Celtic finally announced the departure of Ange Postecoglou after 113 games in charge, as the former Socceroos coach signed a four-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange brought stability and success back to Celtic Park after a disastrous final season under Neil Lennon, going on to win five trophies in two years before succumbing to the lure of Spurs and the EPL.
Predictably, there have already been several managers linked with the job of replacing Ange – from Pep Guardiola’s assistant, Enzo Maresca, to former double-treble winning manager Brendan Rodgers. The speculation will be intense until an announcement is made by the Parkhead board, but former Celtic striker, Alan ‘Rambo’ McInally feels there is only one man for the job.
ONE MAN FOR THE JOB
Speaking on Betfair’s Group Chat podcast, big Rambo said: “For me, there’s always been two men destined to become manager of Celtic, one was the late Tommy Burns who was magnificent, and the other one is David Moyes.
“He’s got a rather big game coming up, and I just wonder if they can win and say, ‘thanks it’s been a blast everybody,’ I think that would be quite significant.
“Regardless of what happens in the final against Fiorentina, I think David might think that this is an opportunity for him to take a team, who by the way, are winning every week.
“It’s not as if they need to rebuild themselves, he’d obviously bring in new players… (going to Celtic is) an opportunity that’s almost a no-brainer.
“Despite some criticism over some signings at West Ham, they’ve finished relatively strong. Six weeks ago, they were staring down the barrel thinking they were involved in a relegation fight, but they got results, they beat Man United 1-0 and all of a sudden, they distanced themselves with no problems.
“They’re in a huge final, and I know that for some people that competition might not mean an awful lot, but when you’re in a final you want to win it and they have an opportunity to go out and do that.
“West Ham are such a traditional team, they talk about Billy Bonds, Bobby Moore and Trevor Brooking, those players still resonate with the fans. They haven’t been getting European football at West Ham and you can say what you want about David Moyes, but he’s taken them to the final of the Europa Conference League and if they win it, they will party big time.”
Davie Moyes is currently 6/1, with Brendan Rodgers leading the race according to Betfair, but this move would cause major division within the Celtic support due to the manner in which he left the club as we headed towards an historic eighth title and third treble in-a-row.
THE LATEST ODDS
The ACSOM team are split on the appointment, as was covered on ACSOM.net yesterday.
Betfair odds for next permanent Celtic manager:
Brendan Rodgers: 7/4
Enzo Maresca: 7/2
David Moyes: 6/1
Kjetil Knutsen, Graham Potter, Jesse Marsch, John Kennedy: 9/1
Kevin Muscat: 14/1
Andoni Iraola: 16/1
Steve Clarke, Mike Newell, Marcelo Bielsa, Rafael Benitez: 20/1
Should West Ham win tomorrow night in the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina, Moyes would join Ron Greenwood (1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup) and Harry Redknapp (1999 Intertoto Cup) as Hammers’ managers to have won a European trophy.
During his first full season in his second spell at the club, the Scotsman guided West Ham to a record Premier League points total, finishing with 65 points and a sixth-placed finish.
This resulted in them competing in the Europa League during the 2021/22 season, where Moyes guided his East London side to the semi-final before being knocked out by the eventual winners, Frankfurt.
West ham also finished that season in 7th, qualifying for the Europa Conference League, where they are set to play the final in Prague tomorrow.
Moyes has done an incredible job during his two spells at West Ham. However, the Scottish manager has regularly been linked with a move to Celtic throughout his managerial career. But would his style suit a Celtic fanbase who have become accustomed to a certain entertaining flair under Ange Postecoglou?
I don’t think so, and believe there are many more options out there who seem to be a better fit.
There is clearly still a lot of anger towards Brendan Rodgers and how he left back in 2019, but if you remove any emotion from the situation, his ability would almost guarantee continued domestic success.
Rodgers made trebles a normality while surpassing the 100-year British-held recorded for consecutive domestic games undefeated (62), which was also held by Celtic under Willie Maley.
Moyes, on the other hand, has never managed in his native Scotland, and may not hang around just long enough for a ‘big’ English club to come calling. After all, he has already managed the biggest of them all.
BOBBY GORDON
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