I’m delighted for Alex Neil at achieving promotion for Norwich City just a few months after joining and transforming them. Alex was groomed for the Hamilton Accies job by former boss Billy Hamilton for years before being given the position as a 31-year-old two years ago. Billy would talk him through training games, “Reds are being overrun, would you do to change things?” I listened into some of this, but in football it’s never apparent what’s being absorbed and what’s slipping through the cracks.
Lots of credit has to go to our former commercial head, David McNally, who took as Norwich chief exec six years ago, in the wake of departing Neil Doncaster. McNally spent much of season 2013-14 dangling the Sword of Damocles over Chris Hughton, before sacking him with relegation looming, then sacking his replacement, Neil Adams, whose only previous coaching role was as a Norwich youth coach.
Fresh from having to admit a mistake in appointing an inexperienced manager, it was unfathomable that McNally gambled on Alex Neil. Last season Neil got Accies into the play-off final against Hibs, where they lost the first leg 0-2 at home. At that stage his achievements were no better than could be expected, but Terry Butcher was master tactician at opponents Hibs.
Ahead of the second leg Butcher spoke to his players about post-match celebrations. The only thing anyone at Hibs could celebrate after the game was Butcher’s resignation. Six months of spectacular overachieving with Accies this season was enough for McNally to see something special in Alex Neil. It was a breath-taking gamble which worked.
Norwich’s gamble has echoes in our own, in appointing Ronny Deila, but Celtic had a bit more form to judge. When I asked a Norwegian journalist about Ronny last summer he actually compared Stromsgodset wining the league to Hamilton Accies winning the SPFL. Ronny had six years, not six months, of pretty spectacular form to study before Celtic made their offer.
Ronny and Celtic know they are working to a medium-term plan and that short-termism isn’t going to get in the way. Such planning is a luxury in football, and isn’t something Celtic enjoyed when they were caught in an arms race with a liquidation-bound opponent. Norwich might just have learned enough self-awareness to know that next season’s target shouldn’t be survival, it should be medium-term development, even if that means accepting the short-term pain of relegation.
I read yesterday that Real Madrid have sacked a manager every season they failed to win a major trophy since Alfredo Di Stefano’s side finished second in La Liga, and were losing finalists in the Copa’ Liga, Copa del Rey and Cup Winners’ Cup, the latter to Aberdeen. Medium-termism at Real is counted in weeks, not seasons. Being intolerant of short-term failure is incredibly wasteful.
Alfredo was sacked a year later.
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Strange that Blatter hasn’t set foot in the US since 2011?
Italian tele predicting more arrests.-
” This is only the beginning “
I see Teemu Pukki has scored in his last three games (28 app/ 11 goals) now for Brondby.
He won’t come back to Celtic but the more he scores the more we should be able to get for him. I reckon we could get around the 1.5m mark (which is about a 900k loss).
That’s what you would expect from Celtic players. If they are not quite good enough we should be able to get most of our money back. How in the name of god we ended up with Bangura and Balde I will never know!!!
SoT,
Let’s hope so.
macjay1 for Neil Lennon
____________________
I dont got to the AGM’s etc…but, I do know that when, Celtic were in cahoots with Paul McBride QC(RIP)…in the public gaze….fighting the fight for some sort of justice for then, Celtic manager – Neil Lennon….in the background….away from the public gaze….Celtic’s directors and, PM were sleekitly connecting the components of an act, to be rushed through the Scottish Parliment purely designed to…’SMASH’ the Green Brigade!
Was Neil Lennon aware of this duplicity….?
Top cop – Campbell Corrigan and, PM summoned the Green Brigade to a meeting at Celtic Park to outline the problem areas that were causing concern.
The Green Brigade told them to go and get stuffed!!!!
Compare the GB’s gallant boldness….with that of, the Celtic board…who were summoned to a – Government Summit – because…3 Celtic players were booked in the ‘shame-game’.
It seems to me that, the GB have more balls than the other 59.5k of Celtic fans at CP…?
Or, should that be….29.5k….?
A Celtic board….who sat and, looked the other way when, Rangers FC…on the back of…’honest-mistakes’ on the pitch…were hoovering up what..£60 million over 3 years…to stay afloat…?…all of this, whilst Celtic PLC hosted a former cabinet minister amongst their crew….?…..and yet….res-12ers are going to get the SFA’s erchies kicked for allowing the huns a licence to play in Europe….never mind the SPL…?…..AYE!!!!!
Final point…you dont – ever – liase with a contaminated board…you empty them!
HH
Interesting developments. God Bless America!
Hoping against hope that the trail leads somewhere near Mt Florida…
About to go and pick lemons as the radio tells me that at the current rate of mortality the Qatar 2022 World Cup is likely to kill some 4, 000 migrant workers ..
Off oot
Anyone ken if the writer o the article aboot thems not being deid, on the list of the nicked?.
Can only hope!.
Delaneys Dunky
Close to ten thousands from Sevilla. Nobody knows how many Ukrainians will be here for the game. If I’m not mistaken, four hundred thousands work officially in Poland. I spoke with few Ukrainians today in the morning. Awful weather here. It’s raining for a couple of hours.
Nikola Kalinic to score 1st goal tonight @ 11/1…………………………….that’ll do-)))
Raining inPoland
What’s new? 8))
Italian radio quoting American Officials.-
” Blatter is not yet in the clear “
Zbyszek
Hope it passes peacefully and the great city of Warsaw is respected.
Fancy Seville will retain the cup.
First thing FIFA should do when the dust settles is cancel the 2018 Qatar World Cup and move it to England or Germany or any such nation with the infrastructure already in place.
BT :-)
DD, I hope they shut the roof yesterday.
DD There is one Polish and one with Polish roots who play for Sevilla. Sympathy for both teams here.
It’s for money laundering for 2018 & 2022 World Cup
Niallo
we have certainly had our share of dud strikers over the years, many of whom we had used up our rather meagre transfer budget on. I say meagre, not to undermine the board in any way, but meagre relative to what other European clubs have to spend.
I often wonder if the old fashioned scouting methodology, of the club scout standing at the side of the pitch watching kids playing on a Saturday morning has been bypassed now in favour of finding ready made replacements from you tube videos and scanning opta stats in an effort to find a ready made player?
Surely the next King Kenny, Danny McGrain, Jinky is out there somewhere on a field every weekend?
There was an English scout who was renowned for finding talent some years ago. Sorry his name escapes me, but Jack someone, and it was common knowledge that he had found some 50 players who went on to play at the top level. I remember in an interview he spoke about never recommending a player he hadn’t watched playing “live” and said gut instinct was the way he worked.
Nowadays, as soon as we are linked to a player we are straight on to you tube to make our assessments of the validity of the signing. I suppose the two systems need to work in parallel, given that most Celtic fans would not, I suspect, be happy to forego title wins whilst awaiting the youth being developed. I t would however seem that given the lack of real quality youngsters we have seen coming through our ranks, that the system is weighted in favour of the instant buy rather than the promotion of youth.
There may just be signs that Ronnie, given time, will change that, but how successful that will be could depend on the patience of the supporters, and patience is not something we are known for.
Maybe someone who is out there watching the youth of today will tell me that the volume of talent is simply not as prevalent nowadays thanks to electronic gadgetry. I certainly do not see the number of kids playing in the streets back home as was evident when I was young. Maybe that’s because of, as I say, other distractions, or maybe the kids’ football has become too “organised” and is actually inhibiting the natural development of kids?
!!Bada Bing!!
I think it’s much worse than that.
In fairness the insanity and corruption at FIFA was confirmed recently when they put an article out saying the Huns were the same club.
The corruption case, filed in the US, involves alleged bribes worth about $100m (£65m; €92m) since the early 1990s. The suspects are detained pending extradition to the US, as it is believed the money was transferred via US bank accounts.
LB
LB-Tip of the iceberg here.HH
Twisty- jumpers for goalposts?
There’s a good book called ‘Nowhere Men’ about the life of the modern football scout.
Of course the whole premise of ‘Moneyball’ was that the old ways of finding baseball players- relying on gnarled old scouts looking at players- were to be replaced by specky, spotty nerds looking at laptops.
Dearie me
A number of officials were seen by BBC reporters being escorted from the hotel by police. They include:
•Costa Rica’s national football chief Eduardo Li, who was due to join Fifa’s executive committee on Friday
•Uruguay’s Eugenio Figueredo, president of South American football governing body Conmebol
•Brazil’s Jose Maria Marin, a member of Fifa’s club committee. Police were seen carrying his suitcase and some of his possessions in plastic bags
Jeffrey Webb – the head of the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean and Fifa’s vice-president – has also been named as one of those arrested.
LB
Is anybody willing to help me spread the rumour that these arrests at FIFA are the revenge of the Unseen Fenian Hand for that Rangers/Sevco-are-the-same-club-article?
!!Bada Bing!!
I don;t doubt it mate.
The funny thing is none of us are surprised.
The game of football needs cleansed.
LB
FBI investigations cover a period of over 25 years including the Qutaar & Russian World Cup bids $100 million dollars in backhanders!! tip of the ice berg when you count in sponsors TV companies etc
Seems like Ole Chuck Blazer was the mole in Sepps den wearing a wire during meetings apparently, can see a TV mini series being made here :)
FIFA is so corrupt that back in March even SFA President Campbell (EBT) Ogilvie missed out on a place on Uefa’s executive committee when he failed to secure enough votes.
Perhaps the FIFA Lodge had it’s ‘all seeing eye’ off the ball ???
The BBC has seen a statement released by the US department of justice, which says a 47-count indictment was unsealed on Wednesday in New York, charging 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses.
It says the defendants include high-ranking officials.
LB
if anyone is looking for something to listen to while events in Switzerland unfold the edition of ‘Soul Music’ on BBCR4 last night was fantastic.
The song was ‘Strange Fruit’, and the interviewees included poor Emmet Till’s cousin [who was with Emmet when he was abducted] and the adopted son of the song’s composer Abel Meeropol, who was orphaned when his parents were executed in the U.S for spying.
Just brilliant, brilliant radio.
Looking forward to tuning into Sportsound tonight and hearing the panel’s comments on FIFA.
Haven;t they been punished enough?
Can;t we all just move on?
Surely for the good of the game we just let them get on with it?
It’s all in the past there is no point in going over it again and again.
LB
Lights go out, walls come tumbling down
Paul Weller CSC
FIFA-GATE
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/sports/soccer/fifa-officials-arrested-on-corruption-charges-blatter-isnt-among-them.html
In a separate development, Swiss prosecutors launched a criminal case into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, won by Russia and Qatar respectively.
In a statement, the office of the attorney general of Switzerland said criminal proceedings were opened “against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 Football World Cups”.
It added that “electronic data and documents” were seized on Wednesday at Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich.
LB
DBBIA
jumpers for goalposts indeed…..maybe that’s just what it is….an old codger thinking “ah it was much better in my day”, but actually, it was, well, in a football sense. Lisbon…9 in a row…the jungle….the bus sweep..kwenchy cups…the half time parade of the ht scores….big polismen blocking my view…and doing acrobatic balancing on 2 empty pale ale tins.
Geezaliftowertheturnstylemistercfc
All this going on and the president didn’t know,?
In Scotland he would be a shoe in for another stint as president ,.
I kid you not.
Some patsies will take the rap and the real movers will keep on keeping on,same as it’s always been.
twisty- don’t forget the ole sky blue three wheeler invalid cars.
Aye….let he who is without sin…cast the 1st stone….