Celtic’s sliding doors moment clearly came last summer, when after months of protracted negotiations Eddie Howe pulled the plug on his move to Celtic and Ange Postecoglou stepped in.
Now Kris Commons writing in his Daily Mail column believes Celtic may have dodged a bullet, after Eddie Howe, having taken up the Newcastle United job, lost in the 3rd round of the FA Cup against Cambridge United an English League 1 side that prior to travelling to St James’ Park has even managed a goal in their previous three outings.
“I’m sure there were plenty of Celtic supporters sniggering as they watched the highlights on Saturday night and who can blame them?” Commons began. “Howe was offered the Celtic job on a plate. The club bent over backwards to try and accommodate him and provide him with all he needed.
“But he knocked it back largely on the basis that the make-up of his backroom and scouting team wasn’t quite what he wanted. Or, in other words, he bottled it.”
We’ll never know if Eddie Howe did ‘bottle’ the Celtic job or if his own expectations weren’t met by Celtic and there was simply an amicable parting, however there was very much a feeling Eddie Howe strung Celtic along, and that is where, shall we say, an element of satisfaction is emerging as Howe’s new career move appears to already be unravelling.
And the reason for our own satisfaction is, whether by accident or by design, Celtic’s choice, believed to have been by the recommendation of summer DOF target Fergal Harkin, ended up being Ange Postecoglou and Kris Commons believes there are similarities in the jobs both Ange and Eddie Howe took up. “Contrast that with the man who eventually took the job. Ange Postecoglou has gone in to Celtic without any of his own coaching or backroom staff and picked the club up off its knees.
“There are parallels to be drawn here. Some people will say that Howe inherited a basket case of a club and that he deserves more time to turn it around. They will argue that the squad left behind by Bruce was a mess and in dire need of improvement in near enough every department.
“Yet, you could say the exact same thing about Celtic last summer when Postecoglou walked through the door. In fact, I would actually argue that Celtic were in an even worse state last summer than Newcastle were when Howe took charge a couple of months ago.
“But Postecoglou has found a way of making it work. He has galvanised an entire football club and won the hearts of a fanbase which had become disillusioned.”
Commons also makes an interesting point regarding Howe’s abilities to manage big time personalities in a training ground rather than improving lesser lights making their way in the game. That may well be a weakness in Howe’s game after all he took his Bournemouth team through the leagues in England but it was rare he had to manage the ego’s you are likely to see in the Newcastle changing room, nor the demands to win every week he may have faced at Celtic.
“The accusation against Howe is that while he might be a gifted coach who can improve players from the lower leagues, he struggles to deal with big-time players. He struggles to manage players who have played at the very top level. That’s not to say big-time Charlies or egos, but just players who maybe need a bit more man-management.
“In that respect, he’s in the wrong job at Newcastle. They are looking to assemble a galaxy of footballing superstars under their new Saudi owners, so long as they don’t get relegated first.
“But Celtic fans must now look back on the events of last year with a grin. As Howe toils to make any sort of impact at Newcastle, it looks like they dodged a bullet. And a very expensive bullet at that, given the size of the wage packet which I heard had been offered to Howe.
“Listen, maybe he would have done well in Glasgow. Ultimately, we’ll never know. But, if he had taken the job, there would have been no Kyogo and no Angeball. Right now, if offered the choice between Howe and Postecoglou, there isn’t a Celtic supporter in the land who wouldn’t choose Big Ange all day long.”
Dealing with strong willed personalities is only going to be an ongoing issue for Eddie Howe as Newcastle bring out the chequebook this month, but the big concern, with the benefit of hindsight, is whether he’ll get the time to get his message across and whether he’ll cope in an environment where your every move is under the microscope and the pressure to win will soon be ramped up.
Ange Postecoglou seems to have thrived under similar pressure and there can’t be many who would swap our manager for Eddie Howe now, so in that respect perhaps Kris Commons is right, perhaps the Eddie Howe to Celtic saga was a case of a near miss. One we’re now thankful for.
Niall J
And for those who missed this one yesterday on The Celtic Star, here’s a catch-up chance to check out the photographs given to this site by the former Celtic Director Tom Grant of the demolition of the old Celtic Park and in its place the emergence of the New Celtic Park which we know and love today. These photographs are fascinating and well worth checking out…
READ THIS…Exclusive – A Phoenix Rising, a House of Steel. Celtic Park Redevelopment Photographs
It is not even just a straight pick between two people for me.
There is no manager anywhere in football that I would rather have than Ange.
Celtic have landed on their feet.
Earlier in the season I was calling Ange ‘the Australian Stein’ perhaps too soon for that one to catch on but he’s certainly worthy of the description imho…