No, this would be more like an NFL team hiring a college coach. Or an NFL team hiring a CFL coach. Or an NCAA school hiring an NAIA coach. Different governing bodies. In soccer's case, there is a larger governing body, FIFA, but I have no idea what rules they have in place for such a thing. I guess that's my question. Did they actually *need* permission to talk to him? Now, once Celtic decides that Nancy is one of their top handful of candidates, then I can see why there would be discussion and negotiation of a buyout (since assuredly Celtic would be paying the buyout and not Nancy), but point I was making/questioning is at an early stage, why would Celtic talk to the Crew (unless there are FIFA rules about that).
The Scottish media has been saying that they got permission to speak with him and that Celtic will need to work a deal with the Crew if they sign Nancy because he has a year left on his contract. Celtic pushing to land Wilfried Nancy before AGM as coaching staff details emerge The club are in negotiations with Nancy, and as he is still under contract, the Hoops still have to negotiate a compensation fee with his club once personal terms are agreed. And according to the Daily Record, talks with Nancy officially began over the weekend after Celtic were granted permission to speak to the 48-year-old.
Did the Crew do the very same thing to get Nancy from Montreal? Not to mention, it's not just Nancy. You'd have to think that a considerable percentage of his coaching staff could go with him. This stuff's complicated. When I first read reports from Glasgow about this, the part that made the most sense, sounded then most legit, was where the article said that the Crew wouldn't try and block the move. I mean, I agree that if Nancy wants the job, we shouldn't get in the way. Still, when the does the Crew ever push back too hardly when a contracted player wants to go elsewhere? Like, never. Maybe a $2M fee to sign him will take the sting out the loss. At least for Jimmy.
We did do the same thing to get him from Montreal. He also wanted out of there pretty badly. I think everyone in MLS kind of accepts where MLS is in the global pecking order. It's generally not a great look to hold someone hostage in MLS when they have a chance to take a step up. Coaches, players, and agents all talk. If an ownership group makes it difficult for players and coaches to advance in their careers, it makes it difficult to bring ambitious players or coaches in. The SPL in general isn't a step up from MLS, but managing Celtic certainly is. It's similar to how moving to Salzburg was a step up for Marsch even though the Austrian Bundesliga as a whole is not. It could be that the Crew FO is confident in their standing with Nancy and Nancy is simply doing what anyone would do in his situation. Even if he's not all that interested in moving to Celtic, there's no harm in interviewing. It's the offseason, so he's not missing any valuable training or prep time. It also a chance for him to build his network of contacts and keep his interviewing skills sharp. He's not going to be here forever. The pro sports world can be very cruel so its never a bad idea to expand your network and stay sharp. From the Crew's standpoint, they will eventually lose Nancy. We've all been saying exactly that for 2 years now. If Celtic are willing to overpay for him now, fine. Start the rebuilding process. Two different managers have won here under this ownership group (granted Bez was here), so it shouldn't be difficult to attract interest from quality managers.
Early reports were that Kwame Ampadu would follow Nancy and Ampadu's son would be heavily linked to join Celtic
Yes, they technically need permission to speak to Nancy. That being said, if 'someone' from Celtic were to call Nancy's agent (or an intermediary that knows both parties), and let's it be known that they'd be willing to pay their new coach x amount of money, whoever that may be (?!) and would give them certain hypothetical perks or powers, and Nancy's agent were to tell Wilf about a strange call he had with someone from Celtic about a hypothetical offer for a hypothetical coach... That's how most transfers are conducted these days. That's how when teams agree a fee, the player and new team magically already have a contract in place, even though that is against FIFA regulations.
And of course with the Crew's well known negotiating shrewdness and hard nosed reputation, they will.hold Celtic's feet to the fire until.they cough up a couple hundred Jet Blue frequent flyer miles and a Groupon for a timeshare presentation in Boca.
"A Columbus Crew expert" is explaining everything about Wilfried Nancy to the bhoys..... https://thecelticbhoys.com/mls-expert-reason-wilfried-nancy-struggle-celtic?utm_source=gol The Scottish supporters, especially Celtic's, have no patience for Nancy's methodical style of building a team. If he doesn't do something good, in a very short period of time, they will turn on him very harshly. They are currently 7 points out of first place, behind Hearts. Brendan Rodgers just exited the Celtic meat grinder. Maybe Wilfried should speak with him.
OK, so someone needs to tell me who the hell is this douche "Matt" and what makes him " a Columbus Crew expert"?
Is he the lawyer/MLS agent from Dublin that always showed up in Bill Bush’s dispatch articles about the stadium financing? That guy was a complete hack. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was misrepresenting himself in the name of glory.
Signs You're Getting Old: "Oh yippie. Another fxxking Crew podcast. How many of the damn things do we need?" Love him or hate him, Howard Stern has a point when he goes on the podcast rants and says that any idiot with a microphone and laptop can think they're a huge star because they have a podcast with 2000 listeners. There's maybe 2-3 people named Matt that I'd consider to be Crew experts and unless this guy is named Goshert or Bernhardt, which I seriously doubt, let's see what happens...
Hell if I know. I tried to read the article, and it read to me like he was making a pretty milquetoast criticism, really. But my screen got taken over by a fake message about a virus taking over my computer and an anti-virus program to take care of it, and I fled.
I consider myself a chronically online person and familiar with various celebrity fans. Ive never seen that person online or in person.
Issa did an interview with Chris Doran, which goes out on Wednesday. He said no one has contacted the club for an interview. As of Noon today, no ⚽️ club had asked permission to speak w/ #Crew96 HC Nancy (per his contract) according to GM Issa Tall.Keep in mind, it can be “the Wild West” outside the US.Full interview w/ Issa: Wed, 9p @1057alt & @iHeartRadio.— Chris Doran (@ChrisDoran18) November 18, 2025 Lets hope the interview isnt out of date by then.
I can link half a dozen European sources saying that the Crew did in fact grant them.permission. This shit is always so strange, as others have pointed out but I cant believe Issa is crazy enough to outright lie. Is it possible that HSM has given their OK and not told Tall?
That is what Arace just surmised in his latest dispatch. He also believes Damet will be the leading internal candidate to replace Nancy.
If they gave permission and didnt tell Issa, he needs to just clean out his desk. Get him a bankers box and cancel his parking pass.