“Is there even a vacancy for a Rodgers replacement? Who knows? Lenny is in pole position and is attempting to grasp the nettle Ole Gunnar style,” asks Niall J. “That however hasn’t stopped the rumours flying around, from the ludicrous to the tenuous to the hmmm that’s possible.”
Before handing back over to Niall to run through the supposed runners and riders in the race to be the next Celtic manager, a little bit of advice. You have to remember that the bookies love indulging in this type of speculation – they get great press coverage and that means free promotion. Stick a hundred quid of their own money on Ronny Deila to return to Celtic and his odds on We Made It Up Online Bookies drops from 200/1 to 10/1. They send out a quick press release and the MSM and the click baiters will be all over it. Job done and it’s a win/win for both the bookies and the media.
As far as Celtic are concerned there is one thing we can tell you which is 100% true and it’s that NONE of these stories will have any substance whatsoever, they won’t be based on inside information, no informed punter will be placing a bet because they actually know something because they don’t and if the hype entices some mugs to pile in to bet on a candidate mentioned then it’s all to the good for the bookie and media.
So bearing all that in mind, let us hand back to Niall J to have a look at some of the candidates who have been discussed so far…
JOSE MOURINHO commented on his displeasure at Brendan Rodgers walking away from Celtic, quite rightly pointing out the timing may not have been the actions of a Winner. Twitter somehow jumped to the conclusion our Seville nemesis may be showing a fancy for the role. Let’s put that straight into the Ludicrous section and progress no further. But the bookies will take your money if you have it to lose.
However two other links did catch my attention. The first of those probably falls into the tenuous link category but it still warrants a mention.
MARCO ROSE at RB Salzburg also seemed to get a fair airing. Anything in it? Unlikely but..
Who could fail to be impressed with the job he’s done at Salzburg? Celtic saw first hand a well organised side who played captivating football. Six wins out of six including over his Bundesliga big brother in the Europa League group certainly impressed any onlookers.
Since taking over in 2017/2018 He’s won the Austrian League been runners up in the cup and reached the Europa League semi-finals where they were certainly unlucky to lose to Marseille.
This season they continue domestic domination and have lost only once in 20 games. A real acid test comes for Marco and his side when they face Napoli in the next round of the Europa League.
Would he come to Celtic? Well the oldest Cliche of ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ might be a starting point. He did don a Celtic scarf and hat during the Europa group stage but maybe that’s scrabbling around for opportunity, in fact it definitely is.
One thing I would say is given he’s a head coach really rather than a manager and given he seems to pretty much be supplied with a playing squad rather than choose them and given he makes them better with a view to being flogged on, he’d certainly fit effortlessly into the emerging Celtic business model.
In fact if we can be assured he doesn’t answer back at all then Peter Lawwell may well consider he has the necessary potential.
I’d also suggest he’d maybe have an eye on an English Premier League job. Proving yourself at Celtic would certainly seem to now be a gateway to that!
Recent links to Schalke show there are teams of genuine quality showing real interest in Marco. He’s young and his star is currently shining bright and he won’t want to stay in Austria forever.
Whilst the Bundesliga would seem a more believable route to ‘big’ league football you never know. Tenuous as the link is it’s the standard of coach I’d hope we are looking at.
The one for me that fell into the ‘hmmm, possible’ category is ALEX NEIL.
The Preston manager also fits the business model as he seems capable of producing good sides to compete against financially strong rivals with a much lower budget, if we are ever going to progress in Europe this is a skill set that’s essential.
It is perfectly evident we won’t be splashing the money required to compete head to head so a manager who can create a competitive side within budget seems the only route.
The Championship has to be one of, if not the most, cut-throat leagues in Europe and his Preston side remain within the hunt for the coveted play off spot.
He already managed promotion through this route with Norwich where he was employed following a 3rd place Scottish Premiership finish with Hamilton Accies.
That’s worth repeating itself..a 3rd place Premiership finish with Hamilton Accies. Let’s not forget that also included a win at Celtic Park.
Considering he seems to have been around forever it’s worth noting he’s only 37 years old. He’s had a taste of Premier league football in England It’s safe to say he struggled there but it’s the only real blemish on an otherwise impressive career trajectory and may simply have been too much to young.
Now I’ve no idea if he has Celtic allegiances or otherwise and I must say I genuinely don’t care. (He does – ed).
He seems to be a driven character and certainly appears to have belief in himself, he’s proven he can build competitive football sides in a fierce environment, I don’t believe for a minute that he couldn’t cope with the pressure.
It could well be that now is the time to take that punt before others do. If there is a vacancy that is. (Peter Lawwell needs to sell 60k season tickets – with Alex Neil as boss is that going to happen? Think we know the answer to that one, so unlikely. Job is Neil Lennon’s to lose incidentally).
Niall J
