THREAD:

Neil Lennon’s second reign at Celtic and the games which have shown us how much we’ve regressed in those 18 months as a football club and why he needs to go now.

(Words on the board and the bigger war at hand for Celtic fans is at the end of this thread).

There have been some big ups during Neil Lennon’s second reign (treble treble, Lazio, 2-0 at Ibrox, 9 in a row come to mind) but for the past 18 months, we cannot disguise the fact that there haven’t been cracks appearing ever so slightly that have now truly shown this season.

I will no doubt miss some games and off-field moments from the manager and/or board but this thread is specifically focusing on games and transfers since that night at Tynecastle up to that shambles on Sunday and show why the writing has been on the wall for Neil Lennon.

Neil Lennon’s first game back at Celtic Park ends in a bore draw with Aberdeen. Only third game back in charge so harsh to judge but only managing 2 shots on target at home when chasing the title and struggling to break down organised teams was a sign of the future to come.

Very late winner against Dundee sent the away end nuts as we extended our lead over Rangers but my goodness, the struggle to break them down for 94 minutes was brutal to watch and perhaps not the best performance to boost Lennon’s credentials to get the job full time.

A big late winner that took us ever so closer to 8 in a row, however it was nervy and frustrating to see them go down to 10 men, have us seriously under the cosh, equalise then look the most likely to get the winner (although to be fair, the result was all that mattered)

Some big misses from Oli Burke especially cost us 2 points against Livingston but yet again, another sideways and backwards performance to trudge through for 90 minutes. The title getting closer and closer but we’re dragging ourselves over the line and not helping Lennon’s cause.

Another goalless draw (our 3rd in Lennon’s 9th game) with yet another performance that showed little signs of style, energy and creativeness. The opinion that Lennon cannot be the long term answer is slowly growing by each game as we are struggling towards the title.

Clinching 8 in a row at Pittodrie with as convincing a win as you could ask for was a perfect day at the office... but I think a number of the 1800 there who were also singing Lenny’s praises in the moment were all thinking “the board will hear this and think we want him now”

No derby game is meaningless as this one at Ibrox showed. Outclassed, outfought and out the game within the first 90 seconds. Our first loss in 12 under Lennon but another derby with him where we looked second best all over only signalled discontent towards him getting the job.

The greatest euphoria to the biggest deflation. What should have been the final shot of the treble treble; Lenny lifting that cup high as he bid farewell, instead led to him being offered the manager’s job in the shower at Hampden Park.

This was the beginning of our regression.

£10m in signings nowhere near the team, our best midfielder at LB and conceding 4 goals to the Romanian champions was an embarrassing European night for us. Over £20m lost in UCL revenue and Lennon already under fire for falling at the first major hurdle of the season.

The reaction from Cluj was a struggle to get past Dunfermline via extra time in the cup. The banner targeting the board and manager was the main focus pre-match, the poor performance and lack of tactics during and that centre circle team talk post-match was a pure public stunt.

All that mattered was winning the cup and what a day it was. But we all know 99/100, that performance leads to us losing 3/4 nil. Outplayed and shitting it the full game, this was a close call that we hoped Lennon would learn from and not let happen again... it was not the case.

3 weeks on, we managed to play worse than we did at Hampden. Rangers got their reward this time and put themselves firmly on our tail going into the winter break. Lennon did not learn from his mistakes 3 weeks before and this time was fully punished.

Another big test failed.

After a 1-1 draw in Denmark, it was only fitting that Celtic would bottle it at home a week later. Another big game failed by Lennon and failure to progress us further in Europe confirmed fears Lennon could not take that next step and make us into a major European force.

After selling KT for £25m, we spent over £20m in both windows. £7m Jullien was a hit as well as cheap gems like Frimpong but we failed to establish a replacement for KT with the arse end of £5.5m spent on 2 players and wasted decent money on Klimala/Soro. Very hit and miss.

The board sold no big players and gave Lennon £15m during a pandemic, one of their few goods during his reign, meaning the blame lies firmly on Lennon as to why we spent £13m on 3 players who haven’t been seen much and why the fuck we paid a £2m fee and 65k a week for Duffy.

The 2020/21 season is 23 games old and this thread is pointing out TWELVE of them to highlight why Lennon has seriously regressed us a team. For a club like Celtic to look at around 52% of our games by December to highlight how shit we’ve become is an absolute disgrace.

Twitter only allowing another 5 tweets means I need to mash 4 games into 1 tweet each over the next 3. Tbh nothing really needs said in detail about them, we know ourselves from watching this virtual season what problems each game has brought from the manager/players/board.

First 2 games were like pulling out teeth trying to watch, dropped 2 points with Killie but scraped past United. Then Ferencvaros. ANOTHER £20m lost and ANOTHER big test failed by Lennon. Riga disposed of in Europa but relying on a late Moi goal to stop ET was not good enough.

Sarajevo went along same lines as Riga then a win salvaged in Perth late on. Rangers next, fans roared them in and they rewarded us with 0 SHOTS ON TARGET in a home derby as we were swept aside. Another 2 points dropped at Aberdeen and Lennon was now under real pressure by fans.

It only got worse. 8-2 on aggregate over 2 games with Sparta Prague. We stole a point in the capital off Hibs then Ross County in the cup. The real tipping point for a LOT of fans who made their voices heard on Sunday night and demanded the heads of manager/board/even players.

Final words on the situation below. Neil Lennon will always be remembered for his service to Celtic over 2 decades but sentiment can’t ruin the progress of this football club and he must go. The board have slept at the wheel and they must be next out the door.