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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……oot.
If Sepp is voted in as president again this week, I think we should just throw the towel in and forget about any form of integrity in the modern day game
“ranjurs need a strong FIFA……..for the guid o’ scoddish fitba”
HD.
DBBIA
of course, the best seat in the ground on a cold day :-)
Talking about seats, please please put some – safe- standing room back into CP. Hate sitting down watching fitba. It’s like Gazpacho…leaves you cold. Warm soup and standing up….that’s the way forward
It’s the SWIFT and TERRIBLE revenge of the UFH for that same-club nonsense.
Ah! Russia’s 2018 World Cup bid scrutinised. Geo-Political manouverings at the behest of the U.S. As if anyone really swallows the line that Western Governments have suddenly decided to give a f**k about bribery and corruption.
Tom
I thought it was Russia 2018 Qatar 2022
Dont want Winter world cup interupting our title wins
sequence.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tom McLaughlin
09:30 on
27 May, 2015
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.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
10:19 on
27 May, 2015
twisty- don’t forget the ole sky blue three wheeler invalid cars.
————————————————————————————-
The first time I attended a football match, my uncle took me and my cousin (both aged about 6) to see Celtic vs Partick Thistle in a car such as this. He managed to squeeze one in the footwell and the other kinda up against the engine. We drove from Coatbridge to Celtic Park and straight onto the trackside whereupon we bhoys were let out for air and my Unc sat and watched the game from behind his windscreen. I think we won 2-1 but to be honest can;t remember much football as I was probably giddy from exhaust fumes.
Twists and turns,
You would wonder if anyone actually saw Balde live before we signed him. Even in his Youtube clip he looked Bambi like.
However, in saying that I actually reckon our scouts do a reasonably good job. Since 2010 about 2/3 permanent signings have been successful.
The one blip was the summer 2013 window. Even then if we sold all those players today we would still probably make decent money. VVD (2.6), Balde (1.6), Boerrigter (2m), Pukki (2.4) and Bitton (0.75) cost about 9.5m. We could probably sell VVD (10), Bitton (6) and Pukki (1.5) for 17.5m.
Since then we have signed Johansen, Griffiths, Gordon, Scepovic, GMS and Armstrong. All of those (except Scepovic) have been successes so far.
The problem area is obviously finding quality strikers in our price range (0-3m). Like a lot of people on here I think we may have to move into the 3-5m bracket to increase our chances of success. Selling Pukki and Stokes might give us most of the money to do that.
Tom McLaughlin
09:30 on
27 May, 2015
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.
___________________________
So you dont like the idea of a BRITtish bid? -)))
Blatter and others at the very top may not have been arrested but let’s wait to see who the accused point the fingers at when they’re being questioned.
DBBIA
I have not yet listened to Strange Fruit episode but the series and the archive of Soul Music is outstanding. The episodes can be downloaded as mp3s now.
DBBIA @ 10 09.
Yes – brilliant radio. The whole series has been excellent ( IMO ).
I grew up listening to Billie Holiday.Memories of being dumped with a Mrs Danvers style babysitter for three long days whilst my parents swanned off to the big smoke and a Billie Holiday gig at the Albert Hall.
twists n turns
07:44 on 27 May, 2015
Thanks for the nod, keep them coming.
I am off to Hamiilton today with my wife, Bros-in-Law and Sister-in-Law.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
The FIFA Communications Director is very shifty and defensive. Very uncomfortable up there.
Tamrabam is correct. The game’s a bogey if Blatter is re-elected.
The fans need to take this lot of arrogant pricks out.
I wonder if FIFA will get ‘relegated’ to the SFA and come back as The FIFA…?
Btw, Tom, the 2022 WC is in Qatar.
:))))))))))))))))))
4 guilty plea’s have already been given according to TalkSport
It’s quite heartbreaking to see how the game we played as kids as a great sport has been corrupted by the money people. How many of those pricks in that room in Zurich have ever played the game?
Niallo
“Since then we have signed Johansen, Griffiths, Gordon, Scepovic, GMS and Armstrong. All of those (except Scepovic) have been successes so far”
I agree mate, and I did say I think we are seeing Ronnie’s influence already. It is certainly evident in those players you refer to.
Lennybhoy
oh wheesht man, yer making me very envious.
Have a great day.
There is no glory in winning anything in Scottish football – success is only participation in the CL.
The Scottish league title is only a means to an end. The standard of teams is mostly laughable and even struggles to match the English fourth tier, or, non-league fifth tier.
Celtic have all the potential to compete with the best, but when potential is not given the chance to be fulfilled, it withers on the vine.
We should make it clear from next season, that we will play our development team, with a few senior additions, in the League and Scottish cups – let’s dispense with this Treble Tripe talk.
We should have won the treble for the last FOUR years and yet allowed ourselves to be beaten in the majority of cups, by PUB teams.
Our concentration must be on winning 30 league matches per season and 3 rounds of CL qualifying – that is all that matters.
This can be achieved by the smaller ( and hopefully higher quality) squad that Ronny wants
Let’s be selfish and ruthless and state our case prior to the start of the season – first team squad will be used for league and CL ONLY.
FIFA make those in charge of Italian fitba look like choirboys.
HH!!
Ah, the days when you could get lifted over. How many on here remember them, never mind being lifted over? (I omitted “turnstile”, because I don’t recall ever asking to be lifted over it specifically.)
FIFA
They have about 30 committees. Amongst them:
Ethics committee,Security and Integrity Committee and Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility!!
Associations Committee>
Audit and Compliance Committee>
Beach Soccer Committee>
Bureau 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia (TM)>
Committee for Club Football>
Committee for Fair Play and Social Responsibility>
Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup (TM)>
Development Committee>
Disciplinary Committee>
Ethics Committee>
Finance Committee>
Football Committee>
Futsal Committee>
Legal Committee>
Marketing and TV Committee>
Media Committee>
Medical Committee>
Organising Committee for the FIFA Club World Cup
Organising Committee for the FIFA Confederations Cup>
Organising Committee for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup>
Organising Committee for the FIFA U-17 World Cup>
Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup>
Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup>
Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup (TM)>
Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments>
Players’ Status Committee>
Referees Committee>
Security and Integrity Committee>
Strategic Committee>
Parkheadcumsalford
I was lifted over for years.
Nowadays, you just get lifted!
Parkheadcumsalford
I remember being ‘lifted over’ a few times in the early 60s.
…and ‘lifted’ a few times a decade later.
HH!!
I also remember when cash was taken at the turnstiles, if you knew the right one to go to, you could slip half the price of the entry under the wire to the operator and jump over. (The board were therefore not getting all the skin that some thought when the crowd sizes were published” :-)
tallybhoy @ 10 58.
Just had a chat with the Inter mad old codger from down the valley – he is forecasting that ” Don Blatterone ” will escape justice .
Fifa spokesman Walter De Gregorio confirms the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will go ahead as planned in Russia and Qatar.
twists n turns
10:50 on 27 May, 2015
Cheers mate.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
twists n turns
Last time my old man lifted me over I think I was 12. Would have been around 1990.
I was taller than my dad and the turnstyle operator said you might want to get your lad to lift you over next time.
I had a season ticket the following season.
LB
I would really love it (in a Kevin Keegan style) if one or two high profile players came out publicly and stated that they refuse to participate in the World Cup qualifiers because of corruption.
The US department of Justice has released a statement to the media saying 14 defendants have been charged with “racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies” over a 24-year period.
Four individual defendants and two corporate defendants have pleaded guilty.
I guess that if FIFA have finally been rumbled, that only leaves North Korea and the SFA as beacons of corruption.
Mr Pastry be happy to see your Evidence not opinion vis a vis our teams versus English 4th tier and non league teams. Who knows you might be right. H H Hebcelt
‘if one or two high profile players came out publicly and stated that they refuse to participate in the World Cup qualifiers because of corruption’
– Kenny Miller and Kwistoffer Boyd?