Neil Lennon

Stupid move, if he actually did that, and then placed the player in the first XI.

 

Like I say I broadly agree. I suppose the only one of the scenarios where it makes sense is the one where he knows he is getting the job next season and just wants to get the league secured; concentrate on winning the treble and then impose his blueprint on the squad.

 

Might not be what he's said and more what he's not said, ever worked in a job where you get the feeling the boss dosen't like you?

Like I says though, * knows?

 

If he is getting the job they should just announce it. I don't think the lack of clarity is helping anyone and I can't say I am comfortable with a historic cup final being discussed as a job interview.

 

Wouldn’t read too much into that. He was in a meeting with Lawwell and Congerton a couple of days after being named caretaker.

Lennon insisted the replacement drive is already under way and he admitted he was won over by recruitment chief Congerton.

He said: “I had a meeting with Peter and Lee Congerton on Wednesday so there are plans in place already.

There are positions identified and some players identified and there is a plan going forward so it is business as usual as far as I am concerned and until I am told otherwise.”

 

If the job was his all agreed behind closed doors etc why would they not announce it.... Keep us intrigued until season tickets are flogged?

Nah I think we will be taking applications in the summer regardless of Lenny's performance.

 

Season ticket sales are a complete red herring. Going for 9 in a row any * knows there will be 1000's of * jumping for tickets no matter who the manager is. ( Many of which will probably be * the first time we draw.)

 

I’ve got a feeling that Lennon will be appointed when the league is wrapped up or at a push after the Scottish cup final.

If he wins that and the league is a given then he will be appointed. I’ve got to be honest I hope that’s not the case even though I love Lennon he is not the man to take us forward.

 

NEIL Lennon has revealed that Celtic have made bringing in another striker their priority this summer – and could spend as much as they lavished on record signing Odsonne Edouard last year in order to get one.

Edouard, who cost the Scottish champions £9m from Paris Saint-Germain last June, has been the only specialist centre forward who Lennon has had at his disposal since taking over as interim manager at Parkhead back in February.

Leigh Griffiths, who has returned to training at Lennoxtown, has been sidelined as he attempts to address off-field issues while Vakoun Issouf Bayo, who was bought for £2m in January, has been ruled out for the season after suffering a ruptured hamstring.



Lennon, who has admitted that a major rebuilding job is required in the East End in the close season, has been helping Celtic with their recruitment even though he is unsure if he is going to remain in charge beyond the William Hill Scottish Cup final next month.

The Northern Irishman revealed he was in Paris earlier this week looking at a player the Celtic scouting staff had identified as a potential signing target and that John Kennedy, the first team coach, has also been away watching players who had attracted their interest.

The 47-year-old, who signed Griffiths, Gary Hooper, Teemu Pukki and Anthony Stokes, during his first spell as Celtic manager, conceded that bringing in a prolific scorer capable of playing at the highest level in Europe would cost a significant sum.

However, he stressed that he has been impressed with how Edouard has performed during the 2018/19 campaign - the 21-year-old has netted 20 goals in all competitions - and feels he has justified the outlay that was required to secure his services




Centre forward would be the position I would look at if I was the manager,” he said. “We’ve been doing that (suggesting targets) over the last few weeks. John’s been away, I’ve been away.



“In fact, when we got the news about Billy (McNeill), I was in Paris, at a game the night before. We are very much doing some work anyway, regardless. Looking at players that have been recommended or maybe somebody else in that game catches your eye.

“You go with your gut instincts. It’s not an exact science, some you get wrong. But in the main we’ve done okay so we’ll be looking for that bit of freshness . . . if I am here to freshen things up a bit because these boys need a hand now."

Lennon added: “They (strikers) cost money. But I’ve been delighted with him (Edouard), absolutely delighted with him. He has had to do a lot. It is difficult playing up there on your own when you’ve got two big bears wanting to stop you, but he does it very, very well.

“I think he’s a better player than what I first envisaged him to be. I’ve been delighted with his contribution up until now. In the past couple of months he’s been outstanding.

“Listen, centre forward is the hard position to play; scoring goals is the hardest thing to do. There are 11 people out there trying to stop you from doing it. But he’s taken on the burden very, very well.

“In this day and age it’s decent business for the club, when you think about it. I think he’s improved as the season has gone on. He’s paid back a huge chunk of his transfer fee with really important goals this season."

Asked if Celtic could spend big again to land another striker, Lennon said: “Possibly. Or, you could find them out there and, depending on players’ situations with their contracts, wages, that sort of stuff, you may be able to get good players for less.”


Lennon has admitted he would have liked to have played with two men up front since taking over from Brendan Rodgers on a temporary basis with three months of the season remaining.

“Sometimes I want to play with two strikers, but I’ve not had that luxury,” he said. “I’m not saying I am going to play two all the time but I think it’s something that certainly you could set your team up with to vary the balance of the attack sometimes.”

 

Lennon hasn't had the luxury of two strikers yet won't play weah or Burke hmmm. I don't know how anybody would want Lennon in charge after telling van dijk in his first training session you won't be here for long, he came out with a few things like that since leaving the first time which really * me off and made me glad he went when he did, trying to get samaras a new contract *!! Had his 3year Celtic manager shelf life, time to move on

 

Burke is not a striker in a million years. Weah not being in the team even for yesterday's game is a weird one.

 

If he’s done that then it shows his unsuitability for the job.

 

Perhaps suggests he is away at the end of the season and if we can complete the treble without using him the it is more beneficial to us as a club to do so.

The snakes sole interest was to look as good as possible for as long as he was with us to attract a club where he felt he was another rung up the ladder. I suspect as Leicester manager he will have one eye firmly fixed on the Arsenal/Spurs/Man Utd job. An egotist like him will believe that he will be managing an EPL champions league team in a couple of years.

Back to Lenny and why he started Sinclair and left him on for the 90 is baffling. Ditto Izzy but at least he has an excuse of just been not good enough. The only possible reason I can find for this is that he wants to wrap Hayes in cotton wool as he sees him as our only decent option on the left for the cup final. It shows the state we are in that a player who when signed was not deemed good enough to be in our squad has now become comfortably our best and only natural option on the left.

Whoever comes in to manage us next year will need to have an eye for talent and at a bargain price such is the rebuilding job needed. We need at least 5 players for the wide areas alone and that's with keeping Lustig as back up rb. There's not much chance we are going to throw big money toward this when we need 2 new CHs and a new striker as well.

 

I am honestly disappointed at Lenny not playing Johnston. Sinclair can't be arsed, but Mikey is dynamite. Hayes might be needed at LB indeed.

Regarding Weah and Burke- why did we even bother loaning them for just 6 months? It could be that Weah's loan isn't extended, as it doesn't depend on us. PSG reportedly having a team clearout, and Weah may get his chance there.

 

The way Celtic fans themselves are so polarized by certain things shows just how difficult the job is for Lennon.

This is coming from someone who wants an A-lister to come in and revolutionise things this summer.

For example - people moan that Burke isn't a striker when he himself only recognizes himself as a striker (along with any other manager in the past few seasons). Can we drop the winger stuff.

Style of play - no better than the A-lister Rodgers. Plus, since Lennon took over we're the #1 team in terms of points per game. He's made us tough to beat (we've dominated every game except the first Aberdeen) and now can work on getting the scoring right. That's the correct way of doing it.

Style of play pt 2 - he's inherited a team and players who clearly haven't been pushing 100% for months. With a front 5 of Sinclair, McGregor, Rogic, Forrest, Edouard then as a manager you better expect some spark. But they've disappointed (Forrest to a lesser extent).

So Lennon makes changes - Ntcham, Hayes. People moan.

Like I say, my ideal situation would be a smart, young footballing brain from Holland or Germany coming in to emulate Ajax with youthful attacking football. It's a monumental (impossible?) task finding that man. But in the meantime the criticism Lennon gets is borderline ludicrous.

 

David Gray now talking about how more well drilled they are under Heckingbottom now...


Grim.

 

If Hibs win today we’ve both won the same amount of points since Lennon came in.

And he hasn’t made us tough to beat. We’ve always been tough to beat. Suddenly we can’t score though.

 

Yesterday alone we created 21 shots off target and 6 on target, it's not Lennons fault if people aren't putting chances away, he has said a striker is a top priority.

 

It’s his fault we aren’t creating clear goal scoring opportunities though.