Yesterday was a horror show. The gentleman in question cannot in any way be excused. In some ways the most harmful bit was the “Celtic is my team” piece of insulting hypocrisy.
Even more cringeworthy was “giving his life” for Leicester. Bollocks, I’m afraid, Brendan! I would have preferred to hear him say “I wanted more money”.
He has betrayed those who loved him, those who adored him and those who sang his praises. Did he not realise what he was doing to so many people?
The timing is appalling.
It is at the business end of the season when the heat is really rising. 14 games remain, all of them crucial to our attempt for our historic “treble treble” bid. Did Winston Churchill run away on the eve of the D-Day landings? Did James Connolly disband the Citizen Army on Good Friday 1916? Did Jock Stein resign as the plane was about to depart for Lisbon? Brendan, that is what you have done!
But enough of Brendan Rodgers who one day may come to realise the enormity of his actions.
Celtic must always be bigger than one man.
Celtic may well have landed on their feet in the recruitment of Neil Lennon.
A few questions remain about Neil, but he now has an outstanding opportunity to become a Celtic hero once again. He has the rest of the season to prove his worth. I remember him once saying “This is only the beginning”. These words take on a new significance today. He will have the full backing of the whole Celtic family. The new regime starts at Tynecastle and on our TV screens tonight.
That is our first priority.
But the serious “long hard look at ourselves” will have to start early in the summer. Do we want to be a power once again on Europe? Of course we do!
So we must invest – but with the caveats that we must invest wisely. We haven’t always done that in the past, for an awful lot of duds have arrived, and have not done very much. You remember Derk and Teemu, don’t you? We must go for men of ability, and also men of character.
They do not need to be Scottish or Celtic supporters – but they must realise what Celtic means.
But what we must do first is retain what we have. The media have now decided that Kieran Tierney is going to Arsenal. Ah well, it is a change from Everton, I suppose, and you can already sense the strong feeling developing in the media that Callum McGregor is going to Leicester City, can’t you?
This time, we must say “No”. More urgently, Kieran and Callum must say “No”!
We must also develop other young players. Ewan Henderson and Mikey Johnston, to name but two, have shown that they are worth persevering with. They must be nurtured and developed.
Then we think about bringing in others, but we must not go gung-ho about it. A few considered buys (with, for preference, the media knowing nothing about it until they sign!) in key positions, (and with full consideration given to the finances of the club), in the month of June are what is required.
The June signings will allow the new players to bed in for the European games in July, and remove the need for panic buys later in the summer.
Yesterday will remain a day of infamy in the chronicles of Celtic Football Club. The future however need not be depressing.
Rise, Celtic, rise!
David Potter
