CHARLIE NIC GETS IT SPOT ON FOR ONCE

the board have made mistakes,but they deserve praise as well we are at a crossroads where decisions have to be made,they have supported managers but have been let down by too many players and we have a good chance to get rid of a lot of them

 

Any expectations (i.e beating Ross County & mounting a decent challenge for the title) only originate from the amount ST prices rise every few years, only to see less quality on the park.

On the actual thread topic/ Opening Post - this is most definitely the deepest, insightful and accurate thing ever to pass Charlie's lips. He's came out and said what the fans have been thinking from years and have been trying to tell the board for years. Now that these words have came from a higher echelon than an ordinary fan perhaps we may see a change? I doubt it unfortunately.

The best part of the quote is without a doubt his comments on Reid. He's done absolutely nothing positive since coming to this club. He's here to boost his retirement fund while splitting the fans. It's time to be united and say that people like this are not welcome at this club. How anyone can back the guy up is beyond me and i'm not basing this on his past actions in government etc. Pay attention to his speeches and you will see what i mean. His last speech a while ago - which was when Tony Mowbray was appointed manager - was so false it was laughable, and I distinctly remember him pointing out that Mowbray had been a former captain of the club on three occasions during the 3/4 Minute speech. I think the fans know that Reid, and they also know what your here for. You know where the door is and take Lawwell with you - if we had someone even half as ambitious as Ian McLeod back in January 2009 we would be sitting here laughing at those mugs in financial turmoil while we would be about the make it 5 in a row. They've * shafted us as fans as they've * the trust of the fanbase for the foreseeable future!

 

I love how Desmond insisting the club be financially viable on its own makes him in some way selfish. Meanwhile O Neil, who spent the club dry laying the groundwork for the tight purse-strings we see today escapes any criticism.

 

Fair comment Charlie cant disagree with you .

 

cha has a * of a POINT THERE. but the question is? what will the board do for us??

 

If you are talking about proper Celtic players and not flash in the pan loans (i.e. Keane and Bellamy) then I think our best in the last 10 years were Henke, Sutton, Skippy and JVOH. Henke was Henke. Sutton was a great player but not real a natural mega goals machine. Skippy cost nothing and scored loads at all levels, possibly our most natural finisher in that period. I actually think when JVOH first arrived he was a really magnificent striker and I remember before he was ruined by injury a lot of folk thought he was a better player than BBJ. Had everything BBJ had plus more mobility and guile. Only injury has clouded this. For that reason I put JVOH above BBJ. Sorry but I cant narrow it down any further than these 4 and TBH we have only had about 5 decent long term strikers in the last 10 years anyway.

 

Spot on charlie.

 

I'm finding it hard to believe that people are taking this chump seriously. Yes there are serious problems at CP but the board to blame? Come off it.

 

The board have got to take some responsibility,They hired TM and that was a big mistake but eveyone i know knew this before CN said it

 

Wouldn't spend money on Fletcher, but spent it on Fortune? Says a lot, but not everything!

Still don't like Nicholas. Still think he's angry with himself for leaving for Arsenal and making a ballacks of it!

 

BBC Sport - Football - Celtic interim boss Neil Lennon blasts Charlie Nicholas

Lennon buttering up Desmond?

 

He wants the job, Desmonds the boss, hardly going to label him a racist and steal his car is he?

 

of course they are to blame aswell! they dont spend decent money on players and bring in hopeless managers who waste what ever money he gets on drivel,

 

He doesnt have to come out and defend Desmond though if its not true.

Charlie Nicholas is a *, always has been always will be. These are poor times but I'm not going to be so desperate as listen to someone that never has a good thing to say even when we are winning back to back titles.

 

It is clear the Mowbray was a dope of a manager.

But who can honestly say from day 1 that we knew he'd be rubbish? Especially given the competitors... Coyle (who didn't even want to join)? Martinez (who favoured WIGAN!!) Mark McGhee? The guy single handedly trying to destroy Aberdeen?

People need to take the old 20/20 hindsight goggles off, especially Charlie Nick, although I can almost forgive him seeing as he's only selling his soul for the money and his current job.

The board chose the correct manager at the time. * they financed him rather well too. Jesus christ they managed to wangle Robbie Keane in for half a season, but saying that 65k/week isn't really dipping into the old "biscuit tin", no that 65k/week is financing itself like the mythical moonbeam.

The only genuine failure, which may have been outwith their control is the loss of Caldwell and Robson. Caldwell had to go either in Jan or this summer so I guess taking the money was the right decision (he wasn't exactly popular with the fans) although Robson is a more difficult pill to swallow. I still think Mowbray rather than the board motivated that move.

This season has very little to do with the board, in fact they have done pretty much everything they can. It's all too popular for fans to rally against the board though, it's almost like the ahem *slightly offensive* songs. People do it without even thinking or understanding why.

 

Would throw in McDonald as a significant loss as well, but top post.

 

Nicholas maybe has a point in a way with what he is saying, but he is a muppet in my eyes and always will be.

He picks his moments and has made comments like this for years. he does not speak for the full support.

Where was his peace in the papers praising us when we went to seville or got to last 16 of champions league twice. Its always negative with charlie, never positive.

How many board members has he had a pop at over the years?? Kelly's Mcginn, Mccann, Desmond, Lawwell, Mcleod. Whoever is on the board in 5 year time, good old charlie will still have a pop.

Remember him on sky sports news the day Mowbray got appointed saying it was a good move. so you got it wrong as well as the board Charlie

 

And untill a manager speaks out to say differently then it's certainly the perception that fans will have.. One thing Im sure about from this season was that Ki wasn't a Mowbray signing.. Some might say "Yeah so what , one player , well compare that to the duds he DID bring in"..

When TM got the job I expected him to bring a tried and trusted player with him (And I don't mean Marco Fortune) , maybe Jonathon Greening who'd become a linchpin in the WBA team.. Even though they'd been relegated he was their captain , had the experience to go straight into another team and show leadership and most importantly was available on a loan deal (eventualy went to Fullham on loan and has featured in around half their games this season).. I can't remember which part of the summer window Mowbray brought in N'Guemo and if it was a rushed thing before the CL qualifiers , but it does ask the question at what point was Ki identified and earmarked for Celtic (I know Lawwell went to Korea to put the finishing touches to things around October/November time).. Had TM been told a midfielder was already lined up and would be available to him 6 months down the line and for that reason he had to work with what was already there (Brown , Crosas , and Robson , plus the loan signing of N'Guemo probably seemed like decent enough options to cover for the first 6 months)

Loan signings are not the answer and I doubt they are any managers preferred option , A loan deal is usually a last resort option (done in the last days of transfer windows) when it's clear that the manager won't be getting permananet signings for the positions he wants.. Unless it's someone who's tried and trusted by a manager it's a gamble.. The midfield , and lack of one permanent midfielder being brought in during TM's reign (until Ki came in) makes me question him and the board.. On the day he got the sack SSN did their whole spiel covering his tenure.. Tanner said reports were that Mowbray wanted Hartley to stay on and it's also been mentioned (I don't know if there's links to quotes saying it though) that he never wanted rid of Robson , or that Robson had been told by TM himself that he wanted him to stay.. I don't know what's true just like none of us on the outside know what goes on with transfer dealings but if it were the case that after TM wasted his main spend on Fortune (close to £3m for that transfer according to TM in an interview he gave Channel 67) that he was told , 1) Hartley wasn't to be kept on , 2) A new permanent central midfielder couldn't be signed because Ki was pencilled in , 3) Robson was to be sold in January if an offer came in because Ki was now ready to play , then it paints a different picture , one of a manager who's not calling the shots as we all felt he was.. He still had N'guemo and that's been a bit of a damp squib but could he have been helped out more or is it just a case that TM was too wrapped up in his vision of fancy football that he didn't realise he needed to have a heartbeat and a spine through the centre of the team and Robson was someone he wanted shot off...

People slagged TM for all these loan signings , one person on here even saying TM was too stingy to cough up the extra £250k to get St Ledger , and we know he wanted Ramis and there was also talks with Giroud taking place as a replacement (for Skippy I presume) so that again asks could the board have done more , but it can be argued that bringing in Kamara , Braffheid and Keane on loan with Rasmussen , Rogne and Hooiveld being bought outright equates to him getting more than enough help he needed.. when I was sticking up for Strachan in another thread about the sale of Kenny Miller being forced out by Lawell (I feel our movement definately suffered to an extent after he was sold and helped bring about this "stop McGeady and you stop Celtic" phrase) and maybe with TM it was the midfield which was a position he just wasn't allowed to buy for (with Ki on the radar) , or as many suspect he just neglected his duty to his job properly and the blame lyes solely with him...

Definately with the job Strachan was doing where he was told the high earners get sold or frozen out and his job was to recruit mostly from the bargain basement and build a reliable team , it's not fair once he accomplishes this , that others then decide to sell players from that team he has built.. Likewise it wouldn't be fair to say to a manager "You may well want to bring in a guy costing £2m who you feel can pull the strings in the middle of the pitch but we can't allow you to bring in a player like that because we have already got one lined up for you , in 6 months time"..

Like I say nobody knows for sure what restrictions managers have been working to..

(apologies for spelling and mistakes , Im still half asleep and may have posted this on the wrong thread)

To get back on topic , I don't mind Charlie Nic.. I know he comes across as having all the answers to the problems (he almost demanded through his newspaper column a couple of years ago that Strachan spend £6m on Phillipe Senderos and all the defensive problems would be solved for years to come) but I feel he's still a fan just like the rest of us but there's definately some bittereness between him and board people at Celtic , particularly him and Lawwell...

Have to say I didn't mind hearing Lenny respond with this earlier tonight "I've been here ten years and I've never once seen Charlie Nicholas inside this football club so that tells me doesn't have a clue what's goes on here"...

 

:icon_mrgreen: wrong thread?

 

not sure about the bit in bold but you might try to convince me. do agree with most of your post