What a week it has been at Celtic, once again.
Let’s be honest, there have been far too many periods at Celtic this season where the off-field noise has overshadowed what has been happening on the pitch.
A lot has been said about Wilfried Nancy’s reign at Celtic, and the baffling call from those in the Parkhead boardroom to appoint him as the manager at the start of December.
But whilst Nancy continues to take verbal pelters for his 33-day nightmare, Andy Townsend has fired shots at Celtic’s now-departed Head of Football Operations, Paul Tisdale.
Rate Pauls Tisdale’s performance as Celtic’s head of operations in the comments below.
'In my role I will be doing all I can to further develop our work across talent identification, development and analytics, always with the aim of ensuring high-level support of football performance.'
Andy Townsend left stunned by Paul Tisdale at Celtic
Celtic fans breathed a sigh of relief when Monday’s statement read that Nancy had departed after eight games in charge.
But the icing on the cake was Tisdale also leaving Celtic, but Townsend just can’t believe he was given the job in the first place.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Townsend stated that ‘words fail me’ that Tisdale was given a role at the champions of Scotland, as he questioned what exactly he was tasked with doing.
“Paul Tisdale at Celtic, I mean, how he even got the job, words fail me,” said Townsend.
“I don’t understand how he got the job of director of football at Celtic. He’s had one go with Wilfried Nancy, such a disaster, he’s gone as well.”
Name three players you would sell in the current Celtic side
What was said about Tisdale before he joined Celtic
For those who haven’t heard it, following Tisdale’s exit, Scott Brown has come out and spoken highly about him.
Now that’s Brown’s own interactions with Tisdale, who was also lauded and applauded before he moved to Glasgow.
Looking back on it now, this is what was said about the Englishman by Spurs legend Steve Perryman, as he told The Daily Mail in 2024.
“Paul is in the top three football people I have met for his intelligence,” said Perryman. “You meet people in football who have come from an educational background, and you think: ‘Yeah, but they haven’t played.’
“Then you see people from an educational background who look at players and think: ‘They’re not thinkers, are they?’
“The hard part is getting the balance between the two, and ‘Tis’ was – and is – a very, very well-educated football person.
“So, in terms of his judgement in situations, such as recruitment, selection, dealing with the board and players, he is excellent.
“He just had great judgment. Judgement in the boardroom, judgement in a trial match where you have 30 or 40 players and you only need three to make up your squad.
“Judgement in football is critical. And ‘Tis’ has the brain to get the best out of whatever job he is doing, and just does things right. He is honest, he is honourable, he is likeable, and he just does things right.”
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