Moneyball student of the game

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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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1,434 Comments

  1. Ok. Let me be positive in my negativity……

     

     

    …..Gary67. You have put a smile on my face today by allowing me to look at world’s bestest ever mingin’ fitba top ever!!!

     

     

    It’s looks like a soda in a hotel in Perthshire!

     

     

    I’m a good ok fashioned Hoops Bhoy myself…

     

     

    HappyClapper4LifeCSC

     

     

    HH jamesgang

  2. thebhoywithmcgraininhisside on

    yorkbhoy

     

     

    09:30 on 6 June, 2014

     

     

    His book on shakespeare is also quite although a little thin. I agree however that his tour de force is a short history of nearly everything, although down under and a walk in the woods, whilst travel books, are a pretty close second.

     

     

    I can’t remember the exact quote but apparently there are more creatures that can kill man in Australia than anywhere else in the world. But man only discovered Australia about 60,000 years ago. So how did they know we were coming?

  3. ernie lynch

     

    09:31 on

     

    6 June, 2014

     

    Lisbon Lions Upper

     

     

    08:37 on 6 June, 201

     

     

    Keepers going up the pitch in the dying minutes to try to score a goal in a match the result of which is of no consequence to their team is exceptional.

     

     

    One is entitled to wonder what his motivation was.

     

     

    ===============

     

     

    Maybe, he was one of the hunners of names on McCoist’s list of gamblers.

  4. Dontbrattbakkinanger on

    Did Frank Sinatra write the songs he sang?

     

     

    Is listenin’ to ole Frank any less entertainin’

     

     

    What ‘popular’ culture and entertainment has in common with ‘unpopular’ culture and entertainment is that to do them both WELL takes both hard work and skill.

  5. Dontbratbakkinanger

     

     

    Aye I agree.

     

    His ‘walk in the wood’s is a cracker.

     

    Loads of laughs easy reading and informative

  6. Parkheadcumsalford

     

     

    09:37 on 6 June, 2014

     

     

    They were a colony. Scotland isn’t. See the difference?

  7. Dontbrattbakkinanger

     

     

    08:51 on 6 June, 2014

     

     

    Thanks for that info, looks very interesting; just ordered via Amazon.

     

     

    :))

  8. Moonbeams WD. Wee Oscar’s our Bhoy and Kano’s our mhan.

     

     

    09:47 on 6 June, 2014

     

     

    Perhaps he means he didn’t resign.

  9. ernie

     

    Your comment reminded me of one of my favourite snippets from Shakespeare:

     

     

    ” Life is a tale told by an idiot;

     

    Full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.”

     

     

    I know it is spoken by Macbeth to show the futility of his own life but I sometime think of it when I read some of the posts on CQN 0:-)

     

     

    JJ

  10. When I read on here that Roy Keane was being considered for the Managers job the first thing that flashed through my head was, thinking about Roy being in the stand more times that what our largest Shareholder would ever be.

     

     

    Or to put it another way,he’d be sitting in the stand more than he would be in the dug-out.

  11. Moonbeams WD. Wee Oscar’s our Bhoy and Kano’s our mhan.

     

     

    09:51 on 6 June, 2014

     

     

    We’ll never be told. It’s not our place to be told stuff like that.What we’ll get is PR and spin. That’s just the way it is.

  12. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    SYD NEGAKEV

     

     

    And wearing what looks like our new international top!

  13. EmeraldBee – That’s a fine piece of blogging from the young lad and would put to shame the contributions seen on these pages since the news broke.

     

     

    It appears embracing ‘thinking outside the box’ is too much for some of the auld fellas on board here.

     

     

    Looking forward to it.

  14. off topic:

     

     

    Poor Sir Bradley Wiggo throwing hissy fit ‘cos the Sky team are focusing on Froome.

     

     

    I have to say that had it not been for Froome, you wouldn’t have got your “Sir” in the first place. He would & should have won the tour that year too but sacrificed himself for his team leader.

     

     

    It seems Wiggo has a short memory.

  15. My friends in Celtic,

     

     

    It does seem we have a done deal.

     

     

    Maybe a stroke of genius, maybe not. What we will be getting is potential.

     

    Is potential enough for a club with the need for immediate results that will define our season.?

     

     

    I hope potential is enough to match our ambitions.

     

     

    For clarity my ambition for Celtic is to do well in the CL in the short term, until we move league.

     

     

    Time can be the only judge.

     

     

    HH.

  16. Dick Byrne.

     

     

    Sorry to read about the loss of your brother,your in my thoughts.

  17. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    JUNGLE JIM

     

     

    Yer joooost a happyclapper,damn you!

     

     

    The negative stuff from the mineshafters is good for the blog,dissent is healthy.

     

     

    Downright ignorance and poison,however,is not.

  18. Mea Culpa

     

     

    Tour De France? Don’t understand how it works at all. My brain doesn’t allow me to understand it!

     

     

    As my old man would say. A non contact sport should not be called a sport. It’s a pastime or hobby. Tend to agree with cycling such as the tour de France.

     

     

    Each to their own though.

     

     

    LB

  19. tonydonnelly67

     

     

    09:34 on 6 June, 2014

     

    Mornin, I was up with the first sparrows fart this morning and reached Glasgow Airport at around 6:30 am to be greeted with the news that my flight to Canada has been delayed for 12 hours, I’m now back in sunny Castlemilk in ma wee hoos ;) these little things are sent to try us ;)

  20. Livibhoy

     

     

    if they’re not very good at their hobby such that they crash their bikes into each other, does it then become a sport because of the contact? 0-;)

     

     

    What about darts players hugging each other? Sport or hobby?

  21. ernie lynch,

     

     

    We are ruled from London, just like them. We will never have the numbers in Westminster to reflect our political opinions. I would say that that, to all intents and purposes, makes us much the same. The old “No taxation without representation” just about sums it up.

     

     

    Anyway, whatever we are, I don’t think it justifies Obama sticking his oar in. He’s only interested in us keeping Trident on the Clyde.

  22. oldtim67:

     

     

    Why do you think Roy Keane would have spent so much time in the stands?

  23. thebhoywithmcgraininhisside

     

     

    Not read the Shakespeare book. I read Mother Tongue which was a bit more of an academic book ( less laughs but quite interesting.

  24. Kitalba.

     

     

    You know our refs in Scotland,That’s the reason I thought that way.

  25. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    TONYDONNELLY 67

     

     

    Have a smashing time when you eventually get there.

     

     

    Send me a postcard.

     

     

    ‘Daft Scots Git,

     

    Swindon.’

     

     

    That should find me ok,they usually do!