Thread: Who do you blame for the state of Celtic?

Originally Posted by themaestro

The PLC is primarily to blame. Repetitive failure to strengthen from a position of strength is nothing but incompetence on their part. Continually hailed for the results of our balance sheets, these masters of the financial world who regard the term "Speculate To Accumulate" as the language of financial dim-wits. Instead, they ASSUME that the correct policy is to monitor The Huns and attempt to stay one step, and one step only ahead of them. Well, as the saying goes, ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and ME. Their policy is now bearing fruit - a woeful "product" on the park, alarmingly dwindling attendances and a general depression descending over Paradise. But, hey, we`re virtually debt free so everything`s o.k. NEWSFLASH - No it aint! We`re onto you and your dereliction of duty must be rectified post haste. We are now struggling in a league that is, quite frankly, garbage. Your "Yes Man" has departed, soon to be relocated at The Riverside.The writing was on the wall from the early weeks of his tenure. He was charged with the responsibilty of dismantling the remnants of a great team and proceeded to do so with gusto. 3 titles in a row pacified the masses but the more clued up amongst us knew this was a car wreck in waiting. Having unbelievably tossed away title No. 4, Strachan departed to the general relief of The Faithful who were underwhelmed despite the 3 in a row and 2 last sixteens. He had built truly built an SPL team - and that was his crime IMO, sharing responsibilty with The PLC who charged him with the task.I truly savoured our great CL nights as i knew they would soon come to an end and advised fellow Tims to do likewise and advised them that we would arrive at the point we have now arrived at. It`s not rocket science. You get what you pay for. The turmoil The Huns have been in merely provided the smokescreen for the downsizing of our great club. Mowbray now has to pick up the pieces. The jury is out on Mogga and he`ll be judged at the end of the season but i can`t help feeling sympathy for him for what he has inherited. His signings have been preety decent IMO but building a team can`t happen overnight, it must evolve over a few windows - will he even have the finance to do so? That said, i think it is a reasonable expectation to expect the League Flag to be fluttering over Paradise again next season even though we are poor because i believe The Huns are poorer. However, our players are now being asked to play football and they seem to be struggling with the concept.

I don't think you can solely blame the board ,

I think it started with MON giving the likes of Bobo and Thommo huge deals before he left

(we've only just got rid of Bobo £6million he's cost us in wages)

This ment there was less money for GS to spend both on transfers and wages which results in poorer quality players .

Then there's the poor spending by the managers like £4.5 million on Scott Brown

But the board must also shoulder some of the blame , some of the stories going about regarding PL and transfers would curl your toes .

But if you think we're going to go back to the MON era with players like petrov , sutton or Hartson you are dreaming , we simply cant afford that quality of player anymore

Originally Posted by Freedom

I don't think you can solely blame the board ,

I think it started with MON giving the likes of Bobo and Thommo huge deals before he left

(we've only just got rid of Bobo £6million he's cost us in wages)

This ment there was less money for GS to spend both on transfers and wages which results in poorer quality players .

Then there's the poor spending by the managers like £4.5 million on Scott Brown

But the board must also shoulder some of the blame , some of the stories going about regarding PL and transfers would curl your toes .

But if you think we're going to go back to the MON era with players like petrov , sutton or Hartson you are dreaming , we simply cant afford that quality of player anymore

I`m a realist and accept that the days of O`Neill with quality players such as God, Sutton,Thompson,Hartson,Petrov,Mjallby,Moravcik et al are long gone. As i stated, i savoured those days as i knew they would be shortlived. IMO, O`Neill threw down the gauntlet to The Board with the deals he offered, which they approved. Not long after though, they shit themselves. Had they backed O`Neill after Seville, things could have been oh so different. The man was prepared to take us to the next level, i`m talking final stages of CL on a regular basis, and virtually begged for the backing to do so publicly, but didn`t receive it. Not many of our fans seem to recall this but, for me, it was a watershed in our history - an acceptance by The PLC of our place amongst the also-rans and that O`Neill was fantasising, ore more realistically that there was no way they would fund his ambitions. Accordingly, O`Neill flogged a great but ageing team to virtual death as he had no option. Why replace ageing, but proven, quality with nothing much but potential given your budget?O`Neill departed to look after his ill wife. Strachan arrived and kicked out the high earners as a magical era came to an end. The enigma that is Bobo Balde refused to budge, as you touched on. The vast majority villify the big man. I don`t know if it`s because i`m a lover of the underdog, the villain or because i enjoy playing devil`s advocate - actually, no, it`s because he was a smashing centre-half who refused to be hounded out of the club and i wish we had him now - but he was worthy of the contract at the time. If you disagree with this, then it was the duty of The PLC not to approve it.

Not necessarily in this order but 1. THE PRUDENT FRUGAL GANG running the club.
2. Mowbray and Co. 3. Many players in the squad that lack quality.

Originally Posted by themaestro

I`m a realist and accept that the days of O`Neill with quality players such as God, Sutton,Thompson,Hartson,Petrov,Mjallby,Moravcik et al are long gone. As i stated, i savoured those days as i knew they would be shortlived. IMO, O`Neill threw down the gauntlet to The Board with the deals he offered, which they approved. Not long after though, they shit themselves. Had they backed O`Neill after Seville, things could have been oh so different. The man was prepared to take us to the next level, i`m talking final stages of CL on a regular basis, and virtually begged for the backing to do so publicly, but didn`t receive it. Not many of our fans seem to recall this but, for me, it was a watershed in our history - an acceptance by The PLC of our place amongst the also-rans and that O`Neill was fantasising, ore more realistically that there was no way they would fund his ambitions. Accordingly, O`Neill flogged a great but ageing team to virtual death as he had no option. Why replace ageing, but proven, quality with nothing much but potential given your budget?O`Neill departed to look after his ill wife. (1)Strachan arrived and kicked out the high earners as a magical era came to an end. The enigma that is Bobo Balde refused to budge, as you touched on. The vast majority villify the big man. I don`t know if it`s because i`m a lover of the underdog, the villain or because i enjoy playing devil`s advocate - actually, no, it`s because he (2)was a smashing centre-half who refused to be hounded out of the club and i wish we had him now - (3)but he was worthy of the contract at the time. If you disagree with this, then it was the duty of The PLC not to approve it.

I usually agree with you mate (apart from McGeady) but IMO there are a few flaws in your arguments.

1) Naka was brought in by WGS and was paid a handsome wage rumoured to be in the 20s, several other players also commanded high wages such as Graveson and Keane although both of these were unsuccessful purchases.

2) The description of Bobo as a 'smashing centre-half' is a little on the exaggerated side. I remember only too many times cringing at the big man as he made another howler or stupidly brought someone down. No doubt he is better than the current display from the Chuckle Brothers but things in the past always seem distorted when the present turns ugly.

3) See point 2, no-one not even Bobo could've expected the ridiculous package put in place by MON which has in my eyes soured my memory and respect for O'Neill.

But I do agree with your points about the board and Seville, they have been guilty of gross negligence for too long now and to be honest I think that's why GS left also. I think he knew the board were going to offer him nothing to spend after the Steven Fletcher debacle.

Originally Posted by themaestro

The PLC is primarily to blame. Repetitive failure to strengthen from a position of strength is nothing but incompetence on their part. Continually hailed for the results of our balance sheets, these masters of the financial world who regard the term "Speculate To Accumulate" as the language of financial dim-wits. Instead, they ASSUME that the correct policy is to monitor The Huns and attempt to stay one step, and one step only ahead of them. Well, as the saying goes, ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and ME. Their policy is now bearing fruit - a woeful "product" on the park, alarmingly dwindling attendances and a general depression descending over Paradise. But, hey, we`re virtually debt free so everything`s o.k. NEWSFLASH - No it aint! We`re onto you and your dereliction of duty must be rectified post haste. We are now struggling in a league that is, quite frankly, garbage. Your "Yes Man" has departed, soon to be relocated at The Riverside.The writing was on the wall from the early weeks of his tenure. He was charged with the responsibilty of dismantling the remnants of a great team and proceeded to do so with gusto. 3 titles in a row pacified the masses but the more clued up amongst us knew this was a car wreck in waiting. Having unbelievably tossed away title No. 4, Strachan departed to the general relief of The Faithful who were underwhelmed despite the 3 in a row and 2 last sixteens. He had built truly built an SPL team - and that was his crime IMO, sharing responsibilty with The PLC who charged him with the task.I truly savoured our great CL nights as i knew they would soon come to an end and advised fellow Tims to do likewise and advised them that we would arrive at the point we have now arrived at. It`s not rocket science. You get what you pay for. The turmoil The Huns have been in merely provided the smokescreen for the downsizing of our great club. Mowbray now has to pick up the pieces. The jury is out on Mogga and he`ll be judged at the end of the season but i can`t help feeling sympathy for him for what he has inherited. His signings have been preety decent IMO but building a team can`t happen overnight, it must evolve over a few windows - will he even have the finance to do so? That said, i think it is a reasonable expectation to expect the League Flag to be fluttering over Paradise again next season even though we are poor because i believe The Huns are poorer. However, our players are now being asked to play football and they seem to be struggling with the concept.

Excellent post Maestro

Originally Posted by Seoul Bhoy

I usually agree with you mate (apart from McGeady) but IMO there are a few flaws in your arguments.

1) Naka was brought in by WGS and was paid a handsome wage rumoured to be in the 20s, several other players also commanded high wages such as Graveson and Keane although both of these were unsuccessful purchases.

2) The description of Bobo as a 'smashing centre-half' is a little on the exaggerated side. I remember only too many times cringing at the big man as he made another howler or stupidly brought someone down. No doubt he is better than the current display from the Chuckle Brothers but things in the past always seem distorted when the present turns ugly.

3) See point 2, no-one not even Bobo could've expected the ridiculous package put in place by MON which has in my eyes soured my memory and respect for O'Neill.

But I do agree with your points about the board and Seville, they have been guilty of gross negligence for too long now and to be honest I think that's why GS left also. I think he knew the board were going to offer him nothing to spend after the Steven Fletcher debacle.

Good post Seoul Bhoy!

its hard to stay away for some people but for me i couldn't agree more the below average performance the lack of pasion in the team will drive more of us away and the way things are now we won't survive with gate numbers dropping and the loyal support that has been the back bone of this club under serious question.but where do we go no money to improve nothing to attract players with our old trump card of champions league football is goneand with this squad i can't see us getting it back soon.so its a double edge sword stay away and cripple the club and lose more ground in europe or stay and watch the board kill us off.

ive Said It Before And I"ll Say It Again, After Mowbray Came Out And Publicly And Spoke To The Press About How Bad Yhe Team Were It Is Quite Clear To See This Team Of Players Do Not Want To Play For This Man, So If The Celtic Board Had Any Balls At Allthe Should Bite The Bullit And Send Him Packing Now , Because That Is Going To Be The End Result Trust Me.


Gersav

Originally Posted by lupin43

from some one who doesnt live in scotland and cannot get to the games..tbh weeman might have a point...its pretty bad when u see a half empty stadium...i saw it this morning in the europa game and if us supporters can see it surely the people in power will see it too..

maybe then something will be done..

my hat goes off to u guys who constantly spend money going to games to watch that...at least i got to lay on the couch with a cup of tea and watch that pish

As some one who also does'nt live in Scotland, I am more concerned about the fact that our fan's are losing there houses and car's, than I am winning a fukcing Europa cup game.
Now you just lay on your couch with your smug look and your cup of tea, I fly over as often as I can to watch Celtic play, been tough the last 18 month's but this year is looking good.
You will still be laying on your couch with a cup of fukcing tea, mind don't spill it.

I blame the parents