There is every good reason to believe that Brendan Rodgers will be appointed as successor to Ange Postecoglou as manager.
Some will see this as a backwards step, a typical board reaction, and will not welcome “The Rat” back into the fold.
I see that possible appointment differently - and most importantly - a sign that there is a distinct learning curve in play at Celtic Park.
David Moyes senior once said “Son, the only thing guaranteed in football is disappointment” and that is true for young players, old players, coaches, managers, chairmen, owners and most of all fans.
The trick is to learn from any disappointments and make them infrequent and ultimately unimportant.
I believe DD and his satellites started to get the message that Ange was showing his knickers to other clubs so to speak several weeks ago.
Rather than wait and see, or gain an international award for dithering, as they have done in the past, the board, DD and Celtic started to take decisive action.
While Ange told the players he was definitely staying the jungle drums from elsewhere said his agent was speaking to Spurs.
DD and Bret Desmond appeared pretty quickly and put a new contract to him with some of the things you have seen on line.
Transfer budget agreed, new players targeted with discussions ongoing with agents, long overdue specialist facilities to be built at Lennoxtoun (the budget allowed for that is too low btw but once work has started this will be upped) and small stadium at Barrowfield etc.
All agreed but Ange started dragging feet and DD more or less said piss or get off the pot.
Celtic then started doing others things.
Note the re-emergence of Martin O’Neill in and around Celtic Park. O’Neill has no interest in getting back into football management but he has some business smarts, is a great communicator and has always retained a business connection with DD.
I believe he is currently (unofficially but officially if you get my drift) acting as Ambassador or Agent for Celtic and DD in footballing circles.
I understand he brokered a meeting between DD and Rodgers who met privately.
You will recall Rodgers appearing at the semi final v Rangers.
As mentioned on here he has always kept a house at Mugdock and as others reported he was there recently talking to contractors re renovations.
On Sunday night a business contact with fairly regular dealings with Celtic personnel told me that Brendan will be announced this week - with the smart money being on him returning with Chris Davis.
If John Kennedy moves Scott Brown may come in as part of the back room staff and Darren O’Dea moved up - as he is highly rated and well liked.
If Harry Kewell moves, as seems likely, a striker coach is to be found.
Some of the facilities at Lennoxtoun are of the kind requested by Rodgers 5 years ago but were stalled on by PL and discarded by Neil Lennon apparently.
But isn’t Rodgers a backwards step and what about his poor relationship with Lawwell?
Well maybe this is the most telling thing. Do you go backwards or forwards - and if going forward is the aim why would Rodgers be the right fit?
I believe Rodgers and Nicholson have a good relationship and always had so there is something to build on there which was more important than the issues with PL.
Add to that the fact that Celtic and DD in particular may well have Ben shown that their master plan thinking has to change from the days of PL being CEO.
The plan has to be more progressive, slightly more risky but at the same time incremental.
Could it be that DD prefers Rodgers as the devil you know in preference to others mentioned who don’t know SPFL but who are v good candidates?
The football and business plan is to ensure Scottish domination continues and an expanded financial gap between us and Rangers is achieved by regular progression in Europe preferably through CL, but if necessary in Europa league thus expanding Celtic’s profile across continents and media.
Australian, Asian and if possible USA merch markets to be improved bringing more revenue.
The new Manager needs to be appointed quickly and must be an attractive name to get targeted players to sign and to attract others of higher quality with the Ange plan to improve every position incrementally to be continued.
Rodgers can achieve that at least for a couple of years but perhaps the great lesson that Celtic PLC have learned is to expect the manager to change every three years or so but have Celtic ready to replace the outgoing incumbent with someone else who will build and build.
The scouting and development set up at Celtic is apparently years behind other clubs and where it should be. A report prepared two years ago highlighted the need to have more players come through the youth ranks to come into the first team. The success rate was not good enough - with not enough emphasis or money being spent on getting the best young talent early and getting them ready for first team football.
For example, Chris Davis saw Jeremy Frimpong play and 8 days later he was a Celtic player for buttons.
More money to be spent on researching young players who can be brought in from home and abroad and can then be nurtured, kept or sold two or three years down the line for greater player trading results.
That is the only way for Celtic to gain ground financially on mid tier teams from other European leagues.
I won’t start on the plans to really bring on the woman ‘s game as an additional source of revenue and drum up interest in the youth team so that they too are supported with young players getting used to playing in front of a crowd.
Hence the Barrowfield stadium plan.
All about incremental progression at every stage and in every facet of the business but with the primary target being to put the best possible team on the park and use all the clubs resources to achieve that at every turn - irrespective of who the manager might be.
We have been used to the idea that a figurehead - like Stein - runs the club, shapes the club, and defines the club.
Those days are gone.
In many ways the fans and their hunger shape the club and Celtic is big enough to be able to breathe it’s own air and define its own destiny in footballing terms if there is smart thinking in the boardroom - and yes it has to be modern and agile (as Ange said) and adaptable to personnel change - and that includes the manager - and chairmen and CEOs etc.
Brendan will fit the bill for a couple of years and if things go to plan the way they should Celtic will be in a different place again in 4 months and possibly in a position to go “further”.
What DD was looking at on the Hampden Pitch on Saturday was indeed the past, and you can always learn lessons from the past.
But it is the future that counts and Celtic must always plan for the future because one day that future will simply be a past from which you must move on from and strive for better.
In this regard Ange was right - we never stop - for anyone!
