Neil Lennon

Im not sure about Lennon either but i'd probably rather him than most.

I feel like foreign managers rarely do well in small Leagues, they seem to do well in bigger League where they can afford all the quality players they want and do well in their own Leagues but look at the Portuguese, Dutch, Italian managers etc who go to Turkey, Romania, Greece, Holland and Russia it's usually a merrygoround of quick sackings and Dutch/Portuguese/Russian/Turkish/Swiss teams do best when they have their own managers.

 

You seem to have this obsession with Marco Rose. If you think Lennon is a better manager than him enough.

But thinking Lennon is the best we can do as a club? Nah.

You might be happy to accept just getting CL group games and be happy to
win one cup every couple of years but not for me.

I want us competing in Europe the best we can and dominating domestically.

Seems we’ve got different ambitions.

 

You suggested Rose as someone you would like to see get the job and that is why I refer to him.

It's not just a matter of who is the better manager but who is the better manager for Celtic in the here and now. For me I don't want to take any risks and am happy with securing the 10IAR first and foremost with CL participation also an important factor for both the money it brings and the thrill of a CL night at Parkhead.

There's always a better manager out there and even a better cheaper option if you get it right. Now is not the time I want to take a PLG type risk. A safe pair of hands for 2 years and then access if our performances are at the level they should be.

 

He should be building a team around McGregor if he gets the job full time, that’s obvious..

Or is 10IAR the only objective?

 

A safe pair of hands? After Sunday Lennon I've realised he is not a safe pair of hands. His team selection and decision making was arguably worse than Gerrard's despite us winning the match, a match we easily could of lost or drew if it wasn't for a couple of Ajer interventions.

If it wasn't for Taverners misplaced pass which lead to the goal we would of been seeing Lennon very very differently right now.

He is not a safe choice, he is a comfortable choice. Comfortable choices don't win you titles and give you progression. He wants to keep Lustig, Sinclair and build a team around Brown. Lustigs time is nearly up, likely to get exposed. Sinclair has had his time and perhaps someone else should be brought in. And building a team around Brown is backward thinking. Yes he may have a year or two left in him but the team should be built around Tierney, McGregor, Ajer.

 

He was asked the question of wether he would rather than making that statement.
He's not exactly going to say no hes too old etc.
He will know how important he is to the team but it's the same as Mcgregor, Forrest, Tierney etc too.
The ten should be the priority but in general.

 

If Boyata could have defended then they might have ended up not having an attempt at goal in the entire game. It's about results and we won.

As for sound bites to the media I would pay little heed to them. If he comes out and says Sinclair is done and he doesn't want him next year the he may pay him the rest of the seasons wages and let him go. He defends Brown by bigging him up in a week he is getting a lot of stick.

Since he's come in he's got the results on the board not with a team he would have assembled who were conditioned to play a different style of football. Lets not judge him on these results though lets judge him on what might have happened had the games gone differently.

 

No, but it is the number one priority at this point. It's what the supporters want judging from what we hear from the stands. Along with that I would expect CL football and hopefully some European participation after Christmas. The cups that so many prioritise I would have as a lesser achievement.

 

Love the man, I really do, but long-term manager? It's a difficult one. The current arrangement is beneficial for both parties, we have a safe pair of hands in charge and it improves Lennon's CV and stock.

For him to secure the job on a full-time basis, he needs to keep winning but improve our performances. I know it's tough for him taking over a squad that are used to playing a certain way and winning but to secure any job you have to impress. With the 13 point gap we have, I think he can now afford to make a few tweaks to try put his own stamp on the team and showcase what his plans/ideas would be for the future.

He's done well so far picking up victories again Hearts, Hibs and Them but still a bit of convincing to do for me.

 

So your ambition is just to win the league and maybe get a game or two against a big club at Parkhead?

You posted this under Deila... what’s changed?

 

10 in a row has changed it. It's important at this point we achieve our goal. Besides how can we expect CL football without first winning the league. I always want CL group stages and there is no indication that we are less likely to do this with Lenny as manager.

My ambition would be for us to do a clean sweep in Scotland and win a European trophy.

 

So why the * do you think Lennon is the man to have us do that?



10 in a row has been a thing since the Huns died. The idea that the better the team we have, the more trophies we win and the more money we get should somehow make us less ambitious is absolutely baffling to me.

 

Fascinating read over the last few pages.
I'm of the opinion that Lennon isn't the man for us, not in the sense that I don't want him or don't rate him but from the opinion we can appoint a better coach. The conundrum I have is that I can't name anyone right now that realistically I'd take ahead of him.
Maybe I've been spolied or have unrealistic expectations since we appointed our previous manager. Reagrdless of what eventually transpired, when we appointed him it was automatic box office. It's whetted our appetite towards this next appointment.

As of right now today as things stand, to finish behind them over the coming years would be a catastrophe. They are a mess both on and off the field. We need not only to be guided towards the 10 but beyond. I don't think we should be prioritsing the ten over a long term build. Don't get me wrong, I want the 10. It would be incredible but to do so while not putting a structure in place to secure future dominance would be akin to sabotage. Is Neil Lennon the man who can do this? Is there anyone available who can? This summer off the field is immense, decisions made in the next three months will have long term ramifications on our club for many years, I genuinely believe that.

On a side note, Lennons domestic cup record was always something that concerned me about him, it's awful. This game v Aberdeen will be very interesting.

 

How do you envisage the club's progress under Lennon between now and the end of the 2020-21 season and beyond?

My biggest fear is that we fail to take full advantage of this position of strength.

Will Lennon build on Rodgers' legacy? Will he maintain a high standard of professionalism? Will we remain head and shoulders above every other team in Scotland? Will he sustain our dominance in cup competitions, or will we have to accept a return to normalcy?

How do we measure European success? Qualification for the Champions League proper is more difficult than it has ever been, and the current seeding system stacks the deck in favour of the élite clubs.

(Those questions should be applied to all candidates.)

 

I'm still no convinced to say the least..

There's some red flags for me at the minute. Still early day's and I know the difficulty he's come in to, but I'm expecting more if we're to give him the job full time..

That's twice for example we've been outplayed by side's with 10 men at stages in second halves when they should be looking shattered and run ragged. No us..

 

Lennon can set out a team to defend in Europe. He has a better standard of player around him than last time.

Foreign managers are just no for me. Dont seem to get the Scottish game and how it works. If its not Lennon then you're looking at the likes of Moyes

 

This is the boat I’m in as well.

Results have been good but performance wise we need to see better from here on out.

I’ve given him the benefit of doubt so far due to injuries and not having a lot of time to work with the players but I expect to see us play better football in the next couple of games especially.

 

Basically 2 halves. Hibs away second half. Huns first half..

The rest have been worse than poor..

2 out of 10 good halves is that. Definitely expecting more performance wise..

 

This is the problem with the board and not the manager. When we made the last 16 of the CL in 2012/13 and had a very valuable team and made a decent profit the board decided to cash in. Sell our prize asset bank the CL money and spend a pittance on the team. Then we get an even cheaper manager and continue to penny pinch up to the point where we lose to a very poor hun team.

Then from a position of weakness we finally open the purse strings and start to spend money but even then with our wage bill stretched to the limit we are getting tanked in the CL.

Now after all this spend we are going in to next season with one good defender who hopefully had not been crocked from over use. Jonny Hayes does his best but should be at best a squad player is our best option on the left wing. As you were from 212/13 with James Forrest on the right. The only additions in centre from 2012/13 mid are Ntcham and Christie and the we have spent hugh money(by Celtic standard) on our only additional striker.

In short the only additions of note since Lenny left are Ntcham, Eddie and Christie

 

It wasn’t a pittance though. He spent millions on absolute duds like Pukki, Amido, Derk etc.

Why aren’t you demanding the board open up the purse strings now and go out and get the best manager possible instead of accepting a guy who’s been sacked by Bolton and punted from Hibs after leaving them in 8th?

To say the only additions of note since Lennon left is Ntcham Christie and Edouard is just a blatant lie.

Gordon
Bain
Boyata
Jozo
Ajer
Armstrong
Sinclair
Dembele


That’s not even including KT and McGregor who Ronny brought through, two players who’d never have came through under Lennon.