MON Quits Celtic!!!

[WhitleyBay_Fox]

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/LIST.ASP?HLID=280341

 

[WhitleyBay_Fox]

Apologies for the explanation marks, I didn't think he would leave so soon.

 

[MKFox]

Doesn't seem like 5 years.

 

[Babylon]

Doesn't seem like 5 years.

that's because most city fans are still living in the past!!!

 

[Durham Fox]

Doesn't seem like 5 years.

I was just thinking that......isn't that what happens when you get old? Time flys and all that...

 

[lazzer]

i wish him and his family well :-(

 

[highland fox]

Best wishes To MON and his family.Somethings are far more important than Football..

 

[Ox Fox]

Hope everything works out for him and his family.

I have no doubt he'll be back in football at one of the 'big clubs' in England before too long.

Does anyone remember that when MON joined Celtic a lot of the fans were moaning on the message boards that he wasn't good enough for them and how they 'deserved' a big name manager. Wonder how they feel now?

BTW does CL know that Neil Lennon will almost definately be off as well now and would we want him back?

 

[Durham Fox]

Hope everything works out for him and his family.

I have no doubt he'll be back in football at one of the 'big clubs' in England before too long.

Does anyone remember that when MON joined Celtic a lot of the fans were moaning on the message boards that he wasn't good enough for them and how they 'deserved' a big name manager. Wonder how they feel now?

BTW does CL know that Neil Lennon will almost definately be off as well now and would we want him back?

We have got Kisnorbo now :roll:

 

[drummindefender]

Strachen has been confirmed as his replacement.

 

[drummindefender]

Hope everything works out for him and his family.

I have no doubt he'll be back in football at one of the 'big clubs' in England before too long.

Does anyone remember that when MON joined Celtic a lot of the fans were moaning on the message boards that he wasn't good enough for them and how they 'deserved' a big name manager. Wonder how they feel now?

BTW does CL know that Neil Lennon will almost definately be off as well now and would we want him back?

I heard a rumour that wigan are after him anyway

 

[foggyhorse]

Confirmation that Martin O'Neill is to resign as Celtic manager brought to an end the longest-running thread of football speculation in recent memory.

As O'Neill would often remark to questioning reporters, rumours of his departure from the club have been rife almost since the day he arrived.

The circumstances in which he finally is to leave are tragic - a fact that has even been reflected on Rangers supporters' messageboards.

There, well-wishers have put aside the customary hatred to offer their regret at the nature of O'Neill's wife's illness.

Despite seeing their side pip O'Neill's to the SPL title last weekend, many Rangers fans will be otherwise pleased to see the back of the man who won three SPL trophies in his five-year stay.

Indeed, he has presided over the club's most successful era since Jock Stein led them to nine consecutive league triumphs and a European Cup win.

His success was all the more notable given what preceded it - the sacking of John Barnes after the club's most ignominious defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

So it was that O'Neill arrived in the summer of 2000 after cutting his managerial teeth at Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich and Leicester City - where he won a League Cup.

The charismatic Northern Irishman was a welcome addition to the rich tapestry that is Scottish football - as long as you didn't expect a straight answer, or one that lasted under two-and-a-half minutes.

He was portrayed as something of a football intellectual - he had studied law before packing that in to get a 'proper' job as a football player.

The Scottish media, who had to put up with a couple of months of drawing teeth at Kenny Dalglish's news conferences, were delighted at the arrival of this genial but rambling exponent of Clough-style management.

The Celtic board handed O'Neill a handsome war chest with which to create a winning team, and he immediately set about bringing in players who would form the basis of his side for the next five years.

Chris Sutton was rescued from his Chelsea nightmare for £6m, Joos Valgaeren arrived from Belgian side Roda for £3.8m and Alan Thompson, Rab Douglas, Didier Agathe and Neil Lennon all followed before the end of the year.

As Celtic swept all before them domestically in that first season, O'Neill was allowed to shell out a further £6m on John Hartson - a decision that was vindicated by the capture of a second SPL title the following season.

But the highlight for many of the club's followers came the following year in a barren domestic season, as O'Neill's men overcame the odds on a series of occasions to reach the Uefa Cup final, where they eventually lost out to Porto after extra time.

Though they recaptured the SPL title and the Scottish Cup the following season, O'Neill appeared to be frustrated by the board's refusal to continue to open the cheque book as freely as they once had.

His frustration was most keenly felt in Europe as progress in the Champions League continued to elude him, despite some fantastic results in the competition.

It was when O'Neill was forced to wheel and deal in the transfer market that questions began to be asked about his judgement.
Steve Guppy, Momo Sylla, David Fernandez, Henri Camara and Juninho must all go down as failures, though Stan Varga and Craig Bellamy have done their bit for O'Neill and Celtic.

One of O'Neill's greatest gripes - aside from the constraints on his attempts to freshen up an ageing squad - was the criticism from fans and the media that his side played unattractive football with an over-reliance on long balls to burly strikers.

That is now a moot point. Celtic are now, once again, at a transitional stage in their history.

Gordon Strachan is favourite to take over from O'Neill, and a more pertinent point to consider might be whether he will take charge at a club in a better position than the one O'Neill walked into five years ago.

:smt018

 

[Rayvon]

I hope things work out well for him and his family. he's doing the right thing.

He'll be back and will still be as successful.

 

[FOX MENTAL]

When/ if he comes back to football i could vbery much see it being with Newcastle

 

[drummindefender]

I'm sure he will be back, but i thought shearer has been lined up for the newcastle job? btw is his wife suffering from cancer?

 

[SilverFox]

Best of Luck Martin!

I really hope his wife gets better. It must be serious if he needs time off to look after her. At the end of the day football is just 22 men kicking a sack of air around. Your loved ones are the most important people in your life. I hope it all works out alright.

If Martin ever needs a job the door is always open here! (no disrespect to Levein, but he will never be Martin...but I guess now is his time to be himself and make that stand up on its own merits)

 

[MKFox]

btw is his wife suffering from cancer?

'Fraid so....

Do you think a couple of years out will bring him back at the same time as the sour faced Scottish (sorry Steven!) tosser leaves Glazer united?

 

[Granite Fox]

That wouldn't surprise me at all - that is if he comes back, you don't know what impact these things can have. It appears his wife was on the road to recovery a year ago, but things have got a lot worse recently.

I wish her all the best in her struggle and MON has done the right thing to be at her side right now.

 

[FOX MENTAL]

MOn will never go to Manure. Purely because he couldn't have an impact there. I'm sure he would prefer the challenge of taking a team like Newcastle or Totenham and leading them to glory.

Also best of uck to his wife

 

[PFKAKTF FOX]

All the best to Martin and his family, just like Silverfox says this kind of thing makes you realise that football is just a game.