What happens next at Celtic might as well be sealed in a box in a dark corner in the Vatican Vault. Martin O’Neill has finally been announced amid talk of a breakdown in negotiations between the club and Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
A Picture Paints a Thousand Words, but Silence Speaks Volumes
A picture might paint 1000 words, but 100 words doesn’t paint much of a picture. Celtic fans have grown so starved of words from their club it's little wonder they pour over every one of them they get and then try to fill in the blanks themselves.
They got some of the ones they wanted yesterday with the confirmation that Martin O’Neill was remaining in charge. Brian Wilson also coming out was a step forward, even if the attack on the title celebration snipers was a masterful piece of misdirection. But plenty was left unsaid that still needs answering.
O’Neill’s appointment might be one of football’s worst kept secrets of recent weeks but what happens next might as well be sealed in a box in a dark corner in the Vatican Vault. There was no mention of O’Neill’s backroom staff in the announcement amid talk of a breakdown in negotiations between the club and Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
There remains a good chance those deals will be sorted and it would be slightly silly to short-change the duo given the importance O’Neill placed on the pair in salvaging the Double last season. There also wasn’t much – or anything—regarding a short-term plan, let alone a medium or long-term one.
No word on a permanent chairman, the shape of the board after Tom Allison retiring, or the head of football operations role – including what might happen to Maloney given he’s done about three of those jobs in recent months. Fans want to learn all that stuff, but, let’s face it, the real meat they desire is over transfers.
Transfer Troubles Loom Large
This Celtic squad badly needs a revamp and time is ticking. There was some hint at it from Dermot Desmond. The principal shareholder emerged from the shadows a couple of times last season, usually clutching a flame thrower to aim at former bosses or supporters. There was no need this time as O’Neill getting nailed down is good news in most fans’ books. But 100 words was all they got and little in the way of what happens next.
Desmond said: “The club will support Martin fully again across the close season to make sure we are well prepared to achieve domestic success and compete on the European stage.” That word ‘again’ is doing some heavy lifting there. What does it mean?
Will Celtic give O’Neill the same backing as they did in January? If that’s the case the Northern Irishman might need a magic wand and a prayer mat to get this side ready for the Champions League qualifiers. If four questionable loan signings and two short-term arrivals is seen as proper backing then the boss – and the punters – might want to take a deep breath.
If he means ‘again’ like when O’Neill first arrived in 2000, then supporters might want to form a line and do a conga down Kerrydale Street. The chequebook didn’t half come out during his first sting in charge. In year one, O’Neill spent almost £20m – which works out to around £43m in today’s money.
He perhaps shouldn’t bank on getting those kinds of numbers. In fact, there’s a decent chance it’ll be £20m again, which is about nine million quid in 2000 terms. And that has been an issue at Celtic. Never mind the famous Seville Calculator, Celtic still use the 2000 calculator when it comes to transfer fees and wages.
The highest earners at the club right now are on the same numbers the big hitters were on 26 years ago. It’s still a decent whack by anyone’s standards, but it makes the market tougher. O’Neill could compete with top flight teams in England back then. Now he’ll be up against teams from the English Championship.
It’s just as well Celtic have a world class scouting and recruitment department that can source these cheap gems in all four corners of the world…
Money Talks, But Actions Speak Louder
Money isn’t everything, of course, but it definitely helps. Celtic have spent it in the past. Brendan Rodgers spent £20m in his first summer back – albeit none of them apart from Yang Hyun-jun have stuck around. In his second term it was nearer £40m – with the balance sheet sorted by big sales from Matt O’Riley, Jota, Nicholas Kuhn and Kyogo.
Even last year, Celts stumped up £5m for Sebastian Tounekti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha, the less said about the latter the better. The £13m net spend after sales didn’t cut it, nor did bringing in most of them after Celtic were dumped out of the Champions League by a team from Kazakhstan.
O’Neill needs dosh and he needs it spent wisely and quickly. A fair chunk of the first team squad will report back for pre-season training in a fortnight, with the non-World Cup players the week after and while the Euro qualifier might look in the distance, they should know by now it comes around fast and it’s easy to be caught out.
Celtic have failed in seven of the last nine Champions League qualifying campaigns and how swift them move will prove to O’Neill – and the supporters – just where the ambitions lie. O’Neill knows fine well what he needs having seen the limitations last time out and he can’t have another window like the shambles in January.
The manager practically confirmed the capture of Fares Ghedjemis and Damir Redzic in the final few days of the window – only to be left red faced and handed a couple of last-day loan signings that ended up on the all-time list of Celtic flops. He also doesn’t need to be the one wasting valuable time sourcing recruits either after getting square eyes staring at clips and sore ears listening to agents.
It’s no way to operate. There were another few words from Michael Nicholson on that matter, with the rarely-heard chief exec also appearing on the O’Neill announcement. In his brief address, Nicholson said: “We have important challenges ahead and the immediate priority of everyone at the club is to ensure we are ready to tackle these with confidence and deliver success again for our supporters.” At least it was something, but actions will speak louder than words.
