You remember Celtic manager, Gordon Stachan, third manager in our history to win three-in-a-row? Took us to the Champions League knock out stages for the first time, did much of this while comparative economics were moving against us, remember him? Is he the same Gordon Strachan who has transformed the Scotland national team’s results?
Gordon is unequivocally a successful manager but his Scotland team is performing far better than I thought possible when he took over what looked like a poisoned chalice. The most stunning fact of his record there is that they have not conceded a goal in three successive away games. Gordon’s Celtic covered 15 months, across two championship winning seasons, without keeping a single clean sheet away from home, no matter how lowly or distressed the opponent. Even good, experienced, managers learn, especially from their earlier troubles.
Jock Stein is viewed mostly through the prism of 1967 but during his final season as Celtic manager, 1977-78, the sentiment among many in the support was decidedly downbeat. Rangers (remember them, played in blue, I think?) would win their third title in four seasons, with two trebles thrown in for good measure. Celtic finished fifth in the league, Jock’s judgement was widely called into question.
At the time Leeds United were a top club in England and after Celtic sacked Jock they moved to secure him. Leeds had no doubts as to his abilities. A little over a month later the SFA offered him the Scotland job, which he took and excelled at, twice succeeding in World Cup qualifying campaigns. His talents were without question but stood in sharp contrast to how many in the support viewed him a few years earlier.
I don’t know if Jock was a better manager in 1982 and beyond than he was in 1978 but there’s a decent chance his football education didn’t stop when the trophies dried up at Celtic. Gordon Strachan is, like Jock was until the end, a student of the game. Neil Lennon is too, he is also receiving some of the reviews his illustrious predecessors would recognise. Gordon was an excellent Celtic manager but he’s better now, perhaps as a result of life’s experiences along the way.
It’ll be really interesting to see how Euro qualifiers reflect on the comparative progress of Gordon and Martin O’Neill, who for my money was a better manager than Mourinho when the latter deployed some of the best players in the world against Celtic in Seville, and needed to deploy every underhand trick in the book to come out on top.
I was blown away by the stunning contributions to our Mary’s Meals campaign yesterday. First in was an incredible £200 + £50 gift aid donation, followed by others, large and small, every one appreciated. Ignore those who would tell you society is dead. You can get involved here.
Seville, The Celtic Movement, launches this month.
“Porto were favourites and would go on to prove how good a team they were by winning the Champions League 12 months later. Their players would demonstrate their prowess across the world for the next decade. They had fabulous talent, so much so, that they should have aspired to better than the gamesmanship used during their run to the UEFA Cup and Champions League wins.”
Order yours below:
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1,097 Comments- Pages:
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ryecatcher
Ajax did not have to be very good to beat us that night. They are not a vintage Ajax but they did also beat Barca.
Ginger @ 14:30
I’ve got friends who are gingers.
I treat them just the same as I treat any other oddball.
“WGS and MON’s teams would have taken 4 or 5 off that lot.”
The game v Ajax was in the champions league group stage.
History tells us that Ajax would have taken 5 or 6 of us should we put 4 or 5 past them.
SFTB…..
Happen to think Barca are nowhere near the level they were at 3 years ago.
Guardiola is at the best team in the world again……not by accident!!
FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)
So you believe that Wanyama and Hooper would have stayed at Celtic on the same money they are currently getting down South?
I again have to disagree on that. Hooper had become disinterested up here and like many players do at various clubs wanted a change.
Victor Wanyama made no secret of his desire to play in the EPL and he left at the first chance he got.
We are not privvy to the contracts or the discussions that take place or the thinking of the players none of the two have exactly spoke of their heart break at being forced to leave though.
LB
Martin O’Neill dragged the Celtic – back into the ring again after, John Barnes had us hiding behind the couch – to face the huns toe to toe.
Wim Jansen had stopped the hun 10 in a row before being forced out the club as, Fergus cast the club into the wilderness for two years, whilst protecting his departing nest-egg of £40 mill.
I would have thought that, given Wim’s championship triumph, Fergus would have been up for a tilt at securing the CL money for the 1st time but, Fergus put Fergus 1st and the chance of experiencing the CL for Celtic fans was gone.
MO’N was credited by the SMSM as, having a blank cheque-book ?
MO’N sold Viduka for £6 mill and brought Sutton £6 mill, Berkovic £5mill – NL £5mill, Burley £3mill – Jos £3mill, Vidar Riseth £2mill – AT £2.4mill Didier Agathe £35k and went on to win the Treble in his 1st season.
God Bless Martin O’Neill.
I wept – unashamedly when he left.
Mind games…
Vidar Riseth sold for 2 million.
Really?
What a waste of a shirt he was.
FFM
Unless we have seen the contract offers we are all speculating. Hooper ( it appears) thought playing in the EPL would enhance his chance of playing for England. It was reported the Vic was offered an increase in wages from Celtic over a year before he left but he was advised not to sign.
I doubt PL was crying himself to sleep after Vic left, I have no idea what Vic wanted to do but I think he was badly advised… My opinion
As far as MON and WGS are concerned they were the right men at the right time for us and i am grateful to both.
Oh and a well done to the guy who hired them :)
“WGS and MON’s teams would have taken 4 or 5 off that lot.”
History tells us that we would be 3-0 down in the first 10 minutes away from home in the CL
The big C
.
FFM..
That was Quite Funny..
For You..
Summa
LiviBhoy @ 14:42
“So you believe that Wanyama and Hooper would have stayed at Celtic on the same money they are currently getting down South?”
No, I am not so presumptious. I echo your point :
“We are not privvy to the contracts or the discussions that take place or the thinking of the players none of the two have exactly spoke of their heart break at being forced to leave though.”
And add, why then do we assume that these players all wanted to leave for want of a better career elsewhere?
I don’t know one way of the other regarding each or any player, I’m simply saying, we should be careful of believing all the “snippets” that are released online regarding player preferences. A professional player (particularly the ones we sell) are professional enough not to discuss their contract negotiations.
Is it possible Sammi and Lenny scuppered the board by Sammy taking an undeserved paycut, yet again? Consider the CQN and other gossip before Sammy signed.
I don’t know either way, but thankfully, I’ve seen the light, and won’t be a blind supoorter of our board. They have a lot of questions to answer. And I don’t say this to cause strife, I say it (not lightly) because it’s upset me greatly in the past couple of years. I don’t trust them.
Thoughts on the World Cup….
Surprises in my mind…..
Spain will struggle big time…..been to the well too often.
Best European team apart from Germany will be Switzerland…..Belgium big players going off form at wrong time…..Holland over rated.France massively over rated.Italy just crap!!
African teams will flop tactically as usual.
Winners will come from Argentina,Brazil or Uruguay.
Summa,
Which one? Am on a role here, but encouragement in the right direction always helps…..
Ffm
Sorry to but in
I think you make good points that on another day with two other players would be watertight.
But ghoops would have walked down the road to any epl club that came calling imo. And good luck to him. I’d have him back in a flash.
Big Vic said from day one we were going to ve his springboard.
FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)
14:52 on
7 March, 2014
If after removing their transfer fees from the accounts, we would be showing a loss, I’d definitely veer towards your side of the argument.
We had no compelling financial reason to sell them, and particularly in Wanyama’s case another good season might have made him even more valuable, so the fact that we were being offered good money wouldn’t necessarily have tipped it. However, we certainly didn’t try to stop them going.
Ffm @ 1455
Probably the German quip.
I had a wee chortle myself :)
yorkbhoy
14:47 on 7 March, 2014
FFM
Unless we have seen the contract offers we are all speculating. Hooper ( it appears) thought playing in the EPL would enhance his chance of playing for England. It was reported the Vic was offered an increase in wages from Celtic over a year before he left but he was advised not to sign.
I doubt PL was crying himself to sleep after Vic left, I have no idea what Vic wanted to do but I think he was badly advised… My opinion
—-
Yorkbhoy,
Hope I’m not repeating myself too much here, but my point is, why do you assume both or either players chose to leave to play in England?
When a large transfer fee is on the table, does it not mean that the real decision makers are the buyers and sellers? The players would have little say.
ryecatcher
14:46 on 7 March, 2014
___________________
Riseth was brought to us as a midfielder.
Dr Jo played him at CH and he aquitted himself rather well I thought.
Thing is….he played CH all season then, in the Dallas coin game he
was replaced at CH by Scott Marshall who was making his debut for
us. I think that SM was the brother of our former GK – Gordon Marshall.
Needless to say, the move backfired and we were torn to ribbons through
the middle by Neil McCann. It was a terrible game for us.
ryecatcher
Only a idiot would predict the winner of the WC
at this stage……I’ll go for Argentina.
Ryecatcher
I have it disagree with you.
Ajax are a CL side ,they were at home ,and also beat Barca.
How that is a worst result than being beaten at home by a bottom of the league 1 side (Morton) is beyond me.
In recent times Clyde ,a lower league Ross County,Falkirk on pens.
All were pitiful.
TT
any UTT news yet?
I really need to poof read my posts before posting thum.
TT
PADDYBHOY1888 1430
I hear you have everyone working flat out.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BW4UfyQq2j4
Ryecatcher
I thought Vidar Riseth wasn’t that bad. He was Dr Jo’s least successful signing IMO, well, when compared to Lubo, Viduka & Big Johann.
Certainly not in the same ball park as the likes of Hannah, Camara, Henchoz etc..
P.S Paul67, Deco was bought by Porto for around £100,000 . Having been previously discarded by Benfica as “not being good enough” by which “top” manager?
Best result in recent history was Nakamura v Mankybassas United
Even better than Barca.
Only my opinion like
Geordie Munro @ 14:57
Accept the likeliehood the ghoops wanted to go.
Regarding VW – it was his official press release from day one. Who would have organised that?
So VW is in Southampton ruing the day he left Celtic and games against the cream of Europe, because of his own naievety.
Joe Ledley? We were fed the same spin about him. Dig around, and I think you’ll find that he expected to see his career out with us.
Sammy? Nearly went the same way, and we were being primed to accept that “he chose to leave”, but he took a pay cut.
weeminger @ 14:58.
£10M+ is not a compelling reason to sell?
Surprise World Cup semi finalists with the right draw?
Chile….
Engerrrrrland going home before the proper knock out stuff starts?
SETTING FREE THE BEARS 1436
Check again,I didn’t put it in quotation marks.
That,to use the CQN word of the week,makes your point moot.
I can’t help thinking that you are taking a single point from a post instead of using the whole post in order to justify your own stance.
And not even doing that correctly.
Sannabhoy ( Ya oul curmudgeon )
Me and my boots might be up for your dinner — I need to clear one or two things out of the way but I should be able to do that over the next week or so.
Keep me a couple of reserve seats anyway.
Anyone else????
Want to ask John Paul Taylor a question directly?
@celticfc
Q&A Session with our @CelticFCSLO has started, ask your questions using #AskJP
Mind games 14.43
Great post.
MON is my all time favourite Celtic manager.
He even eclipses Big Jock in my eyes.
I was 3 when Jock reached his pinnacle ,and 40 when MON did.
I simply love Martin O’Neill.
TT
FFM. 1437
Never mind the beanie,have this!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ce7COOkvvqw
A lot of the disharmony on this blog came about after the FTT ruling. God help us if the UTT goes the same way
JEEZ I THOUGHT REGGIE BLINKER WAS PANTS.
Sven Goran Erikson?
Ryecatcher
I’m sorry but Barca humped Man U twice in CL finals.
They were far superior to Man U.
That is a fact based on results between them in the worlds most important club fixture.
It may have been sweeter for you ,if you have an axe to grind with Man U or it’s supporters.
TT