PUSHING THE ENVELOPE<\/p>\n
As splits go, Monday night\u2019s parting of Brendan Rodgers and Celtic<\/a> was as bitter and spectacular as any rock band have managed. And unlike M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce, Guns N\u2019 Roses and the Gallaghers, there will be no reunion tour. Think The Smiths, with attendant wordy statements to reflect just how severed the alliance is. Rodgers\u2019 departure was initially sold as him stepping away. \u201cCeltic Football Club can confirm that football manager Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation,\u201d droned a club statement. \u201cThe Club appreciates Brendan\u2019s contribution to Celtic during his two very successful periods at the Club.\u201d<\/p>\n So far so normal, including the dismally unnecessary capitalisation of \u201cClub\u201d fully frowned upon by all respectable subeditors. Step forward Dermot Desmond, usually publicity-shy majority owner. \u201cI want to acknowledge Brendan\u2019s contribution,\u201d was a gentle opener before firing up his flamethrower. \u201cHowever, I must also express my deep disappointment at the way the past several months have unfolded.\u201d Desmond went on: feel the heat of phrases like \u201cnot reflected that trust\u201d, \u201csimply untrue\u201d, \u201cabsolutely false\u201d, \u201cthe facts did not match his public narrative\u201d, \u201ctoxic atmosphere\u201d, \u201cfuelled hostility\u201d, \u201cdivisive\u201d and the final headshot: \u201cOne individual\u2019s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others.\u201d Oof.<\/p>\n Celtic fans have been unable to fully enjoy Rangers\u2019 latest fall. The Russell Martin caper was a farce of Ben Travers proportions sullied by Rodgers\u2019 team being concurrently useless. Meanwhile, Hearts, who beat Celtic on Sunday, are partying like it\u2019s 1986<\/a> by running away with the Scottish Premiership. Celtic club suits have come in for heavy flak, the chosen method of protest lobbing tennis balls on the pitch. Rodgers comparing Celtic\u2019s squad to a \u201cHonda Civic\u201d was rather disparaging to players given his job was to motivate, as well as to one of the best-selling, reasonably priced, most reliable cars on the market. That toothy grin no longer gleamed as brightly as during his first spell in \u201cParadise\u201d.<\/p>\n Leaving for Leicester in February 2019 when a treble Treble was going begging was unforgivable in the eyes of many. Rodgers\u2019 return in the summer of 2023 has never quite been the same bed of roses, showing the ancient football adage of \u201cnever go back\u201d is usually one to stick to. About that: almost as shocking as Desmond\u2019s character assassination was news that \u201cMartin O\u2019Neill and former Celtic player Shaun Maloney have agreed to take charge of Celtic first-team matters\u201d. O\u2019Neill last managed Nottingham Forest in 2019, shelled after five months, by no means the last \u2013 or shortest-serving \u2013 former Bhoys manager to be tinned by Big Vange. An Ange Postecoglou return would complete the circle of high comedy but, for now, the clock is being rolled back<\/a> to the days when O\u2019Neill, actually 73, pogo-ed on the sidelines as Henrik Larsson wellied in a truckload of goals and the Celtic diaspora descended on Seville.<\/p>\n LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE<\/p>\n Join Yara El-Shaboury from 7pm GMT for updates from the Lionesses 2-1 Matildas in their international friendly, while Scott Murray will be on deck at 8pm when Wrexham pip Cardiff 1-0 in the Rumbelows Cup.<\/p>\n QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not only the players [to blame]. When we lose, I go home and don\u2019t speak to my wife. Do you know why? Because I am sad. We are playing sh1t\u201d \u2013 Wolves keeper Jos\u00e9 Sa has a full and frank conversation with fans outside Molineux after defeat to Burnley<\/a> left them rooted to the foot of the Premier League. V\u00edtor Pereira had already been escorted from the touchline after an angry post-match chat with the supporters with whom he was sharing pints<\/a> last season.<\/p>\n V\u00edtor Pereira gets in on some big chat. Photograph: Godfrey Pitt\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Watching the current success of my adopted fitba club Hearts (yesterday\u2019s Football Daily<\/a>), my mind immediately turns to Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit\/Owl John\/Mastersystem fame and now tragically seven years deceased. A lifelong Hearts fan, he even recorded, with Frightened Rabbit, his own version<\/a> of Hector Nicol\u2019s \u2018The Hearts Song\u2019 to commemorate their main stand being knocked down after 103 years. Following his death, Hearts themselves wore the name of the charity set up in his honour (Tiny Changes<\/a>) on their shirts during the Scottish Cup semi-final warm-ups in 2020. I never had the pleasure to know or even meet Scott, but by all accounts he was one of the good ones. Rarely does much time pass before I put one of his (very, very good) albums on for a listen, and in this miserable autumn weather there\u2019s little better to listen to. I hope he\u2019s out there, somewhere, able to see his team flying high at the top of Scottish Premiership. RIP, Scott. The Jambos are doing you proud\u201d \u2013 Oliver Billenness.<\/p>\n Sad news about Sheffield Wednesday (yesterday\u2019s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). When I was over in the UK in 2016 (for the Leicester fiesta) I had an hour or two to spare in Sheffield between trains. So on impulse I went up to Hillsborough, which is curiously (to me anyway) up a valley in the \u2018burbs. The place was locked up except the club shop, to my chagrin, as I was keen to look around. However, I was directed to a suit passing through the shop who turned out to be the chief suit. When he learned I was a Kiwi footie fan on holiday, he generously took me for a quick tour around the stadium and even on to the pitch. That kind gesture instantly made me a secondary Wednesday fan. Can\u2019t remember his name but he told me he\u2019d previously also had a senior role at my beloved Leicester\u201d \u2013 Rod de Lisle.<\/p>\n To cut down on travel, Truro City (yesterday\u2019s Football Daily, full email edition) should consider moving to Truro, Massachusetts. Truro, Massachusetts to Taunton, Massachusetts is only 87 miles. From Truro, Massachusetts it\u2019s 141 miles to Gloucester, Massachusetts. And it\u2019s only 67 miles to Plymouth, Massachusetts. Admittedly, some of their other matches would be a bit further: Hartlepool is approximately 3,200 miles away\u201d \u2013 Dan Davis.<\/p>\n Re: yesterday\u2019s Quote of the Day<\/a>. I am so glad this Kenny Dalglish film has finally been made, as it is a whopping 12 years since Rush came out\u201d \u2013 Antony Train.<\/p>\n Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s letter o\u2019 the day winner is \u2026 Oliver Billenness, who gets a copy of A History of Football in 100 Objects<\/a> from the Guardian Bookshop, which has loads of other great football reads, too. Get shopping!<\/a> Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here<\/a>.\u200a<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED LISTENING<\/p>\n