Celtic love going down an unknown alley when it comes to bringing in a new coach.
By all accounts, it seems as though Celtic, just like they did with Ange Postecoglou in 2021, might be repeating that call as they search for Brendan Rodgers’ successor.
Wilfried Nancy seems to be Celtic’s top choice, with the Frenchman doing his best work in the MLS, and in the MLS only for Columbus Crew, and previously for CF Montréal.
But Nancy could soon be moving into the crazy and highly pressured world of European football, and specifically Glasgow.
Photo by Drew Horton – Columbus Crew/MLS via Getty ImagesTony Cascarino on Celtic pushing to appoint Wilfried Nancy
Tony Cascarino admitted that there is a ‘strange’ and ‘weird’ nature to Celtic looking to appoint Nancy as their new coach.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the former striker did compare the situation to when Arsene Wenger first set foot into English football in 1996.
Although Cascarino pointed out that Wenger, who was brought in by Arsenal from Japan, already had previous success in France’s top-tier with AS Monaco.
Shebahn Aherne: “So, Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy has emerged as the frontrunner. He is from the MLS.
“We didn’t know about Ange Postecoglou either. It doesn’t mean that the board are necessarily getting it wrong.”
Cascarino: “You don’t know. I mean, how can I comment on someone who is managing, and I don’t follow the MLS?! I don’t know what he is about.
“I am sure, as you said, Celtic have done their due diligence on the manager. I always refer back to Arsene Wenger. But Arsene had done a lot at Monaco before he went to Japan, and then he came to Arsenal. There was a lot of homework done before he got to the Arsenal job.
“It’s a strange one, isn’t it? It does feel weird because I don’t want to have a go at a guy I know nothing about. He might turn out to be brilliant.”
Aherne: “This is it. Remember Alan Brazil. When Celtic appointed Ange Postecoglou, and he was going, ‘never heard of this guy.’ All that kind of stuff. That sweetly backfired, that’s for sure.”
Wenger became one of Arsenal’s greatest-ever coaches, and a pioneer for change in how players trained and looked after themselves.
Sports science is at the heart of football now, but Wenger was ahead of his time in 1996 when he focused on players’ nutrition and how they trained, amongst other things.
Added to that, the 76-year-old went on to win numerous trophies with the Gunners, including three Premier League titles, but he wasn’t exactly welcomed to England with open arms.
‘Arsene who’ were just some of the headlines and comments thrown in the Frenchman’s face.
The rest is history because the call from David Dein to bring in Wenger was a stroke of genius, and hopefully, Celtic can have some luck if Nancy is indeed their next man in the dugout.