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The rebirth of Martin O’Neill as Celtic manager started against Falkirk at Celtic Park and will continue tonight when the Celtic team travel to Falkirk along with only 500 Celtic fans. Celtic fans will also gather in pubs and clubs around the globe for the 7:45pm Kick Off.

It is another challenge for the Derry man and his injury hit Celtic team as we chase league leaders Hearts in the race for the SPFL title. Last Saturday at Celtic Park we enjoyed his return to Paradise. Four goals without reply from Dundee United was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the East End of Glasgow.

Falkirk have been doing really well under John McGlynn since they returned to the top flight of Scottish Football and sit in the top half of the SPFL table going into tonight’s game.

The home team come into the game in a positive frame of mind after beating St. Mirren 2-0 away from home last weekend. It was their third win in their last four games.

Martin O’ Neill is once again missing key players due to injury. Celtic’s striker options are limited and Iheanacho is still out injured and Celtic’s search for a half decent striker to replace Kyogo continues 12 months after he was sold.

Auton Trusty is touch and go if he will be fully fit for the game after limping off on Saturday. He is training with the team and if not fully fit he may be replaced by Stephen Welsh who was recalled from his successful loan spell at Motherwell.

Sarrachi is out for at least another month. Osmand and Johnstone are due back from injury sometime in March. Carter Vickers and Jota are out for the remainder of the season.

Tonight’s game is live on Premier Sports and will be streamed on Celtic TV for viewers outside Ireland and the UK.

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

 

As we wait for white smoke to signal that Celtic have finally signed a quality striker who is ready to go into the Celtic starting 11. Martin O’Neill told us last weekend at a Press Conference that he would speak to Daizen Maeda early this week to discuss his Celtic future.

If Maeda has his heart set on leaving Glasgow it will limit O’Neill’s options up front even more. Stephen Welsh has returned to Celtic after being recalled from his loan spell at Motherwell.

The short loan move has been good for him. He has been playing regularly and playing well in a really good team who play a nice brand of football under manager Jens Berthol Askou’s.

He comes back to Celtic as cover for Liam Scales and Auston Trusty and his playing time may be limited again. Welsh who came through the Celtic Academy had been linked in this transfer window with a permanent move to Aberdeen.

Celtic have been linked with a number of strikers since the window opened including Callum Wilson who is currently out of favour at West Ham. He has scored 4 goals in 18 games for the Hammers.

The controversial signing of winger Jocelin Ta Bi from Hapoel Petah Tikva has hit a problem with the player said to need surgery.

Celtic have also been linked with Hibs striker Kieron Bowie. Wolves have also shown interest in bringing him down south for a relegation battle in the EPL.

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

On Saturday Celtic’s latest manager this season Martin O’Neill once again rolled back the years as Celtic got back to winning ways with a 4-0 win over Dundee United. Chants of his name rang out in the East End of Glasgow and beyond long after the final whistle. The Derry mans name was even sung in the queue at Glasgow Airport as we waited to board our aeroplane to take us over the Irish sea to Dublin Airport.

O’Neill is famous for his man management skills and he will need it if the Celtic board do not back him in the transfer market. He has told reporters that this Celtic team needs new faces in the door in this transfer window. The Celtic fans I spoke to after the game on Saturday are not confident that those running Celtic can deliver for O’Neill with one fan calling them clueless and outdated.

On Saturday afternoon Celtic dominated, Dundee United created chance after chance in front of goal. Each goal was celebrated with fist pumps and hugs and a sense if relief.

The Bhoys Ultras were in full voice once again in the absence of the Green Brigade who remain banned so was left to the Bhoys to get the songs and chants going including “All Celtic Fans against the Board” and “Sack the Board”.

The re-appointment of Martin O’Neill and Saturday’s win took the toxic atmosphere away from the match day experience at Celtic Park that had been brewing and getting worse with each passing week of this calamity of a season since Brendan Rodgers called for the Celtic board to back him to build a team capable of competing in the Champions League.

We all now know how that worked out and how the rest of the season played out with the mis-management of the football side of the club. The financial spreadsheets may look healthy but the team is in need of surgery and has been for 12 months.

Celtic’s new chairman Brian Wilson has called for Unity but refuses to meet with Celtic supporters after the Celtic Fans Collective released an open letter to ask him to meet them for talks. Banners were on display on Saturday including “So Much for Unity, Brian” and “Nicholson Own Your Failures Resign”.

Each morning when I wake up I check my phone to see if I missed something during the night regarding transfers. It’s a bad habit as it is the last thing I do before I go to sleep. Sure what could happen during the night? Nothing. During the day I am hoping that news will break that Celtic have finally signed a striker ready to go into the first team, 12 months is a long time to wait.

The silence from the Celtic Board continues as they refuse to take responsibility for the state of the club and the mess they have made of it during the the past 12 months. Failure to back O’Neill in the transfer window will not be forgiven. Celtic sit in third place in the league and are now in a 3 horse race for the title with Hearts favourites in the race.

Time is running out for the current Celtic board. O’Neill is a club icon and he has Dermot Desmond’s ear surly he now has to listen to him and as the Puppet Master at the club pull the strings to allow the Celtic board to back the manager and open talks with the Celtic fans. Over to you Dermot to finally get your finger out!

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

You would have imagined after the boards failure to replace Kyogo and Idah with decent strikers that the Celtic board would have had at least one of them replaced once the transfer window opened and ready to go into the team for the rangers game but NO!

Martin O’Neill may be back but the Celtic board have let the Celtic Support down its criminal that those running Celtic could not identify a striker in the past 12 months that is ready to go into the first team. After 12 months they went back to try and sign Kyogo to replace Kyogo. I would not trust those in charge of OUR club to run a bath never mind a football club.

2025 at Celtic has been like watching a bad soap opera. The script reads

Act 1

Celtic Manger No.1 asked to be backed. Celtic Board cash in on players, fail to back manager No. 1 showing lack of ambition while piling cash reserves in the bank. Celtic fail to qualify for Champions League. Celtic fans come together to form the Celtic Fans Collective

Act 2

Celtic Manager No. 1 walks away. Non Executive Celtic Director uses official club website to personally attack Celtic Manager No. 1. Celtic board appoint Celtic Manager No. 2 and ban the Green Brigade Ultras.

Act 3

Celtic Manager No. 2 steadies the ship winning all but one game in the Europa League. Celtic move within 3 points of League leaders Hearts and beat the rangers in the semi final of the League Cup. Son of Director attacks Celtic Fans at AGM before the Celtic board shut down the AGM.

Act 4

Celtic Manager No. 2 leaves Celtic. The Celtic board appoint Celtic Manager No. 3 and the Celtic CEO takes to Celtic TV to proclaim Celtic Manager No. 3 was their first choice and how happy they are to have him. Celtic Fan Media Banned

Act 5

Celtic Manager No 3 loses 6 of his first 8 games including a top of table clash to Hearts, the League Cup Final and a Glasgow Derby to the ranger. Celtic Chairman No. 1 stands down. Celtic Chairman No. 2 Appointed. Celtic board sack Celtic Manager No 3 and  then appoint Celtic Manager No. 2 as Celtic Manager No. 4. Celtic board sack head of football recruitment

Act 6

Celtic Chairman No. 2 calls for Unity. Celtic Fans Collective call off Match Day Boycott. Celtic Fans Collective call for meeting with Chairman No. 2 in open letter. Chairman No. 2 fails to respond. Celtic Manager No 4 records a 4-0 win in first game back in charge as fans chant his NAME  and chant SACK THE BOARD.

To be continued hopefully Act 7 sees some new players coming in as called for by Celtic Manager No 4. And some dialogue if the Celtic board between those running the club and the fans who are the heart beat of OUR club.

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

 

More than 90 Minutes Match day Fanzine. Click image to read, watch and listen.

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Celtic have now a manager in place once again who knows the club very well. Martin O’Neill does not have the luxury of the quality of players he had back in 00’s when he took over a Celtic team which included Henrik Larsson and Lubo Moravcik. He won’t be able to raid the English Premier League for players of the quality of Chris Sutton or Alan Thompson.

Instead he will be asked to try his best to work with the players who are at the club and hope that the players Shaun Maloney has identified can be brought into the club as soon as possible with a striker top of his wanted list.

Two players will return from the African Nations but he is still without some of Celtic’s better players who are still sidelined with injuries. The rumour mill is in full swing since O’Neill returned to Celtic. All has gone quiet at Celtic’s media department as the team prepare for Saturday’s game against Dundee United after the soap opera of the last few weeks and months.

The media need to fill content so this leads to any rumour or half truth making the headlines. Players and even who will replace Martin O’Neill as Celtic manager are getting headlines. Yesterday I was contacted to see if I had heard anything about Roberto Martinez coming to Celtic after the World Cup. Since then his odds have been slashed at the bookies.

It was the first I heard of it and I was surprised I had not seen a headline about it until early this morning. He would be a popular choice and Shaun Maloney has worked with him before. I think it would be an easy sell to the Celtic Supporters.

I hope someone at Celtic is working on this but in the short term our interest is in the January transfer window and what players are coming in ready to go into the first team to improve Celtic’s chances of winning the Scottish League.

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

A number of players have been linked with Celtic since the January transfer window opened. A Kyogo return is grabbling plenty of headlines as is the potential signing of Jocelin Ta Bi from Israeli club Maccabi Netanya.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) released a statement yesterday asking to STOP THE DEAL!

“Palestinians urge Celtic FC to stop its £2 million deal with genocide complicit Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. As Palestinians, we are deeply troubled by reports that Celtic is close to completing a £2 million transfer deal for a player from an Israeli club, Maccabi Netanya. Celtic must stop this deal. This is not just an ordinary football transfer deal. Israeli clubs are not neutral sporting bodies.

Maccabi Netanya is owned by Aliya Capital Partners, which has invested $30 million in Israeli drone company XTEND. Since the start of Israel’s ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, XTEND has sold thousands of drones, including armed drones, to the Israeli military. The CEO of Aliya Capital Partners is the chair of Maccabi Netanya and sits on the board of XTEND.”

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

New Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is back charming the Main Stream Media but Celtic Fan Media remains locked out of Lennoxtown and Celtic Park. The civil war between the Celtic fans and the Celtic board continues after calls for unity from O’Neill.

Celtic take on Dundee United on Saturday at Celtic Park, a proposed Fans boycott has been called off. Celtic Fans are also calling for Unity. Rumours are circulating that Celtic CEO Michael Nicholas has offered his resignation after it emerged that it was him who pushed for Wilfried Nancy sacking. After the sacking of Wilfried Nancy and Paul Tisdale will the Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson be next?

Some fans believe that O’Neill was on standby from early on in Nancy’s short tenure as Celtic manager after his agent could not confirm appearance bookings for the Derry man until mid January and O’Neill also turned down work as a TV pundit for the Cup Final and the rangers games.

Weight was added to this theory  when O’Neill told reporters that Shaun Maloney had identified potential new signing which he knows are needed if Celtic are to compete with Hearts and the rangers in what looks like a 3 horse race for the SPFL title.

O’Neill joked and dismissed claims that he would have been the next Football Director or Celtic Chairman if he had not returned as manager. Could he fill one of those positions in the Summer?

The Celtic Fans Collective have sent an open letter to interim Celtic chairman Brian Wilson to ask for talks to begin between the Celtic board and fan representatives. Dialogue is the best way forward for all concerned to end the Green Brigade Ultra Group Ban and the Celtic Fan Media bans. It would also give the Celtic board a chance to ask for the fans group to re-think the Not Another Penny campaign.

Celtic released an unfiltered video earlier in the week of the players working with Shaun Maloney and the returning coaching team and Martin O’Neill’s media conference but apart from that all is quiet on the official club website. A win on Saturday would give everyone a lift after such a dismal end to the festive season against our arch city rivals. Confidence is certainly higher since the management switch among all involved with Celtic.

Focus this week has also turned to new signings and exits from Celtic Park. A striker or two are surly top of Cetic’s wanted list to stop the mis-firing rot upfront.

For now the call is Back the manager and meet the Celtic fans or the chants of Sack the Board will only get louder.

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