16 days ago ( Saturday 3rd June 2023 ) Celtic FC set a new world record on winning their eighth treble. The Scottish Cup Final finished in the evening with Celtic winning 3-1 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Ange Postecoglou, the man who constantly beat on his chest in front of the television cameras and Celtic faithful at the conclusion of every match, who repeatedly mimicked kissing the shirt badge and even quoted the great Celtic legend, Tommy Burns - spent the following day in contract negotiations on becoming the next Tottenham Hotspur manager. Incomprehensible.
24 hours later Ange signed a four-year management contract with Spurs and the rest is history. Postecoglou dismissed the lightning speed of signing for the North London club as simply ' business '.
Like a lot of fellow Celtic supporters, I feel equally ashamed, frustrated and deeply disappointed with myself for believing Ange would stay the course of time and rewardingly join the list of Celtic greats. The Cypriot / Aussie fooled most of us and I felt like I'd been mugged on a Saturday night in Glasgow.. I believed he savoured every second of being our manager. After all, this is Glasgow Celtic FC a truly unique football club which presently ranks in the top 50 wealthiest football clubs on the planet. I wrongly convinced myself Postecoglou was relishing the forthcoming Pre-Season Asian Tour followed by the much anticipated Champions League adventure. I dismissed all the tabloid and internet rumours of Ange moving on as desperate wishful thinking on behalf of Scotlands Shame .
Ange's antics portrayed him as a true future Celtic man destined for greatness. Nobody in their right mind would sacrifice his position for a club which has only won the English League title twice in its entire history. He certainly wouldn't sacrifice greatness for an increased pay offer. How much money would he require to maintain his life of luxury having sold his luxurious £Million home back in Australia in the same week he signed for Spurs. How on earth could he have been so fortunate to achieve all this within a 48 hour period unless that is............
That was before the Celtic board were forced into publicly admitting to offer Postecoglou long-term deals to replace his diminishing 12-month rolling contract. In fact, the board tried on numerous occasions over the 2022-2023 season to tie him down long-term, each time improving on the previous terms and conditions. The board were genuinely prepared to offer the man the best deal ever put on the proverbial table to a Celtic manager.
Ange Postecoglou dismissed all offers out of hand declaring he wasn't interested in signing up to perceived long-term two or three-year contracts. He was happy to go with the existing 12-month contract regularly offered to previous Celtic managers.
No fan can accuse the board of failing in their duties. They tried everything in a timeous and professional fashion yet to no avail. The hierarchy was then forced into silence. They would be forgiven for suspecting Postecoglou viewed his Celtic position as nothing more than a two-season stepping stone towards management in the English Premier League. It would prove another painful lesson to the board on running a business, especially after the Brendan Rodgers fiasco some four years earlier. The fans were oblivious to the drama behind the scenes whilst publicly idolising the man from down under.
A fortnight later ( Monday 19th June 2023 ) the board at Celtic FC reappointed Brendan Rodgers as the Celtic manager on a 3-year deal. The phrase " fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me " immediately sprung to mind. This is the same man, who, at the business end of the 2019-2020 season, when Celtic were striving to win another domestic treble, suddenly deserted our club overnight by signing as manager of Leicester City in the English Premier League. A few weeks later the Green Brigade produced a banner at Tynecastle aimed at Rodgers which read " You traded mediocrity for immortality. Never a Celt always a fraud ". To his credit, Rodgers guided Leicester City to an English FA Cup triumph at the end of season 2020-2021 then sacked two seasons later on Leicester Citys relegation to the English second-tier Championship.
History will determine whether returning to Celtic was the correct decision by the Board or indeed Rodgers. The Irishman was appointed our leader so we must back the team unreservedly from the terraces and stands as we invariably do.
Whoever the Celtic manager is moving forward, I'll always maintain he or she accepted their privileged position out of financial greed or fame but never authentically grasp what our club is about. They will only hold that lofty position of power for a short period of time whilst devoid of any loyalty. They will inevitably be sacked or more than likely move back to the English Premier League in the years that follow. To quote the new Spurs manager, for however long he lasts in that position, it's merely ' business '.
The only loyal person worthy of kissing the badge is the world-wide family of Celtic fans - the backbone of our club. We work week in and week out to pay homage to our heroes, to fund the cost of our season ticket, follow the team all over the world or support them from afar whilst buying their merchandise. We pay an ever-growing number of television channels just to watch the bhoys ply their trade on a football pitch when we can't attend in person. We find ourselves reading countless blogs on the internet as a daily ritual absorbing as much information about our beloved club as we can whilst acknowledging most stories are simply reworded garbage. Our insatiable hunger for all things Celtic is never-ending. Marriages and families break up over the money spent following this club of ours. We sacrifice so the club can prosper.
The days of true Celtic diehard managers such as Willie Maley, Jimmy McGrory, Jock Stein, Billy McNeill, Tommy Burns, Martin O'Neill and Neil Francis Lennon ( who arguably sacrificed the most on a personal basis for being the manager of Celtic ) are long gone.
