It was 22 years ago that Celtic appointed John Barnes as Head Coach at Parkhead, backed up by Eric Black and Terry McDermott under the watchful eye of Kenny Dalglish.
The Liverpool legend’s time in Glasgow was an ill-fated one, much to the amusement of everyone on this side of the fence.
He simply couldn’t match Dick Advocaat’s high-flying, expensively assembled side and the final frontier for Barnes would be that humilating Scottish Cup loss at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle which resulted in that famous tabloid headline, ‘Super Caley Go Ballistic, Celtic Are Atrocious’.
So from one ‘outsider’ to another in the Parkhead hotseat and the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
Just how will Ange Postecoglou match up as an Old Firm rival to Steven Gerrard and Rangers? Will he be a Wim Jansen, a Dr Jo Venglos or even a Pedro Caixinha?
That remains to be seen.
In what is a damning indictment of the last 12 months for Celtic, he can’t realistically do any worse…surely not?
The Greek-born Aussie isn’t a novice. He has a solid grounding in football including international management but what relevance and resonance will that have when it comes to the unique pressures and idiosyncrasies of the Old Firm and Scottish football – that is the real challenge.
Unconvincing
He doesn’t know the domestic Scottish game and he is a stranger to wider British football, arguably even the European sphere in any great detail.
This is a huge gamble for the other half of the Old Firm when they need it least.
After being dumped on the first date with Eddie Howe, their Plan B looks unconvincing to say the least but let’s not get too complacent or indulgent with the mockery and derision.
The Champions of Scotland are in a strong place on and off the pitch, unlike our rivals, and the focus should remain at Ibrox.
Further progress and consolidation will reap rewards for Gerrard, the team and everyone at the club.
They can see us now but unless Celtic get their act together, they might just get left behind.