Peter Lawwell began the season with dreams of helping boyhood club Celtic extend their dominance of the Scottish Premiership to a remarkable 10th successive year.
But, just as the Hoops are almost certain to relinquish their stranglehold on the title to bitter rivals Rangers, he will finish it with his personal grip on power at an end.
The 61-year-old is set to retire as chief executive in the summer after 17 hugely successful years at Parkhead.
Celtic have won a staggering 29 trophies during his lengthy tenure, in addition to enjoying three trips to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Yet a failure to even threaten increasing that haul to 30 during a tumultuous campaign on and off the field, combined with long-standing resentment over his failure to maximise Celticâs dominance over Rangers during the years when the Ibrox outfit were forced to rebuild following their financial collapse, means news of his impending departure has sparked little sorrow among sections of a frustrated fanbase feeling increasingly disconnected.
Dominic McKay, Scottish Rugbyâs chief operating officer, has already been appointed as Lawwellâs replacement in what will be a new era for the Glasgow giants.
A passionate lifelong Hoops supporter, Lawwell re-joined the club in October 2003 â he had previously had a short-stint as the financial controller in the early 1990s â from his position as commercial director with Clydeport plc, having also formerly held senior roles with chemical company ICI, healthcare firm Hoffmann-La-Roche, and Scottish Coal.
Widely respected among his peers, Lawwell was a powerhouse at boardroom level, with some feeling the control he exerted extended to the whole of Scottish football.
Asked in January 2017 who was running the game north of the border, former St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour offered an unequivocal response.
âI donât think you need to ask me that. Are you trying to tell me that Peterâs not pulling the strings? Peter Lawwell?â
Meanwhile, his fearsome reputation at the negotiating table was epitomised by comments made by Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas the following year.
âHe is basically like a bulldog who negotiates after yapping. Heâs a good friend, a great guy and very difficult in negotiations,â said Frenchman Aulas.
For all of his business acumen and the teamâs successes, Lawwellâs hefty salary was often a bone of contention.
At the clubâs 2019 AGM, a supporter jokingly asked how many goals the boardroom member had scored the previous season to justify total earnings exceeding ÂŁ3.5million.
Club chairman Ian Bankier and manager Neil Lennon each issued staunch defences of the eye-watering pay cheque, which included bonuses.
Bankier admitted âit looks badâ but that his colleague was âworth every pennyâ, with Lennon adding: âPeter is the best, and sometimes you have to pay for the best.â
Many supporters clearly did not agree and the recent rocky period has only increased the scrutiny on his role.
Concerned about what they claimed was the clubâs downsizing following the departure of all-conquering boss Brendan Rodgers, fans unfurled a flag back in August 2019 warning Lawwell and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond not to âfall asleep at the wheelâ.
The warning has not been heeded and this season â when Celtic were supposed to be fulfilling their 10-in-a-row destiny â they have crashed, leaving Rangers to speed off into the distance.
Spinning out of the Champions League yet again and seeing their four year grip on Scotlandâs domestic silverware ended with a shock Betfred Cup exit to Ross County have been compounded by Lennonâs league struggles, with his team now 23 points adrift of Steven Gerrardâs rampant Ibrox side.
That County defeat sparked angry protests outside Parkheadâs front door but Lawwell and Lennon clung onto their posts with the backing of Desmond, the clubâs all-powerful benefactor.
But the negative headlines have rumbled on. There was also a huge furore over an ill-judged decision to take the squad to Dubai for a mid-season training camp.
Lawwell admitted the trip to the United Arab Emirates had been âa mistakeâ â but only after defender Christopher Jullienâs positive coronavirus test on return forced 13 of his team-mates into isolation, along with manager Lennon and his assistant John Kennedy.
Clashes with the fans are not new. He has repeatedly butted heads with ultras group the Green Brigade, claiming in November 2019 that their behaviour at games had cost Celtic more than âŹ500,000 (ÂŁ442,312) in UEFA fines.
The supporter group responded to the surprise news of the chief executiveâs imminent exit â released just after 7am on Friday â by tweeting: âOne down, more to goâ.
Despite failing to satisfy everyone, Lawwell leaves a trophy-laden legacy, which includes 13 league titles and an unprecedented four successive domestic trebles.
His retirement statement expressed disappointment at how the final year has played out and pledged to work on a âseamless transitionâ with successor McKay as the club prepare for the unfamiliar position of attempting to reclaim, rather than retain, the title.
He also made a deliberate point of highlighting the vital role of the clubâs vast fanbase, with whom, at times, he endured such a testing relationship.
âCeltic will always be the biggest and the best club in Scotland and our supporters will always be everything to our success,â said Lawwell.
âWe need our fans with us to achieve that success.â
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