He is not safe. He is not convenient. He is not passive. He is a manager who has confronted ownership, reshaped institutions, elevated players, and produced football that supporters fall in love with.
At Montréal, Nancy delivered the 2021 Canadian Championship and followed it with the club’s strongest MLS campaign in history in 2022, finishing second in the Eastern Conference, setting numerous franchise records, and reaching the Conference semi-finals.
His move to Columbus only elevated his profile. Under his guidance, Columbus led MLS in goals scored (82), average possession (56.9%), shots, shots on target and dribbles per game, culminating in the 2023 MLS Cup triumph.
The following year brought more of the same, ‘the Crew’ topped the league again for possession (59.5%), won the Leagues Cup, finished second in the Supporters’ Shield standings, and reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final.
His final season showed the other side of the managerial cycle. Columbus slipped to 7th in the East, made early exits in both domestic cups, and were knocked out in the first round of the MLS Cup for a second straight year.
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There is something in those numbers to soothe each of the three schools of Celtic thought, and something to unsettle them.
Nancy’s highs show a manager capable of reshaping a club’s identity, elevating players and producing football that lifts a support off its feet. His lows remind us that every coach, no matter how gifted, arrives carrying vulnerabilities.
No one walks into Celtic Park perfectly formed for this club. Like players, managers come with strengths and weaknesses attached.
Nancy feels like a coach far less concerned with the destination than the journey itself. And perhaps that alone makes him an intriguing fit at a club arguably searching for direction.
Niall J
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Celtic in the Eighties and Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style both by David Potter. Photo The Celtic Star
