A FINAL MESSAGE TO WILFRIED NANCY
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
They say that adversity can bring out the best and the worst in all of us. That’s certainly been the case for Wilfried Nancy’s short, chaotic and ultimately futile reign as Celtic manager.
The chants of “Nancy Get to...” (I’ll spare you the rest as I’m sure you get the picture) that were heard when we lost to Dundee United a couple of weeks ago were the low point for me.
Frustration is understandable, anger is natural in such situations, but personal attacks, in my opinion (and I stress it’s only my own opinion) cross a line that never should be crossed.
Wilfried Nancy had to go, But the Blame Lies with Those who Hired Him
Ultimately, there’s a debate to be had about how much Wilfried Nancy himself is to blame for all this. Would any of you reading this, regardless of how qualified you may or may not be for the job of Celtic manager, turn it down if it was offered to you?
I think we all know the answer.
The harsh reality is that, looking at his record with both Celtic and Columbus Crew, Wilfried Nancy’s teams have only won 4 games in all competitions since September. Not only is that level of form unacceptable for a Celtic manager, with the greatest of respect, if it played out over the rest of the season, Celtic would struggle to make the top 6 before the split.
Looking back in hindsight, Nancy should never have even been considered for the Celtic job to begin with. In all honesty, I think the departure last night of Paul Tisdale, the man who took most of the credit for recruiting Nancy, is just as, if not more important to Celtic’s future success than the removal of Nancy himself.
The unfortunate truth of football though, especially when it concerns a team as historically successful as Celtic, is that when a team fails, the manager and the players are the ones who cop most of the flack.
Think back to the last time Celtic had a collapse of this magnitude. There’s no denying that Neil Lennon’s place in Celtic history was damaged by the Covid season.
In reality, the damage was done the moment Chief Executive Peter Lawwell decided to offer Lennon the managers role on a full-time basis at the end of the previous season.
A quarter of century on from the John Barnes debacle, we still talk about how clueless he was about the size and scope of Celtic. We remember players like Mark Viduka and Eyal Berkovic allegedly “downing tools”. Few managers have ever crashed an burned as spectacularly as John Barnes did in that catastrophic season.
I don’t see much anger directed at the man who hired him though, Celtic’s Chief Executive at the time, Allan McDonald. Perhaps though, that’s because McDonald made good on his mistakes, by bringing in a certain Martin O’Neill for the following season.
Sometimes a job works out and sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t blame Wilfried Nancy for taking the opportunity to come to Celtic, even if it was an opportunity he should never have been given in the first place. I don’t blame him for trying to impart his footballing philosophy on his new club. Afterall, he enjoyed a decent level of success in the US and Canada doing just that.
Where I do think he carries some blame though, is with his inflexibility. It was clear about 30 minutes into our League Cup Final loss to St. Mirren, and Nancy’s 3rd game in charge, that the system wasn’t working. The players weren’t comfortable with it, and our opposition sussed it out very quickly.
I personally believe that unconditional and unquestioning loyalty to anything, be it a political idea, a theocratic doctrine or in this case a tactical formation on the football pitch, rarely, if ever, ends well for those involved.
I wish Wilfried Nancy nothing but success for his future, as I would hope most of us do. I believe there is a place somewhere in the footballing world where his particular style and formation will work. However, that is not, and never will be Celtic Park.
I hope someday, when the rawness of the current climate has abated, he and his backroom team could return to Celtic Park, as fans, and be treated with respect and hospitality.
It now lies with Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney to save our season. I believe they can, but the next few weeks will be absolutely vital. We cannot afford any more mistakes, on or off the pitch.