Opinion: “Celtic didn’t just fall asleep at the wheel they drove over a cliff,” Celtic Gossip

Celtic Gossip is one of the most respected and influential accounts on Celtic Twitter. Today we are delighted to welcome him aboard the team at The Celtic Star for what we hope will be the first of many articles. Celtic Gossip starts with his assessment of what went wrong this season and why…

Celtic didn’t just fall asleep at the wheel they drove over a cliff…

They say success has many fathers; failure is an orphan. However, there are many culprits responsible for Celtic’s shambolic performance on and off the park.

As in any massive failure, there is a timeline of decline, but I contend that each of these events are underpinned by complacency and the fact there is no doubt that Celtic as a collective took our eye off the ball. The board, management, players and some bloggers underestimated theRangers.

We had spent so much time laughing at them, that even when they improved, we kept looking for flaws. Sadly, these were in our own club.

Now I have enjoyed the banter years as much as anyone, who can forget ‘Liquidation Day’ and my own personal favourite, the interview in the hedge. However, there comes a time when you must look to your own failings.
Despite the warnings from some Celtic supporters both on social media and at the demonstrations of discontent our football club didn’t just fall asleep at the wheel, they drove off a cliff.

The first complacent act from the club was the appointment of Neil Lennon in the showers after the Scottish Cup victory that secured the Treble Treble.

How many supporters listened with dismay on the way home from Hampden at the news that Neil Lennon was our new manager, now tasked to guide us to the holy grail of Ten-in-a-Row?

On the supporters’ buses many a head was in their hands.

This ill-judged decision was rushed through for two reasons, firstly, Neil was the cheap option and secondly, Lawwell and the board believed that Lennon could secure the title against what they perceived as weaker rivals.

Despite the euphoria of a historic Treble Treble this appointment, without due diligence, certainly annoyed a vocal section of the support. However, prominent Celtic bloggers reassured us theRangers were skint and about to go bust, so why worry?

The second act of complacency was during the summer transfer activity. This seems strange given key players were retained, and millions spent, but bear with me as we explore the transfer activity.

Celtic could ultimately pay £5 million depending on appearances for Greek goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas but he has yet to show he has the ability to be our number 1.

David Turnbull finally made the journey from Motherwell to Paradise and has been the shining light in such a dull season, even if it seemed he was a perpetual substitute.

Neil Lennon was keen to recruit Ivan Toney, the fans wanted the club to buy him and if reports are to be believed the player himself was keen to sign when he was actually in the building at Lennoxtown. In the end Celtic did not pay the asking price and instead decided to pay West Ham £5m for Albian Ajeti.

While Ateji started well, scoring five goals in his first 10 appearances, he has spent the rest of the season warming a bench.

Toney eventually signed for Brentford in an initial £6million deal scoring 28 goals in 42 games and now seems destined for a move to the EPL.

Shane Duffy’s arrival was eagerly awaited and his reported £2m loan fee from Brighton a significant investment. However, Duffy’s form is our season personified, a litany of mistakes and promise unfulfilled.

The October signing of Diego Laxalt also proved poor business. It was subsequently claimed by sources close to Lennon that he did not get the players he wanted or in the positions he desired. No main striker and no creative wide men.

More importantly no Fraser Foster.

Did the board do just enough because they underestimated our opposition in the season ahead? Some fans did highlight the imbalance, but most seemed happy with the recruitment and again bloggers ran stories of theRangers impending implosion and farcical kit issues.

The third act of complacency was not to dispense with Lennon after the Champions league exit to Ferencvaros in August of 2020. In a season that created records and not for good reasons this was the first time in 15 years that Scottish Champions had gone out of the Champions League so early. While we had the Europa league to look forward to, the least said about that campaign the better.

Our manager rather than admit to his own failings came out with a strange revelation declaring: “There are some players who may want to leave. They have made inroads into that in the last six months or so. So, if they don’t want to be here, we have to do something about it”.

I have to agree with Lennon, it is clear that for whatever reason some of our players have failed to raise their game in too many vital matches.

Strangely following this outburst, he didn’t do anything about it and despite being unbeaten in September Celtic failed our next big test, against theRangers on 17 October. A pattern of derby defeats was set in play that would define our season.

The defeat against theRangers was the tipping point for many who started to doubt that the title was achievable. Despite this, the board refused to act as it was clear they had no plan B. Did they hope the Scottish Cup Final against Hearts would provide respite for Lennon and a catalyst for the team to challenge for the title?

A historic Quadruple Treble was secured in an empty Hampden after an early two goal lead was surrendered in a nervy penalty shootout.

The board decided to leave Lennon in charge, but this was to prove a disastrous decision when our club only managed to win 5 out of 18 points in January. This ultimately proved to be the death knell of our challenge for Ten-in-a-Row.

Not only did our warm weather trip to Dubai during a pandemic turn into a PR disaster, but the fact 13 players and three coaches also had to isolate on our return, had a negative impact on the month ahead.

Our only victory coming against Hamilton with home and away draws with Livingston and another against Hibernian. January ended with a home defeat against St Mirren. However, there was no Tony Mowbray moment and Lennon continued. The board who had promised a New Year Review went into a communications bunker.

The January signing of Jonjoe Kenny also offered no respite. It was not until 24 February that Lennon was mutually resigned. We were 18 points behind and our rivals only 7 points away from their first ever title.

Our absentee landlord Dermot Desmond in a rare moment of communication said on the club’s official website: “Neil is a Celtic legend both as a player and manager. He has given so much to the club, and with his success over the last number of years – including winning a treble in his own right – he will be very difficult to replace.”

So difficult it would appear, that two months on we are still without a manager!

Is this another act of complacency. The European qualifiers will be upon us rapidly, a massive overhaul in personal is required, so is imperative that we have the right managerial structure in place and quickly.

I’d hope we have learned from our mistakes. We should never underestimate our opponents and the Celtic bloggers should not be afraid to scrutinise our own club’s future vision and direction. Leave theRangers to theRangers.

I’d also hope that when fans debate these issues on social media we can do so in a constructive and civil manner. After all, we are all Celtic supporters, every one of us wants the same thing, a successful Celtic football club.

Hail Hail

Celtic Gossip

Follow on Twitter at @CelticGossip

Have your say on what went wrong at Celtic this season and why. You can email your thoughts to editor@thecelticstar.co.uk and we’ll compile and publish later today. Or you can add a comment below. Thanks to Celtic Gossip for starting this important debate that we really should be having to see what lessons can be learned.