nationality they are. If they are the best we should get him. It’s the same on politics and religion.
If RK is chosen then the fans will support him.
Meanwhile, back at the football.
Ferencvaros have won seven league titles in a row. Along comes RK who, along with his signings manages to lose the league. Red flag anyone ?
It’s a no from me for RK.
This should be the only criteria that matters buddy.
Short, concise, to the point, and 100% correct. Well said!