Neil Lennon’s passion and fury for Omonia is admirable, but where was that passion when Celtic needed it the most?
There are many stories doing the rounds about Neil Lennon’s touchline bust up with the referee and opposition manager during his Cypriot Cup final win against Ethnikos Achna.
YouTube: NEIL LENNON EXPLODES AT OFFICIALS, GETS SENT OFF AND TELLS OPPOSITION MANAGER TO “F*CK OFF”
It’s great to see him so passionate and fiery and it’s admirable he cares that much about his new club.
It does make you wonder though, where was this kind of passion when we were 2-0 down to Ross County in the League Cup in November 2020?
More to the point, where was it when we lost to Ross County in February 2021 and it cost him his job?
There’s a lot of people today raving about how passionate he is in his new role.
Raving about how great it is to see again.
Raving about what good shape he’s in again after losing all the excess weight.
They have short memories.
Neil Lennon is hitting the heights he always does when he starts at a new club.
The question is, will his new role follow the same pattern all his previous roles have?
He started well at Bolton in October 2014, going on an eight match unbeaten run and saving them from relegation.
However, by March 2016, Bolton were rooted to the bottom of the Championship and Lennon and the club parted ways by mutual consent.
Stories afterward spoke of dressing room discontent and a disconnect between the manager and the squad.
Something we would become quite familiar with four years later.
The same pattern emerged again with Hibernian. He made a fantastic start, returning the club to it’s rightful place in the Scottish Premiership. They then finished fourth in the 2017/18 season, qualifying for the Europa league in the process.
In January 2019, Lennon was suspended by Hibernian following an exchange with other club employees.
By the 30th of January, he had left the club by mutual consent.
The pattern was very much the same as with Bolton.
Once again rumours of discontent in the dressing room arose and Florian Kamberi was the player named at the centre of the bust up between Lennon and his staff.
By the 26th of February, despite what happened at Hibernian, he was named as interim manager of Celtic once again.
Much to the shock of the majority of Celtic fans, Peter Lawwell chose to make his position permanent in the wake of the 2019 Scottish cup final on the 25th of May.
Most people knew that decision was a huge error of judgement and I don’t need to rake over the coals of what happened during his tenure.
Needless to say, it took on the same pattern as his two previous appointments and its a time most Celtic supporters would prefer to forget about.
Lennon himself shows no remorse for what happened in the 2020/21 season and to this day, he still maintains none of it was his fault and that the players downed tools on him.
He never seems to notice that this seems to be the common denominator at every club he’s managed at.
It makes you wonder whether the same thing will happen at Omonia?
He has started well, consolidating their position in mid-table after a shaky start to the season.
They lost only one league game after he took over and as we know, then went on to win the Cypriot Cup.
His next full season will most likely be the one where he’ll be most successful, what happens after that is anyone’s guess.
I ,for one, find it very hard to forgive Neil Lennon for what happened in the ten in a row season.
Many Celtic fans find it hard.
I would not find that so hard if he showed some remorse for his part in that debacle, but to date, he has not and it doesn’t look like he will either.
I wish him all the best in his new venture at Omonia.
Hopefully he finds a way to break the pattern which seems to have haunted him for most of his managerial career.
Maybe if he does, he might show some remorse for what happened at Celtic.
His temperament is still the same which is clear from the footage of his antics on the touchline. He needs to make sure that doesn’t flow into the dressing room.
Because we all know what happens when it does…..
Guy was a d is a complete fraud a d had no right! No right to ever manage our Great club a failure in my book Rodgers a d now she showed what should be a curved lennon blew so many big games and mostly against the self proclaimed ” diddy teams”! A d he always riked officials who were no friends of ours in any case be he compounded it! Also his weirdo behaviour and lack of respect for females is well know as is he drinking! How we appointed that is a utter disgrace a d he actually felt entitled! No humility no bond with fans and little entitled creating face fraud ” Cektic fan” ha ha Aye right Inagine what real living legends thought all this your Mcstays, Mcgrain, Aitkens thought even Grant! Lawell a totall bassa for giving that character the job twice! Treating us fans with contempt no body wanted him a d totally ruined a TREBLE! TREBLE! FOR EVERYONE TGSTS A FACT!
You are seriously doubting Neil Lennons passion for Celtic ??? Unbelievable
There were many negative reasons for that awful season in going for the ten.
You still want to stick the boot in to Lennon and never forgive.
Believe me you might think you know what happened that season but you do not know the half of it.
Still using his latest ventures to go after him again makes you not much of a fan.
Get some maturity man.
Eric Knott, are you kidding? Neil Lennon showed nothing but passion with Celtic!
He showed up day after day knowing there were knives in his back at all times and from so many unknowledgeable people, and respectfully, your statements put you right in that category too!
Neil risked his LIFE daily for Celtic!
He was only partly to blame for the failures of last season.
Neil Lennon was the most passionate Celtic man in years. Stop embarrassing yourself!
Well done Neil apologies for the so called CELTIC fans who turned against you totally forgotten the things that you had to endure off the park all the best for you and your family in the future
Good luck to the guy. Lots of reasons why 10 in a row never happened. Don’t pin it on one guy. Was a great servant for the Club.
To be fair I believe that NL
Was not fully focused in his last season in charge,possibly because he wasn’t getting support from board,,also problems with players causing discontent in dressing room to suit there own ends but thank you for your time as player and manager considering outside sources you had to live with day to day HH
Disgusting comments from the entitled and glory hunting wing of the Celtic support. Neil Lennon was attacked twice on our streets and once in a football stadium in Scotland. He was attacked by fans of Hearts, Aberdeen and the Ibrox club, giving lie to the myth that Anti-Irish racism is a West of Scotland phenomenon.
You provide a list of his failures, but no acknowledgement of his achievements as player and manager. He won us plenty of trophies and titles with passion, grit and an unwillingness to back down to those who saw themselves as his betters.
He managed Celtic to wins against Barca and Lazio. Yes, he failed at the basket case Bolton, but why was that the only job he was offered? Well, it had a bit to do with our entitled fans belittling him in the same way as the Scottish Media had, as a hothead snarling ball of aggression. Look at the row between McCoist (who got off scot free) and Neil. Ally disappears up the tunnel, unmolested, after starting the row, while the polis and officials intervene to restrain Neil.
Neil’s time at Hibs was successful- getting them a promotion and a 4th place in the SPFL and Europe.
Neil has to own a fair part of our 10 iar failure, whether you feel he has been sufficiently apologetic or not. But that has to be weighed in the round against his vastly superior achievements.
I credit you with admitting it was an “I for one” type of opinion but I genuinely believe that you have overestimated the numbers in our support who are like minded so, I for one, have written this to remind you that there are many who hold Neil in high regard and who can cope with a lost league without re-writing history to explain our anger.
Hey I backed him up off the park big time I lived in sydney at the time had a hun in tears for his vile perma rage!After I put him in his place! But That has nothing to do with him being a total crap manager which he was on both occasions, that’s the problem as we are good people we enabled him to use that as a pass! Look at his off field issues also some you turned in griff! Lennon way way worse especially at Bolton! So save us the bs cult like garbage!He was privileged to be at our club also for 99 percent of us he didnt merit it! Total under qualified also showed utter contempt for us fans how did! Stand by him during the poisonous hun campaign against him in the media to but dont deflect that to defend him ! He no right to ever manage Celtic! No right!
Neil Lennon should never in a million years have been given the job in such an important season. Of course the man has to be applauded for coming in and steadying the ship when Rodgers left. But in all honesty that should have been it. The deterioration in the team after that was frightening. His conduct in that horror season was disgraceful. Lying to the fans that he would go if things got worse and things got much worse and the guy seemed to dig his heels in even more. Turning on ex team mates who stuck with him through thick and thin when they saw the blindingly obvious. Slouching back with your feet up in the dug out constantly. Not to mention telling your player to fuck off live on tv, again while slouched in the dugout. Really passionate stuff that was from Neil. The I could go on and on . His conduct since he left our club and especially regarding our fans for me is unforgivable.
Also ” sftb” no entitled here and you ain’t no Celtic fan to say such bs!! Well not a real one anyway I love the club like all my family in friends seen it all ! Plenty bad times plenty we are the club but lennon! Geez peace man he was no ” Celtic man” anyway and only came cause of oneill and the money we know our Celtic men! Mcstays,Mcgrain, Aitkens , Burns even Davie Provan and wee Murdo way obove that clown so dont lecture real fans ,yeah he manage a team that got some results but that Lazio game was a Brendam team as was the TREBLE TREBLE! He didnt have a clue! Ronnie was a better manager also he was and most likely still is a piss head pub manager, he lost 6 semis/ finals at hampden to self proclaimed diddy teams and blew 2 leagues also, cant have it both ways he was only ever in position after Nottingham Forrest sacked him and Celtic being Celtic gave him a job then lawell saw he could micro mange even more after the mowbray debacle tho lennon was snide at this point sitting waiting as the back up plan, hence mowbray wanted him out of the club! He a wee weasel type running to uncle peter that’s who he is so shut up with your nonsense
Who cares what he does now? He’s gone and nothing to do with us. Still won’t admit to any faults or shortcomings for the 10IAR season. Hindsight says he should never have been given the job but let’s face it he managed to win trophies. Am just glad we are shot of him, who would take him over Ange?
Absolutely pathetic article! This entitled 10IAR nonsense is sickening! Neil Lennon is a total Celtic legend and articles like this, comments from our younger fans and our short memory fans make me embarrassed to be a Celtic fan. He bled for us as a player and won trophy after trophy as player and manager. You should all hang your heads in shame, I class you all as pretend fans!
My first Celtic game was 1983 vs Dundee Utd. I ain’t a young fan. I’m just giving my opinion. There are a lot of people divided on this subject, but everybody is entitled to their opinion.
Relax folks it’s awe in the past were back were we belong
I was a always in Lennon’s corner as a player some of the things that he had to put up with on and off the park was a disgrace. In my opinion he got two shots at managing our club that he should never have got as he had no managerial experience the first time around and for Lawell to give him it the second time in the showers at Hampden was gross incompetence. Putting all of that aside for a second and also allowing for the fact that losing the ten was a disaster, he won’t accept that any of it was his fault. If he was really a Celtic man he’d have walked after the Ferencvaros game when he threw the players under the bus and then backtracked to claim that wasn’t what he meant, at that moment he looked weak and the dressing room was lost. How he got through that is beyond me then the ignominy of losing 4-1 home and away to Sparta Prague that should’ve pushed him out the door but he clung on insisting he was the man to turn things round when Stevie Wonder could see his time was up. For him to be allowed to get to February was a testament to how out of touch he was from reality and the board’s contempt for the supporters that they allowed that too. Celtic made Neil Lennon a very rich man but he’s lost the respect of a large percentage of the fan base over his unstinting belief that he was blameless in our quest for the ten in a row being an abject failure.