SO WHAT THE ELL DID DOUG TELL FERGUS?
Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis has hired and fired 11 bosses so far in his time. So maybe he is not the best person to get a reference from when appointing the next manager of your football club. Yet that is what Fergus McCann did on Wednesday in a frantic search for a man to lead Celtic into battle next season. Whether Gerard Houllier had just told Celtic he was off to Anfield, we do not know. But McCann was moved in some way to pick up the phone to the outspoken Villa chief and ask him how Dr Jozef Venglos did in England. And what Ellis told him was enough for McCann and Jock Brown to announce the amiable Slovak as their new head coach yesterday. Yet honest Jo didn't exactly set the world alight during his year in the English top flight. In that time, legend has it, Venglos' poor grasp of English led him to look up the list of Villa greats to find an English- speaking coach. There he found the name of Peter Withe and decided to appoint him in a coaching capacity, despite the fact he had never taken a side for training in his life. Communication difficulties were not the only thing which characterised his 10-month sojourn to England. In fact the year of Venglos is generally viewed as a disaster. Villa finished 17th in the old First Division, winning only nine games.

Hunday Mail
July 19th.
Sitting beside Jock Brown and Fergus McCann in the stand, the 62-year-old looked horrified at the venom heaped towards them. But Celtic fans, still unaware of his pedigree, may find they have a hero in their midst come May. Dutch coach Wim Jansen was greeted with a similar lack of enthusiasm when he was paraded at Parkhead last year.

July 25th.
CELTIC stars have been ordered NOT to swap jerseys after their European Cup clash with St Patrick's. And it's understood that Parkhead chiefs have threatened to dock the players' wages by £40 if the rule is disobeyed on Wednesday. The players are seething and embarrassed and some are set to defy the ban in their next game. An insider said: "The players are far from happy and have vowed to ignore this decision. "Some of them will show exactly what they think by swapping jerseys with the St Pat's players. And if the club dare try to take the price of a jersey from them there will be a revolt."
July 28th.
This double-header with St Pat's has not been the ideal start to the Dr Venglos era. For starters, the first leg came just four days after the 62-year-old was wheeled in as Wim Jansen's replacement amid a storm of bad feeling and discontentment. Venglos has had little time since then to hammer home his own ideas and tactics on a team which is still made up of Jansen's men. There is a feeling in the Celtic camp that the players will have to come through this early test on their own before the new coach can really get to work.
July 31st.
Gould and the rest of the side were aware of the ugly demonstrations against general manager Jock Brown as Celtic safely negotiated their passage into next month's Euro clash with Croatia Zagreb by overcoming St Pat's in Dublin on Wednesday night.
August 20th.
CELTIC'S pay rebels plan to hammer their own team-mates with fines if any of them break the self-imposed vow of silence. And, absurdly, the first victim could be Henrik Larsson for leaking details of the new dressing room code to Swedish press as he attempted to duck out of answering their questions.
As the in-fighting at Parkhead takes on new farcical proportions, it has also been revealed that keeper Jonathan Gould is already under investigation by the Parkhead players' committee.
Skipper Tom Boyd is leading the probe into claims Gould broke ranks by taking part in a photo-shoot for a personal sponsor without the permission of his team-mates.
And Boyd may well turn his attention to Larsson who was warned to say nothing before flying home to join his national squad for last night's friendly against Russia.
Larsson is quoted in Swedish daily Expressen as saying: "I'm not allowed to say anything or I will receive a fine from the players' committee.
Hunday Mail
August 23rd.
Hugh Keevins advises McCann to write a book and recover the money he gave to Yorkhill. The book could provide answers - such as, Why did Paul Lambert go head to head with Eric Black at half time in the Pittodrie dressing room during last Sunday's farcical defeat from Aberdeen? What did the PLC board say about two hundred and eighty thousand pounds being given away, simply because the players and management at Celtic can't stand the sight of each other? Charity is all very well but the donation to Yorkhill Hospital is based on spite, not sympathy for the sick.
Shareholders don't understand that sort of irrational logic. Who was the member of the PLC board who allegedly refused to sanction the move to employ the Frenchman, Gerard Houllier as Jansen's replacement. My information is that Houllier was on his way from the French FA to Celtic for 1.2 million pounds during the close season. But the PLC board insisted that the new man, whoever he was, only be paid 8 hundred thousand. Will the club's owner also take the chance to reveal the secrets of the background reports carried out on the players who are vetted before signing for Celtic? Why did no one tell Jock Brown that the squad had political leanings towards Militant Tendancy and a nostalgic understanding of working-to-rule? Could the final chapter explain why Celtic's scouting staff were at Blackpool to watch their keeper, Steve Banks, last weekend? was it the start of moves to sign him for 2 hundred thousand and see Stewart Kerr for 750 thousand? Is profit being placed before potential?
Fergus has a best seller on his hands if he answers any, or all, of the above questions.

August 27th.
6 READY TO QUIT CHAMPS
CRISIS club Celtic could be rocked yet again with the news that up to half a dozen first-team players are anxious to quit Parkhead.

The stars - believed to include the likes of Henrik Larsson, Paul Lambert, Craig Burley, Marc Rieper and Simon Donnelly - are disillusioned at the climate of unrest and the lack of ambition being shown by the Glasgow giants.
The players are also believed to be unhappy with the training and coaching methods of new coach Dr Jozef Venglos and dressing room morale has plummeted.

While arch-rivals Rangers have spent £27 million this summer, Celtic's only financial talking point has been the bonus row between the management and players.

Sept.16th
CELTIC bosses last night came under fire again when it emerged they had issued an official document to staff which suggests the footballing department was bottom of their list of priorities.
Managing director Fergus McCann and general manager Jock Brown were attacked by furious shareholders at Monday's agm for failing to strengthen their playing squad this year.
They were accused of hoarding the £17million taken in during the summer through season-ticket sales, shirt sponsorship and the new SKY TV deal.
Now the beleaguered board again appear to be putting money-spinning schemes ahead of what the fans care most about -the talent on the field. The Fact Sheet, issued to all members of staff on Monday, includes a heading entitled "Economic Generator".
Under that umbrella comes a sub-heading, Planned Additions.These are listed as 56-bedroom hotel, large fitness club, banqueting hall and supporters centre. Last on the list comes an indoor/outdoor training centre.