how did we fall from grace so spectacularly

Its hard to understand last summer when despite the disappointment we were within a game of 4 in a row and had a couple of CL last 16s from the previous 2 years in the bag. Now this summer we do not look like we even have the remotest framework of a team that could win the SPL. I suppose (whatever you think of the players they were winners) we have lost much of the people who were responsible for the success-Mick, Caldwell, Robson, Hartley, Naka, JVOH, Skippy. Maloney has been all but lost to injury too. I do not think people appreciated what a bunch of winners (for all their faults) these guys were. The current lot are tragic. The mentality is all wrong. The trophy roll does not lie and this lot are absolutely tragic compared to what went before. The team has all these luxury players who cannot perform their main role. I think we could need 2 or 3 seasons to rebuild this team because there is no quality to build on. Our so-called most talented players are chareltans - all show with no end product-wingers who cant cross, strikers who dont score, FBs who cant defend. Unless the board step in with a good manager and about 20 million I think we wont see a title at CP for a couple more seasons yet.

 

its cos we bought a * manager who brought in shiter players,and both havent a clue to what managing and playing for celtic means! and to top it off! we have a tight aresd board that dont give a dugs bell end to what we want! thats how

 

Our fall from grace didn't start with the appointment of Mowbray, that made it worse but we were on a donward spiral long before then.

We may have been 1 win away from doing 4 ina row but we didn't and we were crap for most of last season as well.

Time to stop dwelling on the past and do something to improve the future.

 

You're definetely right I for one will admit that we took some of our ex-players for granted. The board has a lot to aswer for, SFA has a lot to answer for(fact being this league is a disaster), and Tony Notgotacluwbry has a * of a lot to answer for!

 

I think the bottom line is we hired an entirely incompetent manager.

Even now though we do have a talented squad that just needs that organisation and motiviation to be brought back by a good manager. Our immediate problem isn't players or money, it's getting the right manager in. Sadly there doesn't appear to be anyone out there at the moment available who can do a job for us.

Another thing must be said - many people have vastly under-estimated Rangers. "Worst Rangers side in decades" was a common cry. In many ways since Smith took over it's been one of the best Rangers sides ever.

 

I agree with dannighirl, the problems where there to see at the end of last season when we basically threw away a title. Mowbray came and made it worse by getting rid of those players too quickly, ripping out the leadership and heart of the squad in two transfer windows. I am quite worried with Celtics position, the board really need to get the next appointment right otherwise it could be back to the 90's

 

we have been asset striped over the last few years.Who replaced larsson hartson sutton petrov lennon . jvog skippy nakamura robson hartley decent players u must admit but not the same calibre.who replaced these guys, the mugs at the club right now.I see a pattern emerging. this downward spiral started way before mowbray he just highlighted it further.there is only one way to point the finger and vent the disgust and thats the boardroom.My arguement can be backed up ie willo flood 60k from dundee utd ,that pattern again whats next the Krankies as the new management team

 

The rot began January 2009 when two of our main strikers completely lost form and Strachan completely failed to motivate them. We also weren't able to buy anyone suitable to give us that extra edge to win 4IAR. Then we hired Mowbray who dismantled the squad far too much, while also being far too stubborn to change his ways when it wasn't working. That's a worry I had about him from the start. It's a shame the way it turned out for Mowbray because I was quite excited for the season after the first few games.

 

because if you have a pile o crap, and you put a blanket over it, it still stinks to high *

mowbray kept hiding the obvious fact that the players he picked up were *, but no they had to get used to eachother, had to bond, ffs

 

Because, even when we were winning 3 titles in a row we moaned and shouted for the manager to be saked. It's karma.

 

the downfall has been a knock on effect of january 2009. Every fan could see at the time we needed a striker and 4IAR was ours. Every fan could see Rangers were on their knees and we could have buried them for many years to come. Every fan could see that investing 3-5mil on a striker that month would have resulted in gaining qualification for the champs league and therefore earning 15 mil. Every fan could see that, had they spent that money, season ticket renewals would hardly have dropped and would have stayed somewhere around the 54,000 mark, thus securing another couple of million in revenue. Every fan could see the benefits in merchandise sales etc at the end of the season. Every fan could see this but the board couldn'.t As a result of the boards tight-fistedness that month we have lost out on 2 possible champs league qualifications and 2 titles - a good 35 mil all in. As a result season ticket sales dropped by 8-9000 last summer, again losing valuable revenue. Another drop in merchanise sales occured. We also have now been beaten by a rangers team who were skint but now have been given a lifeline by our board in the shape of 2 champs league qualifications. It's the biggest error this current board has made and now they have had to spend more money looking for new managers and will need to entice them with a big transfer budget. Therefore our fall from grace has occured because of the boards lack of foresight, particularly when the fans could see it happening all along. Ironically their money saving, penny-pinching ways is now going to cost them a *-load of money that could have been saved with the purchase of a 3-5mil striker back in january 09

 

Yeah, they certainly are an effective and well organised unit. The whole team is better than the sum of it's parts.

 

Last season we weren't so much on a downward spiral, more like we underestimated the work which Smith and McCoist put in across in the Dark Side, and I hate admitting that! In many ways, although it was an excellent win, the victory at Ibrox in December 2008 was the WORST thing that could've happened to the Club.

The Board, and maybe even WGS, thought that we had the League in the bag, seven points clear in Christmas and going strong, which is why we didnt spend a penny, really, come the January window. We now know that turned out to be a massive mistake, which is why the Board brought in so many players in this window, even though they may be on loan.

Last season, the players believed their own hype and got stuck in their heads that they were on a canter to win the League. And they went in with the same philosophy at the start of this campaign. I will admit, we had one of the best pre-season's we've ever had, and probably one of the best starts in the League for a few seasons as well. But the Board and the Manager started ripping the heart out of the team.

I know you will all go off your heads at this, but the moment we lost it was when Donati got sold. If you look at the results before and after he left, you'll see what I mean.

The signings this season have certainly flattered to deceive as well. Even Keane hasn't played to his potential yet, which is a massive disappointment for someone bringing in 65k a week!!!

Having said that, the future can only get brighter. Next season we will be back stronger than ever, and we WILL win the League!

Hail Hail!

 

do you think if wee g was still in charge? that this downward spiral you say would still be in place just now?i think we wouldnt be in this siuation just now had the board got us a decent manager tbh.

 

I don't think we'd be in as bad a position with a better manager, but hindsight is always 20/20.

If GS had decided to stay and not leave would the board have given him as much money as they gave Mowbray? I don't think they would, so yes I think the downward spiral would have continued.

We've been getting worse for two seasons now TM just speeded the decline up a bit that's all.

 

Tony Mowbray wasn't the main architect of the downfall but certainly made it arrive lot quicker. No manager in their rights mind would go on about having a long term plan with 4 loan signings starting every week. Absolute craziness and hastened the downfall. There's always and upside though and we can only hope that, by speeding up the downfall, it has also speeded up the regeneration of the team

 

I think people appreciated the players when they WERE winning , but once they WEREN'T winning any longer people questioned if complacency had set in and if that was the reason for the complete collapse before TM took the job.. Im sure you knew that anyway though and Im wondering what is next to come from you you gunt , A thread asking "Is Celtic mindedness and pandering to Irishness to blame".

 

Agree 100% with ye lad the board are entirely to blame.Again taking us the fans for granted. Big mistakes 2 seasons ago when the board did not consolidate our position of strength.They will have to pay big bucks to sort it out and in the meantime that other lot might add another couple of title s [gifted to them by our board] When will they ever learn!!!!!!

 

lots of good points. The 3 in a row comeback was epic entertainment and remember we also made last 16 CL in that season so I dont think any bad rot was under way then. The strikers and the boards total failure to land all the favoured LB, CB and CF targets lost us 4 in a row, Simple as that.

Since then, I think age (jvoh, Naka, Hartley) and Mogga idiocy (Caldwell, Robson, Skippy) dismantled the driving force of the side rather than the weakest parts of it. Mogga added not one good perma signing imo. Instead of keeping the good bits and replacing the weak bits he sold much of the spine we had left and brought in loans and problem players and IMO has sent us back to oblivion. I have been here before and short of a major cash injection this side does not have hardly any of the sort of players who win things and it will need anything up to 6 major 1st pick signings to turn it around now.

 

Everyone else has managed to put in some constructive thought on this thread