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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Kojo, Kojo, Kojo,
Did naebuddy tell yae that gettin Hamilton’s youth development/scouting Team…
an gid bizness practices fae Celic ur mutually exclusive propositions….
cuz, we wid huff tae pae aff a loater ( copyrite Kojo )
peepul, n it widnae make sensur ( copyrite Kojo )
tae dae that
still plagiarising
ME
H.H.
WC et al, regards the Ad………..
I’ve made my thoughts on this strategy before, wont bore you with it again, but if you are reviewing the copy, may I suggest less is much, much more…………
Telling a yarn is one thing
and getting a point across is another.
HH
Where can I see Doncaster statement, is it on one of the pages here
All the angst and outrage would lead one to the conclusion that some people forget that this is ultimately ‘football’ we are talking about.
Perspective.
Any statement needs to be factual to the point and as suggested ran past a solicitor quoting the obvious and undeniable.
Forget statements from ex players and owners.
Facts cannot be refuted.
Robert tressell
In our little cqn cocoon, this is life and death stuff. In this particular case literally
There’s 2 points to focus in on in regards to this statement by Doncaster.
A) This is not an implicit carte blanche for any club to crash and burn yet go on. It is an explicit affirmation that ONE club will be allowed to do so – for the ‘good’ of Scottish Football and for fear or ‘unrest’ in the streets.
B) It’s a de facto fallback for the new club in these quickly shrinking weeks before Celtic play them. It’s more than validation – it’s business as usual. T’was ever thus…
I won’t be there. I won’t watch it.
Their outrageous machinations killed a bit of my enjoyment for football – nothing will get it back.
They were allowed to ride the waves of jam that were the 80s, we foolishly (Though sometimes joyfully) got into a tit for tat with them for 6 or so years and their self-orchestrated destruction has came at a time of global downsizing and margin scouring.
They’ll be welcomed back – it’ll be sold as a much needed injection of vitality into a declining market.
Every medium of press and communication and every agent of those mediums is already ‘on message’.
They’re bigger and louder than the internet bampots.
And as long as BBC Scotland funds dross like Only An Excuse and it chooses to ridicule the referendum but ignore a horde from that team’s support besieging George Square wallowing in their myth of supremacy and entitlement – and as long as people pretend it’s only supporting Celtic they’ll be doing come February then we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the past.
Prepare for the media hyper-drive and prepare for foolish young men’s blood to be spilled over something that should have been consigned to History.
It is and unfortunately will be a crying shame.
U
Winning Captains,
Read back, I’ve got your back, as they say, against your doubters…..repetitious lol, like i said would stand by it, why are you calling my education into question? Not coolio ;-))
H.H.
One day, possibly a good number of years from now, the Sevco tribute act will win the top division.
Now, I don’t have a problem with that fundamentally. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be absolutely gutted, but we’re in a competitive sport and that’s the nature of things.
What I will however have a massive problem with is if it is officially recognised as their 55th title. I shudder to think of the bitter recriminations in the Celtic community over our club’s failure to nail the same club fantasy when the opportunity was there. Celtic does not run Scottish football of course but me and the vast majority of fans would never be able to quite forgive our board if no clear, concise and honest statement had been made about the status of the new entity.
The opportunity is still there.
Happy New Year to all CQNers
dessybhoy
Different company number?
same scarf, same subway, same stadium, same bears, same badge, same sing song,
same club.
It’s all three years, down the line of ‘the journey’
Once lost it’s lost and it is gone forever… forever….
That holds true, utmost, for credence and integrity, whether individual – or collective.
The sine qua non of the ethos of Celtic Football Club, and hence the worth of the club itself, is the value the individual supporter attributes truth and sincerity before he dares claim a voice on behalf of the collective
Because without truth and sincerity being the basis to sport then sport is just a toxic lie regardless of the colour of scarf you wrap around your neck.
2001/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14 were all toxic lies and maybe 2015 will be just the same too.
2016 will let us know.
Interesting viewpoint….
“Agreed, Laxey lost £2m on the venture & I doubt Kingsnoth’s investors will be impressed. Because of that, I wouldn’t think Laxey took the deal without at least a call to see if other side would better. Apparently not so let the Poker begin ?”
I won’t be giving Celtic another penny until the board publicly and unequivocally contradict Doncaster.
thelurkintim
Sorry absolutely not my intention. And thanks for your support!
PartickThistle FCVerified account @ThistleTweet
Who gave all the pies – leftover pies go to a good home: http://ow.ly/GFyjmhttp://ptfc.co.uk/news/2014-2015/january_2015/hap-pie_new_year
If Doncaster’s statement is allowed to go unchallenged. Our club and its fans are being bent over.
Happy New year to everyone.
HH
For those of you going to the Semi, a friend of mine who’s brother is a Chelsea and National Front fan told him that a bunch of them are coming up from London for the game.
Please be on alert game day.
☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆
uly @17.36
post of the year
☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆;:*:;☆
Ah, here was me thinking it’s just a game of fitba……..
Get real guys
enjoy LIFE
Happy New Year to all
COYBIG
……..and before I forget, no purple prose.
bournesouprecipe
my reason for this, the company and club were incorporated ,now has a company number which is different i.e. a new company and club, why would anyone go to the trouble of doing this if it were not the case and the previous club and company were liquidated, you can still by a pick n mix but not in woolies
What is the Stars
_____________________________________________________________________
Without the BBC raising the question Doncaster stated: “Any commercial partner we work with wants as much stability in the game as possible. The more stability we can have at all 42 member clubs, the better.
“In terms of the question about old club, new club, that was settled very much by the Lord Nimmo Smith commission that was put together by the SPL to look at EBT payments at that time.
“The decision, very clearly from the commission, was that the club is the same, the club continues, albeit it is owned by a new company, but the club is the same.”
The BBC asked: “So the official take from the SPFL is that Rangers Football Club continues, it’s the same club,” to which Donaster replied: “Yes, it’s the same club, absolutely.”
For clarity the BBC asked: “People have extreme views on this, so what’s the difference between a club and a company?
Doncaster answered explaining: “The member club is the entity that participates in our league and we have 42 member clubs.
“Those clubs may be owned by a company, sometimes it’s a Private Limited Company, sometimes it’s a PLC, but ultimately, the company is a legal entity in its own right, which owns a member club that participates in the league.”
Doncaster also claimed that there was no reason for concern that a national league that had been running for 18 months had yet to find a sponsor.
Kitalba,
Yet 20,000-30,000 have decided just that, and taken the scarfs from the neck…..yet the board seem incapable or unable to see the truth in front of them
disillusionedCSC
H.H.
were not
Doncaster’s statement:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30650368
You need to go to a couple of minutes before the end for his Sevco pronouncement.
Just so that everybody is clear on it, Chris McLaughlin makes him repeat the ‘same club’ thing.
Is it possible Michael already has what he wants.?…… advertising ‘space’ and someone else to take on the risky business of sevco survival…… If they succeed, he will make a few million annually from the retail side …… If they fail, he will sell the loan security assets as secured creditor………his end game …..!!??
Have just seen a photo of the bottom of Maryhill Road and it was flooded, But not for one minute am I saying that the Firhill Pitch was as bad as they are making out, thistle had 8 Injured players out today and just 9 Miles away St Mirren Park which was playable???
Was the groundsman out with a fucking water hose flooding the pitch, smell a rat here!!!
I got my begging letter from Fergus McCann post giving up my season ticket… did you get one too?
Bankiebhoy
I agree
Concise and as hard hitting as possible
IMO DF gets to much of a mention too…
Uly-cap doffed
Kitalba
I got two
Call me ld fashioned but I’m enjoying the ole Scottish football armageddon.
Thanks for the link to the Doncaster statement lads
The statement today was not just about claiming the new Rangers are the same club as the old one, it’s also about preparing the ground for the trick to be repeated
Do you remember why CQN was started?
Why it is so successful?
Why it is so different to all other fitba blogs?
It’s because it’s real.
No lies, no bull, just the facts.
Keep it real Paul67
Very best wishes for 2015.
Uly
Your contributions are of excellent quality
That’s your best yet …top drawer
HH
PFayr:
Actually I got two too, only one addressed to me though, signed by Fergus. No sitting member of the present board had the guts to send them, they resorted to asking a former director to do their dirty work for them.
Classless.
Why didn’t they just ask me why I gave up my seat?