Surprised at the success our former (very successful) managers, Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan, are having on the international stage? Perhaps a bit surprised they’ve figures out how to collect points away from home in Europe.
Martin O’Neill will always be royalty at Celtic but after a couple of well-financed seasons at Aston Villa his star fell, eventually leading to an ignominious departure from Sunderland, who managed to replace him, and improve, under Paulo DiCanio.
A decade earlier Martin was the hottest property in management in the UK. Campaigns were run by Liverpool fans to tempt him, he was tipped for the Manchester United job when Alex Ferguson retired, but the absurd reality that Di Canio was able to stop the decline of O’Neill’s Sunderland team damaged his brand considerablty.
Gordon Strachan had a claustrophobic four years at Celtic. He became only the third manager in our history to win three consecutive league titles, and broke new ground in the Champions League, but Celtic’s commercial competitiveness declined during this era, making Gordon’s life harder than it would otherwise have been.
The Ireland and Scotland jobs both looked like poisoned chalices. Ireland reached Euro 2012 but came home pointless, looking like a team in decline. Scotland had fallen so low they were hardly in decline when Gordon Strachan took over from Craig Levein last year, but it seemed shifting demographics had consigned our interest to club football only.
Martin may have found his niche. His teams have always known how to defend and how to score goals, issues like ball retention always appeared trivial to him. Gordon is an example of a manager who is always learning. He was an excellent Celtic manager but it should surprise no one that he is a better manager now than he was when he left five years ago.
I’ve absolutely no idea which side is going to win the bun fight for control over Newco Rangers, but, there is some interesting form to consider……
Just when people with money and a plan (on this occasion Ashley with the Easdales) look to have things sorted, the cabal, previously known as the Blue Knights, pitch up without the wherewithal to take control and drive a poisoned wedge between fans and club.
It’s a master-class in subversion. Based on his previous exploits my money’s not on the tax crook (the one convicted in South Africa, that is) succeeding.
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Frank Ryan’s Whiskey
And he ended up where? And I truly have no idea where he is.
HT
Too much info. my friend:o)
EDB
You genuinely made me me chuckle aloud there J :-)
Right off out for dinner, I hope you’re well mate.
HT
That was intended:o)
Daughters reunited in Strasbourg today so that’s very good.
Oldtim67
See you Friday!
Rumours of Sevco presser @ 8pm,King in Kray Twins out.Don’t shoot messenger……..
Is the blog broke ?
I was never a WGS guy – always had him doon as a wee fiery,antagonistic player, but won me over at his time with Celtic. His handling of the press was at times………well, fiery and antagonistic. I guess I just grew up :-)
Love the wee man – Celtic legend.
Oh! And that wee Kevin McAllister was another wee fiery , antagonistic wan’
eldiegobhoy
17:25 on 14 October, 2014
Barcabhoy
Good to see you still look in. Wish you posted more often.
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Been travelling a lot recently and time has been a bit restricted. Twitter is quicker in the scenario. I still make a point of checking the blog most days. At times though it can be like a bear pit on here. The red mist descends pretty quickly with some. Having said that Twitter can be a very hostile environment.
I never cease to be amazed by the fact that we are “A club open to all” yet the tolerance for an alternative view on a range of subjects is virtually zero, so when the blog or twitter is in full rant mode on subjects other than football they become less attractive places to spend time.
Paul67
Martin O’Neill
Way to damn with faint praise.
And not for the first time.
PedroC
Now that we know the full extent of the cheating we were up against the season of Black Sunday, I have forgiven all involved on that day.
Even deducting just 3 points as a punishment for Deidco fielding improperly registered players throughout that season leaves us Champions.
And that’ll be how I’ll always see it, despite LNS being duped.
Oh and Paul, (Martin O’Neill’s) “teams always knew how to defend and how to score goals”
What would you give for that at the moment?
Maist..but Not Awe..( of course.. there ur Exceptions..)Successful Periods, in a Soccer Manager’s Career… ur.. Relatively..well… Brief.
Four or Five Years.. Ah wid Say is the Average.
Ah canny tell Ye ,why this Is.. Ah wish Ah Could!
Mr. O’.. HIs Hid his Inning.. at Celtic…n ..It wiz a Beezer.. tae!
But..Predictably….His Cup of Success.. at Celtic.. Eventually..
Wiz Drained..n..
There wurnae Gien oot.. Any Mair Re-Fills!
n… his CLUB Career..as a Fitba’ Manager.. Petered.. oot!
He wiz Followed at Celtic.. by.. Mr. Strachan..
n.. Wance again.. Mr. Strachan’s Period of Managerial Success..
Lasted.. at Celtic.. a Mere.. Four Years…
Hmmmmmmmmmm…
n..
Then.. Seemingly.. Right oan Cue..
Bingo!
His Soccer Days.. As A Successful… Fitba CLUB .. Manager..
wur.. Over.
Noo.. we get tae.. ( Ach!..Ye ur too Smart..ye are Way Aheid of Me!)
The Succesful Period , Which Mr. Strachan’s Successor ,
A Guy called.. Mr. Lennon…
Briefly, enjoyed..
Wiz…
Again..
The Length of the Term o’ HIS… Successful Period ,at the Helm..
Lasted a aboot.. Four Years!
.. Yet…Again..
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Man..if Ah wur a Betting Man..N.. Ah Am!
Ah wid … Be pitting a Bob or Two .. oan Mr. Lennon..( which Ah wull..if Ah kin find a
Stoopid.. Bookie~)
Failing, tae Impress at his New Diggin’s at ..Bolton.
By the way..
Baith, Mr. O’ n Mr. Strachan.. Appear tae hiv hid somewhit of a Revival in Their
Managerial Careers..
Not as A Club Manager.
but.., Baith… as The Present Soccer Manager of thur Respective Native Lands.
Ah find this Awe Very Interestin’…
Don’t You??
Possibly..Not..
Oh!,,, well..
Gotta Go , joe..
SeeYa..
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
So it looks like Rangers are going to be saved for the foreseeable future.
Think I’ll give CQN a miss for the next few days as the news will mean the Celtic board in general and Peter Lawwell in particular being slaughtered mercilessly, for it’s all his fault don’t you know.
Barcabhoy
Thanks for replying.
Hope all is well with you and yours. My daughters were out your way recently and had a great time. Hardly a surprise given all that the city offers.
Kind regards.
That was two days of parteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Wao I am to old fo this but as Edwin would sing I cant help myself
Yes sir I can boogie but I need that certain Sean I can booggie wwwoooogie all night long…and embarassingly so . Hope the videos never reach fb.
HH
Beatbhoy
great comment. It is a shame that CQN is a mirror reflection of Peter Lawwells pettiness. It pervades the entire club.
HH
KOJO
Neil Lennon is certainly up against it at Bolton. The club is significantly beyond skint. It owes in the region of $250m,and has an income of less than a fifth of that.
In addition,they are six points adrift of safety,and quarter of the way through the season.
But I frankly find your tone a tad sneering,and that is something which has been known to raise my hackles.
That being so,how about a wee wager? Bearing in mind I would get better odds at the bookies but probably not as much satisfaction,I’ll wager $100 or £60 to any charity you like that Bolton do not get relegated.
Care to back your hunch,Quasi?
Gordon Strachan as a player was the type you hated playing against you but would have loved to see him in your team.
I watched the Scotland game last night in the company of Garry O’Connor. I knew him as a boy and teenager when he played alongside my son for Hutchison Vale then Hibs. He’s a very nice guy who made a lot of mistakes and still has a soft spot for Celtic whom he supported as a boy. His father is a diehard Celtic man.
Good company and very knowledgeable about the game.
yorkbhoy
19:09 on 15 October, 2014
Gordon Strachan as a player was the type you hated playing against you but would have loved to see him in your team.
We should have bought him when he was at Dundee and I’m sure we were linked with him then.
My memory ain’t what it used to be, but I think I remember him scoring and equaliser against us to draw 3-3 at home, after we’d been leading 3-0. Any statos confirm this?
Kojo
Afraid Martin’s successful period as a football manager lasted longer than your theory would suggest.
In the 5 years preceding what you yourself describe as his successful 5 years at Celtic, he had taken provincial side Leicester City to 3 League Cup finals, winning 2, and thus taking the club into Europe, and had achieved 3 top 10 finishes in the premiership.
You won’t find a Leicester fan who doesn’t regard that period as a success.
So that makes 10 years as a successful manager, thus blowing your theory oot the windae, eh?
In general, though, you are correct about managerial tenures.
But Martin isn’t just any manager.
21 points we finished behind Deidco the season before he arrived.
Never mind closing the gap, he took their title, and won the 2 cups for good measure.
Imagine telling a Celtic fan in the 1999/2000 season, “Never mind, you’ll win the treble next year!”
Miracle Man!
And that of course, was far from the end of it.
Tom- we have to look at where we are now compared to 2 seasons ago.Constant downsizing,a manager leaving with no job to go to,a manager with no CV of note appointed,from a league worse than ours.An assistant manager he had never met,forced upon him.A manager who said he didn’t want loan players,now has about 6 in his first team squad.Falling gates………etc etc.Head in the sand ,will not change anything.Some people are to blame for the current state ot the team/club.If you are happy ,then i’m pleased for you.I and plenty others are not.HH
“A manager who said he didn’t want loan players,now has about 6 in his first team squad.”
Mon Bada. You’re better than that neebs.
!!Bada Bing!! –
I cannot disagree with most of that.
But I wasn’t talking about the state of Celtic FC. I was referring to the fact that every time there is a bit of positive news about Rangers, including them even getting a decent victory, it invariably results in a plethora of posts condemning PL.
Strachan is a football man, in every sense of the word…. He benefited greatly from his 4 years at Celtic…. He learned also in his 2 and half years at Middlesbrough ….
Prior to the Scotland job, he was studying the German model… Tactics, training methods etc… And for a guy of his age, his thirst for knowledge and constant learning, is commendable.
I like the wee guy. Think he’s a top boss, doing a cracking job for Scotland… And if only we could have him back at the tic….. Because I agree with Paul, he was a very good manager at Celtic….but 5 years on, is an even better manager
As for O’neill , I rate him as a Celtic man. He main trait / skill is his man management. He makes moderate players believe they are Messi, and he gets the absolute maximum out of the players at his disposal. The problem with that though, is you can only go back to the same well so often…. And it was no surprise to me that his immediate impact at both Villa and Sunderland, tailed off after 18 months and beyond. Because I believe the guy was purely and simply a motivator. A psychologist . Not as football wise or tactically knowledgable as Strachan
Gordon Strachan -the man who can make decent team having average players. Yesterday it was clearly seen his hand put on this team. Every meadia here predicted Strachan to be the strongest link of team Scotland. They were right.
!BADA BING!
In all honesty,how many Celtic fans of your acquaintance even qualify their dissatisfaction with PL by crediting his financial prudence?
Damn few,in my experience. He has lost three successful managers and a tranche of the fans who watched their teams.
I believe he represents the best interests of himself and not of Celtic. He has to go.
At Celtic,failure is not an option. Under the current regime and strategy,failure is a certainty.
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
12:10 on
15 October, 2014
Why would someone spend hours attacking Celtic and the club’s supporters ? Anyone ?
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Careful,pal.
You`ll have the Celtic Trust Loyal on your case.
geordie munro
19:23 on 15 October, 2014“A manager who said he didn’t want loan players,now has about 6 in his first team squad.”Mon Bada. You’re better than that neebs.
it’s 100% true mate.HH
Tom,
I honestly believe there are a good few amongst us who hate the huns more than they love celtic. Very sad imo.
GEORDIE MUNRO
Absolute nonsense. Name one who fits that suggestion.
MON got a draw against the world champs. Strachan didnae.
WGS had bigger flops(plural) in England than MON
WGS done better in the CL than MON with lesser resource
MON won more as a player and was schooled under Clough.
WGS schooled under WGS and Howard Wilkinson
Both are Legends. It is like comparing Henk with King Kenny
Both along with Neil Lennon were far too intelligent for Peter Lawwell to deal with..ditto Neil Lennon.
HH
Tom-the issue i have with the possible introduction of Sevco next year,is we should have a much stronger pool of players than we have now.We are getting weaker rather than stronger,and our base starting point for next season for CLQs and a League campaign,will be as bad as ever.i.e scratching about for players after the current loanees get fired back.HH
Ziggydoc
I just remember him running amok against us a few times. A great player in a very good Aberdeen side…
Bada,
It’s not true though mate. It’s been done to death on here.
He said somert like ‘loans are a possibility but aren’t ideal’
I’m sure someone can grab the exact quote.
Geordie Munro ..
You are right, and it bores the sh@t out me.
Throughout this season so far, we’ve had key / crunch games on the horizon…. Yet you log in to CQN, and more than half the posts, relate to a team / club that are of absolute no interest to me.
People are free to discuss what they want, but yes it is sad that they’d rather discuss the Huns, rather than Celtic and the respective up and coming game.
Bobby,
Anyone who stays away when we win and can’t stay away when there’s something positive going for the huns.
If the cap fits….
BMCUWP
I disagree with that. Peter Lawwell is a shrew negotiator and a top class gambler. The problem imho is that the stakes become higher and higher the more he gets involved in the football side of things especially player trading.That is not his fault it id DD´s hands off always turn a profit to attract investment pish. We are not attracting investment. We are always turning a profit and the football is on the slide.
HH