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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Ernie
If Deila does well, his stock will rise and he’ll get the same commentary as Lenny. Heck O’Neill himself was (desperately) quoted for every EPL job from 2002 onwards. He was close to taking the Leeds job a year later, and Risdale claims he had agreed to take over in Jan 2003.
That’s the way it goes. If Deila does well, he’ll be here for 4 years. That’s the cycle.
There won’t be an offer for him any time soon. 3 years from now? Different matter.
Over to Deila and Celtic to make sure it works meantime. If it’s a success, we’ll all be delighted. For the moment, we have a manager in charge who’s committed for the long haul.
As it should be.
Roy Croppie, one of the few times I was ever annoyed with Davie Hay was when he dropped Choccy for Melrose in that Aarhus game.
Choccy did come on as a sub later in the above game.
Jobo, good news about your wife. Long term debilitating conditions are horrible.
Next Saturday the Green Brigade are having their annual anti-racism tournament at Clenconner Park just off the Garngad. It starts at twelve. A work colleague is one of its members and told me about it yesterday. Irrespective of the group’s rights and wrongs, this is a great initiative which they have done for about the last five years.
a remember saving up to buy a jar of the salmon paste ….never again as the glass bottom was aboot an inch thick …no hardly enough to spread a roll…
feltverycheatedcfc……
but learned an important wee lesson for life ….
braw
thomthethim for Oscar OK
11:38 on 7 June, 2014
If an EPL club came in for Ronny Deila today what do you think he would do?
Would he knock them back?
Do you think he was asked that question before he was appointed?
Or was the possibility too remote to be of concern?
If Deila has success in Europe he will be a prime target for EPL clubs and he will probably go .If he bombs in Europe we will sack him
EL,
So, it’s ok for hard core(?) fans to put the boot in, but not the media?
…..and you think that demonstrates that they care more?
Tough love, is it?
What a strange wee man you are.
The Battered Bunnet
11:39 on 7 June, 2014
And yet we are to believe that Roy Keane was being considered for the job?
I hope Ronny is keeping a copy of all these negative jibes by the MSM and other so-called experts. Then WHEN he wins the treble with NFLs leftovers, he sends a copy back to each author and demands that they republish with an equally lengthy apology.
Not a single player has kicked a ball for Celtic under the new management and already the knives are out.
Stick it to them Ronny.
Winning Captains / BRTH
…..while yer at it, any news on the CQN flyer????
thomthethim for Oscar OK
11:42 on 7 June, 2014
It’s just an observation.
What’s your experience of the hardcore element of the support?
Not people on the internet. The home and away, never miss a game ones.
On Keane and Deila.
From a conversation in Charlies War.
Gust: Did I ever tell you the story of the Zen master and the little boy?
On his 16th birthday, a boy gets a horse as a present.
All the villagers say,
“How wonderful!”
The Zen master says, “We’ll see.”
One day, the boy is thrown from the horse and is hurt and can no longer walk.
All the villagers say, “How terrible!”
The Zen master says, “We’ll see.”
A short time later, war begins, and all the young men of the village are taken away to be soldiers, but this boy can’t fight, so he is spared, and all the villagers say, “How wonderful!”
Charlie: And the Zen master says, “We’ll see…”
Gust: You’re catching on…
The meaning of this is pretty clear: Our mind makes notions of “good” and “bad” based on very limited information. If we could see the whole of a situation, then we might just say “we’ll see…”
T’was ever so.
son was telling me yesterday,he took the kids to funworld in greenocks battery park. funworld is a big space with bouncy castles and chutes and all the things kids love. their was a kids party in and lo n behold it was fatty mcoist.eight hundred grand a year and he books a kids party at a fiver a head,cheapskate.will give him some credit my son said he posed for photographs with anybody who asked and was chatty with everyone.still a cheapskate.no jokes about his weight and bouncy castles please.
spot on Auld yin ….jist like salmon paste ………..braw
I don’t accept Ernie’s point that the more critical care more but neither do they care less. I am one of those who was initially underwhelmed by Ronny’s appointment and trying to argue my reservations against a tide of euphoric postings gave me more of an understanding of what lads like Ernie, NegAnon & PFAyr to name a few, have to face on a regular basis. In future I have promised myself to be more open and understanding of minority views on the blog.
Good Morning Timland.
Neustadt-Braw…I believe there is a salmon spread support
group out there, somewhere.
Ernie Lynch
That is my criticism of this current recruiting process.
It was off the cuff.
Roy Keane was seriously desired by DD for the managers role.
He is nothing like the model that we actually employed.
Allovertheplacecsc
TT
ernie lynch
11:46 on 7 June, 2014
thomthethim for Oscar OK
11:42 on 7 June, 2014
It’s just an observation.
What’s your experience of the hardcore element of the support?
Not people on the internet. The home and away, never miss a game ones.
****
Dear, O dear.
Are you questioning my Celtic credentials now?
And what in the name of God is a hard core supporter.
Has it something to do with pornography or such like?
Auldheid………….
I think you’ve told that story before ,perhaps without the reference to where it came from?….I love the meaning in the story and its wisdom. It’s a keeper….Thanks for sharing again.
Skol!
HH
YouTube is dangerous but a manager who knows all about a player removes that risk… I really hope we sign Martin Ødegaard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2c4q-Fkyt4
He’s not 16 until December! From the clips of this match he looks like he has perfect balance, the type of balance the likes of Messi possesses (not claiming he’ll ever be anywhere near Messi, just an observation on his balance). He has quick feet and for a 15 year old looks capable of mixing it up and shielding the ball, he also seems very composed in tight spaces for someone so young.
I wouldn’t imagine he’d break the bank and although he might not be ready for the 1st team he looks like he could be a top, top player in the future. Imagine playing in the first team of a championship winning side at 15!?
Can’t hurt that he plays in #67
TBB @ 11:39
Did MoN not successfully sue the Daily Retard for similar allegations re the Leeds job?
Hoop you have a good lawyer on hand? :-)
HH
CRC
I will never understand why some will follow so blindly and turn on anyone, including club legends like Chris Sutton, who may question anything in regards to Celtic?
He is entitled to his opinion and in my own he has certainly earned it.
HH!
Squire D
All orders before Tommy went to Lisbon were sent out signed by TG.
We have a few hundred books which are waiting for Tommy to sign which he will do now that he is back. He went for a wee holiday after Lisbon and got back last night.
If anyone wants a signed copy of Tommy’s new book please email me – david@cqnmagazine.com
great news Jobo, long may it continue. Have a great weekend.
Just watched England nearly hold the mighty AB’s . Not bad for a rookie team and will shake the Kiwi’s a bit. Round ball game resumes this week with the WC.
I am speaking from personal experience right now.
In Feb this year I employed a high profile employee who was a competitor of mine for 10 years.
The role I needed filling was different from the role the employee was experienced.
I figured there were easily transferable skills,good contacts and thought that I could mould the person.
I employed a square peg for a round hole.
The employee resigned 3 days ago.
Lasting only 18 weeks.
It has a costly exercise .
I have vast experience of recruiting staff ,and yet I still got it wrong.
This raw and very current for me.
I have re learned a valuable point.
Look at what the business needs and employ to fit the needs.
No square pegs for round holes.
Donny Deila to me is round peg for a round hole ,and Roy Keane was a square peg for a round hole.
TT
Nye Bevans’ rebel soldier
11:52 on
7 June, 2014
aye ,well I hope they tak my advices…… :) braw
but there are loons that winae be telt …… :)
braw
Sorry for my usual poor typing .
No time to proof read ,as it am doing the work of 3 people today.
TT
corkcelt
11:50 on 7 June, 2014
‘I don’t accept Ernie’s point that the more critical care more’
###
That’s not what I said.
I said the more committed fans tend to be more critical than the rest.
That’s just an observation, an impression, from my experience.
It’s probably true across most areas of life, not just football and not just Celtic.
The Post Office get a bad press these days,but credit where it’s due.
I just received a postcard addressed
STUPID SCOTS GIT NOW LIVING IN SWINDON
with
Hope this finds you well,mo chara
on the back.
Wel done,I say.
Bank ie bhoy
I have and I think the story predates the movie, but coming where it does in the movie, when the Afghans with the help of American missiles have defeated the Russians, opening the way for the Taliban, it is particularly meaningful.
TAURANGABHOY
You packed yet for the offski?
Have a great time,the lot of you.
The Battered Bunnet
10:17 on
7 June, 2014
Marvellous tale.
Mirrors in many ways my own life story.
HAPPY HOOPY BIRTHDAY
to one of life’s good guys,
PEDROCARAVANECHIO67
HH.
Not too many disagreed with big Sutties comments regarding Dunfermline in 2003 seems he knew what he was talking about then
corkcelt
11:39 on 7 June, 2014
J O’N. Many SPFL teams play 10 behind the ball against Celtic, have never seen a Norwegian League game but doubt very much if Stromgodset had to face that problem on a regular basis, yet last year their goals per game ratio was 2.2 whilst Lenny’s team was 2.62.
—-
Your first point is valid and I look forward to seeing how Ronny attempts to break down teams at Celtic park.
Your second point is less valid. You also need to factor in the cost of the team relative to others in the league. I have read variying reports that say he operated with a team which was anything from 1/3 to 1/10 that of the highest paid team in their league whilst we were easily the highest in our league.
TBB Owny Coyle would also have been one of those pupils, is that good or bad?
Auldheid….indeed.
I took the point you made originally and since pointing it out I’ve often referred to the wisdom in it since then, in things that have come up…but I could never recall the exact detail. Thanks again.
CQN – ever day’s a school day!
SuperSutton, You may well be right, I freely admit I know absolutely nothing about Norwegian football and the relative budgets of the various Clubs. He may indeed have made a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Whatever he has done there, Celtic will present a different challenge. I desperately want him to succeed but for me the jury is out whether he can make this transition.
Ernie Lynch
Is it not just a feature of human nature that the more you put in to supporting anything in terms of time and money, the more you expect back?
On the surface that does not explain say Kevjungle (not a criticism Kevj just an observation) whom I see as more of a conscientious objecter, grieving over a lost love. But even there is his contribution here but a reflection of the commitment he once made to an ideal that he feels has spurned him?
Ultimately is the commitment really only to our own ideals with Celtic providing a vehicle to express them?
On a more practical level. Thank God for the committed and devoted who turn up regularly, for without them there would be no totem for the Celtic tribe to gather around.