Neil Lennon is furious… And I don’t blame him. Read on for more
Our beloved manager, Neil Lennon, is notorious for being angry. Type his name into Google and before you press search, one of the first things that will come up is angry. This reputation comes mainly from his time as a player and his time managing Celtic. A huge part of his game was his no-no-nonsense tough tackling approach- think Medo but stronger and more ruthless.
This passion has been amplified during his so far short managerial career. Upon first being appointed as Celtic caretaker manager I seem to remember him compiling a list of players he wants to leave the club, such was his determination to get the job on a permanent basis that he left no stone unturned and did everything possible to force a long term Neil Lennon regime at Celtic Park.
We do know that he has the potential to be short-tempered. Just two weeks after beating Barcelona, he said the following ‘If the fans make it clear that they are not happy and they want me out then that’s okay, I will do the honourable thing` as reported in the Daily Mail. This followed an altercation with a fan.
There have been glimpses of this during Lennon`s nine months at the club so far- to start with, he got sent to the stands in his first game; he called a referee ‘rubbish` to BBC after we lost to Liverpool and most recently I think we`ve seen the most worrying thing for a Bolton fan.
He`s reportedly furious with the lack of funds to build his squad, and I think it`s been implied that he was promised more to work with. Having been forced into selling the likes of Chung Yong Lee, and clearing many high earners off the wage bill he`s only been able to bring in three senior players this summer: Ben Amos, Gary Madine and Derik Osede. We`ve been through this before many times on this site: Owen Coyle had loads of money to work with and a very good Championship squad; Dougie Freedman had quite a lot of money (but still wouldn`t stop moaning) and a pretty Championship squad; Neil Lennon had no money to work with- genuinely done, and an average Championship squad boosted by youngsters whom Lennon brought into the first team. Lennon is the best manager out of these three, and with the hardest task may well still surpass the achievements of others, but while things looked desperate when Dougie Freedman only brought in frees and loans last summer before stretching club budgets to pay 300k for Max Clayton, Neil Lennon would have loved to be in that position.
We all know that we need to move players on- there are far too many players here who are not befitting of Bolton`s style of play. They shouldn`t be here. However, since they`ve proved to be liabilities, it`s not surprising that no one wants them and that`s been the trouble for Neil Lennon. I`m not going to point fingers, but think about the players on high wages who we want to move on, but wouldn`t be able to find another club. Now think about who signed them.
I don`t want to consider the unthinkable (Neil Lennon quitting), but I can`t help but think that should the board continue to fail to provide ample finances to run a competitive football club then we won`t keep the best manager in the league for very long. We`re very lucky, and perhaps undeserving of such as good manager and if he were in charge of a club with finances like Fulham, they`d most certainly be in the Premier League next season.
As I`ve discussed, Lennon had the potential and ability to make rash decisions and shock people. We just have to hope that he`ll show the loyalty which I think he possesses. Then again, I wouldn`t blame him to take up any other job in the Championship- things are looking that bad for us in that respect.
That all said, I don`t want this to come off as an anti-Neil Lennon article because I have so much admiration for the man. He`s incredibly incredibly incredibly strong mentally. He`s been through so much in his life: he suffered from depression, received death threats and managing Bolton can definitely be added to those challenges. It wasn`t easy for Dougie, and believe me it will only be harder for Lenny.