The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
After Neil Lennon resigned we discussed how Celtic have recently appointed managers to address the most glaring deficiency of the previous boss. Gordon Strachan bought in value markets, whereas Martin O’Neill pretty much bought players who appeared on Match of the Day or Sportscene.
Despite his success, Gordon was manager of Celtic, not the leader of the club; there was always some distance between him and a section of the support. As a consequence, we next appointed the guy who ‘invented’ the Celtic huddle.
Tony Mowbray was close to our hearts, but he was also a flop of a Celtic manager. People inside the club knew this from the first week he was there when he asked to spend close to £4m on Marc-Antoine Fortune.
Tony was out of sync with scouts and coaches. How do you fix that? You appoint one of the coaches who saw it all happen.
Neil Lennon didn’t have many obvious deficiencies. If we were to ask what his weakness was, there would be a range of answers.
Perhaps as a consequence, we’ve gone out with a clear remit: our manager should be intelligent, technically capable, insightful, and have a progressive and modern approach to the game. He must dovetail with the infrastructure we have worked so hard to build up, and be in tune with strategy.
All we know today is that the criteria for the job was correct and our man matches that criteria.
Ronny is one of the scientific innovators in the game who has had the ‘Moneyball’ tag applied. Back in 2009 I wrote about the books, Moneyball, and the football spin-off, Why England Lose (now re-launched as Soccernomics). I also put a copy of Why England Lose into the hands of a senior decision maker at the club.
The point about Moneyball and this type of analysis cannot be abbreviated in few short sentences, and it is certainly not as prosaic as ‘buying low and selling high’ – that’s old news now, which makes it a dead topic as far as Moneyball is concerned. The Michael Lewis book which did so much to publicise ‘sports economics’ was actually titled, Moneyball – The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
The game is unfair because others have more money, or more experience, or more sympathy with officials, or whatever your circumstances dictate. But most sports are also full of enormous inefficiencies.
Football clubs are hostages to ridiculous forces, just listen to the names within the game who urged Celtic to appoint a well-known name in order to put bums on seats. Some clubs do this – put a ‘name’ in, in the hope they sell some tickets, without realising there are enormously difficult football games ahead.
The football industry is top-heavy with fools with big budgets who don’t know what they are doing. Celtic’s job is to build a team who can compete at an ever-higher level in the Champions League. To get there we need a ruthless conviction against the inefficient nonsense which paralyses the rest of the game.
In 10 years I’ve never once agreed with a Celtic managerial appointment. I welcomed Gordon, Tony and Neil while saying the board have made the wrong decision. All of these appointments are risky, there are no guarantees – for short-term or long-term success. Guru managers don’t exist and Ronny has years of work ahead of him to build Celtic ever-higher, but I couldn’t be happier at his appointment. Eye on the prize…. it’s all about winning.
Welcome to Celtic, Ronny, you’re going to love it here, but keep your kilt on.
All of this and 300 Celtic fans at the CQN the Lisbon Lions gig in Greenock tonight! Hold me back!
Lladro replica World Cup trophy
My thanks to Liam, from East Kilbride, who donated his prize memento, a Lladro replica World Cup trophy, commissioned by the Spanish FA in 1978, and acquired by Liam in 1982. It will be auctioned on Saturday with proceeds going to our Mary’s Meals school kitchen appeal. You can get involved in the auction, or keep an eye on it as it happens, here. The auction takes place at Great Western Auctions, on Dumbarton Road.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best.
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Sachsenring Zwickau (sp) ?
https://twitter.com/EilidhBarbour/status/474876432519528450/photo/1
Hail Hail Ronny Delia welcome to paradise.
Welcome to Paradise, Ronny !!!
I’m sure you know that you are in for a baptism of fire!
The outcome of the qualifiers will determine much about our 14/15 season
Be assured we’re all right behind you
:o)
Two simple questions re new manager:
1/ how do we spell his surname
2/ and how do we pronounce it?
IGC
Greece?
jonnyrambo67…12.12
Sums up the situation perfectly, well put!
Excitement and trepidation simultaneously lol.
Hope you hit the ground running Ronny…there’s loads of folk ready to jump on you, mainly but not exclusively our enemies..
Hail Hail!
Re. talk of John Collins, whether he is of any value or not, shouldn’t the manager select his own coach(es)? Seems to be a lot of talk on here that JC is going to be his assistant but where has that come from? Does Ronny know him? Seems stupid to get the right man at the top and then foist on him someone who may or may not “dovetail” with his way of thinking.
I assume, therefore, that the JC talk is just idle gossip and that Ronny will appoint his own man.
I may just be looking at the fella and making an assumption but I get the impression journos will have their work cut out with Ronny. A silly question will get a stare and silence I reckon.
LB
***Lunchtime Quiz update***
The two countries have been mentioned so fastest finger first wins not one but two coconuts!
Ronny Deila List of things to do as presented by Peter Lawell.
1. Get on CQN and thank all the bhoys n ghirls for their welcomes.
2. Keep it cheap.
3… Something to do with a football team… blaa… blaa… de… blaa… and sustain Player Values.
MWD says AYE
DeniaBhoy
The rumour was started by Alex O’Henley and it was that JC would have a coaching role.
It is not uncommon for the club to appoint coaches and scouts on their manager.
LB
One description of RonnyDelia which may have brought him to the attention of Mr Lawell…..
A young couch with extreme confidence in his distinct, offensive playing style, not only comfortable with the club’s low wage structure and limited transfer funds, but a proponent of it.
DeniaBhoy-agree
If you don’t expect much in Europe this year or next,whose fault is that?
I suppose I blame Alexander II of Scotland and Henry III of England, who signed the treaty of York in 1237, establishing the border in its present position and thus enabling a situation where Stoke City, my home-town team, with a history of exactly one major trophy in 150 years, can pull in £75 million of TV money in 2014 (from 8 live televised games) whereas Celtic don’t get 10 percent of that.
£75 million! That’s about 200,000 season books.
If Big Eck and Wee Harry had drawn the border at the Highland Line you’d never have heard of Arsenal or Manchester City.
dontbrat…
Not the way taurang spellsit !!! LOL
The best of luck to our new manager, if I was allowed one wish from him I’d wish he’d give our home grown youth a bigger chance than they’ve enjoyed in the past.
Still have high hopes for Dylan McGeouch and Filip Twardzik as well as others.
Bon voyage Ronny.
welcome to Celtic Ronny,
massive task to get us through the qualifiers but let’s all get right behind him and the team & give the man a fair chance
It reminds me a little of the Dr Joe Venglos appointment! except a younger version!
Dr Joe was a student of the game with ideas very different to the norm at the time.
I know that sounds scary when we remember how that season played out but we were competing against that other team who, we now have seen proved, were cheating so with a level playing field that appointment could have turned out differently
I just hope our new manager has the time to set out his new ideas whilst also qualifying for the champions league
Good luck and Hail Hail
Top Norwegian facts
You can buy beer in grocery stores, but you have to buy wine and hard liquor at one place and one place only-Vinmonopolet (which literally means ´Wine Monopoly´and closes quite early)
Even though Norway is one of the top oil producers in the world, gas is more expensive in Norway than almost anywhere.
Because food prices are so high in Norway, many Norwegians drive across the border to Sweden to shop. These purchases amount to over 2 billion USD every year.
If you get caught drinking and driving in Norway, you will go to jail for 30 days and immediately get your license revoked until a year later (assuming they pass the test).
It can cost in the thousands for Norwegian teenagers to get their license (minimum age 18).
Norwegians eat brown cheese (brunost)And lutefisk, fish soaked in lye (a chemical used in making soap)
speeding fines are often more serious than if a person is caught with drugs
Norway has voted against membership in the EU several times, but has implemented more EU directives than any other EU member state.
Norwegians love Grandiosa, cheap frozen pizza.
Norwegians are one of the only people in the world to hunt whales
–
Norwegians eat American children´s Christmas figure, Rudolph
Norwegians do not typically smile or start talking to a stranger on the bus. It is not considered rude to behave as such.
And old pl saved on vat
Norway and Italy
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
East Germany and Greece ?
The fee suggested for Hooper just shows how ridiculous (and unfair) the SPL vs. EPL divide is. £5.5m while banging them in, £8m when struggling. Makes no sense.
igc
I’m going for France and Italy!
HH
End London rule. Vote YES.
Banana and tuna pizza anyone, to celebrate.
MWD says AYE
STOP PRESS:
Naw they’ve no!
Just one correct so far
Excited with the new appointment. Much prefer the unknown to the same old, same old being quoted by MSM.
One question I’d like asked at RD’s first press conference, “who has final say on transfers, In and out?”
The answer to that will go a long way to answering whether we are entering a brave new world or whether the accountants and the scout will continue unabated.
Hope John Collins joins the new set up and John Kennedy moves up to a first team coaching role.
Well, Celtic continue their record of appointing managers to counter previous “deficiencies” at least in the eyes of the SMSM – Deila isn’t ginger, Irish or (I assume) Catholic.
I am not too sure why people pay worry about what Lennon said or did not say.
His time with Celtic has passed and he goes with the fans’ thanks.. same as any manager that has managed and left Celtic. Employees come and go but the club remains.
In case we forget , Lennon was a youth coach when we decided to appoint him as a manager and now the same people that were moaning about that being a risky appointment are now moaning that he is gone. Guess some people just need something to moan about.
This new manager has infinitely more management experience than Lennon before we appointed him as the Celtic boss.
I am not trying to run down Lennon or any player that has played for us.. but just trying to get some perspective.
If a Jock Stein was appointed today this same group of “never be pleased” group would of course think it is a cost saving option.. after all what exactly was Jock Stein’s management and European or even playing credential before he was appointed the Celtic manager.
As said before , some people are just not happy unless they have something to moan about .. so we should just let them get on with it. where there is nothing to moan about they will generally make one up….. the glass half empty scenario people.p.
Welcome to Celtic, Ronny. I think it’s a really good appointment.
Good article, Paul.
deniabhoy
12:37 on 6 June, 2014
livibhoy:
Time will tell if the JC talks is idle talk but his name was mentioned to me before Alex tweeted. From what I hear there interest, whether Ronny consulted, I do not know.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
IGC…
Poland and Greece.
Welcome Ronny.
£8 mil for Hooper? Somebody is having a laugh.
Can see the police huckling Deila for playing offensive football.
Welcome Ronny.
If you want to take yer top off carry on!
HH!!
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
I don’t know why you read him, he’s curdled.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
12:35 on
6 June, 2014
It don`t rhyme with Cecilia.
Sadly.
Tallybhoy- we don’t want to re-ignite the ole thongs debate