I can’t argue with John Hughes winning the Manager of the Year award. Without glossing over the obvious semi-final issue, he’s taken Inverness to stick-on favourites for the Scottish Cup and, for a while, stuck with Aberdeen in the Best of the Rest fight. The second half of the season have seen fortunes fade, but this reflects the resource paucity he has, compared to Dundee United or Aberdeen.
What’s just as clear is that Ronny Deila would have been a contender for the award. Appointing a manager is always a risk. Gordon Strachan was as safe a pair of hands as you could hope for in 2005, but it took nerves of steel for him to cope with some early reversals. Tony Mowbray was also a known quantity, who should have done better, but rookie Neil Lennon pitted against experienced Walter Smith was highly risky. Neil could have sunk without a trace, instead of winning all those trophies.
At least Neil knew the club and the club knew Neil. Appointing a guy from one of the smallest professional clubs in Europe, totally unknown in the Scottish game until Celtic scouted Stefan Johansen, was an almighty risk.
What we recruited was a philosophy. Celtic knew how a football team should be prepared, how to recruit, what tactical intelligence was required in a manager, and they travelled to Strømsgodset to find their man.
Had he qualified for the Champions League group stage, I reckon Ronny would have won Manager of the Year, but as this is the standard Celtic managers are judged by, he missed out. There are no guarantees in football, so qualifying next season cannot be taken for granted, but he should be better prepared. As should the players. This is the target, Ronny.
SPECIAL COMPETITION ALERT
Celtic sponsor, Magners, have offered two of the new home shirts, launched yesterday, as competition prizes. To win one, all you have to do is answer the following question:
Who is the Celtic assistant manager?
Email your entry to celticquicknews@gmail.com with the name of the assistant manager in the SUBJECT line of your message. Competition closes at 1pm tomorrow, so you have one day to get your answer in. Terms and conditions apply.
These are two fabulous prizes. While you are entering the competition, you might want to donate £1 to our Mary’s Meals school kitchen campaign. You can do so here. Thank you.
Many thanks to Magners (who get what we’re about).
712 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- »
My friends in Celtic,
It seems well deserved birthday wishes to our host are in order today. Happy birthday Paul 67.
Just in case you didn’t know; I’m sure you will be over the moon to share your birthday with Tony Blair- hmmmmm,
Graeme Souness. Booooooooo
George Clooney . You should be so lucky.
HH.
Hoopy Birthday P67, have a hooptastic day.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
SkySports reporting that PC Murdoch has ‘visited’ Sports Direct offices in regard to an ongoing investigation around the ownership of Sevco. For visited read raided.
Happy birthday Paul.
HH
Happy Birthday Paul67
Morning to all hoops fans and a very happy birthday to Paul 67. H.H.
Happy Birthday Paul67 and thank you for this wonderful Celtic resource. Have a great day.
Hopefully the politicos will return to Celticos within the next 48 hours.
Where police looking for the 70% of the assets sticker?
P67 – it would seem your share your birthday with george clooney, Tony blair and Graeme souness.
Make of that what you will!!!
HH jamesgang
Very happy birthday to the main Mhan Paul67.
And perhaps more fittingly Robespierre!
HH jamesgang
Happy Birthday Paul67, have a wonderful day.
Happy birdie to you, happy birdie to you…..
Happy birdie, dear PAU-AUL, happy birdie tooooo yoooouuuu……and thank you for being you.
Happy Birthday Paul67, have a great day!!
Happy birthday P67
Help required
A couple of years ago someone posted re a charity looking for old bikes in good condition
I will be clearing out my hut of bikes that Mini and her cousins have become too big for
Can anyone give me the details if the charity is still on the go
Paul –
Have a great day, and thanks for providing this Dear Green Place.
HB and HH.
Happy birthday Paul. Hope you have a great day. Thanks again for providing us with CQN.
Happy birthday, Paul67.
See another new phrase emerging today,,,,, now our hero “steered the CLUB into administration and then liquidation”.
Think the writers were English based hence forgetting to distinguish club from company….naughty step for them… but. STEERED into admin. Dearie me…what will they come up with next
Many happy returns P67
Looks like plod are doing all they can to avoid addressing the real criminals behind the ibrox fraud scandal
blantyretim.
Possibly an organisation called – Common Wheel – they had 2 places – Bridgeton and Maryhill. I do not know if they still exist.!
cheers SoT
I think there was a cqn bhoy doing the same sort of thing possible in EK..
CRC has just sent me a text, must have a con
Happy Birthday Paul,
have a great day.
Happy birthday P67
Thanks for this dear green place
HH
blantyretim is praying for the knox family
httphttp://www.commonwheel.org.uk/bike-shop.
Happy birthday , Paul. Thanks for all you do for us and all your efforts to keep the spirit of Bro Walfrid and the founding Fathers alive.
Paul 67
I’ll not recite an essay from Mills & Boon
I’ll leave that to….you know who…
So, Happy Birthday son all the best
and, as always….thanks for yer understanding.
Hail Hail.
…..oot.
blantyretim is praying for the knox family
In addition to common wheel there is also Gorbals Recycles.
Hoppy Birthday P67,
Many happy returns Paul, have a great day.
BognorBhoy and thebhoyfromoz.
cheers bhoys, crc sent me contact details for a cqner who was recently doing the same sort of charity.
I’ll see how that goes then try your contacts.
Thanks
KTF. work calls….
Many happy returns Paul67.
BT
WheelFixIt Summerhill Rd, Drumchapel.
Good guys work there renovating old bikes.
Telling it like it is, think it will ever catch on? Naaaaaa, me either, but well done any way that journalist.
DAVID argues that Deila has proved he can handle the pressure at Parkhead after being thrown in at the deep end last summer.
10 Shares
Share
Tweet
+1
ReutersCeltic manager Ronny Deila does the Ronny Roar with the fans at the end of the matchCeltic manager Ronny Deila
I RECKON Ronny Deila would be shoo-in for manager of the year if Celtic had still been on course for the Treble.
So I can’t quite get my head around why he wouldn’t get it when his chances of a domestic clean sweep were ruined by the worst refereeing call of the season.
Yes, Celtic should still have won the Scottish Cup semi-final against Inverness Caley Thistle. They were 1-0 up at the time of the Josh Meekings handball and ought to have seen the game out.
But – and it’s a big but, hell, it’s a bigger but than Kim Kardashian’s butt – Celtic should have had a penalty that could have put them 2-0 up against 10 men.
Even if they’d missed the spot-kick Deila’s team would almost certainly have got through. And with the Final taking place after the votes have to be counted I’m sure Deila would be getting far more support than appears to be the case at the moment.
John Hughes picked up the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award on Sunday night then treated the audience to a stand-up routine that couldn’t have got a better reception had Kevin Bridges delivered it.
The Inverness boss was genuinely thrilled to have been honoured by his peers and having stumbled down an at times rocky managerial route – Hibs and Hartlepool were particularly pot-holed – it was pleasing to see how much it meant to him.
Big Yogi might even have a second trophy come May 24 when our lot at the Scottish Football Writers’ Association announce our manager of the year.
He’ll be in the running. As will Robbie Neilson. Derek McInnes and James Fowler deserve consideration too.
If any of those guys are voted the football writers’ top manager there won’t be anyone claiming that it’s a disgrace. But I’ll be voting for someone else. Deila is my manager of the season.
This category is the hardest of the lot to judge because there are so many factors to consider.
Do you simply pick the guy who wins the most or do you take into account the circumstances in which a manager has to operate? If it’s the latter, it’s hard to see past Yogi, who has guided Caley Thistle to the cup final, third place in the top flight and almost certainly into Europe.
So why go for Deila, who got Celtic knocked out of Europe three times and didn’t achieve what he set out to, which was win the Treble?
VIEW GALLERY
Let’s look at the European debacle first. He was just in the door, trying to find his feet, and was handed a pre-season itinerary that looked straight out of National Lampoon’s European Vacation.
Deila (Chevy) was forced to chase his way round the continent while he was still getting to know the first names of his new charges. Four matches in Austria, then home for a couple of days before heading to Dresden.
Back to Glasgow then back to Germany for a game against St Pauli. Home again, then out to Finland with a shadow squad to play Spurs.
And all the while having to shape a team for Legia Warsaw in the Champions League. It was a mad schedule and a heavy price was paid.
The team was still in its infancy when handed a second chance. Should Celtic have taken care of Maribor? Undoubtedly, but they didn’t.
But they did find their feet in the Europa League. They got through the group stage and gave Inter Milan a really good test over 180 minutes in the knockout phase. So the Europa League run was
creditable. Which brings us on to the domestic scene.
One of my colleagues wrote the other day it would take something exceptional to make him vote for an Old Firm manager.
Maybe a treble or a great run in the Champions League, because winning the title is the bare minimum expected at a club where the resources are so much greater than the rest.
I get that to an extent but it doesn’t take into account the fact at Celtic the manager has to get it right every single week. Two defeats in a row is a crisis. This is not a pressure any other manager in the top flight has to deal with.
No manager in the country has been scrutinised as much as Deila. And since November, when Celtic won at Aberdeen, the Norwegian has made great strides.
Two league draws, two defeats and 21 victories followed – most of them on the back of an attacking style that has won over an initially sceptical support.
They’ve won the league with three games left. He was brave enough to change the style of play that had won three titles in a row.
He stood up to early dissent in the dressing room – and it did exist – and convinced them his way would make them better players.
He won the league and the League Cup. The Scottish Cup got away but in the most controversial circumstances.
Sometimes the guy who wins the most does deserve to be Manager of the Year. This season Deila is that guy.
Oops, PS the journalist was David McCarthy from the DR.
Happy birthday Paul67 have a wonderful day.
Must admit, I’m disappointed that the hand ball decision at the semi final has been allowed to quietly go away. Make no mistake, that was another Dougie Dougie Act. and unfortunately will continue to occur. Unless they are challenged, sadly the leaders at celtic park don’t seem to have the stomach for a battle with Scottish football’s hq. In my humble opinion, the celtic board are taking one huge gamble here. The club should be going for the treble, had it not been for out and out cheating. The club should be looking forward to never ending European CL participation, but won’t be as eventually the rotten mob will be back. Due to out and out cheating. Of course this is not just celtic problem, other clubs have been cheated to, just look at the penalty hearts. Didn’t get. Or the 3 weeks extra time v Falkirk . This will all soon be back in the big league once again Unless the fans make there voices heard. So come on celtic call out the rule benders at hampden, the saviours of the sevco. So come on celtic, challenge these corrupt refereeing decisions. Come on celtic challenge the bigots who write under the guise of journalism. When they are all weeded out, then maybe we can all get back to watching the CLEAN BEAUTIFUL GAME.
Paul 67
Happy seis de Mayo.
Lovely weather here, clear skies and bloody sunshine :-) why do wimmin want to sit in the shade
Oh and it’s fish specialities in the restaurant today, do these Greeks no realise it’s only Wednesday
Now, very very Hooopy Birthday to Paul 67
You share it with another fine bhoy
My nephew in Toronto, Kevin McCormack, Hooopy birthday Kevin ( Liam was Sunday 3 rd:-) hoops )
Hail Hail Championeees