SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

The title of today’s article refers of course to the award-winning film of the same name. It is almost forty years old now,and where did all those years go? It refers to a coup in Indonesia about fifteen years earlier,which saw a widely reviled but conversely also much loved political leader ousted from office. The very definition in fact of cultism,or cronyism. If you showed your love for Sukarno,you were rewarded-if you didn’t then you were banished or worse.

It took his successor years to rebuild the country. It was obvious that he couldn’t do it overnight,but that simple fact meant that he was failing to live up to the expectations of his supporters. While it may be stretching a point to draw the comparisons at Celtic,the obvious one is the removal of the cult called Lawwell and replacement by a new broom in Dominic McKay,a man of whom most of us previously knew nothing at all.

Lawwell’s many supporters have told us for years to be careful what we wish for,we won’t know what we had until he’s gone,build him a statue,etc. Sukarno was never tried for his failures in office,much like Lawwell won’t be. Like Lawwell,it later transpired that he had collaborated with the enemy.

DMcK can no more be expected to rebuild overnight a ravaged and corrupt football club than Suharto could when he took over. Unless “the fix is in”,a fix takes time. Dom has now been in office for all of a week-!-and so far we know little more about the man or his methods than we did in late January when his imminent arrival was first announced. What has he been doing since then,it surely can’t take that long to memorise the combinations to the biscuit tin and the scouting networks,and maybe put Dudu Dahan on speed dial?

Suharto had to rebuild a country,but it took him decades. Sorry,Dom-you don’t have that much time! It is a sad but true fact that football is a results business,if you stand still you go backwards,if we aren’t winning then our hated rivals are. We need at least a show of intent,that you aren’t simply content to cream in the money with your feet up at that walnut desk. We need in fact some justification that emdy would be better than that cult Lawwell!

Of course,Celtic fans aren’t the most easily placated,not for us the lapping up of an aggressive statement telling us that nobody likes us and we don’t care. Equally,I don’t believe we are stupid enough to expect an overnight miracle. As I said to my mates down the pub the other day,we can write off the forthcoming season,simply because the rebuild is too big for that quick fix. It’s not only that we need to rebuild the team,but also the structure of the club and indeed of the company. If you want a 67% return on your money inside a year,take it to Paddy Power and take the 4/6 on offer for the huns.

But don’t take the 2/1 on offer for them to win next year and the year after!

We are down but we aren’t out,and I suspect that the inactivity at Celtic is a result of quietly figuring out how to repair the damage,a much more preferable option than sticking a bit of Sellotape or superglue on it.

I’ve effectively written off next season. We need to be ready,rebuilt from top to bottom,for 2022/23.That doesn’t mean I’m going to give the players,management or executives a free pass until then. Far from it. I wrote this season off in October,but I still gave the lot of them both barrels since! There are no Get Out Of Jail cards in this game,Dom. While you won’t-IMO-be held responsible for the looming disaster of next season,by the start of 2022/23 you will have been in office for eighteen months. You really don’t want,in eighteen months when you are held responsible for your failures,to ask as I did at the start of the article,where the time went.

The Year Of Living Dangerously,indeed.

The Celtic support have welcomed you warmly,and with our heads held high in the same manner as our hopes. You have eighteen months,and with a clean slate,to right the wrongs of the previous regime. You might say that is an unrealistic target,too short a time span,an impossible dream. Well,take it from me,it will be a bloody never ending nightmare for us if you don’t!

No pressure then,Dom.

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Above article by BMCUWP