Lennon never seemed like someone to rock the boat. I had no sense this was coming when I spoke with him and @Bandage in the recent past.
If his departure is prompted by an unambitious transfer budget then that is seriously concerning. Maybe he had delusions this summer that he didnāt have previously, but given what Lennon had worked with until now, it seems like there may not have been much ambition to improve the team at all.
Positives from this development:
[LIST]
[]I hated that tobacco gumming he did
[]I found the lack of an overall style and gameplan frustrating. We changed formation during games too quickly, we sometimes played with wingers, sometimes not. We didnāt seem to have a first choice team and we certainly didnāt have an identifiable style that we played with. It often seemed like he just picked eleven players that were better than their opponents, and then swapped some wingers around or moved Mulgrew to some other role if it was still scoreless after half an hour.
[]I imagine we will still be favourites for the league next season so itās a chance for a manger to come in and implement a style and ethos without immediate pressure.
[]We made some very good signings under his tenure but, while accepting he wasnāt the only person involved in bringing players in, we had been getting in more dross in recent times.
[]Other than some notable CL games, we were poor in plenty of big games. Not winning more cups was poor. Not winning at Ibrox in the last ever away game against Rangers was very annoying.
[/LIST]
Negatives from this development:
[LIST]
[]Implication that thereās no or very little money to spend
[]Performances in Europe were generally good - plenty of managers struggle at that level
[]Replacement is highly likely to be underwhelming.
[/LIST]
Not sure you could just let him at it though, not experienced enough.
Maybe with a more experienced hand in with him, someone with an understanding of the history and tradition of the club and has been there done that. Someone like Dalglish. The two have worked together in the past.
Iād fancy my chances of winning the SPL with Celtic and Iād settle for about 200k a year. Might send in my CV
[QUOTE=āRocko, post: 947765, member: 1ā]Having thought about it for 5 minutes, my order of preference from the current ātop listā of candidates is:
Steve Clarke
Malky Mackay
David Moyes
Henrik Larsson
Paul Lambert
Jackie McNamara
The dare to dream appointment would be Spalletti.[/QUOTE]
Why would you like to see Lambert get the job, bro? Or Larsson, aside from his legendary status?
I wouldnāt really. Iām just ranking the common options in order of preference.
I think Iād be happy with Steve Clarke getting it. After that I donāt know if Iād like any of them. Mackay reminds me of Mowbray. He did well with Cardiff but can he sustain that?
I donāt think the other choices would be particularly inspiring either. If McNamara brought Simon Donnelly along with him Iād be annoyed.
If itās not Steve Clarke then Iād prefer we selected someone from outside Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales. Thomas Tuchel or Spalletti would be terrific but both very unlikely. I mention them only to sound more rounded in my worldview.
[QUOTE=āRocko, post: 947769, member: 1ā]I wouldnāt really. Iām just ranking the common options in order of preference.
I think Iād be happy with Steve Clarke getting it. After that I donāt know if Iād like any of them. Mackay reminds me of Mowbray. He did well with Cardiff but can he sustain that?
I donāt think the other choices would be particularly inspiring either. If McNamara brought Simon Donnelly along with him Iād be annoyed.
If itās not Steve Clarke then Iād prefer we selected someone from outside Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales. Thomas Tuchel or Spalletti would be terrific but both very unlikely. I mention them only to sound more rounded in my worldview.[/QUOTE]
Clarke or Mackay would be good appointments but I would say if Lennon left because of budget constraints they will probably try to get somebody in on the cheap which might push McNamara to the top of the queue. Him or Pat Fenlon.
Mackay and Clarke both have unresolved legal issues with their previous employers and would be unavailable to manage again until these matters are cleared up.
I canāt see Jackie McNamara being chosen. Still a bit early for him and, while Lennon had fuck all experience, I think Celtic will look for a more experienced manager now Lennon has re-established the club as a regular Champions League group stages competitor.
If we canāt get Big Mick or Spalletti then I think we should target Cesare Prandelli.