The extent of Celtic’s pursuit of Ronny Deila can be seen from the fact that Peter Lawwell established a false identity before setting up a Norwegian football blog in early 2012 to allow him to pen this article titled, The Awesomeness of Ronny Deila. There is a chance the blog wasn’t written by our CEO, but the appreciation of Ronny’s talent is clear.
No deal has been concluded, so it would be a mistake to get too worked up yet, but the fact that we have got to this stage clarifies where we are, and are not, looking.
Neil Lennon resigned two weeks ago and a whole series of names, most of whom are freely available and would be delighted to accept the Celtic job, have been hotly tipped by media and bookies alike. Celtic will not be appointing the likes of Owen Coyle. Suggestions, by many who like to knock the club, that they will make a dash for season ticket cash by big name are also wrong.
Roy Keane was a serious contender, wanted by some within the club. He was in pole position a week ago, forcing those who only days earlier had proclaimed with great triumph that Neil resigned due to budget constraints (he didn’t) to re-write their script, but Roy had other plans. As did some at Celtic.
The club have been busy looking for an intelligent, technically gifted, coach. One who has a track record of innovation, improving players and improving teams. Ronny will not sell tickets on the basis of his own identity, become none of us knew him, but it was absurd to suggest Celtic would look for a short term fix with enormous Champions League qualifiers looming a few weeks away.
By any measure Ronny is a student of the game, a “Moneyball” candidate, according to the above ‘Awesomeness’ article. We don’t need the archetypal British shouter-manager, renowned for his inspirational abilities. You can get the guy who puts the cones out to do the shouting. We don’t need a media darling either. Someone already alerted me to the fact that surely ‘Ronny brings it on himself’, whatever the media decide ‘it’ is, and the manager doesn’t need an Irish granny.
I’ve not seen too much of Lennoxtown but what I have seen is a campus with talented coaches, fitness experts, nutritionists, sports scientists, scouts and analysts. We need a manager in tune with this approach to the game. Someone who will dovetail with this infrastructure, who intuitively recognises its value without needing to be told.
These appointments are always a risk, but if we’re looking for someone to fulfil this criteria, we’ll do very well. I’ve yet to back a managerial appointment by our board in 10 years writing this stuff. This could be about to change.
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.
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Bobby ever listened to a Blind Melon before ?
No Rain
Hail Hail.
Check this out.
Summertime Rolls
Hail Hail.
Good Morning to all. I got shocking message from our friend Dick Byrne. His younger brother Robert passed away last weekend. Today is his funeral. I don’t know why this is happening again in his family. Dick Byrne buried his son few years back and now his Mum has to go through this terrible time. I know that Dick Byrne would be pleased for your support and prayers. RIP , Robert. Take care Dick Byrne and extended family. God give strength to Robert and J’s Mum.
Morning Celts
And a happy Friday to ye all, seems a new manager is to be announced, I think he’ll be good for a bit o Craic but will he be able to paint over the Cracks?
@CelticResearch: Ronny was asked on TV
“When will we see Deila in Scotland”
he said, “We’ll see. Maybe I’m going on holiday there?
And walked away smiling.
V
Rip Robert
Dick Byrne thoughts and prayers to you and the family.
V
Dick Byrne
Sincere condolences my friend.
May Robert Rest In Peace.
VESPACIDE
I’ve got the Jane’s Addiction one-Nothing Shocked?-and damn fine it is too. Got it in the 90s.
Blind Melon,was introduced to them about six years ago,by a young mate. I’d got him hooked on Pink Floyd by then. He’s a very good guitarist,and plays his first gig tonight in a PF tribute act.
Give ’em hell,Gaz. The world needs more PF tributes!
Glad you liked The Shins,btw.
DICK BYRNE
Sincere condolences on your loss.
R I P
Morning all, showery over night but a fine fresh morning here in the Chilterns…
Interested to note we are looking at Craig Gordon, with FF at the World Cup and no doubt his agent has been/will be pretty busy having an experienced GK in the frame is a great bit of business.
Over the last decade our GK position has outperformed the rest of the squad by some margin – if they want Craig Gordon as back up it’s fine by me.
Of course there is a question mark over his fitness but I haven’t seen a Scottish GK who could control his area work with his defenders like CG could in a long time.
He could be crucial in the qualifiers.
Hail Hail
My condolences to Dick Byrne and his family. Zbyszek, thank you for letting us know.
Dick Byrne and T n T
Sorry to hear of your recent losses.
Thoughts and prayers.
HH
It seems to be the way of it that some families are asked to shoulder a bigger burden of grief than the rest.
Thoughts and prayers with Dick Byrne and family.
Don’t know if Ronny Bhoy has plans to bring his current assistant with him……. But he seems to have an interesting background…….. Would probably be at Hamdump more than NFL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nielsen
By April 2004, David Nielsen and fellow AaB teammate Jimmy Nielsen had raked up a debt of €201,000 with bookmakers in Aalborg.[9] AaB director Lynge Jacobsen decided to help out financially and arranged for gambling addiction counselling.
In his 2008 autobiography, Nielsen admitted playing to deliberately lose a Superliga match between AaB and his former club F.C. Copenhagen in May 2004. As AaB had lost the Danish Cup final to F.C. Copenhagen earlier that year, winning the Superliga would propel F.C. Copenhagen into the UEFA Champions League and hand their UEFA Cup-berth as the Danish Cup winners on to the losing finalists from AaB. Nielsen was also motivated by his gambling debts,[10] as UEFA Cup qualification would wield him a personal DKK300,000 bonus.[11] AaB and F.C. Copenhagen drew the match, and F.C. Copenhagen eventually won the 2003–04 Superliga championship by one point.
In February 2005, Nielsen was sacked by AaB when he physically attacked team-mate Allan Gaarde during a training session, leaving him with a concussion.[9] Nielsen later explained in his autobiography that Gaarde was “pretentious… talking loudly about wine in Italian. “I told him: ‘The next time you speak Italian I will break you in half. You’re not Italian – you spent eight months there.’ So when he did it again I decided to break his legs like sticks. I jumped at him and bang. Jackpot. Felt good.”[9]
During the pre-season of 2010–11, in a friendly against English side Leeds United, he made a ‘shocking high-footed’ tackle against winger Robert Snodgrass, who was injured and missed the start of the campaign.
Sweary words removed
HH
Morning
Hate to think what it would be like on here if the white smoke was spelling Owen Coyle.
Personally delighted in Ronny is our new man.
Craig Gordon was once a very good keeper. Seems like FF is on his way. Does that make CG no.1 with Zaluska remaining as back up? Could be a busy season for Marius if that is the case.
Very misty here in Morayshire
HH
Condolences to Dick Byrne. Not easy losing a brother at any time.
Neil Lennon has revealed that Ronny Deila was set to replace Johan Mjallby as his assistant manager.
The Stromgodset boss arrived in Glasgow last night with Peter Lawwell and is expected to complete the paperwork to take over from Lennon later today.
Mjallby’s decision to step down was the first hint that changes were coming at Celtic with Lennon stepping down two weeks after the season ended.
“He was going to be brought in as No 2 when Johann Mjallby left,” Lennon revealed about Deila in an interview with the Irish Independent.
“He came highly recommended, he’s highly thought of. I don’t know if it’s confirmed with Celtic yet, but I know from contacts in the game that he is well respected as a coach.
“We recruited Stefan Johansen from Stromsgodset, so we were aware of his work. It’ll be interesting to see if Ronny gets the job.”
A week ago Roy Keane seemed set to takeover with the departing hoops boss surprised that the Ireland assistant resisted a move to Glasgow.
“I was surprised and a little bit disappointed,” Lennon said about Keane’s decision. “I think he’s ready for it. He’s had, what, three years since he was out of the game as a manager and he’s been watching a lot of games, he’s been at Champions League games, and he’s got vast experience.
“He fits the identikit of a Celtic manager. I can totally understand his situation, that it’s a personal decision, but I was hoping he would take it. He would have given the club a big lift.”
Craig Gordon, as back up, at no fee and likely a comparatively low contract, is a no brainer to me. If he was to recapture his old form, it would be steal of the century.
In any event, unless told differently then big Fras is still our no 1. If Fras goes, another goalie will be brought in.
Thoughts and prayers to Dick Byrne;s family. Stay strong my friend
HH
CRC
My mate phoned me on a dodgy mobile signal recently.
I heard ‘we‘re signing Ronaldinho‘
And if indeed Craig Gordon as a boy hated us, he joins the ranks of stein, dalglish and mcgrain.
These C/L qualifiers are going to be very interesting
I hope we have a big incentive to offer the players
This season could be life in the slow lane
Lisbon Lions Upper
06:58 on
6 June, 2014
Condolences to Dick Byrne and family
If CG is the no brainer as is being regularly pointed out……………………… why us ?
My sincere condolences to Dick Byrne and family. I’m truly sorry for your loss.
Good morning friends and a Big Happy White-smoke Friday from a cloud covered yet dry and bright and warm-ish East Kilbride.
If Neil Lennon has been accurately quoted then I wasn’t the only one that was disappointed by Keane not taking the job (assuming of course he was offered it) there were two of us. Ah! well, I can think of a lot worse situations to be in besides the same camp as Neil Lennon.
Lionroars67 – why not us? If he is truly fit then I would be surprised if he didn’t have other offers, prob none of which offered chance of champions league football.
Why us could be asked of any signing.
Moneyball
Lisbon Lions Upper
07:09 on
6 June, 2014
Not any signing at all
A former international EPL goalkeeper 40 clubs in England alone could offer him better terms than Celtic
He is a big risk thats why its us
Lionroars67
Don’t disagree he, like any signing, is a risk, but I don’t agree, in a financial basis, that it is a big risk. Lubo was a bigger risk, turned out ok.
Condolences to Dick Byrne and family. From personal experience I know how painful it is to lose a younger brother.
RIP Robert.
Dick Byrne
Condolences for you loss – thoughts and prayers
Lisbon Lions Upper
07:14 on
6 June, 2014
You cant compare him with Lubo thats nonsense
Compare him with Steven Mouyokolo Derk Boerrigter how did they work out last season
To be honest not expecting anything other than young project signings or experienced injury prone players to be signed this summer…………….life in the slow lane
So the celtic board listened to the fans and decided against keano
Listen to the fans again.. This one anyway.
Craig Gordon– noooo thank you
If he is in so we can let fraser leave thats a joke, 31 injury prone .. Wheres the moneyball there ?
PROUDBHOY
It’s the epitome of Moneyball.
Large amount in,small amount out.
Off-field interests triumph over on-field.
Fraser’s fee will cover some of the financial damage caused by not qualifying for the CL this year,VVD’s will cover the rest.
Job done,next question?
Dick Byrne –
very sorry to hear of the loss of your younger brother.
Joe
Delia was supposed to be Johan’s replacement? Perhaps he’s coming as a caretaker until Henke can take over the hot seat in November?
Strange we appoint identified a new number 2 and then appoint him on the cheap as a number 1, why not just give the job to big Dolph?
HH!
Somewhat perturbed by Lenny’s revelation that Ronny was being lined up as ‘Assistant coach’. Now from that wee snippet of info we can glean that at best he was being going to be groomed to take over the manager role at some later date and was not major football club ‘management material’ at that juncture; or he was being employed solely as Big Johan’s replacement – again not considered as management material. So is he up to the task ? An absolutely huge gamble by the board. If we do not qualify for the CL group stages years of progress will have been wasted and we know what failure to qualify will mean to the squad –saleable assets will be sold and a new group of ‘projects’ bought to replace them.
I do agree with Lenny, Roy Keane would have been a decent choice.
As for Craig Gordon no thanks unless it is on a pay as you play deal. Why not give Lukasz a chance? I also assume that our acquisition of another keeper means we should expect one of the current 1st team keepers to leave- now I wonder who that could be??
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
07:30 on
6 June, 2014
Sad to say it certainly is looking like moneyball economics this season
I have very low European expectations