Fergal Harkin - DOF

why is this guy being considered for what must be one of the most important roles at the the club.i erroneously assumed he had a similar role at man city but his role was sorting out loans or "transfer guru" whatever tha * that is! christ if its another buddy appointment instead of an experienced operator then it has the potential to be an even bigger * up than a dodgy manager

 

think its more for his contacts within the game! Think we will see link ips with other clubs and getting the celtic brand bigger

 

The thing is, we have no idea what he’d bring to the role or not.

He might be unreal, it’s not something we can ascertain as fans.

 

what we do know is that he has never worked as a director of football ,if he gets the job he will be a complete novice in that role,it will be lip service to the notion of modernisation throwing everything behind someone winging it instead of somebody with a wealth of experience its exactly the same cheap yes man *

 

The fact he has links to Man City and Pep Guardiola is a massive thing. If we could benefit from some kind of link with them that could only be a good thing. How much he would bring in that respect is a complete unknown to us though.

 

The ones with a wealth of experience that we could attract aren’t going to be top notch, exactly the same as the talent on the pitch. Guy might be a Van Dijk, we have no reasonable way to discern his talent as a DOF, we don’t even know what his role with City entails day in, day out.

 

Is he integral to the Manchester City set-up, or is he a peripheral figure?

If he works closely with the likes of Begiristain, Guardiola, and Maresca to identify players and oversee their development, his experience and contacts could be useful; if he is a token liaison person for Manchester City's loan players, whom the club largely ignores, he has no place at Celtic.

I fear that he is only in the frame because he is Irish and golfs with Desmond, but who knows?

 

Not sure if anyone on here knows. According to his LinkedIn he's held a few positions at Man City during an 11 year spell. What they all entailed, who knows. But surely in that time has built a few solid relationships throughout their club.

 

Bottom line is that you're not employed Man City for over ten years if you're * at your job.

 

Joey Barton was there for quite a long time...

 

Let’s put this nonsense to bed that because your employed by Man City obviously means you’re ‘not *’ at your job.

Mark Allen had a far more important role at City and he’s a complete diddy.

I’ve said it before but English clubs have just as a big a problem of jobs for the boys as we do. Even the richest/biggest.

 

Aye and was a very good player regardless of him being a few pennies short of a pound. Was also before they got Arab money

 

the whole buzz about this * is because of the idea we can get buy cheap prospects from man city or loans

nothing about his capability as a director of football its * laughable

ofcourse this is a jobs for the boys type appt, hes irish and knows desmond personally ffs

maybe part of the problem is the board room know heehaw about football, they dont even know what a dof is and or decent manager and actually have to go about chatting up there pals about whos e a good dof and manager, this is why the tabloid rags are on it so quick as word leaks out

is mackay a celtic fan does anyone know ?

 

I am sure that when he was appointed it was reported that he was a Celtic fan.

On Harkin, if it is a job for the boys appointment we will have wasted some serious money on headhunters to look for candidates if it is someone known to Desmond.

In some sense his role at City does have some relevance around helping identify proper pathways for players careers all be it via the loan market. What isn’t clear is whether he or one of the recruitment team he supposedly would bring with him is heavily involved in identifying the prospects they sign. If they were that starts to tick boxes around developing pathways for players, having a good knowledge of future talents and where to look. He will have also witnessed all be it not been responsible for seeing how a football philosophy is installed at all levels of a club.

Also working with a Man City budget vs Celtic budget will be a whole different world. They spend more on youth players than we do on first team and anytime we spend a fee over £3m there is massive expectation on a player compared with down there where it’s a pocket change punt.

I am now at the point I want whoever is going to fulfil this role in as they have a massive job on their hands to turn Celtic around in terms of the football side across the board.

 

Man City are a vile club whose answer to anything is throw money at it. They are everything that's wrong with modern football and simply being there for 10 years doesn't mean you are good at your job. Especially if you have been shuffled around several positions in that time.

If he gets the job it might work out, or might not. I have a feeling it will be the latter and he will be nothing more than another yes man. But, at least we will be able to say we are a modern, progressive club.

 

No idea who the lad is reporting

 

It's been heavily rumoured for a while now that he would still be the DOF.

 

Would think there would be a few leaks/rumours in around Dom Mckays start. Next week will tell us alot about how prepared and serious we're about change and seasons ahead.

 

Irishman Fergal Harkin will not be leaving his role as Football Partnerships and Pathways Manager at Manchester City to take up a role as Celtic's Director of Football.

The 44-year-old from Donegal has been linked strongly with the position while the Celtic hierarchy waited patiently on a decision on the manager's job that was Eddie Howe's until he dramatically pulled out because he could not secure his desired backroom team.

But we understand that Harkin's loyalty to City Football Group remains steadfast and he is continuing in his role as Football Partnerships and Pathways Manager in which he is held in high esteem by the Manchester City hierarchy.

While conversations have taken place between Celtic and Harkin, the Director of Football job was not offered to him and he is not seeking a move from the Premier League champions at this time.

Harkin’s impressive credentials at City, where he focuses on developing their young players primarily by getting them experience with other clubs, have made other clubs take notice.


A former League of Ireland player with Finn Harps and Bohemians, he first came to England to work with former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill while he was in charge of Leicester City.

Harkin has had no input into the process of recommending a new manager at Celtic Park with current Yokohama Marinos boss, Ange Postecoglou, understood to be close to taking up the role.

 

And the circus continues