Ange Postecoglou wasn’t wrong when he said in February that people would be “surprised at how long I’m here”. Fewer than four months later, his departure to Tottenham Hotspur has come as a surprise. The big question is how much of a bombshell this is to those on the inside. Joe Lewis, the billionaire majority shareholder of Spurs, has acknowledged in the past that Dermot Desmond, the billionaire majority shareholder of Celtic, is a friend of his. This is a mighty challenge for Desmond, his chairman Peter Lawwell and his chief executive Michael Nicholson. Postecoglou had been linked with a move to England before, but this time it was different. As soon as it was established that Spurs were serious about the Australian being their choice to fix a club that has badly lost its way, there was only ever going to be one outcome.
Postecoglou had given the impression of a man who was going nowhere when he stood outside Celtic Park on the final day of the league season and quoted Tommy Burns. He had made all of the woes of the 10-in-a-row-season-that-wasn’t go away. He had taken charge, signed brilliantly, led strongly, created an adventurous and entertaining team, reconnected the fans with their football club and taken the heat off his bosses. He had given Desmond peace of mind. The club was in the safest hands.
The big question now is whether Celtic were ready for this or as ready as they could be. Is there a succession plan? After the drawn-out process in replacing Neil Lennon – a 107-day marathon that caused supporter outrage – have lessons been learned? Is there a list? Will the appointment be speedy? Or were they caught on the hop? Postecoglou had signed most of the players to play a specific type of football and understood how those players ticked. He had brought Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda over from Japan and through his command of their language and an understanding of their culture helped make them instant successes. He had turned Greg Taylor into a fine left-back, developed Matt O’Riley, found and improved Jota and Liel Abada and put them together with Kyogo in the starting line-up on their treble-winning day at Hampden. All three scored. In their two seasons at the club, that trio has delivered almost 170 goals and assists combined.
There is talk of Postecoglou wanting to take some of his assistants with him to Spurs. It’s not something he usually does, but the word is that John Kennedy and others might go. Celtic are resisting that and no wonder. Losing Postecoglou is tough enough but if they also lose a coterie of coaches who the players know and trust then that only adds to the conundrum Celtic face. They’d have no continuity, no wise counsel to mark the card of the incoming manager and tell him of the personalities he has in his dressing room.
This was a move to one of the giants of the English game, confirmed only when the treble was completed. It’s not an easy one for the fans to take, but it’s slightly easier. None of the visceral hatred that descended on Brendan Rodgers has been revisited. Postecoglou has been serenaded not savaged.
Currently you can read stories saying that Rodgers is interested, might be interested or is not interested at all. Everybody’s guessing. Kennedy might become an interesting player in all of this. The players like and respect him. He’s worked under Rodgers and Postecoglou and both of them rate him highly. He offers stability and cohesion. To head Spurs off at the pass, does he become a serious candidate to replace his old boss? The continuity candidate?
Postecoglou has left behind a champion team that’s just created a piece of history. On the pitch and off, the fundamentals are extremely strong, but how quickly that can change when poor decisions are made. Things can unravel in the relative blink of an eye. For Celtic fans, season 2020-21 is an everlasting reminder of that. The hierarchy didn’t want this day to come so soon, but their response is all that matters now. It’s the biggest call they’ve had to make at the club in two largely blissful years. The irony is that the most pressure the club has been under in two dominant seasons has been created by the exit of the man who relieved all that pressure in the first place.