June 2023: That Was the Month That Was for Celtic

You could be forgiven for thinking that Celtic have just appeared in their own version. Only this time the show would be called: 'That Was the Month That Was'. For 1963 read 2023. It started with the men in green and white clinching a world record eighth domestic treble at Hampden Park on June 3rd.

There were many pitstops along the way as Ange Postecoglou left the club to join Tottenham, Brendan Rodgers returned for a second stint in charge, Aaron Mooy retired from playing football, Jota left Celtic for Saudi Arabia,  Fran Alonso's Celtic women's team started to break-up and Kyogo Furuhashi signed a new four-year deal.

Now granted, some of these don't exactly qualify as satirical entries but in terms of Celtic Football Club from June 3rd to July 4th - a full calendar month of 31 days - there was never a dull moment.

Ange Postecoglou quits to join Tottenham Hotspur

The bombshell had already been dropped and it had barely been three days since the world record eighth domestic treble had been achieved at Hampden by the Hoopps who defeated Inverness 3-1 in the end-of-season showpiece Postecoglou was being unveiled as the new Spurs boss.

The worst-kept secret in Scottish football was finally out in the open. The 57-year-old was on his bike from Glasgow to North London four months after uttering the words: "You'll be surprised at how long I'm here."

The departure was a shock to fans and the quoting of Celtic legend Tommy Burns in the final game of the season certainly had a hollow ring to it. For the second time in two seasons, Celtic were searching for a new manager in the summer months.

Surely the Hoops hierarchy had learned their lessons from the 107-day botched Eddie Howe saga? It was Postecoglou who almost single-handedly swept away the debris of the 10-in-a-row disaster by winning five of the six domestic trophies on offer to him. A manager, a motivator, a custodian. It was the Aussie who got Celtic back to acting like a big club both on and off the field.

He played the Celtic way with an emboldened 4-3-3 attacking style that excited the supporters. The club also acted impeccably in the transfer market during his reign, conducting business early in and getting value for money.

So who would pick up the cudgels now that Postecoglou was gone? Who would follow the Aussie out the exit door both in terms of personnel and management staff? Did Dermot Desmond and Michael Nicholson have a contingency plan in place?

How long would the fans have to wait for their new manager this time? The Celtic board were facing their biggest managerial call in years. The hierarchy's response to Postecoglou's exit was all that mattered now.

The second coming of Brendan Rodgers

It seemed like a left-field shout but the Celtic board delivered on their promise to appoint the best possible candidate for the vacant managerial post. Some four years after quitting Celtic for Leicester City, the 50-year-old was back at the helm of the club.

Despite initial reservations over the way he left, most fans have since warmed to the idea of Rodgers' return. Details of a promised budget in excess of £30 million were reported as Celtic went all out to land their No.1 target. Rodgers has since stated that success in Europe and maintaining domestic dominance would be the key requirements for him.

He does have a point to prove at Celtic but he has inherited a wonderful set of circumstances with the club arguably at the strongest point financially at any time in their history and he walks into a dressing room awash with an abundance of talent and a group of born winners who already have a real domestic stranglehold on the game in Scotland. However, he will face a stronger domestic challenge from Rangers this time around.

It remains to be seen what style of football Celtic will play under Rodgers. The Scottish champions patented a high-octane, high-pressing, attacking game during his first stint in charge. That led to Celtic amassing a colossal 106 points in the 'Invincible' season.

READ MORE: Fabian Rieder: Will Celtic break transfer record for Swiss maestro?

Arguably Postecoglou took that philosophy to new and greater heights with his "We Never Stop" mantra and relentless commitment to attacking football. By the time Rodgers left in 2019, the emphasis had shifted to a more patient, possession-based style of play as opponents set up simply to defend and it frustrated the life out of the Celtic supporters.

Postecoglou favoured a 4-3-3 formation and deployed the use of inverted full-backs to tuck inside and push into the midfield when the team had possession of the ball. Postecoglou went all out in his pursuit of executing the perfect game of football. It was exciting and enthralling to watch. It was a style that the Celtic players worked hard to perfect and did not tire of lauding via all media channels. It will be interesting to see if Rodgers tries to maintain any of his predecessor's philosophy and style when the Scottish Premiership swings back around come August.

The Celtic supporters will settle for the Invincible class of 2016-17 domestically. Rodgers is well aware that the club have lofty ambitions on the European scene. He should make it a personal crusade to improve Celtic's standing at the top tier of club football. It is all about turning European ambitions into reality.

If they don't, then it will all feel like empty rhetoric and words akin to Postecoglou quoting Tommy Burns, knowing full well he was quitting to join Tottenham Hotspur a matter of days later. If the second coming of Rodgers lives up to its billing, then the Celtic supporters should strap themselves in for a thrilling ride of a lifetime.

Aaron Mooy retires

Eyebrows were raised when Postecoglou signed Aaron Mooy on a free. He knew what he was doing all right. Mooy played like Australia's answer to Zinedine Zidane as he waltzed off with a world-record eighth domestic treble before calling it a day.

The 32-year-old hit a real purple patch in Postecoglou's second season and for a six-month spell, he was utterly unplayable. He was a Rolls Royce of a player and Celtic were potentially robbed of another two or three years of service due to injury.

Mooy quickly established himself as a fans favourite. A player who was always cool, calm, collected and composed, even in the white-hot heat of a Glasgow derby. He remains the most non-demonstrative Aussie ever.

It is those qualities that Celtic will find hard to replace more than anything. There will also be a big gaping hole in the supporter's song sheet as 'Aaron, Aaron Mooy, Aaron, Aaron Mooy!' to the tune of Boney M's Daddy Cool was class.

Jota signs for Al-Ittihad

Jota was once asked why he signed for Celtic. His answer was simple. "I fell in love." The winger undoubtedly gave his all during his time in Glasgow but was given an offer he couldn't refuse from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. A reputed wage packet of £200,000 is a once-in-a-lifetime chance of generational wealth.

READ MORE: 'I never spoke to Ange' - Tilio opens up on Celtic transfer

Celtic have recouped a tidy profit on the player that they signed for just £6.5 million. If the hierarchy decides to also put those funds into Rodgers' overall transfer budget pot, then he will have a serious amount to go out and source a replacement. How do you replace a talent that contributed 15 goals and 11 assists last season as he helped the Hoops clinch a world record eighth domestic treble? That's the challenge which Rodgers faces now.

Has Sead Haksabanovic's time finally come or does the answer lie in Manchester City starlet  Carlos Borges, who like Jota, is being touted as being the next big thing? Borges boasts an impressive resume having struck 55 goals in nearly 80 appearances for Manchester City's youth side. With Celtic's link to the City Group, Borges becomes a person of interest who should be asked the question.

Lightning can't strike twice, can it? Could Celtic trade one left winger in Jota for £25 million plus and end up with an upgrade in Borges? All together now: "When you score you make the Celtic sing, Borges on the wing, Borges, Borges on the wing!" Stranger things have happened, haven't they?

Celtic Women lose key players

Celtic Women came within a couple of minutes of lifting the title last season. An injury-time goal by Glasgow City at Ibrox robbed the club side of their first-ever SWPL title on the final day of the campaign. Sadly Celtic seems to have become a victim of their own success as the break-up of the women's team has begun in earnest.

Fran Alonso has been hit with a series of high-profile departures already as the Celtic women's team has suffered a real hit. Jacynta Galabadaarachchi sparked the mass exodus as the Aussie called time on her two-and-a-half-year stint in Paradise. She was quickly followed out the exit door by Claire O'Riordan and Liv Ferguson. To complete Alonso's summer of misery when the highly influential Natasha Flint joined Liverpool.

The harsh reality is that Celtic at the women's level simply cannot compete financially with the bigger clubs south of the border. It seems a crying shame that after a ground-breaking season when the women's game created and smashed the record attendance figures at Parkhead and the interest in the game was at its peak that the rug appears to have been pulled from underneath them.

It will not be easy for the Hoops to replace the talent that has exited the building. The team can be proud of their double cup-winning season of 2022 and the Scottish Cup-winning campaign of 2023, but it would appear the wait for that elusive first women's Premier League title will continue for the foreseeable future.

Kyogo Furuhashi signs contract extension

It is arguably the biggest statement of intent from Celtic that the club's hierarchy could have made all summer. The retaining of the talismanic figure that is Kyogo Furuhashi is a massive coup for Rodgers and the club.

Quite simply, Kyogo's 54 goals in 83 games for Celtic are at this moment in time, irreplaceable. The announcement of Kyogo's new four-year deal went some way to offset the bad news that accompanied Jota'a departure from Glasgow's east end. Can Kyogo join the elite band of 30 players who have scored 100 goals for the club? Is that the Japanese striker's intention and long-term ambition? Will he break his duck in this season's Champions League group stages? Can Rodgers drag even more out of Kyogo?

READ MORE: The Celtic transfer saga Rodgers must avoid repeating

This is a win-win situation for Celtic because if anybody does come in for the goalscorer extraordinaire, then they will have to fork out a pretty penny. 'Keruto hito wa machigainaku ijiwaruna bijinesudesu'. It doesn't matter in what language you say it. It translates to the same thing: 'Celtic mean business'.

That Was the Month That Was.