Where did it all go wrong for Ronny?

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So where did it all go wrong for Ronny Delia?  First of all, it didn’t all go wrong.  He won two leagues, and if you think it was impossible to lose those, just think back to a team in last season’s Championship, who enjoyed an equally superior income over their competitors, but lost the league to Hearts by the length of the M8.

It was just as possible for Aberdeen to win the league this season or last, as it was Hearts (reeling only months after going into administration) to win the Championship last season.  Ronny delivered the primary requirement each season – the league title, but he failed on the second tier requirement – qualify for the Champions League.

Soon after the Legia Warsaw debacles Ronny reflected on the question about whether it was right to ask his new team to adopt his tactics, instead of waiting until he’d recruited players to fit his system.

Two years on we are still remarkably short of players to play his system.  Innumerable wide midfield players have come and gone, with many still lingering in the stands.  We have an enviable list of creative mids in the squad, yet none have been able to dislodge Stefan Johansen, who by his own admission is having a disappointing season.

Then there’s the striker roles.  Leigh Griffiths has been a significant reason why we’ll be crowned champions again over the next few weeks, but he’s pretty much on his own.  No one has been able to put pressure on him.  For a while Leigh had to wait until John Guidetti and Stefan Scepovic dropped out of the picture, but you’ll struggle to recall this season’s striker arrivals, Carlton Cole and Colin Kazim-Richards, three years from now.

For these reasons, we can say recruitment is where it all went wrong for Ronny.  It’s not about 4-2-3-1, half the top teams in Europe play with that formation, nor is it (the now abandoned) zonal marking system, also the dominant top-level defensive system.

We’ve simply recruited the wrong players for creative midfield and striker positions.  It’s also subtler than to just say we’ve not recruited good enough players.  Some who have escaped Celtic Park after arriving in the last 22 months have done pretty well elsewhere.  Guidetti and Scepovic are La Liga strikers, while Jo Inge Berget also made it to the Bernabeu this season.

None of them are great, but I suspect we made them look poorer than they are.  Kazim-Richards is unlikely to trouble Sergio Ramos next season, but there’s more to him that what we’ve seen, or will see.  We’ve been a place careers diminish disproportionately.

On the positive side, Ronny brought the best out of Leigh Griffiths.  He moved the disintegrating Emilio Izaguirre aside for 18-year-old sensation, Kieran Tierney, (the biggest winner on Sunday).  And he finally resolved some of the least-organised set-piece defending known to man with the recruitment of Erik Sviatchenko (on this point, you cannot over-estimate the value of adding one good player to a team).

One thought crossed my mind several times this season: If he hadn’t spent so much money fruitlessly trying to make one system work, would he have acknowledge he was on the wrong road and changed tactics?

He backed himself into a corner so stuck with the same faltering policy at Celtic, but surely, surely, if he walks into another job soon, unhindered by that wasteful use of budget, he’d not follow the same tactical strategy which failed him?

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  1. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    NATKNOW

     

     

    They’ll have piles to get through tonight.

  2. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    Huge grass fire out Dumbarton way.

     

     

    Anyone seen DELANEYSDUNKY?

  3. GEORDIE MUNRO on 21ST APRIL 2016 5:51 PM

     

     

    Natknow,

     

     

    What you talking about?

     

    ——————————————————————-

     

    As usual, I have no idea…. :-)))

  4. BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 21ST APRIL 2016 5:53 PM

     

     

    NATKNOW

     

     

    They’ll have piles to get through tonight.

     

    ——————————————-

     

    Ouch! Whatever happen to Emma Freud…?

  5. !!BADA BING!! on 21ST APRIL 2016 6:03 PM

     

     

    Prince RIP Fk me

     

    —————————————–

     

    Fk me was the subject matter of most of his songs…

  6. NATKNOW on 21ST APRIL 2016 5:49 PM

     

    THE SPIRIT OF ARTHUR LEE on 21ST APRIL 2016 5:41 PM

     

     

     

    FOURSTONECOPPI on 21ST APRIL 2016 5:36 PM

     

     

     

    Chris Coleman

     

     

     

    Is he they guy fae different strokes

     

     

    knowing our board aye!

  7. Dj67SupportsTheResignationOfLawwellDesmondDeila&TheToryWhores on

    WYCOMBEBHOY on21ST APRIL 2016 5:08 PM

     

     

     

    Hey,

     

     

    Did you use a 16 inch stint to work that up?

     

     

    Work what up, you wonder…….

     

     

    Your head into your arse hole!

  8. Saw Prince 2 nights ago at a Lizz Wright gig. He looked in good spirits. What a shame. RIP

  9. Ronny Deila and Celtic announce that he’s leaving, not good enough, and still the trumpets wade in and blame Celtic.

     

     

    What bit of ‘they don’t have anybody else’ lined up to take over does the internet not understand?

     

     

    When in the history of world football has a caretaker manager taken over club in time for the first game in a league split? – – with an eight point lead?

     

     

    When in the history of world football has long term manager taken over club in time for the first game in a league split – with an eight point lead?

     

     

    Never? – but let’s wade in anyway.

     

     

    Whether RD gets us over the line or not, he’s not getting dismissed, and he’s not leaving the building yet, his title in the waiting.

     

     

    8 Clear CSC

  10. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    So, we sign a load of dud players.

     

    Then we realise that isn’t working.

     

    So we bring in someone to develop our own players.

     

    Then we get rid of him, after he has started bringing through young players.

     

    Then we decide we need a “big name” manager, who presumably won’t want to develop young players….?

     

    Confused……

  11. mike in toronto on

    my encounter with Prince ….

     

     

    we ended up standing beside Prince at a Norah Jones concert in 2002 (around the time her first album came out) … I think that was when he was living in Toronto …. we were standing at the back of the old Palais Royale hall where she was playing, when six of the biggest, scariest guys I have ever seen came in and stood beside us …. they parted, and from the middle of them came the tiniest little purple rock star …. he said hello, later he said that he enjoyed the show …. we didn’t bug him much, but he actually seemed nice.

  12. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    RIP Prince,Mrs Nbrs devastated…….me, hey the

     

    love rival has left the scene.

  13. Bournesouprecipe

     

    I think the fear among supporters is that the players have downed tools under Ronnie.

     

    Would like to believe that they have the desire and professionalism to get over the finish line.

     

    But i understand the fans genuine fears.

  14. The Green Man says SACK THE Board on

    RIP Prince

     

    Saw him at the hydro.

     

    He was brilliant.

     

    He still is.

  15. R.I.P. Prince

     

    I once had the privilege of seeing him a tan after concert private party in London where he jammed for around four hours.

     

    Brilliant and fortunate to have witnessed.

  16. A Ceiler Gonof Rust on

    Bada Bing, I was at the Prince gig at CP. I think the waterboys and lloyd cle might have been the support.

     

     

    Very sad. A talented wee giy and a great guitarist.

     

     

    Prunce RIP

  17. For what my stupid opinion is worth, I genuinely believe that Ronny simply wasn’t attack minded.

     

    We simply can’t play with one up front against teams who park the bus. That never seemed to get through to Ronny. We defended OK for what was required. I kept thinking someones going to get a hiding here but it seldom happened. We need to be a slightly risk taking offensive team. Find that manager then we might get somewhere.

  18. Sorry to hear about prince. Very sad.

     

     

    I see Paul continuous to avoid talking about his boss.

     

     

    Celtic are an utter utter shambles.

  19. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    MacIntyre asks the SMSM if they were over-critical of Ronny.

     

    SMSM say no.

     

    SMSM then go on to say how they continually slaughtered Walter when he was winning one game in 25 in Europe.

     

    (the last bit didn’t really happen).

  20. My friends in Celtic,

     

     

    By popular demand especially over the last few days.

     

     

    The newest clique on the block. ” Trumpet & Rocket ” clique.

     

     

    Ostrichcsc. In Ronny I did trust.

  21. TGM,

     

     

    As you are back.

     

     

    Talking middle class aspirations. Horticultural club in Lock 27. Wtf is that all about in Temple.

     

     

    First and Last, Rams heid ,Et Al ,eat your heart oot.

     

     

    HH.

  22. Incidentally it’s another sign of the complacency and arrogance of Celtic that Paul assumes the league is won. It’s far from on.

     

     

    Also had to,laugh at Paul telling us that Ronny spent a lot of money. Ah rewriting history again eh.

  23. CROPPYBHOY on 21ST APRIL 2016 5:18 PM

     

     

    Sunday might turn out to be a blessing in disguise if it means that DD finally realised how badly things have been handled over the last 3/4 years!

     

     

    Which begs the question just where the hell has our major shareholder and de facto owner been for the last 3/4 years.

  24. NEGANON2 on 21ST APRIL 2016 7:00 PM

     

    Incidentally it’s another sign of the complacency and arrogance of Celtic that Paul assumes the league is won. It’s far from on.

     

     

     

    Also had to,laugh at Paul telling us that Ronny spent a lot of money. Ah rewriting history again eh.

     

     

    Personally I share Paul’s opinion that the league is won.

     

    However, it is the possibility that it gets lost that means Ronny should have been out the door on Monday morning.

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