Lennono, how did we get from that to this?
Rose, my niece's fella has just turned 30. Huge Celtic fan, but he didn't become a Celtic fan in the traditional way that the majority of us do. He made a conscious choice when he was a young lad and followed his heart.
As a consequence, he's supported Celtic through almost two decades of success excluding that period during the 'cheating hun bastard years'.
Success is not anticipated or expected anymore - success is now demanded.
I met my cousin in town yesterday for a wee blether and there was only one topic of conversation. Forget family, work or the pandemic........what aboot the Celtic? My niece's fella happened along and the conversation turned into a three-way. Being older, my cousin and I have a view on the right way and wrong way to do things, but the young fella has a different perspective on the subject.
When Lenny got the gig first time around, he was welcomed by the majority of support as one of their own. He did manage to bring back the thunder and over the next four seasons he pretty much had universal backing. Even when he announced his departure, he still had the support of the fans, it might have been the right time to go, but it also appeared that he was being hamstrung by the board financially and there were wee hints in his statements to back that theory.
It's no secret that there is a fairly big separation of ideals in the perspectives of those in the North Curve compared to those expressed in the boardroom. I think it's fair to say that the GB are not necessarily the biggest cheerleaders for the board, but it's also fair to say that the board aren't exactly doe-eyed over the GB either.
So this is where the conversation started to get a wee bit animated.
My cousin believed that Lenny being offered the temporary post to replace the snake was a soft sell to the fans. There might have been some mumblings of discontent, but it was a practical short-term solution that wouldn't cause mass chaos or revolt. He thinks the supporters acceptance was conditional though. The condition being that Celtic would appoint a permanent manager in the close season who would be high-profile and given the benefit of significant funding.
My niece's man had a slightly different take on it. He felt that Lenny would be the supporters representative and put up a solid resistance to the board, especially when they were threatening the GB with expulsion and slating them for their displays. They appreciated that this might not be evident during the temporary period, but once Lenny had been re-appointed in a full-time capacity, the younger fans believed that they might have had a supportive voice in the corridors of Celtic Park. It would seem that many of them have been disappointed that Lenny appears to have been domesticated and is nothing more than a lapdog for the board.
So there's a real irony in these two different slants.
My cousin was a bit ho-hum about Lenny's appointment initially, but now thinks the club should back him. My niece's man was enthusiastic about his appointment, but now thinks the club should sack him.
Personally, I don't think Lenny is solely responsible for where we are. I think there are a number of factors involved, but the buck generally stops with the manager and that's where the arrows are being pointed right now; however - it also appears that Lenny has also become the rope in a tug-of-war between the board and what seems to be a majority of the fans for the soul of the club.
I don't know any of the board. Don't really wish to know them. They don't strike me as being my kind of folk, but as long as they do their jobs correctly, then I'm fine with that.
I don't know any of the GB. It seems like their hearts are in the right place and they appear to have good intentions for the best part; however there are plenty of enemies outwith and within the club they could be targeting at the moment and they might have been better served giving that banner a wide berth for a week or two.
The truth is, I have a thousand and one questions, but I don't have any of the answers. Unfortunately - I think there's far more folk that are as confused as I am than there are those folk with a clear and viable vision for the immediate future.