So we now have had it officially confirmed that Ange Postecoglou is no longer the manager of Celtic Football Club. There are a lot of emotions flying around amongst the Celtic support in regards to the Australian, who we all have grown to love over these past two years, and I can honestly relate to most of them. Some people are angry. Some people are hurt. Most like myself are just hugely disappointed, and there is a reason for that.
Ange Postecoglou arrived at Celtic as a relative unknown to the vast majority of our fans. After doing some background search on the Greek born Australian manager most of us felt like he could be a good fit at Celtic and we were to be proved correct. He was fantastic for the club these past two seasons and I genuinely don’t know any Celtic fan who didn’t love having him as our manager. He has been hugely successful in both delivering trophies and in creating a style of play that appeals to all Celtic fans. It was more than that however.
We all loved how he handled the media. No matter how hard they tried they could never outfox him or get him to say something in the heat of the moment that they could splash over their back pages and then use as a stick to beat him with.
READ THIS…“Celtic is a phenomenal football club, and so much more – I will forever be a supporter,” Ange Postecoglou
He was too smart for that and was always one step ahead of them in that regard. He was always there to defend the club and the supporters. He was forever mentioning how special our fanbase was and how fortunate he felt to be manager of our historic club. It’s not too long ago he was saying he will only go when he is no longer wanted here. He also claimed some may be surprised by how long he spends at the club. Well, surprised we most certainly are!
Although I personally don’t begrudge Ange his move down south, I can also fully understand why many of our fans feel betrayed by the Australian. Firstly, I don’t think many of us thought he would leave after only two seasons. I know I expected he would be here for at least three, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if he stayed for a fourth. We were winning trophies. We looked to be improving as a team and a squad. Ange said he wanted this team to make a mark on the European stage and I fully believed him. By winning the league this season he guaranteed us another crack at the Champions League. I thought that alone would convince him to stay another year.
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If I am totally honest, it all felt like Postecoglou was only getting started. More Champions League money heading his way for him to invest into the squad, bring in a few more players capable of taking us to the next level. Knock-out stages are hard to reach in the modern game but a third place finish is certainly within our reach, handing us a go after Christmas at the Europa League, a tournament I felt we could flourish in under Ange. A tour of Japan and Korea on the horizon, something he consistently told us he was really looking forward to. It seemed like everything was rosy in the garden.
I think this is the reason why some are hurt, even angry, at Ange Postecoglou. He talked a very good game. He has told us how lucky he feels to be at Celtic. He constantly referred to how he wants to take the club forward, continuing to win domestically but leading us to new heights on the continent. We all believed him and this is where the hurt comes from.
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When Brendan Rodgers was manager, although we loved him at the time, I think we all kind of knew that when a club down south fluttered their eyelashes at him that he would dump us in a heartbeat. We were correct. Brendan has just always come across as that sort of character. A man in love with himself who would always put himself first. Someone who craved the extra limelight that comes with managing in the English Premier League. Not a lot of us thought Postecoglou would treat us the same way. That’s probably why it hurts more.
Last week when the rumours started circulating I didn’t believe a word of it. After watching the Scottish Cup final on Saturday I knew it was over for Postecoglou. His body language said it all. He tried to deflect when questioned about it but you just knew he was working his ticket out of Celtic Park. He said he would take time to enjoy the celebration before thinking about other matters. He didn’t need much time at all with it seemingly a done deal already, another thing which doesn’t sit well with our fans. The speed this has progressed at tells you all you need to know. Ange Postecoglou and his agent have been in talks with Spurs much further back than this weekend. That definitely leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
This has been a huge learning curve for of us as a support. It’s hard not to take a Celtic manager into your heart when they are telling you everything you want to hear on an almost daily basis. When a person claims to be honourable and straight down the line, someone who has the best interests of the club and its fans at heart. But at the end of the day football is a business, and it’s full of people who will say what it takes to get the supporters on board.
By the looks of it Postecoglou is choosing, like Brendan Rodgers did before him, to look after number one. The lesson we must learn from this is to not get so attached, as hard as it can sometimes be. In the end of the day most of us were born Celtic fans and love the club unconditionally. Almost all of these players and managers apart from the special few – like for instance our captain Callum McGregor – don’t feel the same way about the club. Yes they may love it in the short term but when something better comes along they will turn their back on it with little hesitation. Managers come and go. We however will be here for life.
I thank Ange Postecoglou for everything he has done for Celtic and wish him well in the future. I for one will not be holding a grudge against him. He has left me with many great memories and done wonders for the football club I love. I just have to remember to not put my trust in future managers who profess they love the club as much as I do, no matter how convincing they may be.
Conall McGinty
Thanks and good luck, Ange ✊#CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/gXMI4C1HkW
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 6, 2023
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In fine, he’s a decent enough coach but duplicitous. That sums up about two thirds of managers and players in the modern game, where ego and personal gain trump loyalty and integrity. These are certainly not people you would want to find yourself in the trenches with!
Nothing but a total hypocrite,”only go when no longer wanted”,”feel privileged to be here””want to take this club forward “”really looking forward to tour of Japan/Korea”all blatant lies.he’s been talking to spurs for the last month or more.
YOUVE HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD THERE,SOME BLAME MAY LIE IN THE WAY we hand out contracts IE the one year rolling contracts, I f our recruitment team have fath in their appointment then this must increase and give the club and the fans more stability as well as warding of unwelcome suitors.
Ange has a bad record after winning titles so we probably would have booted him by this time next year anyway.
Ange has a ceiling because he never focuses on a solid centre half pairing to counter the attacking forward pressing style he plays .
We will see in Europe yet again that Starfelt is an Effie Ambrose style bomb scare and CCV is too slow at the elite level. That’s before accounting for Joe Hart’s odd brain farts.
Who ever comes in needs to go watch the Italian teams and find a bargain from a league where capable centre halves are everywhere. Then we have a chance in Europe as long as Ange doesn’t steal our star players.
OLD BRAIN FARTS: TERIBLE PUBLISHING THIS REMARK!!!
Odd.
Snivelling hyenas on here. Do you know anything about challenging yourself, being ambitious, opportunity, twighlight of your professional career, futureproofing your family ?
Considering his introduction to this country and his subsequent reaction to it, he doesn’t owe anything to anyone here. He leaves us with a bursting trophy room and players worth millions more than we paid for them, should anyone choose to leave.
Thank you Ange for turning us round when Rangers were set to take over the balance of power.