2014 saw Celtic win their third consecutive league title, but we didn’t reach either cup final. A period of significant change got underway during the summer when we said farewell to Neil Lennon.
Neil took over from Tony Mowbray, his first managerial appointment after working with the Youths at Lennoxtown. His first season was the one that got away. Defeat at Inverness with the title within their grasp, Walter Smith’s Rangers took their third successive title against the third difference Celtic manager.
Three months into the next season, Celtic were 10 points behind a Whyte-McCoist inspired Rangers, but that was overcome, with interest, by Christmas. Celtic went on to win the league by 20 points, although 10 of them were as a penalty for Rangers incurring an insolvency event.
Thereafter it was plan sailing for Neil. He never looked back in the league and reached the Champions League group stage twice, progressing to the knock-out stage on the first occasion. He learned the managerial ropes at Celtic and did enough in his four years here to establish himself as a European-class manager. He was our third unqualified success in four appointments.
By this summer it was evidence to all, including Neil, that significant rebuilding was needed. The job was handed to Ronny Deila.
Ronny’s first challenge came in the Champions League qualifiers in the form of Legia Warsaw. Despite the record books showing Celtic progressed after a 3-0 default home win, Legia wiped the floor with Celtic home and away. Celtic looked like a team of strangers, unfamiliar with the system they were asked to play.
That was, of course, true, the system was unfamiliar, but it’s execution was miscalculated, the on-field results were deserved. The Champions League playoff round against Maribor was unusual inasmuch as Celtic dominated the away first leg and deserved more than the 1-1 draw, but the Slovenians arrived in Glasgow with their game face on. Celtic were outplayed and out of the Champions League.
Things slowly got better, although home performances against Motherwell (by my measure the worst) and Hamilton Accies (who were impressive), and latterly Ross County indicated there is still a long way to go.
Ronny’s Celtic found their feet in the Europa League, where they finished second behind a very accomplished Salzburg. The away performances against Salzburg and Astra gave an insight into how things could be for this Celtic team.
It was, to say the least, disappointing not to qualify for the Champions League. It denied the club millions of pounds and shaded our trump card in to be used in attracting players, but in reality we’re not a Champions League team this season. The Europa’ gave us an opportunity to play European football on our level, pick up coefficient points and extended interest after Christmas (if you’re young this won’t mean much, if you’re my age, you’ll recall this being our Holy Grail).
Inter Milan await in the next round. They are also going through a rebuilding exercise and are as vulnerable to lesser-resourced teams as Celtic – so unlike Juventus two years ago – we have a sporting chance.
The tactical direction of the club is visibly distinct from what went before Ronny. Is this a good thing? Probably. Neil Lennon and his players over-achieved in their first Champions League season on a scale it’s difficult to measure. That squad had no right to reach the levels they did; theirs was a herculean effort. Play Matthews at left back, alongside a central pair of Wilson and Ambrose. Put Miku up front, with Mulgrew and Ledley in the middle – then go beat Barcelona. It was beyond impossible.
Barca, Ajax and Milan were prepared for Celtic last season; we finished bottom, out of ideas and direction on that stage. We needed to change, same again wasn’t going to wash.
Ronny’s played a high-pressing game, mostly with players who are unaccustomed to the demands of this game-plan. This has been a mistake on several occasions, most notably against Legia and Maribor. He’s working on player fitness, but in all likelihood it will take the next two transfer windows before he can craft the squad into the shape he wants it to be.
We’re halfway through the season and, with Aberdeen playing before us tomorrow, there’s a chance they could go top of the table, for a couple of hours, anyway. That’s not good enough, by any measure. Notwithstanding the revamp, we should have done better in the Champions League qualifiers and we should be further ahead in the league, but the fundamentals remain intact:
We needed to start post-Neil Lennon with a new tactical strategy.
Trying hard not to be disrespectful to Aberdeen, but we’re going to win the league.
We’re in both cup competitions.
We remain in the Europa League.
I was happy with the direction we took in appointing Ronny Deila and remain so. The problems of the last six months could be classified as First World Problems. We’ll get over them, while others watch on from the Other Worlds.
Have a Happy Celtic New Year, strap in and enjoy the ride, I promise it’ll be a great one.
Sale on at CQNBookstore, fill your stockings.
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Question 5 – Which ex Celtic defender can speak Serbian, Danish, Dutch, English, Norwegian, German, Greek and Swedish
Clue – due to rupturing his cruciate ligament after colliding with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anders Svensson in training his career with Celtic was finished.
Answer – Daniel Majstorović
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Majstorovi%C4%87
Ah Rangers are the same team why are you Bhoys surprised Scottish football is corrupt and will continue to be so.Fans of other clubs including Celtic can continue to pay there money but will have no say about the corruption its the same old same old.Welcome to 2015. H.H.
1-0 Citeh
Great goal………Toure.
Exactly what you need against a packed defence, somebody that shoots from outside the box.
TommyGemmell CSC
Tommy Gemmelesque there from YAYA.
1-0 City.
fourgreenfields
Doncaster and any other fool can peddle the same club myth in perpetuity but it won’t change the indisputable fact, Rangers died.
Yes I’d like statements from Celtic and all relevant bodies to give testimony but it won’t alter whether I attend games mate.
“What a hand from Fraser Forster! A cross from the right finds its way through to Alexis Sanchez, he shifts the ball on to his right foot and hammers in a low shot which Forster brilliantly keeps out.”
Great save to keep Saints one up, shortly after it’s 2 – 0 over Arsenal.
I see that the SPFL Premiership has Aberdeen sitting top with 40 points. Is their game with St. J over?
No Idea what Capello said,but I am 100%sure,what was reported in the rag was not accurate.The quote about playing “Long balls”should be a dead giveaway.
The reason I get so angry at people slagging off RD,the team,is that these hacks DO read these blogs,and feed off these posts
Look at todays crap about Collins.Broony being dragged into it.Think for a second,how much trouble could that cause?.
Mc Coist,the worst manager in Scotland.What did we get.Every day dragging out every mate he had left to support him.Even after he got bumped,a story about how he would be back managing in the EPL someday.
Dont believe a word they say.Dont give them ammunition.They are no friends of ours.
Quiz results:
South of Tunis 7
Saint Stivs and TOSB 5
PFayr , Hamiltontim and Robert 88 3
Jimmynotpaul 1
All the rest of you 0
Thanks to everyone who had a go.
Still on p26
the games off, ffs
awe_naw
seems you’ve now mastered copy & paste ;-))
dena29,
am so sorry for the long suffering travelling fans/supporters…..lucky you’re no well..;-))
aw weel, back to bitchin & moaning for the trolls ;-))
weefra,
if yur lurkin, or av not caught up – what’s the secret to giving up the smokes? – new years resolution number 1
H.H.
Liverpool lose 2 in 2 mins, 2-2, how much for van Dijk?
And all the more reason to see the advert in the Sunday Herald.
Well done to Winning Captains for organising it.
Fourgreenfields
Don’t worry, mate, I fully intend to.
Hail! Hail!
hamiltontim
Thanks for the replies mate , just me getting fed up to F with this crap .
Hail Hail .
Winning Captains
Not sure when the CQN advert is going up but NDs statement is an excellent opportunity to set out the situation in the eyes of the Celtic supporters who frequent CQN.
I think it’s time the gloves came off on this nonsense.
Bada bing,
spoiler alert no2 ffs…..;-)) am sure a seen yur name in the roasters list ;-))
H.H.
I know it’s been said before………… but some ball from Clichy
WC- will the wording of the advert need changed,due to Doncaster’s lies?
auldheid
100% agree , time to stop messing around and blow this out of the water.
FourgreenFields. Stop moaning get along to the games pay your money and when you see the cheating just look the other way as a Celtic supporter you should know your place. H.H.
A Limited Company has limited liability.
A Partnership or Sole Trader has unlimited liability.
A Scottish football club now officially has NO liability.
Doncaster has now stated that Scottish football is operating beyond the law of the land.
Also, while he talked about the lack of sponsorship in the game then talked about the “same club” he failed to explain that given that the clubs are always looking for more money from the League why he has NOT collected the £250,000 fine imposed on the “same club” by LNS?
Is this money actually collectable? Is it due by the “same club” or the liquidated “company”? How many “clubs” have bank accounts, from which to pay such fines? It is a complete shambles and a deliberate deception.
We will need to review the text for the ad in the Sunday Herald as a result of this statement.
Celtic?
Silence is no longer an option. Are you going to stand with your supporters – and the supporters of clubs around the country – or are you going to stand behind Doncaster and his ilk?
It is either one or the other.
You have a month to decide.
WC
Has the extra been passed on to the charity yet or can I still make my donation?
thelurkintim-:))
Cited give away pen
joe filippis haircut
I know , imagine expecting a level playing field in this backwater :-))
They were liquidated — end of story.
Now there is a circus act pretending to be the same club and of course they want to believe it. The harder they try the funnier it is.
That said the SPFL CEO should not come out spouting such nonsense esp when he knows the background and environ. Barry Hearn was right that he was incompetent.
The authorities have remained mostly silent about Sevco’s status since the new team was formed. This was probably a ruse to keep the rest of Scottish football engaged while Sevco moved on up.
It would be a shame therefore if the recent ‘same club’ statement(s), cause Celtic fans (and other supporters) to withdraw financial support from their teams at a time when Sevco’s attendances and funds might be about to increase should they reach the top flight.
Don’t fall for it.
fourgreenfields
Not a bother my friend, believe me I do understand your frustrations.
Auldheid @ 16:22
Agree with you 100%. If there is anything I can do to help, just get in touch and I will do what is necessary to set this nonsensical travesty to rights.
It is all very well for posters to state the obvious but until we actually challenge this “official’ version (the Herald ad is a catalyst) and have the truth told, then we by association are complicit.
Auldheid
Yes we need to review the text and I will need to go through various “hoops” again to get it cleared.
I am going to set up a £1 payment button on CQNBookstore.com for the exclusive use of Celtic Directors. I am going to write to each of them to ask them to support the advertisement by making a £1 payment. (If they haggle I will accept 50p, bonuses might be done this year).
If they respond and make the payment I will update the blog.
Citeh
Now 3 2 up
turkeybhoy
16:17 on 1 January, 2015
Absolutely spot on …….. they hate everything Celtic and, as AULDHEID correctly states, ‘it’s time to take the gloves off’ ……..
Beatbhoy
Yup I just read a copy of the BBC Trust statement and that is how I read it.
If we now have a owning company and member club set up between RIFC and TRFC then that relationship is presumably documented somewhere in the RIFC/TRFC articles.
That constitution should be published in the interests of transparency so that we all know the current position.
It would follow that if such a document exists then there would be a similar document setting out the relationship between RFC and MIH or RFC and whatever owner company existed that no one knew about.
That should be supplied by Mr Doncaster in support of his statement.
A wee bit confused why people who do not understand the basic principals of corporate and business law are allowed to continue to hold such high office.
Embramike @ 15:59,
well said
H.H.
There is absolutely no chance that Celtic will make any statement about them being a new club.
FourGreenFields. Fella I blame ourselves as we are accepting there drivvel and moan and groan to ourselves we need to stand up and speak out.Why Celtic Football club accept it worries me as there silence appears to say a lot. H.H.