For Celtic, the transfer window was one of frustration and a sense of loss.
Yes, it could’ve been worse. Ultimately, Odsonne Edouard didn’t go anywhere, and neither did Kristoffer Ajer. Our two most valuable players stayed put to try and salvage what’s left of this season.
Liverpool, for some reason, attempted death by a thousand cuts. Bizarrely, they swooped last-minute for a Championship defender, while snaffling one a promising Academy star in Liam Hughes.
Frimpong and Ntcham packed their bags, two players who still have enormous potential.
But the one bit of business Celtic fans wanted? Neil Lennon out the door. Yet, he remains Celtic manager. That’s absolutely confounding. We wrote at the weekend that after the embarrassing St. Mirren defeat, the Hoops manager was so clearly at fault for our dismal season.
And here we are; a match against Killie tonight, and who’ll be in the dugout? Neil Lennon.
Big Celtic transfer window opportunity missed
Honestly, would you sign for Celtic under the current regime?
Yes, I would too. I know. But let’s say you’re a young prospect or a European talent. Are you sold on the vision of a manager who consistently berates his players in public? A club which hasn’t just missed an opportunity to make history, we’ve acknowledged the door to 10IAR, and fallen over, knocking our head on the doorknob?
Frankly, no. You wouldn’t. There’s nothing we can do when Liverpool make moves for a long-term transfer target out of nowhere. If you’d predicted Ben Davies would join last season’s Premier League champions, I want your lottery numbers.
No, the biggest bit of business this January would’ve been ridding the club of its main problem. Neil Lennon clearly has zero idea how to get the best out of a squad that, just last season, won its 9th consecutive title. Instead of rallying the players to the cause, he’s systematically alienated them.
The best thing for this squad would’ve been a painful but cleansing change in the dugout. To transfer prospects, it could’ve been easier to sell the vision of being part of a rebuild, taking the club back to the summit of Scottish football with little pressure.
Instead, they were sold the “dream” scenario: we’re in crisis, and you’ll get publicly embarrassed by an incompetent manager. Do you have a pen, or do you need one of ours?
Celtic squad is weaker all-round
Our only incoming player was Jonjoe Kenny. Neil Lennon, for his part, is a long-term fan of the Liverpool-born Everton right-back.
Such a fan, that it took until the last day of the window to get him. Everton held all the cards, because the whole world knew we were desperate. Fun and games for all concerned.
But again, a new manager coming in for the start of the window could’ve made all the difference. Frankly, Celtic have been woeful since the calendar changed, and by this point there’s just no reason to have held on to the legendary ex-captain.
So, we go into the second-half of the season with absolutely no reason to be confident. The board have absolutely, comprehensively failed us here. Peter Lawwell has nothing to lose [BBC], but we’ve got an absent chairman who’s seemingly allergic to decision.
When the club have been in crisis, the man whose job is surely to ring the changes has instead… in fact, we’re not sure what he’s done instead. We’re not sure what Ian Bankier does in general.
What a sad, sad chapter for this football club. This Celtic transfer window has been dismal all-round. Fans have every right to be beyond words.
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