Celtic’s board of directors didn’t spend too much time deliberating over a successor to Ange Postecoglou and it was no surprise that they turned to Brendan Rogers as he was free after leaving Leicester City.

Not everyone was happy with this appointment and I suppose I can understand this in that many people feel he abandoned Celtic when he left to take up the Leicester appointment in 2019.

I must confess that it didn’t bother me terribly at the time, but looking back not much good came of it in that Neil Lennon’s second term wasn’t particularly successful and we missed out on the 10-IAR.

Clearly Ange Postecoglou was a wonderful successor, being successful in almost every domestic competition entered and it was no great surprise that he followed BR to the English Premiership.

There was an awful amount of bitterness directed at BR when he left. It was levelled against him that he abandoned Celtic in mid-season to go to Leicester, but he said himself at the time that this was necessary so as to assess what need to be done in preparation for the following season and it was also thought that the position would not be kept open for him if he didn’t take it up then. Initially he was successful with Leicester but things dis-improved and he was relieved of his responsibilities before the end of last season.

I think a few points have to be made here. In the first place football is a professional sport and both sides [i.e. manager and directors] are free to take whatever decisions best suit them. What I am saying here is that, in the event that BR had not been successful with Celtic, the board would have been free to dispense with his services and appoint a replacement.

This is a necessary option for any board of directors so that they can act for the benefit of their club. If the board of directors has this freedom of action then it follows that so does the manager, and that is the path that BR chose.

It seems that BR was not satisfied at the time with the lack of ambition [as he saw it] demonstrated by the board, particularly in Europe, where they failed miserably to be honest. He was unable to extract a promise of the necessary finance from Dermot Desmond to compete at that level against the best reams in Europe [and maybe even against the teams that weren’t all that good either], and arising therefrom he departed.

Celtic have now confirmed that the necessary finance will be made available and BR has confirmed that he will remain in the job for the duration of his three year contract.

As regards Ange Postecoglou, as indicated above, it wasn’t a huge surprise that he followed BR to England, where salaries are much larger, and clearly he was ambitious to try his luck in the Premiership. Every time a vacancy was announced in England Ange was mentioned and no surprise that he eventually departed.

Now the Celtic support must extend the hand of forgiveness to BR and give him every support. BR is a first class manager. He is experienced as a Premiership manager. Steven Gerrard has previously stated that BR is the best man-manager he has encountered from the point of view of motivation and inter-personal skills.

I don’t imagine that there will be a huge difference between his approach and that of Ange Postecoglou in that both place the emphasis on attack and on pressurising the opposition when not in possession.

As regards the strength of the squad, BR has acknowledged the good work done by AP to strengthen the team over the past two years. On the other hand, Jota has departed for Saudi Arabia, Aaron Mooy has retired and Alistair Johnston is still out injured.

It appears that Johnston will be side-lined for about two months. I don’t believe this to be a major problem in that Anthony Ralston is available to deputise for him. While Johnston is a very capable player, Ralston is a great substitute to have available and I have every confidence that he will do a fine job when he comes into the team.

I think, however, that BR needs to sign a new keeper. Joe Hart is not getting any younger, but is playing very well, and goalkeepers can play on until they reach the age of forty, but the problem is that there is nobody of that standard capable of filling his shoes when he is unavailable.

There are rumours that Abada wants a transfer. If Abada moves, there will be opportunities for Haksabanovic and the new man Marco Tilio from Australia [although he is injured at present and will not be available for some weeks into the new season.

But it is Europe that will determine the success of BR. As indicated above, money will be made available to bring in players that can compete at that level. I think it is generally agreed that Celtic failed in Europe under BR. We can remember the trouncing’s handed out by Barcelona and PSG.

It was levelled against BR at the time that he was tactically too inflexible and that there were times when he should simply have “parked the bus” in those games but he chose not to. He will need to be more flexible in Europe in the future and it may be necessary for him to set aside his principles when necessary.

I am looking forward to the new season. I do not believe that there is another manager in the SPFL who can compete with BR as regards effectiveness and experience and there is every appearance that Celtic will be well ahead of everyone else.

It will be interesting to see how the fee received from the sale of Jota will be utilised as well as the kitty promised by Dermot Desmond. Interesting times ahead.

Tim Molloy is a life-long Celtic supporter and an Irish language enthusiast. 
He is a law graduate of London University and is a High Court Registrar.

James Forest has never been a chest pumping, badge kissing type of Celtic player and he deserved his night out in Celtic Park last night. Tens of thousands of Celtic fans turned up to thank him for his contribution to our club. From he broke into the first team from the youth set up he’s been ever present in every managers mind.

13 Seasons, 467 appearances, 101 goals, 11 League titles, 6 Scottish Cups & 5 League Cups not bad going I think we can all agree.

My journey yesterday started at the bus depot in Drogheda with a chat about our day out in Dublin on Saturday for the Wolves game with some familiar faces who like myself were on the road again.

The conversations continued in Dublin airport in the bar next to the departure gate as more fans joined us. It was great to catch up with so many friends from around the country and find out how their summer went. There were also a handful of Bilbao fans on the flight and plenty of hand shaking.

We left behind the sun (for a change) and arrived into grey clouds which would turn darker as night fell at full time and a downpour of torrential rain as fans left the stadium.

But inside the atmosphere was very warm and welcoming for James and for the returning Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers who was introduced to the crowd before the players took to the pitch.

The Glasgow pubs welcomed the travelling fans and many more familiar faces returning to the city having drank the city dry during last years treble winning season. All three trophies would be on display on the pitch later as the players lined out for a guard of honour for the one club man.

The one club man is familiar with the visitors for they honoured our own Billy McNeill for his one club contribution to Celtic and in a lovely gesture a club official from the Basque Club laid flowers at his statue.

Inside the stadium, the visiting fans took their place in the away section, the North Curve and there were other fans from the Basque club mixed in around the ground most noticeably when they scored and were celebrating.

There were plenty of familiar supporters club flags around Celtic Park and the Bhoys were high up in the corner they have made their own. It was a pity that the visiting fans in the North Curve did not get to get the full standing section experience of colour and noise we have become accustomed to on matchdays.

The Green Brigade I’m told bought tickets to support the charities benefitting from the game but for what ever reason they decided to stay away on the night. The GB are not everybody’s cup of tea but they do a lot of positive things and too much has been made by their absence online.

Opinions are like arseholes and everyone has one and everybody is entitled to an opinion but remember It’s easy to sit from the comfort of your home and tap away at a keyboard or phone to comment on the actions of others.

It’s also worth remembering that while we’re going about our daily business for the rest of the week, they will be organising the flag day tifo, which I’m told will take in the whole stadium once again.

Anyway we were there last night for a game of football and after a shaky start the first half 11 had pockets of play worth applause but over all it was a disappointing first half but good to see Carter-Vickers back in the heart of the defence.

Brendan Rodgers made 10 changes at half time before James Forest left the field of play on 49 minutes to make way for Abada. The second half gave us a chance to get a look at some more of our new recruits and it made much better viewing with Celtic the better team.

On the 67^th minute as the dark wet sky hovered over Paradise, the phones came out and the lights went on for “In the heat of Lisbon” and the stadium finally came to life to give the visitors a small sample of what they could expect if they ever came to town for a competitive game in Europe.

A few beers after the game with friends wrapped up a nice way to return to Celtic Park for another season which will bring plenty of challenges domestically and in Europe. We go again on Saturday when the result will matter much more.

Celtic 3 Bilbao 2. All in all a good day and night out following the Bhoys

Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes and host of the Celtic Soul Podcast 

 

 

On Sunday evening we found out that our friend and contributor, David Potter had sadly passed away. David’s contribution to Celtic FC and it’s history is immense and leaves behind a legacy of Celtic writing, in books, blogs, programmes and fanzines.

I can’t even remember when David started to write for the fanzine but he was always first to submit articles ahead of deadlines and his knowledge of the club’s history was amazing and he was our go to man for historical information on Celtic and their opponents.

He was not well enough to contribute to the next issue but we will dig out some of his archived articles to use. I was also lucky to have him on the Celtic Soul Podcast and we also chatted on a number of episodes of the Grand Auld Team on Celtic Fanzine TV. We will re-run these over the coming days in his memory.

We also had a great Celtic AM with him in Malones, Glasgow pre-match when he recalled stories, poetry and he even broke into song. I will remember him as a lovely man who loved Celtic.

Born in 1948, David Potter first saw Celtic at Dens Park, Dundee in March 29 1958. It was a 3-5 defeat, which equipped him admirably for the horrors of the early 1960’s. He had “followed” Celtic for a few years before that and recalls having been called upon to impersonate Jock Stein and receive the family silver teapot which had to do for the Scottish Cup as it was presented on April 24 1954, after he and his father had spent a nerve wracking afternoon listening to the radio!

Since then, he has “followed” every Celtic game with bated breath, and has written extensively about the club in magazines and books. His favourite team was that of 1969 (which he rates marginally better than 1967) and his favourite player was Henrik Larsson.

His ambition for Celtic was for them to keep on winning silver in Scotland and to be something in Europe once again. His other interests are cricket and drama. He was teacher of Classical Languages, married with three children and five grandchildren. He travelled on the Joseph Rafferty bus from Kirkcaldy. He also had a love for Forfar Athletic.

I will leave the last words to Lisbon Lion, John Fallon “Sad day to hear that David passed away, he was a great Celtic Fan his knowledge of this club was enormous when he helped my with my book we talked about games he saw. Great Celtic man, it’s a sad day for Rosemary and family my prayers go out to them, Hail Hail David Potter Rest in Peace”

Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes and host of The Celtic Soul Podcast 

New signings Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Yang Hyun-Jun and Maik Nawrocki will be annouced to the press and members of Celtic Fan media today at a press conference at Celtic Park at 2:30pm. 

Maik Nawrocki has become the latest addition to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic squad after the defender today joined the club on a five-year deal from Legia Warsaw.

Celtic announced the signing of highly-rated South Korean player, Hyunjun Yang, who joined the club on a five-year deal on Monday.

The 21-year-old attacker, who was the K League Young Player of the Year last season, has signed from Gangwon FC, and will join Korean striker, Hyeongyu Oh, at Celtic Park.

Celtic sealed a South Korean double on the same day and also signed midfielder Hyeokkyu Kwon from Busan I-Park on a five-year deal.

Both players join Korean striker, Hyeongyu Oh, at Celtic Park.

Maik Nawrocki has become the latest addition to Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic squad after the defender today joined the club on a five-year deal from Legia Warsaw, subject to international clearance.

The 22-year-old Polish Under-21 internationalist helped Legia Warsaw win the Polish Cup last season, scoring the final spot-kick in a 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory over Rakow Czestochowa.

Maik Nawrocki said: “Celtic are a famous club throughout the world and, of course, they’re very well-known in Poland, having had a number of Polish players in recent years, so I know just how big this club is and how incredible the supporters are, and I can’t wait to play in front of the fans and experience that for myself.”

Click link for more news on Celtic’s latest signing https://www.celticfc.com/news

 

 

As the curtain came down on last season. Celtic were planning a pre-season Asian tour of Japan and South Korea and Ange Postecoglou was set to lead Celtic for a homecoming of sorts for him after his successful spell in Japan.

Maybe the plan was then to move on to South Korea and announce the signings of Kwon and Yang and try to capitalise on the commercial benefits for the Celtic brand.

It was Ange who told us not to get too attached to players and I guess that went for him as well. But attached we did get and when he left we were disappointed to lose him to Spurs.

It was clear to see how gutted Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawell were to lose him after the cup final when TV pictures circulated of them in Hampden Park looking not too excited about another treble getting wrapped up.

Ange followed in the footsteps Stein, O’Neill, Rodgers and Lennon before quickly making his way to London.

The rumours started before the cup final that Ange was going to Spurs was a done deal. That is how it turned out with the second coming of Brendan Rodgers as his replacement.

I don’t think too many of us thought we would be seeing Rodgers returning to Celtic Park to watch a game never mind sit in the dugout.

Desmond and Nicholson acted swiftly and it was soon announced that he was to return. I was in Vegas at the Celtic Supporters Convention when the news was breaking of who might replace Ange and there was plenty of support for the return of Rodgers.

Celtic are in a positive financial situation and if Rodgers can add some more quality to the squad before the transfer window closes, we can go into the new season with plenty of confidence

There was plenty of boasting by the rangers fans after they beat Celtic at Ibrox in the last game of the season between both of us. The result gave their manager breathing space after failing to record a victory over Ange Postecoglou and his team when it counted for silverware or to close the gap in the league.

It is always disappointing to lose to our Glasgow rivals. But if anything came out of the game it is that the squad is light in certain areas. Rodgers will know we need strengthening to compete in the Champions League and to continue to dominate domestically.

The Jota money and the revenue from the Champions League. Should see the Celtic board continue to back Rodgers until he is happy.

Throughout the club there seems to be positive vibes. With the B-Team, Youth Team and Woman’s Team getting great backing from the fanbase last season.

Not many in our fanbase expects us to win the Champions League or even get close. But we still all dream and progress would be European football after the group stages. Be that in the CL or the Europa League the prize on offer for a third place finish.

European Nights under the lights at Celtic Park are special. We have three away trips across the continent to also look forward. And the return of Brendan Rodgers to the Celtic Park Dugout.

Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast