The failure to deliver the 10 is a harsh take on legacy of Lawwell
But mistakes were creeping in
The sad death of Doctor Jo Venglos instantly reminded me of different days and better ways.
When Venglos became Celtic manager in 1998 I used these very pages to lament the signing of someone called Lubo Moravcik.
The doctor was spectacularly right about him and I was proved to be abysmally wrong.
But that was the end of the matter. There was never an acrimonious word between us from then until he left the club the following year.
Today the guardians of good taste at big clubs use the equivalent of high powered binoculars and antennae to scour the column inches and monitor the airwaves in pursuit of something to be written down and used in evidence against you at a later date.
But opinion within the boundaries of the law can’t be allowed to be outlawed and if that means living with a misguided comment for 23 years then that’s the risk you take.
Peter Lawwell wasn’t averse to pulling his weight in that direction, certainly not where I was concerned.
There was one ban from Celtic Park which lasted two years and , on another occasion, a summons to the chief executive’s office for a full and frank discussion on how best I might approach the subject of the club’s affairs at any given point.
I told Peter then, as now, I will write what I like.
It might ultimately be proved to be wrong. It might be deadly accurate. It might invite ridicule, scorn or even universal approval.
Whichever is the case, it will be what
I think and free of inf luence from outside parties.
Last week I confessed to practising amateur psychology and declared the belief that Peter was looking strained due to the adverse publicity heaped on the club after the folly of going to Dubai in the middle of a pandemic.
I also ventured that the devastating loss of 10 in a Row had taken its toll of a man who, at his core, is a lifelong Celtic supporter as well as the person charged with the responsibility for the day-to-day running of the club.
Last week’s amateur psychology is this week’s factual accuracy.
Peter is going from office with a record of incredible success on his watch, tarnished in the eyes of the hard- core supporters by the failure to deliver 10 in a Row.
That is overly harsh and an unfair condemnation of the majority of his work at Celtic.
But mistakes had started to creep in.
He had lost his touch and the most glaring example of muddled thinking this season might be the f iasco surrounding the decision to wait too long for Fraser
Forster to make up his mind about returning to the club. Plus the decision to dispense with Craig Gordon for no reason that springs to mind and then spend an inordinately high sum of money on what could b e mos t generously described as the modest talent that is Vasilis Barkas.
Celtic spent £ 5million on the Greek goalkeeper and created a problem for themselves which is now farcical. He wasn’t trusted to play in the Scottish Cup Final win over Hearts in December but a kid, Conor Hazard, with three f irst- team games under his belt at the time was g i v en t he responsibility. Barkas was then b r ou g ht back on the basis that he had been signed to be t h e No . 1 choice af ter all. So far, so inaccurate. Barkas is now back out again because, according to Celtic boss Nei l Lennon, he needs more time to adapt to the physicality of Scottish football and is suffering from the restrictions placed on all of us during the pandemic.
Isn’t it actually the case Barkas suffers from an acute inability to save anything that comes his way and this has been an af f l iction he has demonstrated since he came into the team six months ago? It’s not the case
Lennon could go through the season without reward.
He must be in the running for the Quote of the Season for the message he delivered at his press conference prior to the midweek win over Hamilton Accies.
“I’m not happy with the way the season has gone so far,” he said.
On the basis that Celtic have lost the league, relinquished the Betfred Cup, failed to qualify for the Champions League and finished bottom of their group in the Europa League there is much to be unhappy about.
“But I’m very comfortable with my role and pretty determined we get the best out of the rest of the season,” he added.
Lennon should have only one target in mind and it is not the winning of the Scottish Cup for an unprecedented fifth time in succession, assuming the competition goes ahead.
That, for the shell-shocked Celtic supporters, would be the equivalent of losing a tenner and finding a pound coin.
The manager should be hoping his team are up to the task if fate decrees Rangers could win the league title that was supposed to be Celtic’s 10 in a Row at Celtic Park on March 20.
If that happens there will be banners where people used to sit in the bottom tier as well as the top tier at the ground when fans are allowed into matches next season.
Pick the bones out of that lot and send your complaints, otherwise known as your own opinion, to the usual address.
In the meantime, rest in peace, Doctor Jo.