It seems that blessed Martin is being asked to extend his saintly oversight for a further year, with the option for another thereafter.
Martin is undeniable as a winner, a motivator and man manager. His talents are undoubted and delivery of a double with a squad as weak as we’ve seen in many years was utterly remarkable.
The stability he offers is to be welcomed, as is his popularity with the players. We are fortunate to have a man of his experience at the helm.
That’s the good news because, as we know, it’s not usually with the man leading the football team where things go wrong with Celtic.
Embarrassed by the Board
This ‘global recruitment search’ for a leader has been cringeworthy in its tin pottery. As I stated before, it appears that literally nothing was done to address this impending vacancy for over four months. The ‘executives’ meekly awaiting a diktat from Emperor Desmond and perhaps his beneficent largesse, as he deigned to brush managerial crumbs from his billionaire’s table into the path of a notoriously impotent board, who would no doubt see them immediately as they stare at their shoes, avoiding eye contact like frightened children.
My appearance on A Celtic State of Mind, where my forthright views on Robbie Keane were fuelled by the frustration and disgust that he was considered a favourite for the job, certainly gained enough attention and reaction on social media to be absolutely certain on his divisiveness as a candidate. Someone clipped the relevant section from YouTube (entirely beyond my technical ability) and shared it on X. I shared it elsewhere. I would guess it has over a hundred thousand views across all platforms just a day or so later. Fans were extremely animated on both sides of the dispute and had very strong opinions.
I understand many disagree with me. That is clear. However, for me, his moral failings in accepting a position in a racist, apartheid, ethnostate, for one of the most vile clubs and despicable fanbases in world football, before and during a generational slaughter of innocents happening only a short distance from his door, was an insurmountable obstacle. He was also a mediocre candidate at best. If he were not Irish and a former Celtic player there was simply no reasonable grounds to argue for his appointment based on his managerial CV.
It was always apparent that I was only one of many voices. The fans’ historic support for the oppressed in Palestine was a fair indicator that would be the case. There was a letter of protest signed by dozens of supporters’ groups in opposition to his appointment, and enough passionate disagreement online with the possibility of his taking the reins, that no matter what side of the argument you were on, the juice simply wasn’t worth the squeeze.
Was he deemed a liability by Desmond who is known to be a fan? Did Robbie himself see the very public negative reaction and decide to withdraw? I’d say we’ll never know, but in this information age we’ll probably find out at some point fairly soon.
I never understood the interest in Bellamy. To appoint a club novice when we’re facing a rebuild that will take tremendous experience to navigate, always seemed a waste of time.
Perhaps it was never serious. Perhaps interviewing a novice and a man who would have been unacceptable to a large percentage of fans, was simply to cover the blushes of a billionaire who finally realised he’s a busted flush in terms of football influence. Having made a laughingstock of the club with agents and players, his subsequent slaughtering of Rodgers, and his footballing advisers such as Alex Ferguson ageing out of the scene, he simply has no clue where to turn and no influence to exert. In fact, anyone doing analysis on what would be their working environment, would have perceived him as the biggest obstacle to their success.
However, to have subjected Martin to an interview process in the face of such inadequate competition was yet another flagrant disrespect. Only forgivable if it turns out Martin needed a great deal of convincing.
Managing Up
Facing a massive rebuild, an early Champions league qualifier and the disruption of a world cup, we must hope that Martin is not only backed with funds, but with the data analysis and support in recruitment and scouting that is fundamental to success in player acquisition and squad management.
Martin is not a believer in concepts such as XG, which seem foreign to his more traditional approach. However, when it comes to recruitment under the modern restrictions at Celtic, he’ll have to become a believer in data analysis quick smart. Simply scouting players physically is miles removed from what is necessary today.
What happened in January was hopefully a lesson for all concerned. It is true that Tisdale left the building with his work product, not that it was worth much. This left the coaching team (there was no recruitment team to speak of) scrambling to identify and secure deals in only a few weeks. Given that these deals can be worked on for years much less weeks, this was beyond dysfunctional and the outcome was abysmal.
Martin had stated his desire to watch each potential target in person, but as the enormity of the task became apparent, this was an idea soon abandoned. The almost impossible task of quickly identifying suitable targets within the club’s parameters, much less watching them in person, soon overwhelmed the coaching team who, it must be remembered, had something of a stressful day job as well.
Martin fell back on what seemed familiar. As I joked on my last blog, as his preferred deals fell apart under the familiar incompetent and obstructive ministrations of the CEO, CFO, and designated emperor, he opted for fairytale players. Those who were good ‘once upon a time!’
Signing out of favour players from the best leagues must have seemed an obvious last minute solution. However, unwilling to back the manager financially despite a double being on the line, Martin was left holding the bag with rejects that those clubs could not have sent packing faster if they had been sat in Bond’s ejector seat.
To be clear, Martin has no manager’s rolodex or current contacts. He has no knowledge of undervalued markets. Nor do his team. He has no familiarity with how modern scouting and recruitment teams use data to identify potential targets in places where no scouts have set foot.
With a massive rebuild facing us, the support Martin needs must be put in place urgently. There is so much known and currently unknown player movement possible, that a full recruitment team with a realistic budget need to hit the ground running immediately.
Martin must start by managing up. By now he must have realised that Desmond and his pointless minions are there to minimise his expectations and thwart his ambitions. We must hope that he has made demands upon Desmond prior to accepting his position, and that our monarch has a measure of respect for Martin’s judgement. However, these are the same false hopes we had upon the return of Brendan.
A Healthy Legacy
I also mentioned on that recent ACSOM appearance that I worry for Martin’s health. If you have relatives that age I doubt you would want them subjected to the scrutiny, pressure and relentless demands of an elite coaching job. In fact, I suggested that you could argue Martin should not be offered the job at all, given the club’s duty of care. However, Martin must believe he is fit for the task ahead, and we can only respect his opinion.
Secondary only to his health is his legacy. I fervently hope this cowardly board do not further disrespect him and besmirch his legacy by failing to back him. It was their actions that led us here and their decision to appoint him. To hesitate now, or approach his appointment in the same half hearted manner they did in January, is to ensure they besmirch and diminish the legacy of a man whose boots they are not fit to polish.
Like all of you, I wish a glorious future for Martin and our team.
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