ANGE Postecoglou has just won PFA Manager of the Season and is steaming towards a treble, his first as Celtic manager.
After he delivered a domestic double last season, fans were excited to see what the Aussie boss could deliver this year.
If we cast our minds back two years ago, Ange Postecoglou’s name was unknown by the majority of the Celtic support. Eddie Howe was to be the man to take charge of Celtic, but he bailed out at the last minute.
There’s no doubt that Ange Postecoglou was the right man for the job, but lets take a look at the potential replacements to Neil Lennon, and see where they are now.
Eddie Howe
The English manager took over Newcastle last season. He’s done extremely well with the club, and spent his money wisely, building a good squad that’s on course to deliver Champions League football to the North East.
He’s done well, but would Celtic have made the progress that they’ve made under Ange if Eddie Howe had been manager? I would like to think so, but it would’ve taken a lot longer than two seasons to win a double and a treble.
Enzo Maresca
From the city group, his appointment seemed interesting and showed some ambition, but, in all honestly, like a few of the other managers on this list, he was a bullet dodged.
He took charge at Parma, and only lasted 14 games. He won four, draw five and lost another five. He was sacked, but landed on his feet, and his now the assistant to Pep Guardiola.
Lucien Favre
He was a manager that excited some of the fans, after all he had a good time with Dortmund up until the end of 2020.
Last summer, he was appointed as Nicce manager, but again, he didn’t last very long. 26 games later, with eight wins, nine draws, and nine losses, he was given his books, and has been without a club ever since he was sacked in January.
Roy Keane
Roy Keane has been open about a return to management and has said he’d be keen to make one. He was linked, quite heavily, to the Celtic job. However, he hasn’t got a seat in the dugout yet, and is still a pundit for Sky Sports. You feel that the longer he’s out of the game, the less chance he has of getting a job.
Roberto Martinez
The manager was underachieving with Belgium, and was linked to the Celtic job, with it expected he would bring Shaun Maloney with him.
Obviously, this didn’t happen. Instead, Maloney made his first steps in management with Hibs and Martinez was removed from his post. Maloney is with Wigan now, while Martinez is watching Celtic, and more specifically, Jota, now the manager of the Portuguese national side.
Frank Lampard
It’s hard to believe he was actually in contention for the job. He’s had two stints as manager, one at Everton and now Chelsea, since Ange Postecoglou came in, losing more than he’s won and drawn.
He’s currently winless at Chelsea, and is only there until the end of the season. It’s going to be hard for him to get a job after this horrendous season.
John Kennedy
The former defender was also mentioned as a potential candidate. He was in interim charge, and made way for Postecoglou’s arrival. He’s been by his side since the manager walked through the door, and has been credited with some of the team’s success.
It looks like we got ‘lucky’, and went for the ambitious appointment of Postecoglou. He was well worth the risk, and despite having no experience in a European top-flight, he’s come in and taken the league by storm.
He has the potential to be one of Celtic’s best managers and has the chance to write his name in the history books in a few weeks, when Celtic plays Inverness.
