Wrong man at the wrong time – Liam Brady as Celtic manager

The early 1990s was a bleak period in the history of Celtic football club, one I like many more of you were around to witness, and it goes without saying that it was a very underwhelming and concerning time to be a Celtic supporter.

The biggest reason behind that was our custodians who shockingly mismanaged our club so much so that they nearly ran it into the ground as their self-serving attitude had the club teetering on the brink of oblivion. One example of their gross incompetence was the summer of 1991 when they decided to hire Liam Brady as manager of Celtic.

Brady, a mere novice in footballing management, a great player, but no credentials of any sort in the dugout became the first man to manage the club without even donning the famous green and white hoops was seen as the man to replace club legend Billy McNeill who was sacked after two trophy-less campaigns. Unsurprisingly  the Irishman was hardly an inspiring choice for the Celtic supporters.

Indeed the calibre of choice alongside Brady on the shortlist was uninspiring as whole with Yugoslavian Ivan Golac who would later become manager of Dundee United, Frank Stapleton and Cesar’s trusted number two Tommy Craig being the other contenders.

Brady was a superb player, indeed he was world class midfielder, but his knowledge as a manger was non existent, yet he was handed the role much to everyone’s surprise.

Maybe the Celtic hierarchy seen the success of great player turned instant manager Grahame Souness at Ibrox and thought Brady was capable of similar results. However Souness was helped by having an unlimited supply of dodgy Dave’s borrowed cash, Brady on the other hand didn’t.

Brady wasn’t exactly working on a shoestring budget either but enjoyed nowhere near the riches the former Rangers boss enjoyed at Ibrox, the same riches his one time assistant and new man in the Ibrox dugout Walter would enjoy during Brady’s tenure at Celtic Park.

Brady’s record in the transfer market was another reason for his failure in Glasgow. Not long into the job he was allowed to spend a whooping £1.1 million on his former Irish international teammate Tony Cascarino who arrived from Aston Villa. To be fair it was seen as a bit of a coup at the time as he was a highly regarded player down south, but ultimately he proved to be one the most uninspiring signings in the history of Celtic Football Club.

The ageing injury prone, Gary Gillespie at just under a million quid was another, whilst the £1.5 million splashed out on Stuart Slater who would go down in the Tony Cascarino category.

His decision to re-sign the ageing and out of shape Frank McAvennie was another baffling move by the Irishman.

Brady would eventually hand in his notice in October 1993 after another defeat in a sterile performance away to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, which was duly accepted by the incompetent cash-strapped Celtic board.

It was no surprise that his appointment turned out to be a catastrophic failure. Liam Brady certainly was a case of wrong man, wrong time, and wrong place. And Celtic wee in dire need of change, new people in charge and a new vision for the club.  Thankfully the wheels were already in motion.