I begin with a confession. I am a Rangers fan. While I appreciate that this may hinder my ability to see the halo above Neil Lennon’s head, I am trying to do this with as little bias creeping in as is possible. This might be the reason why this blog is not about how Ally McCoist is a bad loser, but I feel there is more of an issue and controversy surrounding Celtic’s manager than the ex- Question of Sport captain. Regardless of my loyalties, I hope this presents a relatively balanced take on affairs.
The case for Neil Lennon:
He’s a good manager. After taking over from Tony Mowbray, Lennon has restored pride in the Celtic ranks and put a fire back in the players’ bellies. My initial thoughts when Celtic went unbeaten at the end of last season in the league were that this was simply a honeymoon spell brought on by his passion and desire to win, which had a visible effect on the players and that, soon enough, he would be found out for being the rookie manager that he is. Indeed, it seems that the Celtic board shared my concerns, giving him a 12 month rolling contract rather than the 3 or 4 year deal to which most managers are accustomed. However, despite a loss of form at the beginning of the season which, in hindsight, looks more to do with the incredible number of players Lennon has bought in his short time at Celtic and them needing time to settle rather than being a reflection of his managerial skills.
Celtic’s squad is too big and strong for the rest of the SPL. It is one built with Europe in mind. Perhaps Celtic’s lack of European football this season has kept them fresh and hungry for the SPL? I don’t know, but for games against the likes of Hamilton and St Mirren, there is something of a mis-match. It is a testament to him, however, that some of the players that have been brought in have been excellent. Izaguirre and Kayal are being linked to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool; Gary Hooper is being linked with an England call up; Majstorovic is now affectionately known as a ‘white Bobo Balde’ among the Celtic support; every time I see Kris Commons in a Celtic strip I wish he had signed for Rangers. The jury’s still out on Charlie Mulgrew though, particularly after his mishap against Motherwell.
Overall, I have been surprised by Celtic’s ability to push through and stake a strong case for the league thus far, especially in the games against Rangers, where Celtic have had Rangers on the back foot, except perhaps for the first Old Firm tie of the season. That is not to say the league is Celtic’s though, Rangers will put up a fight no doubt, but they are undoubtedly better equipped to deal with the injuries and suspensions which plague the latter half of the season.
On a personal level, I have heard that Lennon is actually a pleasant and charming man. Indeed he has broadly had a good relationship with the Rangers half of the Old Firm, in the public eye at least. Also, he hasn’t lost his temper in every game this season, despite the perception of some that he is something of a headcase. There is only so much one can say about someone personally without ever having met him, but, for this is more for the sake of balance, as his behaviour forms the entire case against him.
The case against Neil Lennon:
In Lennon’s first season, he has courted more media attention than I can remember any manager receiving from a nation’s press since Mourinho’s arrival at Chelsea. Mourinho received such attentions because of his implausible claim to be the ‘Special One.’ Lennon’s appointment at Celtic came with the overture that he would ‘bring back the thunder’ to Celtic Park. Despite Celtic’s good form, however, this is not the first thought that springs to mind when Lennon is mentioned.
The first thought is ‘referees’. The saga that Celtic, propelled by Lennon, played out, making allegations of bias against Celtic from referees was ridiculous. I’m not going to say an awful lot about this, because I would hope this is an opinion shared by most. By portraying the club to the world as victims of some great injustice, Lennon not only brought the game into disrepute, but also demonstrated his lack of maturity as a manager. For the duration of referee-gate, we saw the other SPL managers, while they might be angry about individual decisions in a game, they denied that there is any institutional bias against Celtic. Gordon Strachan, when asked recently if he felt there was a bias against Celtic by referees, responded:
In shouting and swearing at referees, Lennon not only brings shame upon himself and his club, but on Scottish football as a whole. His conduct on Wednesday night seriously asks questions as to whether he is capable of handling the pressure that comes with being a manager. When have we ever seen Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger ready to decapitate one another after a hard fought match? Even if Lennon and McCoist did share a post match glass of wine, they must be mindful of the position of responsibility and influence they hold.
I include McCoist, regretfully, in the following analysis, mainly because it is impossible to know what would have happened had Walter not held McCoist back when Lennon and Diouf were having words after Whittaker’s sending off.
As manager of Celtic, if you are going to behave in a way which is inappropriate for a manager, be it resorting to violence or disrespecting referees, this rubs off on your team. Celtic’s players were a credit to the club on Wednesday, which says a lot for them. However, it seems as if their behaviour is down to their own personalities rather than looking to the touchline for inspiration.
You also need to be mindful that there are 60,000 people watching and, if the game is violent, a minority of fans will be inclined to take this violence out of the stadium and on to the streets afterwards. Many of the fans will be impressionable children, who see footballers as role models and, as a result will believe that, because their idols are indulging in handbags, then it is perfectly reasonable for them to do the same in their own lives. 187 arrests after the game and 34 during the game speaks for itself. The Scottish Police Federation asking for future Old Firm games to be held behind closed doors due to this violence, and spikes in domestic violence cases on Old Firm days, shows the extent to which this violence doesn’t stop on the pitch.
Lennon shouldn’t have been getting involved with Diouf. If Diouf was the last man on the pitch, one gets the impression that he would still find a way to get himself sent off, but that is no excuse for Lennon shouting back. While McCoist was rightfully angered by this, be it a deliberate tactic to try and rile Diouf into getting sent off or not, he should also have known better than to react. Kudos to Walter for holding him back. The fisticuffs at the end between Lennon and McCoist looks to have set the scene for next season’s Old Firm battles, although it is a little worrying how easily Lennon can manipulate his face to look like a Bond villain.
To conclude:
Lennon is banned for the next four games, including the League Cup Final against Rangers, and this is perhaps just as well, as it gives everyone a chance to calm down. Next season, one can only hope that the two rookie managers of the Old Firm are able to keep it together to provide an entralling contest rather than a brawl.
Lennon clearly has potential as a manager. There is no doubting that, but he has a lot of growing up to do. He needs to realise that he hasn’t been given the latest edition of Football Manager for Christmas, where it is ok to shout at the screen when one is aggreived, because there is a real life recipient of these shouts. I hope, for the sake of Scottish football, that the Lennon/McCoist rivalry is a great one, and one which restores pride in Scottish football, rather than the scenes that were beamed across the world on Wednesday.
The case for Neil Lennon:
He’s a good manager. After taking over from Tony Mowbray, Lennon has restored pride in the Celtic ranks and put a fire back in the players’ bellies. My initial thoughts when Celtic went unbeaten at the end of last season in the league were that this was simply a honeymoon spell brought on by his passion and desire to win, which had a visible effect on the players and that, soon enough, he would be found out for being the rookie manager that he is. Indeed, it seems that the Celtic board shared my concerns, giving him a 12 month rolling contract rather than the 3 or 4 year deal to which most managers are accustomed. However, despite a loss of form at the beginning of the season which, in hindsight, looks more to do with the incredible number of players Lennon has bought in his short time at Celtic and them needing time to settle rather than being a reflection of his managerial skills.
Celtic’s squad is too big and strong for the rest of the SPL. It is one built with Europe in mind. Perhaps Celtic’s lack of European football this season has kept them fresh and hungry for the SPL? I don’t know, but for games against the likes of Hamilton and St Mirren, there is something of a mis-match. It is a testament to him, however, that some of the players that have been brought in have been excellent. Izaguirre and Kayal are being linked to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool; Gary Hooper is being linked with an England call up; Majstorovic is now affectionately known as a ‘white Bobo Balde’ among the Celtic support; every time I see Kris Commons in a Celtic strip I wish he had signed for Rangers. The jury’s still out on Charlie Mulgrew though, particularly after his mishap against Motherwell.
Overall, I have been surprised by Celtic’s ability to push through and stake a strong case for the league thus far, especially in the games against Rangers, where Celtic have had Rangers on the back foot, except perhaps for the first Old Firm tie of the season. That is not to say the league is Celtic’s though, Rangers will put up a fight no doubt, but they are undoubtedly better equipped to deal with the injuries and suspensions which plague the latter half of the season.
On a personal level, I have heard that Lennon is actually a pleasant and charming man. Indeed he has broadly had a good relationship with the Rangers half of the Old Firm, in the public eye at least. Also, he hasn’t lost his temper in every game this season, despite the perception of some that he is something of a headcase. There is only so much one can say about someone personally without ever having met him, but, for this is more for the sake of balance, as his behaviour forms the entire case against him.
The case against Neil Lennon:
In Lennon’s first season, he has courted more media attention than I can remember any manager receiving from a nation’s press since Mourinho’s arrival at Chelsea. Mourinho received such attentions because of his implausible claim to be the ‘Special One.’ Lennon’s appointment at Celtic came with the overture that he would ‘bring back the thunder’ to Celtic Park. Despite Celtic’s good form, however, this is not the first thought that springs to mind when Lennon is mentioned.
The first thought is ‘referees’. The saga that Celtic, propelled by Lennon, played out, making allegations of bias against Celtic from referees was ridiculous. I’m not going to say an awful lot about this, because I would hope this is an opinion shared by most. By portraying the club to the world as victims of some great injustice, Lennon not only brought the game into disrepute, but also demonstrated his lack of maturity as a manager. For the duration of referee-gate, we saw the other SPL managers, while they might be angry about individual decisions in a game, they denied that there is any institutional bias against Celtic. Gordon Strachan, when asked recently if he felt there was a bias against Celtic by referees, responded:
“I’m sorry, I could not agree with the suggestions of institutional bias against Celtic. It did not exist when I was the manager.Enough about referees. While Lennon’s proclaimations about referees might, in time, be laughed off as him being a young, passionate, eager manager, his behaviour in the dug out cannot be laughed off as easily. Today, Lennon was successful in appealing a 6 match touchline ban for misgivings against the referee and fourth official against Hearts to a 4 match ban. Rather than being cause for celebration, this should serve, in the light of the Old Firm game on Wednesday night, as a reminder that it is not the first time Lennon has lost the rag in a match.
I may have felt there was one referee who didn’t like me very much but that was more about a clash of personalities rather than something sinister.”
In shouting and swearing at referees, Lennon not only brings shame upon himself and his club, but on Scottish football as a whole. His conduct on Wednesday night seriously asks questions as to whether he is capable of handling the pressure that comes with being a manager. When have we ever seen Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger ready to decapitate one another after a hard fought match? Even if Lennon and McCoist did share a post match glass of wine, they must be mindful of the position of responsibility and influence they hold.
I include McCoist, regretfully, in the following analysis, mainly because it is impossible to know what would have happened had Walter not held McCoist back when Lennon and Diouf were having words after Whittaker’s sending off.
As manager of Celtic, if you are going to behave in a way which is inappropriate for a manager, be it resorting to violence or disrespecting referees, this rubs off on your team. Celtic’s players were a credit to the club on Wednesday, which says a lot for them. However, it seems as if their behaviour is down to their own personalities rather than looking to the touchline for inspiration.
You also need to be mindful that there are 60,000 people watching and, if the game is violent, a minority of fans will be inclined to take this violence out of the stadium and on to the streets afterwards. Many of the fans will be impressionable children, who see footballers as role models and, as a result will believe that, because their idols are indulging in handbags, then it is perfectly reasonable for them to do the same in their own lives. 187 arrests after the game and 34 during the game speaks for itself. The Scottish Police Federation asking for future Old Firm games to be held behind closed doors due to this violence, and spikes in domestic violence cases on Old Firm days, shows the extent to which this violence doesn’t stop on the pitch.
Lennon shouldn’t have been getting involved with Diouf. If Diouf was the last man on the pitch, one gets the impression that he would still find a way to get himself sent off, but that is no excuse for Lennon shouting back. While McCoist was rightfully angered by this, be it a deliberate tactic to try and rile Diouf into getting sent off or not, he should also have known better than to react. Kudos to Walter for holding him back. The fisticuffs at the end between Lennon and McCoist looks to have set the scene for next season’s Old Firm battles, although it is a little worrying how easily Lennon can manipulate his face to look like a Bond villain.
To conclude:
Lennon is banned for the next four games, including the League Cup Final against Rangers, and this is perhaps just as well, as it gives everyone a chance to calm down. Next season, one can only hope that the two rookie managers of the Old Firm are able to keep it together to provide an entralling contest rather than a brawl.
Lennon clearly has potential as a manager. There is no doubting that, but he has a lot of growing up to do. He needs to realise that he hasn’t been given the latest edition of Football Manager for Christmas, where it is ok to shout at the screen when one is aggreived, because there is a real life recipient of these shouts. I hope, for the sake of Scottish football, that the Lennon/McCoist rivalry is a great one, and one which restores pride in Scottish football, rather than the scenes that were beamed across the world on Wednesday.
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