Once a football club falls into a trap of poor results it’s easy to blame those at board level; that’s certainly been the case at Celtic this season.
The Bhoys have dominated for so long at the top of Scottish football with Parkhead constantly being filled with new trophies.
However, as we know, all good things must come to an end. A historic ten in a row has escaped the Hoops and they’ve now been usurped by their biggest and fiercest rivals.
Celtic may have won the treble last term under Neil Lennon but you can trace back their disastrous 2020/21 campaign to when he was appointed. Peter Lawwell and the boardroom weren’t ambitious enough and used a £10m compensation fee for Brendan Rodgers to lure Lennon back to the club instead.
His management was poor this term but Lawwell has hardly covered himself in glory either. The same goes for the recently departed Nick Hammond.
He left his role with Celtic a few weeks ago and is set to be followed by Lawwell who will retire from his duties as CEO in the summer.
[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/celtic-manager-transfers-eddie-howe-jesse-marsch-ryan-christie-siriki-dembele" title="Read the latest Celtic managerial updates, transfer news, rumours and gossip!"]
Dominic McKay is due to replace him but the former Chief of Scottish rugby has already begun his work behind the scenes.
Celtic’s hunt for a new manager has accelerated since he walked through the door but unfortunately, McKay is already on the verge of his first major mistake in the transfer market.
This has been an area of the club that they’ve fallen short in during recent years. Hammond and Lawwell brought both Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti to the club last season for instance.
The former has been a disaster between the sticks after a £4.5m move while Ajeti has found the net on just six occasions following the completion of a £5m deal.
Though, it would appear that Celtic never learn their lesson. The latest on the transfer front is that they are trying to finalise a swoop for Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy.
The Irishman has been on their radar dating back to last summer and now the Hoops hierarchy are in advanced discussions to sign him.
McCarthy is out of contract in a few months so won’t set them back in a similar way that Barkas and Ajeti did but it still doesn’t make it a worthwhile move.
Scott Brown will be leaving a heap of experience behind when he goes to Aberdeen but Celtic already have younger options to fill his spot. Ismaila Soro has been chomping at the bit for more minutes while Luca Connell hasn’t earned a single first-team appearance since signing from Bolton in 2019.
Add Liam Shaw into the equation and you have a trio of young midfielders ready to make an impact in the Bhoys midfield.
McCarthy is now 30 years of age and hasn’t played much football at all this season. The Palace general has featured on 13 occasions in the English Premier League, providing evidence that he hasn’t really set the world alight.
Brown has been one of Celtic’s biggest problems this season, being surpassed by quick and dynamic forwards on a regular basis. Take Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos last weekend for example who ran riot up against the midfield stalwart.
The last thing Celtic need right now is another ageing player taking up a high proportion of wages.
The Hoops are at a point where they need to look at younger alternatives for their squad, not players like McCarthy.