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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

Martin O’Neill is back at Celtic as manager until the end of the season tonight after Wilfried Nancy was sacked this morning. Martin honoured some bookings on the speaking circuit since his departure but early in Nancy’s tenure as Celtic manager. Martin’s agent could not confirm new bookings until mid January.

No matter what way the club spin his re-appointment I think O’Neill was on standby from early on it was clear for all to see that Nancy’s way would lead him to the highway and it did.

The man who brought Nancy to the club Paul Tisdale also paid the price. James Bell-Walker a chief scout was brought in on the quiet from Chelsea last week. Is he Tisdale’s replacement well that is anyone guess as Celtic communication is terrible.

As yet none of the Celtic board members have paid the price for their mismanagement of the whole Nancy appointment, the fall out with Brendan Rodgers and handling of the whole recruitment process over the last 12 months.

Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham, Stephen McManus will also return to Lennoxtown as first team coaches in the morning to prepare the team for the game against Dundee United on Saturday. I am sure the players will also be relieved to be working under O’Neill again after the fiasco of the last few weeks.

Celtic now have a massive challenge ahead in what’s looks like will be a very tight title race to come out on top. Confidence is a lot higher tonight than it was last night.

The Celtic board have still questions to answer regarding the past 12 months and how they have mismanaged the club. Peter Nicholson as the highly paid club CEO of Celtic must address the fan base and enter into constructive talks with Celtic supporters representatives to address the fall out from the past 12 months.

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

 

 

 

Celtic Football Club today announced that it has decided to terminate the contract of manager Wilfried Nancy, with immediate effect. After only 2 wins in 8 games including a League Cup Final defeat and last Saturdays 3-1 defeat to the rangers. The Celtic board finally woke up.

His coaching team of Kwame Ampadu, Jules Gueguen, and Maxime Chalier will also leave the club.

Celtic also confirmed that Paul Tisdale has left his position as Head of Football Operations after two terrible transfer windows and his involvement in the appointment of Nancy.

A lot of Celtic fans thought that a 3-1 defeat at home to the rangers and a record of 2 wins out of 8 and only getting 6 points from a possible 18 would be enough for the Celtic board to admit to their failing and act now to try salvage something from the season and sack Wilfried Nancy and bring in a new manager to steady the ship.

It is an incredible fall from domestic dominance for Celtic who are still only 6 points behind league leaders Hearts, level on points with the rangers. While the chasing pack of Motherwell are 2 points  and Hibs are 4 points behind Celtic after the first game of the New Year. There is still time but someone has to have the balls to act on it now. Dermot Desmond was absent from one of our biggest games of the season yesterday which tells its own story of how big of a supporter he is of Celtic.

The atmosphere was lively yesterday before kick off but the Green Brigades absence was noticeable when things turned for the worst against Celtic in the second half and the only fans singing where those in away section. There was a minutes applause for the late John Robertson and you would wonder what the former Celtic assistant manager and 2 time European Cup winner would have thought of how far Celtic have fallen in such a short space of time since the departure of his great friend Martin O’Neill after picking up the November manager of the month award for his unbeaten record in Scotland and that great away win in Feyenoord.

 

Celtic dominated the first half and Yang scored a cracker to get everyone off their seats and excited but yet again Celtic failed to deliver in front of goal. This statistic has to lie at the door of the recruitment department at Celtic under Paul Tisdale who has failed to replace Kyogo and Idah upfront. He has brought in Shin but the fact that 3 Celtic managers have given him very little playing time tells another tale of the shambles our recruitment has become while the Celtic board stock pile the cheques in the bank while cashing their own very large ones.

At halftime over a Bovril there was plenty of positivity with the fans I spoke to. While we were chatting the rangers manager made one personal change and changed the formation and yet again Celtic were exposed at the back and humiliated by our biggest rivals. The anger in the main stand where I sit was there for all to see as Celtic fans turned their anger on the Celtic board members sitting in the directors box. Their seats might be comfortable but the atmosphere was anything but.

After the third goal Celtic fans started voting with their feet and the stadium was almost deserted of Green and White by full time. The Celtic players walked up the tunnel looking dejected and Luke McCowan’s comments after the game told its own story of where the players heads are. The rangers fans celebrated long after the final whistle and chants of keep the board only added to the insult of how we had just watched Celtic crumble again in the second half.

It a shambles lets call a spade a spade here. After the game there was an angry protest at the front of the stadium where Police lined up in front of the iconic Celtic statues. A sad sight and a sad state of affairs .

The Celtic Fan Collective released a statement shortly after the game. That was followed up by one from the the Association of Registered Celtic Supporters Clubs.

Nancy now has a week to work with the Celtic players ahead of the game against Dundee United who have already beaten Celtic under his watch when after dominating the first half in Tannadice the team fell apart in the second half in what has become a recurring nightmare.

The Celtic team will likely post up images ahead of the game of all laughs and smiles at training between the manager and the players but their body language on match day tells a tale. And what is going on when a coach is sent out of the dugout to warm up subs during the game. I am sure a veteran player like James Forest knows how to warm himself up. He must be thinking what’s going on here!

Even as bad as things are Celtic should beat Dundee United who sit mid table in the table. A win would once again paper over the cracks at the club as they did when we beat Aberdeen and bottom place Livingston over the festive period.

The Celtic team will likely post up images ahead of the game of all laughs and smiles at training between the manager and the players but their body language on match day tells a tale. And what is going on when a coach is sent out of the dugout to warm up subs during the game. I am sure a veteran player like James Forest knows how to warm himself up. He must be thinking what’s going on here!

Even as bad as things are Celtic should beat Dundee United who sit mid table in the table. A win would once again paper over the cracks at the club as they did when we beat Aberdeen and bottom place Livingston over the festive period.

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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Wilfried Nancy has asked for time ahead of the Glasgow Derby v the rangers when he spoke to media ahead of the big game. Celtic also made the first signing of the year when Julián Araujo joined the club on loan from Bournemouth until the end of the season. Celtic recruited James Bell-Walker to the Celtic scouting network from Chelsea.

The Nancy press conference will never be as entertaining as a Martin O’Neill one. Maybe it gets lost in translation but I came away today scratching my head after watching his latest conversation with the Main Stream Media. He has asked for time but he is running out of it and the Celtic support are losing patience with those charged with running the club.

The timing was not ideal for his appointment as he spoke about not having a summer to work with the players to implement his style of play so why did he stick to the script, ask Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney for help and in the Summer implement his master plan with some new recruits.

Nobody gives a dam about Rod Stewarts opinion and I could not believe one of the journalists wasted everyone’s time by asking the Celtic manager about it.

Actions speak louder than words and the pressure is on the Celtic manager and his players to get a win  to kick off the year. The visitors will be coming full of confidence lets hope we can turn them over.

The game kicks off at 12:30pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports and coverage starts at 11:30. The game will also be streamed outside the UK and Ireland on Celtic TV.

Betting Odds

Celtic: 1/1

Draw: 3/1

Rangers: 11/4

Andrew Milne IS Editor of More than 90 Minutes & host of Celtic Soul Podcast