Deila, Lennon, Le Guen and George Weah’s many cousins

1054

Back in October 2011 I was for calling an end to the Neil Lennon experiment.  During the previous season he lost the league after a late collapse, while exiting Europe in August after defeats to Braga and Utrecht.  That season Sion’s insistence in not playing by the rules allowed us a backdoor ticket to the Europa League but we were 10 points behind Ally McCoist’s Rangers.

Subsequent events proved there was not enough evidence on show to judge the Neil Lennon era early in his second season.  Neil pulled things together, finished a credible third in the Europa League group and never looked back.

Ronny Deila has already made mistakes in his Celtic tenure but does anyone seriously believe he has had the opportunity and resources to build a team?  Of course not.  He needs to sort out the many cousins of George Weah who have arrived recently from the genuine John Guidetti’s.  He needs players who can pass the ball with reasonable accuracy but most of all he needs players of courage and attitude.

I would probably be singing a different tune if we still had Rangers to contend with, long-term development objectives are important but the short-term need to win the league remains absolute, but we don’t, which means short-term targets remain well within grasp.

The memory of Rangers’ many mistakes in the years before liquidation offers another lesson.  They sacked Paul Le Guen six months into a badly needed overhaul project.  Le Guen was appointed months before he took up the reins and had enough time to watch his new team and scout transfer targets, but even that wasn’t enough to ensure a smooth transition, as he found the Weahs living in Austria.  Le Guen was decrying his as a heretic by a club incapable of change.

Despite the tiredness after Thursday and a plethora of injuries, Celtic had enough resources to swamp a tiny football club yesterday.  That we didn’t, suggests Ronny has a big job on his hands.  From the frustration shown by Scott Brown and Stefan Johansen at their team-mates yesterday, I suggest he builds his recovery around these two.

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  1. *** CQN PREDICTOR COMPETITION – GROUP STAGES***

     

     

    Bhoys and Ghirls.

     

     

    The draw has now been made for the 8 Champions League Groups and the 8 Europa League Groups and the details are shown below.

     

     

    Everyone will soon be asked to submit their predictions for 60 (SIXTY) games with the deadline for submissions being 18th October. You should receive an email with much more information on what’s required within the next couple of days and of course a note of the fixtures. But basically the 6 sets of fixtures will cover the weekends running from 18th October to the end of November. And for each set you will be ‘playing’ against one of the 3 other competitors in your group -just beat your immediate competitor and pick up 3 points.

     

     

    The Groups are as follows –

     

     

    CQN Predictor Cup -Group Stages: Champions League

     

     

    GROUP A

     

    Catalpa

     

    bada bing

     

    Dim Sam

     

    DougC

     

     

     

    GROUP B

     

    GoogyBhoy

     

    Thom’s Sellik

     

    Marapapa

     

    Hmack

     

     

     

    GROUP C

     

    B-Boy

     

    Penfold

     

    Jeez_I_thought_blinker_was_pants

     

    Mrs CRC

     

     

     

    GROUP D

     

    Jobo Baldie

     

    Bjmac

     

    Stevenage Bhoy

     

    Kolncelt

     

     

     

    GROUP E

     

    sftb

     

    Lennybhoy

     

    Bognorbhoy

     

    Patrick27

     

     

     

    GROUP F

     

    Kelvin Bhoy

     

    GG

     

    St Patricks Bhoy

     

    Pogmathonyahun

     

     

     

    GROUP G

     

    Cowie Bhoy

     

    Leftclicktic

     

    celticrollercoaster

     

    BMCUWP

     

     

     

    GROUP H

     

    Sipsini

     

    Bognor hoops

     

    The ExiledTim

     

    Thecelt45

     

     

     

    CQN Predictor Cup -Group Stages: Europa League

     

     

    GROUP A

     

    Celtic Rose

     

    Twists and Turns

     

    Bhoywonder84

     

    Hamilton Tim

     

     

    GROUP B

     

    cliftonville celt

     

    Travel Bhoy

     

    PaddyBhoy1888

     

    realnineinarow

     

     

    GROUP C

     

    Castlebhoy

     

    sponsored by cheetah

     

    Jonnythetim

     

    deccyrollercoaster

     

     

    GROUP D

     

    3mick3

     

    mayanaman

     

    McFudge

     

    Dick Byrne

     

     

    GROUP E

     

    Murdoch Auld & Hay

     

    Ard Ri

     

    Bobby evans Superstar

     

    Elharto

     

     

    GROUP F

     

    Blantyre Kev

     

    The lizard king

     

    Doc

     

    saint stivs

     

     

    GROUP G

     

    fleagle

     

    Hutchbhoy

     

    The Lurker

     

    Jamesgang

     

     

    GROUP H

     

    ticgaz

     

    Praecepta

     

    The Token Tim

     

    Smashing Milk Bottles

  2. Jobo

     

     

    Does the below reflect a prediction on the predictions?!!

     

     

    GROUP G

     

    fleagle

     

    Hutchbhoy

     

    The Lurker

     

    Jamesgang

     

     

    HH jamesgang

  3. My friends in Celtic,

     

     

    We have no divine right to win, non should we have.

     

    Even modest teams have no fear coming to Parkhead where once not so long ago even the big guns trembled.

     

     

    We are soft and vulnerable, and it seems we are going backwards.

     

     

    The question I ask myself is ” Do we have to go backwards to progress the modern way” I just do not know, but my thoughts are; that we either back the management team 100% and accept the hopefully short to medium term consequences with associated pain, or we panic prematurely and sack RD and JC with no invigorating thought of alternative replacements.

     

     

    We then reel out the usual suspects and we steady the ship. We achieve limited domestic success which many think is our right, but we do not move forward in the big picture.

     

     

    On reflection my decision would be to hold our nerve and give RD some more time. We have embarked on a totally different approach to football and although not to my liking at this moment I feel we have to give this transition some more time.

     

     

    Of course I may be totally wrong, the man is just a dud in footballing terms and has to go, but not yet.

     

     

    HH.

  4. Guy kills 5 people.

     

    .goes to the nick ..gets out 1994.. Changes his name.last year..threatens neighbours coppers raid his house… Find guns ammo and a bomb ….he’s70…wow..

     

    .

  5. Stairheedrammy on

    Several possible candidates were sounded out for interest as part of the search for a Celtic manager, none ŵere apparently offered the job, just asked if they would like to be in the mix. unfortunately this gives the MSSM the opportunity to run the headline xxxxx turns down the Celtic job, to appeal to their readership demographic. It’s a shame when Celtic fans start believing such propaganda. What’s next, Catholic schools are the cause of Scotland’s sectarianism?

  6. jamesgang –

     

     

    reading too much into it mate. No seedings were adopted in the making of the draw. ;-)

  7. Squire,

     

     

    A wise old Monaghan companion used to tell me, in Celtic’s least successful but most satisfying years,… ‘ you have to listen to everybody including the fool, to be sure you don’t miss the utterances of the wise man’.

     

     

    God rest you , Arthur, I am following your advice, but sometimes it is very trying.

     

    ________

     

     

    A big thanks to Twists & Turns for making so many of us smile this evening.

  8. Croppybhoy,

     

     

    Excellent post! Nails hit squarely on their heads.

     

    Agree that fitness is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for success at the CL leve of the game.

     

    Celtic does not have the same quality of players as the top European teams. Our only hope is to have an effective game plan properly executed by the team. Without that we shall fail nine times out of ten,irrespective of fitness levels.

     

     

    Does anyone see an effective game plan or shape emerging? Hamilton had one, we did not. We relied on superior players trying to win the game individually.

     

     

    Rebus

  9. Stairheedrammy on

    Give the manager till Christmas, if we are not top of the league by then bring in a replacement.

  10. Hamiltontim

     

    19:07 on

     

    6 October, 2014

     

    After watching the sport on STV I’m deeply sorry that I missed Accies winning the World Cup, Champions League and SPFL this weekend!!

     

     

    Come on Ronny, sort it out and ram it down their throats!

     

     

    …………………………………………….

     

     

    Aye, all very well………………but ye didny mention that Sun Sport had 8 of the Hamilton team in their team of the day!!!

     

     

    Another miracle.

     

     

    Look out football world………………………..yer gonny win nuthin’ fur years…………….. here come the Accies!!!!!!!!!!!

  11. Next time Kayal is a sub,watch at half time,he only joins the rest of the subs halfway through their exercises,must be beneath him.

  12. Kevjungle….

     

     

    Pretty sure Arsenal tried to sign Lawwell a few years back but he turned then down saying he was a Celtic supporter and couldn’t leave the club.

  13. Celtic, Celtic, that’s the team for me,

     

     

    Celtic, Celtic, on to victory.

     

     

    C’MON THE CELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. If I recall correctly, and I stand to be corrected, the day we beat harts 7-0, Lenny played a diamond system in the mid, with Bitton playing the holding role, one of the best displays I saw from a Lenny team.

     

     

    Point, none really >}

     

     

    HH

  15. Stairheedrammy on

    Kev the demise of the orcs was more influential in emptying the ground of the Rangers haters than NFL, that and a global financial meltdown that made us all watch our pennies. NFL did a fair job under the circumstances even allowing for the duff forwards we keep signing.

  16. BT

     

     

    Was reading back and see you are in until Wednesday at the earliest.

     

     

    My mate works at that hospital and he tells me “Hattie Jaques” reads the blog.

     

     

    She’s pencilled your exit in for early November.

     

     

    Ah, well, we’ll be top of the league by then!

     

     

    Get well soon mate!!

  17. The problems stem from the very top of the club.

     

     

    The strategy from the board needs to change.

     

     

    Moneyball ain’t working.

     

     

    T T

  18. Frank Ryan's Whiskey on

    A disenfranchised support, dwindling crowds, Celtic PLC politburo and its propaganda arm trying to convince us that someone who won a league in a Scandinavian footballing backwater is the person with the experience to manage a club of Celtic stature. The chosen one he isn’t.

     

     

    Management Record. Norwegian fourth-tier club Brodd briefly in 2005. Joined Strømsgodset in 2006 as player/assistant coach, promoted to head coach of

     

    His first two seasons as head coach saw the club struggle against relegation In 2010 he won the Norwegian Cup and in 2013 he won the Norwegian Premier League with Strømsgodset, their first title in 43 years. ‘WOW’ just how many other big euro teams were clamouring for his signature before we landed him, oh aye that’s right -well thought of in football circles – Emmm

     

     

    Come on Bhoys wake up the emperor is bollock naked as well as being utterly tactically naïve.

  19. And now as I lie here my body all holes

     

    I think of those traitors who bargained and sold

     

    And I wish that my rifle had given the same

     

    To those QUISLINGS who sold out the patriot game.

     

     

    C’mon the Celts!!!!!!

  20. the glorious balance sheet on

    Let’s say we keep dropping points in the league at the same rate as we have in the first 8 matches.

     

     

    But we take care of Astra over the 2 games to get out of the Europa League group.

     

     

    We are then drawn against the Zombies in the league cup. Would losing that match be worthy of an instant dismissal for Ronny Deila?

  21. Frank Ryan's Whiskey on

    Oh well good news is Homeland series 4 has just started just as Vampire gore fest ‘The Strain’ season 1 ends

  22. Celticrollercoaster supporting Shay,our bhoy wonder along the way on

    GROUP G

     

    Cowie Bhoy

     

    Leftclicktic

     

    celticrollercoaster

     

    BMCUWP

     

     

    Group of death beckons :-)

     

     

    HH

     

     

    CRC

  23. where is our club going?

     

     

    we should be on the crest of a wave.

     

    yes we are financially sound but on

     

    the football side we have been let down

     

    badly by the board.

     

    we have desmond,lawell and riley who

     

    we might not all agree with them at times

     

    but have done the job on the moneyside

     

    of the club.

     

    then we have bankier,wilson, livingstone

     

    and allison on the board.

     

    now i may be ignorant here but what in a

     

    football sense do they bring to the club.

     

    why do we not have experienced football

     

    people i.e davie hay in these positions

     

    it makes me suspicious that it is more to

     

    do with dermot desmonds business interests

     

    like lord reid ex home secretary.

     

    we turn up to an agm and are helpless to make

     

    any changes.

     

    fergus mccann wanted to make the club belong

     

    to the fans but it doesnt seem to have turned out

     

    that way.

     

    i am sure most of us would want celtic to be paying

     

    its workers a living wage yet it obviously goes against

     

    the politics of our board so its unlikely to happen

     

    however we vote.

     

    i also question the huge waste of money spent over

     

    the last few years.

     

    we have a new manager who tells us that the playing

     

    staff are unhealthy unfit and overweight yet the club

     

    spent god knows how much on dieticians, fitness experts

     

    psycholigists ect ect,

     

    has anybody on the board questioned this expenditure

     

    if it has not been working.

     

    again if we had a football person on the board they would,

     

    like the fans be wanting to know why players cannot play

     

    two games a week or have to be taken off after 60 mins

     

    and overweight.

     

    then we have lennoxtown training academy.

     

    why is it we turn out winning young teams at

     

    u17, u19 ect yet are unable to promote them to

     

    the first team except for one or two.

     

    back in the day(i know i know) it was taken for granted

     

    that if you were in the reserve team you were more than

     

    likely to end up in the first team at some time.

     

    with the facilities that we now have it just doesnt happen

     

    there must be a reason.

     

    it would be easy to blame ronny delia for the state we

     

    are in just now and i was as sick as anybody watching

     

    that game on sunday, well played hamilton btw

     

    we have to hold the board responsible for some of

     

    the decisions over the last few yrs not just this season

     

    i wonder if the loan signings were forced on r.d

     

    neil lennon and john park also had some costly

     

    and horrendous signings with possibly 4 or 5

     

    exceptions.

     

    the club needs an overhaul starting with the plc

     

    board but that is unlikely to happen as we

     

    shareholders/fans are hamstrung and peter lawell

     

    has a million pound salary to protect

  24. Stairheedrammy

     

     

    19:54 on 6 October, 2014

     

    _____________________

     

    Well, he was a gamble and to an extent he worked

     

    till he started reading his own press – wondering why

     

    no one came calling from the EPL?

     

    Neil won 3 in a row two of which were achieved with

     

    no huns in the league. He was gash in the cups not learning

     

    from his mistakes ie: ‘every’ cup game is – do or die.

     

    For me, Neil walked coz he was on ‘half’ the wages of Super Salary.

  25. the glorious balance sheet on

    Kevjungle

     

     

    If Neil Lennon left because he was on less money than McCoist why did he wait 3 years after McCoist was appointed?

     

     

    I think you’ll find that he left because he was not happy at the standard of player being brought to the club and the level of funds provided for new signings.

     

     

    His decision to leave was nothing to do with McCoist’s salary.

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