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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PL – excellent support structure immediately available for Ronny
– intend to continue to be dominant at home and progress in europe
Milan, dortmund, liverpool, man city and barcelona in the last couple of years learning
Ronny sounding really positive
HH
PL – talking to C Gordon’s agent. Stevie Woods very impressed
Discussing Craig Gordon now. Being offered deal?
In discussion with Craig Gordon’s agent, Stevie Woods impressed by him in training, RD knows of him.
That was back in the days when Hibs were the first British team to reach the Big Cup semi-finals and beating the likes of Barcelona and drawing 5 – 5 with Roma. Dundee getting knocled out of the European Cup semi-final by AC Milan and the inters semi-final by Leeds. Hearts, we won’t mention them. And Kilmarnock were beating the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and being knocked out of the Inters at the semi-final stage on a 4 – 2 aggregate to Leeds. That in the same year as Celtic won the Big Cup and Rangers were beaten 1 – 0 by Bayern Munich in the cup winners cup. Just imagine if Rangers and Kilmarnock had won their competitions too. What a boast for Scotland.
Very impressive. Articulate and knows how to play a straight bat. And has a sense of humour.
Spiers try to spear him with how bad football is – Ronny smashes off the comment with ease
Stevie woods says Gordon is looking excellent in training and we are close
OK, sky break off.
Very impressive first impression.
Bring it on!!!!
Not a mention of the deid lot, well I never…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Welcome to Celtic Ronny, I hope you can learn quickly given our CL qualifiers are around the corner.
Paul I think we can do without the snidey digs at Martin O’Neill. That’s several jibes in the past few days. He’s a legend to the vast majority of Celtic fans and gave us some wonderful occasions and a stunningly successful period.
It sickens me to the pit of my stomach to see the man disrespected in this way. He’s forgotten more about football than you or Peter Lawell will ever know.
It sickens me to the pit of my st
He says he had little info about competitors…lots of work to do over the next few weeks
JC a canditate but not chosen for no 2
Morrissey,
He’s just impressed me in his first press conference.
Let’s hope he’s as good ‘on the park’
mickbhoy1888
13:12 on 6 June, 2014
From what you hear who was in front of Ronny?
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
First things first.
Condolences to Dick Byrne and his family.
You have had much more than your share of sorrow to cope with.
May your brother RIP
I can’t help but think that the rotund dude just interviewed outside cp will be a little disappointed if he thinks the treble is a must/priority.
Welcome Ronny, we wish you every success.
Start with taking £12m for FF from Spurs and £11m from Toffees for VVD and JF, bank half and spend rest on couple or 3 exciting young fast players! Apart from that be your own man! :) …………
When MoN was appointed manager I was so happy I cried.
Just had the self same feeling watching Ronny there at his presser.
HH
I was Just waiting for the deadco question…smsm = sad, masonic, sinister, megalomaniacs.
See, no sweary words!
Welcome to our new Celtic Manager.
You have my full support but I will reserve my evaluation until I see the evidence of how Celtic perform under you. Every new manager is an opportunity to improve.
If we see Rafael Scheid back. That’s the clue this new guy is a dud.
An excellent appointment, and for once not even I have anything to moan about!
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/the-man-who-came-in-from-the-cold/
Welcome to the Greatest Club in World Football.
Well that is a good start,
He seems like a good fit for us.
sometimes you just get a feeling that somebody is a guy you would get on with and would be welcome into the family.
Ronnie Bhoy seems a switched on kind of guy.
Will he be a success
WE’LL SEE
Till later
Off to ML4
Embdy know the zoomer interviewed outside CP?
” he better hit the groon running and keep the team ticking over until Rangers come back”.
I despair.
Welcome to Celtic Ronny you look like you’ve just won the lotto!
HH!
MICHAEL COLLINS
I agree that no-one should be subjecting Martin O’Neill’s record to subjective revisionism.
Where we were when he arrived is truly dreadful to recall.
His achievements were massive,though undoubtedly could have been better. As could,on many occasions,be the quality on show.
Hey,no-one’s perfect!
But PAUL67 is entitled to his opinion,the same as the rest of us.
More so,tbh,when I think about it!!
A comfortable performance in the presser- first test past !
I am very comfortable with selling Foster if it means we are spending the cash to buy a creative midfielder…could this be the first manager since Dr Jo to be able to identify a creative central midfielder ? (excluding Willo Flood obviously)
Go Ron Ron Ron a Go Ron Ron
Michael Collins
Never have I heard Paul /PL speaking about Martin that way
Lowest of the low
apologies sydneytim for not seeing your link request
PL – excellent support structure immediately available for Ronny
C’mon Ronny, c’mon son.
Raise the players value.
Then I’ll give you a cheaper one.
RD – Peter. About that support?
PL – What is it son, do you not hear me singing when you win?
RD – But Peter, by support I was hoping you meant financial.
PL – Go away sonny. Don’t be silly now.
MWD says AYE number one choice my eerchie.
Very impressed with the new managers first appearance
:)
Watched the interview on SSN. First impressions, I like this guy. Welcome to the family Ronny.
“Da Do Run Run”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTqnam1zgiw
Lennybhoy
from what you hear and have texted us? Who wasn’t in front of Ronny?
MWD says AYE
I would have liked Steve McClaren, but this guy ticks all the boxes. He’s been to all the clubs at the top table to analyse how they work and how he can use it. That smacks of football brains. From further reading he’s not afraid to play open football at pace.
By the way, the only time I was really scared of Sevco was when Le Guen was their coach. He had them playing good football, and if they had had an ounce of sense they would have seen that. However, thanks to Bawbag Ferguson and his ilk the experiment was short lived. Come on–Sevco playing football? The FFs would think they were in the wrong stadium.
And finally, many thanks to Neil Lennon for continuing his policy of honest comments to Celtic fans this morning.
I see no undermining of Ronny Deila in your statement, just an endorsement that you would have been happy to see him succeed you even if your preference was for Roy Keane.
My preference for the post went to Bayer Leverkusen instead. Many people on here had favourites other than Ronny Deila, so I see no likelihood that Ronny will be hampered by your preference for Roy Keane.
As always, this controversy will be so much froth and bubble once the matches start as that is where the rightness or wrongness of the decision will be tested.
Thanks again Neil and may you continue your policy of openness and honesty as it is a rarity in these times. Many thanks for your contribution to the cause.
Foster off
Money for balance sheet AGM
Half lawell salary now 500k he can survive on
Paul any more jibes about Martin and I will leave CQN
Detract that statement now and apologise
Honesty and integrity