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.
[calameo code=0003901718cdc4362fa2e? lang=en page=4 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
1,054 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- ...
- 28
- »
And I do enjoy the fear about the huns being in the SFPL next season, pathetic shitbags
Time to do holiday stuff
The question is not why our crossing is so poor, the question is why does that seem to be our main attacking notion?
I still don’t think RD has reached the point of no return, but surely he must look at his ‘losing’ formula and adapt a new system that works in Scotland. He has to change or lose his job. He is now starting to lose the fan support and it’s now a run away train unless he change the obvious. In my view.
1. A 2 man centre midfield with 2 very wide men does not work, it’s too widespread against a common 5 man midfield – 4 men with players moving across to whichever side the ball is on will be more stable until a level of confidence is reached.
2. Stop the wholesale changes, one player tinkering at a time will suffice.
3. The lone striker with one drifting is not working. Play 2 up front and play them tight. Tight enough to head the ball onto each other. 30ft apart is nonsense.
God help us if he gets the sack and the reigns handed to JC & JK.
If RD goes, they should all go.
I can’t believe I’m seeing people complaining about trying to get the players fit.
These guys aren’t your mates, they’re guys that we pay thousands upon thousands of pounds a week to play for our club. Surely the absolute least that should be demanded of them is that they are in peak physical condition !!!
Absolutely mental.
Moan about the performances, lack of cohesion on the picth, dropping 10 players for a league game when we needed to gel and build confidence but don’t moan about trying to get our professional sportsmen fit to do thier job!
guernica
Re “hiders”. You admit you are guessing on the identity and also assume its none of those you name.
Were you at the game yesterday?
I watched a player take corners all day until the last 30 secs of injury time. He didn’t want to take that one.
I’d say he hid yesterday.
I’d say he’s one of the most infuriating players I’ve ever seen in a Celtic jersey. He is always pointing out the faults in his teammates while getting away with murder on this blog and elsewhere.
I say he hides nearly every game.
But ‘Anto’ is Irish so that makes it OK then.
Robert88
I don’t want pick an argument but I see now doesn’t look like success by Celtic standards…
Sat 5th Oct 2013
Celtic League Position
1st-Celtic……………..22points…8 games played
2nd-Inverness CT…19points…9 games played
hail hail
One other thing, if Griffiths is the best finisher at the club, why is the strike force not built around him?
Statements like that get you sacked if you leave him out.
Guys, this is off topic but looking for some help.
Does anyone know any Architects? I need to get
Plans drawn up for a garage Conversion I had completed
as I am selling my house. I live in Hamilton so if anyone
knows someone who I could use it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Brnobhoy
Can anyone explain why Gillespie of Hamilton was booked on 65 minutes following incident when Tonev was cleaned out and ref gave a corner?
I’ve watched the incident again and it’s a clear penalty in my view. How can the referee award a corner AND book the player?
It’s an observation of mine – that is perhaps applicable to poor ole Ronny’s underwhelming start to his Celtic career – that people in work place increased importance on the aspect of the job that is most measured. Sales for the salesman, quality for the production manager, audit queries for the accountant, and so on.
People naturally take both pride in, and self-justification from, their performance against the key measured arbiter.
If Ronny placed most importance on pass completion rate, I’m pretty sure our passing would be considerably better.
If he was a stickler for measuring distance run in a game, our players would likely cover more ground.
Organisations often find that failure is a function of measuring the wrong thing. The time taken to build a bridge for example is considerably less important than its engineering integrity.
Unfortunately, Tony Stokes et al can look the manager in the eye and say: “What are you complaining about? I’m 5 kilos lighter!”
squire danaher
14:23 on 6 October, 2014
AS is a dud, proven time and again, irrespective of nationality.
We lost by a single goal in a game where we missed a selection of choice sitters.
As a result, I’ve read we have to sack the CEO, the Board, the Manager, the Assistant Manager and the Head Scout.
Can you imagine who we’d have to sack if we got pumped? Not even the tea lady would be safe.
Can we not at least save the blind panic until after the clocks have gone back?
-Tojo-
A lot of people thought Samaras was lazy. I think he would have been a good marker under Deila. If he improved 20% with the added fitness regime he would have been a superstar!
One day this team may all click together and really rattle off the results but I fear that is a while off. The players are now scared. We need a player to step up and take reponsibility. Big Samaras never ever hid. Shame big Sammi wasn’t offered a new deal.
LB
You are the top man at Celtic would you sack DEILA. Simple yes or no ?
☆☆☆☆☆ Happy Birthday Bournesouprecipe. ★★★★★
I suppose you and fellow celebratee Gerry Adams will be out for a pint?
○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ HAIL HAIL MATE ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Jungle Jim at 12:50 on 6 October, 2014
“Paul
A good, straightforward and rational post.”
What is the Stars at 12:51 on 6 October, 2014
“Paul
Utter nonsense”
a difference of opinion I see. As Harry Hill would say, there is only one way yo resolve this……FIGHT!
Emu
Consensus in 405 yesterday is that the card was for a foul earlier in that passage of play
B B
We’ve already been pumped by a couple of who are they teams in Europe??
Paul67
Cannot see the comparison between Le Guen and Ronny. Our Management recruitment reminds me of the well-known phrase:
“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”
Timing and circumstances aligned to allow a novice (to a degree) Lenny, step-in and repair a damaging TM season. Status and income were restored thanks to UCL participation and should have seen us push on or at worse – put contingency plans in place to ensure that we had a number of ‘professional’ candidates earmarked in the event of needing a replacement manager.
Theoretical football templates are all well and good – we don’t have the financial resources, the player pool ability or the UCL entry-level status to afford expensive write-off seasons.
Time for some uncompromising football tactics and game-winning statistics – experiments can be tried when games are won (3 or 4 goals) or when the League is tied-up.
H!H!
Kilbowie Kelt
so the bookies think we will win the one horse race eh?
do you think that means Ronny is taking celtic in the correct direction
last season we won the league by 29 points. I still think we will win it this season too
i think we could win it with you or me at the helm
this long term vision stuff is made up of fantasies and dreams.He has no qualification or pedigree to suggest that he is capable of managing a club of this size
Maybe hamilton were all just fast runners and we werent?
“He needs to sort out the many cousins of George Weah who have arrived recently from the genuine John Guidetti’s.”
Bloody hell Paul, how disparate are the Celtic football departments? Ronny is sorting out some other department’s shambles?
There are red herrings all over the place from Celtic. It’s a transition, it’s a cultural change, fitness revolution.
3 Weeks ago we all had a good idea, and on the hour mark yesterday everyone in the stadium had the cousins of George Weah sussed. Except Ronny and John Collins.
Long term planning is fine, but the immediacy of the ineptitude is startling.
Wingers on the wrong wing creating space for full backs who can’t cross. Always 2 of them, regardless, this is more rigid than Gordon’t 4-4-2. Imposters substituting goalscorers. Centre halves playing up front and goalies up for corners that don’t make it past the 1st defender for the 14th consecutive corner taken by the same player while strikers sit on the bench when there are unused substitutions.
Ronny is the symptom, not the disease. The disease is a long term fix but we should treat the symptom nonetheless.
Fitness, scouting and coaching ability are mutually exclusive. We have an inept coach. Happy to accept the other two are bereft of quality too, but certainly not that they are any reason to keep the coach.
No amount of corporate BS about buying into ideas or transitions and bigger pictures hide the fact that if it’s brown, looks and smells like a turd, then it’s probably a turd.
Apart from that we’re on track.
Kilbowie
Agree that 1/14 sounds a certainty
However Celtic were 1/50 before a ball was kicked
emusanorphan
14:26 on
6 October, 2014
Was he chatting back perhaps?
l p
YES!!
Burning_Bush
14:29 on 6 October, 2014
Very true
well done tnt good winner to start the week
Cloonacool, good tip bhoys :-)
Jude2005, WGS’ team was pumped by Bratislava. He won three in a row and took us to the CL last 16 twice.
I don’t actually think RD will achieve any of that I just think we need to keep things in perspective. I also don’t want Celtic to be a team that punts a manager after just a few months. It would do nothing to improve the standard of candidates next time around.
I still think he has to win the 4 remaining fixtures in October. If he does that, we’ll look back on yesterday with little more than a grimace. If he doesn’t then he can’t say he wasn’t given a chance.
:-))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Horse hoses in at 7/1
Well done
TNT, your tip I think, well done
CultsBhoy
I see where people are coming from, but its all knee jerk reaction stuff.
lennon’s passion
No
Excellent info tnt
Horse should go on to better things. Thanks again.
Heard a “Celtic” guy in the shop there bragg he bet Accies to win.. Cldny help asking him. Did he get paid 40 pieces of silver?
Twisty
Many thanks pal, I’m not a horsey betting Mhan but stuck £20 on it.
Cheers mi amigo (thumbs up)
V
Tamrabam
We have much the same issue as last season. We lose the first goal we don;t look like coming back.
I suspect we are a bit predictable too. Our full backs will see a lot of the ball. If you dispose a full back you have acres to run into. If you attack at pace our full backs leave our back two exposed because they are too far up the pitch. We are leaking goals at an alarming rate against sides who are way below our level. our dead balls lack imgination and invention.
Ronny Deila talks about fitness and being pleased with the team. No manager of any team sport should be happy when his team loses. I think there is a balance between Ronny and Neil. Neil’s passion and motivation and Ronny’s fitness methods and ideas on nutrition. Ronny would be an excellent No 2. he might just be an amazing manager but the clock is ticking. We all know fan power can force him out quicker than the board want to. Once the stadium is less than half full the club have a problem.
I am not sure that Ronny will get the time but alarmingly I don;t see where we go if Ronny is punted.
A long term strategy is maybe fine for a club who do not win trophies. Celtic are expected to win 3 every year and achieve in Europe. Ronny should feel under pressure and let the players know it because the number of fans restless will only increase every point dropped at home and in Europe.
LB