Neil Lennon

The vote thing was a load of pish for normal targets, it was only when we found targets outwith our normal scouting network. Balde was 100% Lenny’s choice even if he was way down the list, we were getting desperate and he took a punt on a big, strong, quite fast striker who had a half decent season in Portugals top flight and hoped he could mould him into something like a Dembele... he just didn’t have the ability though.

Peter Lawwell, as much of a machiavellian figure as we paint him some times is not a frivolous money spender, he doesn’t just go buy people for a jolly and force them on managers.

 

I would spend all the funds on those four players. We have Bayo, Griffiths and Shved incoming to add to what is already a strong middle to front, with Edouard coming of age , Forrest at his peak now, Rogic and Christie in the 10 . Maybe get Paddy Roberts in if the fee is fair .
It is absolutely imperative we get that defence up to scratch .

 

I wouldn't mind park back. I'm one of these people who are of the opinion that scouts sre not infallible. I take the good with the bad so long as there are more good than bad. Vic, VVD and Rogic more than make up for Friðjónsson, Balde and Bangura. Them we have a whole host of frees Mulgrew, Matthews, Ledley etc.

I would say we had a transfer surplus during their spell and a whole host of players who contributed greatly to the team. Interestingly we are still using 3/4 of there signings to this day whereas by their 3rd year in the job only Brown survived from previous regimes.

Biton, Griffiths, Lustig and Rogic

 

Funny thing is... Bangura never came from the scouting team, he was directly from Henrik to Big Johan by all accounts. Nae * has the balls to blame Henke but

 

I can't agree with that mate. Balde was our first summer signing that season. When he came in Lennon made comments very early on that he was "raw" and "one for the future".

If you look at early summer signings in subsequent seasons I think it's reasonable to make the Lawwell link.

• Craig Gordon as Deila's first signing in 2014, right after punting Forster for big money

• Boyata first signing the following season with his son being part of the Man City set up.

• Dembele in first for the rat with the ground work being put in for several months prior
  
  
• Ntcham early in summer 2017, Man City link

• Arzani in summer 2018, Man City link again, the rat seemingly having little input given his comments.

Who signed Bayo and Shved in January? That's not to say they won't be good players for us but it's clear that the rat wasn't the driving factor behind them and let's be honest Congerton is not capable of finding decent prospects like Shved.

 

Each to their own mate, Lenny’s said before both Pukki and Balde were further down the list than he would have liked but that may just have been the case of looking at it and it being decided the rest would cost more than £2m, which was the ceiling Lenny wasn’t allowed to break.

I think we do use Lawwell’s contacts but I genuinely don’t believe that he forces players on managers, I can’t imagine him spending about £4m on Ntcham if there was a danger that he’d be put into the reserves and forgot about because Rodgers didn’t want him.

 

I could concede the Ntcham one, I think the rat got the final say on that.

Arzani certainly wasn't the manager's choice. Nor was Shved. Nor was Scott Allan.i think those are undeniable.

 

If true then he done a lot better than the snake. Gamboa, Hendry, De Vries, Morgan, Compper

 

Scott Allan 100% was, Ronny had gone on and on about needing to pick up all the best of Scottish talent. It was in line with what he was saying and those he was signing at the time like GMS and Armstrong. Shved I think came out of nowhere and was a snap decision, I don’t know if Rodgers was part of that decision or not but I also think we knew Rodgers wanted to go and didn’t give a * about anything beyond this season.

Arzani is probably the one that this has legs on but again, it’s a young guy, who is a loan signing, who basically is costing us * all. I can’t see Lawwell spending multiple millions to force players that won’t play on a manager. What in Peter Lawwell’s history would suggest he’s that frivolous?

 

Shved was a club signing Rodgers said so himself.

 

As far as I remember Ki was supposedly signed by PL

 

Ki was signed by Mowbray, he chose him over McCarthy. Lawwell said one or the other.

 

No doubt but it's a dangerous precedent to set. To me it feels like a White/Kelly throwback of overarching decisions that should be left to the manager; albeit it's not signing players from Boys Guilds but signing <£2 million punts.

Johansen could've broken both legs and Ronny would've sent him out to the No.10 position ahead of Allan.

I get your reasoning but I still don't think it's how a big Football club like ourselves should be ran with the CEO as a De facto Director of Football.

 

As far as I remember Mowbray said he didn't want McCarthy because he had better young players at the club. I might be wrong but I thought Ki was a January signing and McCarthy was sold in the summer

 

Johansen was replaced by Rogic under Ronny? Allan just wasn’t good enough but I don’t think there’s the slightest chance he was forced on Ronny.

 

Maybe so mate, I’m remembering this from the Q&A’s Lenny and Lawwell did at the start of Lenny’s tenure. I would concede Lawwell would 100% lie to save his own tail in that situation though

 

I'm not in favour of it but it's testament to the genius of the snake and his scout that a business man ha a better eye for a player

 

Word at the time was the money generated from the interest we would receive from South Korea would more than pay for his transfer fee. PL probably seen the yen that was made from the Naka signing

 

...and by club he means Lawwell.

 

Well looking at the boy and liking what I see well done peter lawwell