On days like these, when a manager goes down, the first instinct is to think about what went wrong, the timeline of doom, and the moment when the writing is on the wall.
For Wilfrid Nancy, none of this was necessary because it was wrong from the start. There are no turning points in this saga and no plot twists.
advertise
Nancy’s appointment was one of the biggest mistakes in Celtics history. The Columbus Crew were a relatively underperforming rookie – they were seventh in MLS – and it was a bet based on the funky vibe of Paul Tisdale, now the former head of football operations.
Tisdale didn’t speak to fans or the media during his brief time in a prominent role at Celtic Park, but he did a lot of damage. If Nancy ranks extremely high on the list of the club’s most disastrous calls, Tisdale is on par with him, perhaps even slightly ahead of him, as it was the self-styled ‘football doctor’ who championed Nancy on the club’s board.
Nancy was never out of trouble, with two wins from eight games, a flawed win against bottom-of-the-table Livingston and the other against ten-man Aberdeen, who had also just sacked their manager.
All memories of Nancy’s reign – if you want to call it that – will now be shoveled under the rug by anyone responsible in his appointment. If they were all true to recent form, none of them would speak up, none of them would apologize, none of them would show humility by admitting they made a serious mistake.
advertise
Fans will have to issue a brief written statement. In other words, let them have their cake and eat it.
Nancy’s leisurely arrival – talking to Martin O’Neill for only 15 minutes before tearing apart everything O’Neill had done to stabilize the situation – contrasted sharply with his unceremonious exit. O’Neill stayed there longer than Nancy as a temporary worker.
The French talk about building castles in the air. He struggled with the fatal impression that he had time to realize his vision and that he should be patient. In his parallel universe, he says that winning isn’t everything when his masterpiece is being built.
It’s all about the “process”. He called on people to look at his past record as evidence of his ability. “Do your job,” he told reporters the day before, after failing to do his job in a 3-1 home defeat to Rangers following a 2-0 home defeat to Motherwell.
advertise
Nancy and Tisdale had to leave. It’s also clear that the club’s unfortunate state of affairs goes much deeper than these two over-promoted characters. It goes back to who approved their appointment and why. It goes back to the Celtics, who not only lost their way on the court, but off the court as well. It reaches the very top.
Since Hogmanay, Celtic have now lost a manager, a head of football operations and a chairman (Peter Lawwell, ousted due to abusive behavior among supporters).
The lack of communication from the club is notable. Regardless of the extreme elements of support, the average fan – the vast majority, the vast majority – feels a deep disconnect, an alienation from what’s going on.
Of course, some people have a sense of entitlement, and it’s easy to make fun of that considering the Celtics have won it all. Elsewhere, however, there is simply anger at the club making poor decisions and falling backwards domestically and in Europe with nearly £80m in the bank.
advertise
These fans talk about a lack of ambition, a lack of planning and behind-the-scenes power from the current board, led by chief executive Michael Nicholson and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond.
Celtic’s vision seems to be to stay ahead of Rangers and see what, if anything, they can get out of Europe.
Brendan Rodgers was strongly opposed to the idea and his relationship with the club’s power brokers collapsed. Both his exit and Desmond’s harsh words towards him seemed callous. Rodgers, for all his faults, does not deserve this.
His assistant manager John Kennedy also left by then. Kennedy spent 27 years with the Celtics as a player and coach, but when he left, he received barely a word in a statement. He deserves more. It’s a legitimate question – where is the dignity and class?
advertise
The Celtics don’t see the big picture, or it’s not obvious. Celtic could complete their stadium and make it a castle with a capacity of almost 80,000 people and one of the best on the continent, but they are not there yet.
They could build one of the greatest museums in football – and God knows they have enough icons and great moments to fill it – but there’s no sign of it.
They could have deployed modern and sharp reconnaissance systems, but they failed to do so.
They’ve come a long way, flush with cash and content to narrowly call the shots, but even that now faces risks. The emergence of Hearts and the support they receive from Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics has the potential to change the game in a very significant way.
advertise
Celtic thought they could take a gamble on Nancy because they couldn’t imagine any other team in the world competing with them for the league title, their bread and butter.
What now? In a panic, they might go back to O’Neill and repeat the plaster solution, but O’Neill is perfectly qualified to say he either becomes the permanent head coach this time or is not interested. He’s not a pug that comes running every time he whistles. Or it shouldn’t be.
They could try Ange Postecoglou to see if he has regained his energy and desire to coach again after painful spells at Tottenham and Nottingham Forest.
Might they opt for impressive Motherwell manager Jens Bertal Ascu, or revisit their interest in Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna? The problem here is that Celtic’s football knowledge is pretty thin at this level right now.
advertise
Where is the wise mind? They don’t have a grumpy sporting director or the brain trust that a club like Celtic should have. That’s how they ended up with Tisdale and Nancy.
Celtic fans have to worry that these mistakes will be repeated. If not a clear winner like O’Neal or Postkoglu, who might the board pick? Considering Nancy’s mistake, this must have been a sobering thought for supporters.
On Monday, the board corrected two mistakes it should not have made. Unraveling the rest is not so easy. This disgrace should trigger some deep reflection among those at Celtic Park and with it the question: is this a great football club?
