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.
[calameo code=000390171873c910154bd lang=en page=106 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
1,643 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- ...
- 44
- »
Syndeytim.
We’re a PLC. If the CEO didn’t have an eye on the balance sheet there would be something far wrong.
Incidentally, VVD and Wanyama acquisition s were balance sheet motivated transfers, how did they work out?
Another cheap appointment ,kept saying at press conference he was all about developing young players,sorry but most young scottish players are crap these days,and can,t make rubbish good,sounds like the perfect pirate pete appointment ,not going to demand a lot of high quality signings,and he a bloody whale murdering norweigan,
Thinking of giving up going to games after over 5o yrs continuous support,hope . can get A refund on my season book,funny how they didn,t appoint him till after the deadline for renewals.
STOP THE BLOODY WHALING NO WAY NORWAY
agent green,
Kev j :))
No, joking I’ve met Kev j, he might ruffle some feathers on here but he’s a nice bloke.
Be a man Paul and apologise
Shocked that u could go so low
THE EXILED TIM 13:21
When MoN was appointed manager I was so happy I cried.
Just had the self same feeling watching Ronny there at his presser.
—————————————————————————————-
“I will treasure this opportunity and will give everything I have to achieve success for Celtic and our wonderful fans”.
Didn’t Martin say something very similar?
Have a good felling about this guy.
“Lowest of the Low” Sydneytim…get real…Martin gave us many many great occasions and memories but you are allowed to say some negative things about him….his one weakness was signings (within our budget and usually on the last day of the season)…Pauls article was about highlighting and closing the gap on the major weakness…
Is it a full moon in Sydney?
Gerryguk7. We are a football team
Agent Green 13:25
Embdy know the zoomer interviewed outside CP?
” he better hit the groon running and keep the team ticking over until Rangers come back”.
———————————————————————
How many legs did it have?
Ron Manager was very impressive for me at press conference, intelligent,positive and talking up attacking football. Well travelled in educating himself Barca,Liverpool and Man City to name a few. Future looks interesting.
sydneytim
Lawwell’s salary is circa £500K
Annual Compensation*
Salary 507,625 GBP
Bonus 398,500 GBP
Total Annual Compensation 906,125 GBP
Stock Options*
All Other Compensation 93,466 GBP
Exercisable Options 722,889
Exercisable Options Value 104,819 GBP
Total Value of Options 104,818 GBP
Total Number of Options 722,889
Total Compensation*
Total Annual Cash Compensation 999,591 GBP
Total Short Term Compensation 906,125 GBP
Other Long Term Compensation 93,466 GBP
Total Calculated Compensation
It’s the bonus and add ons
HH
The sun is shinin’ on our excitin’ new appointment, but are fholk happy?
No wonder Bro Walfrid chucked it.
Gggrrrrrrrrrrr
SydneyTim:
So what if Paul has a dig at Martin O’Neil, it’s not like you’ve never had a dig at more than a few Celtic employees over the years. Live and let live or argue.
darwinsbeautifulidea
well the rest of us have learned to stand up and walk,talk,be nice n’ pleasant, help the poor,so whits it like for you lot.
Givehimthemoney. Indeed he signed a big team in his 1st 2 years that lasted 5. He indeed struggled with substitutes
But c’mon no need for that comment
mickbhoy1888
13:12
If you’re going to make comments like that then you have to back it up. Who have you heard that’s been offered the job?
Could all the mineshafters and battery lickers please GTF and let the rest of us get on with backing the club and our new manager?
HH
Can’t help feeling we may have missed a trick here.
Apparently our opponents in the first 2 CL qualifiers may well be part timers. There must be a manager somewhere who is used to beating part timers armed only with a highly paid full time squad and some honest mistakes.
darwinsbeautifulidea,
Give the guy a chance, he’s here now and we can see how he does.
You never know, he might do a grand job and we can have a whale off a time. :)
iPaddy McCourt lol well said sir
NL says our new manager/head coach was being lined up as no 2 when JM left!
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/other-soccer/neil-lennon-im-disappointed-roy-keane-turned-down-celtic-30333535.html
Welcome to Glasgow Celtic Football Club, Mr Ronny Deila.
I wish you every success in the world
Coaching the greatest football club in the world
Onwards and upwards
Put us back in the limelight at the top table
weliveinhopeCSC
SPD 1956
Thought JB and KD were very poor – a hero-worshipper’ s appointments.
Thought MON was great – but he was given more money than anyone before or since.
WGS – a very good manager some fans were never going to like.
TM – less said the better.
NL – given all the circumstances – first class. What happened there?
Ronnie, welcome to Paradise.
Kit. Martin put smiles on the faces of the fans for many a year and sure he made some mistakes
But that was uncalled for Michael Collins SMS to me could not be published due to rules on this blog
Where is the criticism of PL. A man who has made a fortune out of our club by taking talent from out team
He changed everyone’s lives and stories of that there is no doubt…(even Bobby Petta) but if you were to point out an Achilles heel(the thrust of the article) of Martins it would be his knowledge of non-british football transfer talent
IPADDYMCCOURT
Nope.
We provide the balance on here,like it or not.
If you don’t like that,go and watch North Korea.
Welcome to the greatest club on planet fitba ronny and well done to PL and the celtic board(correct spelling not the childish one) on working under the radar and not giving the msm a sniff of our business
HH
“whereas Martin O’Neill pretty much bought players who appeared on Match of the Day or Sportscene.”
Is that the statement that has got people agitated?
Is that really damaging to MON’s reputation?
Who would you apologise to? Has MON asked for an apology.
Of all our recent managers, MON has had much, much, much, much, fewer adverse or critical comments made about him.
WGS, Tony Mowbray, Neil Lennon and our new man have all had more scathing criticisms made of them, sometimes by the people demanding an apology now. And, of course, Peter Lawwell, a Celtic supporter, has had much worse than any of them from our own.
There is no need for apology here. It is just an opinion and it can be challenged and even ridiculed. No one was accused of being racist, sexist, homophobic, Unionist, non-Celtic minded or a green hun. MON can live with some people thinking he was not a living saint.
the last two managers that id not heard off were Wim and Dr Jo
What statement about MON was untrue or derogatory? To suggest anything other than the fact that MON signed players he knew/were in close proximity is deluded. That takes nothing away from his strengths. He also did not have a long term plan, it was all front loaded. That was apparent then and is apparent now. The same happened at Villa. Again, that is not insulting the man, if you can’t take that you have some growing up to do.
darwinsbeautifulidea
13:30 on 6 June, 2014
—————-
I can feel your pain, Darwin.
Try to think on how good the second division of Scottish football is going to be this year.
Far better than that daft SPL nonsense.
Simply the best, really.
Dick Byrne,
Thoughts and prayers with the loved ones
No one on here knows anything; that doesn’t make it less of a [mostly] fairly entertaining slice of ole cyberloafin’, but get real.
Modern,intelligent and progressive. Sounds good to me.We need Celtic to keep moving on so it was encouraging to hear Ronny talking about developing not only players but also a culture within the club.
Hopfully that means not only winning trophies but also a mentality of mutal support on and off the field, given the challenges we will have in Europe this season.
I was pleased to hear PL publicly acknowledging the achievments and legacy of Neil
Now we should all get behind our new man as he begins the biggest challenge of his career.
Hail Hail !
WOOSTERBHOY
Like it,buddy.
Very droll.
I wasn’t online when you announced your arrival,but welcome indeed.
Btw,I gave TRAVELLERBHOY a version of your hero’s favourite pick-me-up last week.
Not heard from him since!
Lym. His bonus’s are from denying our managers funds for players
His personal income has Increased while we all talk about saving money
SydneyTim:
What Paul wrote was true to a large extent, I suppose you could read a dig into it if you really wanted to, but no matter how hard I looked at it, I couldn’t see anything to get too flappered about, ‘cos if it was a dig… it was ever such a soft one.
If you and MC decided not to post, then who’s going to hear you.
SYDNEY TIM
There is plenty of criticism of PL on here,bud.
Not just from me either.
Dunno how you miss it,the site is far from a PL love-in.
I would name names,but they might get red-carded…..
Kit. Indeed. 6-2 Seville treble liverpool Blackburn etc were awefull
It was uncalled for on a day that our new manager was unveiled