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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GREENPINATA
Horticultural Society in Lock 27.
There are of course other types of Horticultural Societies around Temple:)
Know them better:)
Man of the people that i am:)
HH
Indeed Quonno. All they have done is create a circus. Pathetic but par for the course.
A CEILER GONOF RUST..
Booked into the Millenium for the 7th May, where are you holding the Party celebrations ,BT said he’d come.
Quonno
You are indeed correct that DD should have known but let’s face it he rarely turns up at the games and doesn’t bother with the AGM, so perhaps he really wasn’t fully aware of the scale of the balls up that PL was presiding over!
HH
Paul67 et al
No the league is not won, but it is there to be won. Let us concentrate on that while the board try to second guess the Celtic support. Try and win the league with a bit of style, there is enough ability in the ranks to do that, announce the new manager, (and Big Pete’s replacement too) as soon as our season is over. Do that and it is five in a row, do that and we put pressure on the Magic Hat in the cup final a week later, where the new huns will be facing a team that hasn’t won the Scottish Cup since 1902. With a bit of luck they will be wishing that had lost last Sunday. That is my ideal scenario.
Love this comment
Perhaps Cameron should follow Justin Welby’s lead and have DNA test. That could relieve him of the embarrassment of having Ian Cameron as a father and confirm the general impression that he has always been a ba****d.
Taken from this article
IN last week’s column I highlighted that changes brought in by the Tories to the state pension will result in a saving of over £5.5 billion for the UK Government. This will be at the expense of those who were trying to put something aside in an occupational pension for their retirement.
I’ve also previously highlighted the WASPI campaign where women born in the early 1950s are suffering as they see their long-expected state pension drift off further into the future, leaving them with shattered plans on how to cope.
Whenever such issues are raised the Tory mantra of austerity is repeated ad nauseam by the Prime Minister and his followers. Apparently we don’t have the money to pay decent pensions, have a realistic retirement age or even maintain decent benefits for those who rely on them.
Well, the news from the Panama Papers has shown exactly why that is. While the rest of us pay our taxes, the super-rich invent new schemes to hide their earnings from the taxman. As a consequence, they might get a new flash car or holiday home while back in the UK public services are starved of cash and essential services are put on life support. Is this what the Government means when it speaks of all of us being “in it together”?
The UK’s role in this tax dodge is highlighted by the number of firms which are based in UK-administered tax havens. Over half of the 215,000 firms identified so far in the leaks are based in areas such as the British Virgin Islands which was the top location for Mossack Fonseca operations. This places the UK at the very heart of a system linked to money laundering, crime and systematic tax avoidance.
The links to leading UK politicians also raise concerns, particularly the actions of the Prime Minister, David Cameron. It wasn’t that long ago that Cameron claimed he would tackle tax evasion but now, after days of dithering and trying to claim his family’s tax returns were a
I hope that DD does take a hands on approach to the club to sort out the difficulties we are presently in, we have a huge squad someone said in excess of 50 professional footballers, that is far too many, it needs trimmed , we may need to bite the bullet and pay these guys off but I hope season ticket monies is not used for this, it may require a new share issue or DD puts his hand in his pocket but it must be done.
Those who brought these players should be chased RD said today it was him, I thought we had a scouting network which identifies suitable players, that scouting network appears broken and needs fixed.
The wages on offer needs to increase to get a higher quality of player with less sitting in the stand this shold be possible.
No more bonus culture for the CEO unless revenues increase substantially, at present we turnover about £50 million, PL is paid about 2% of turnover including bonuses, any other business pay their chief this kind of salary?
Scrap the committee who set this salary due to the above.
Balde, Pukki, Boerritger, etc etc were all signed before Ronny.
The recruitment fiasco started well before 6th June 2014 when RD arrived.
If he had any hand in Cole, and Cifti etc, he deserved to go.
If he wasn’t strong enough to say no to their recruitment he deserved to go.
Details of our signings below.
http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=512&teamTabs=transfers
the blame lies with £awel£
http://i1.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article7785393.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/JS87693023.jpg
Arsenal fan’s staying at home tonight.
MARKIEBHOY on 21ST APRIL 2016 6:47 PM
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.
————
For the last 2 years , we have been a wide open offensive team , in Mowbray, Barnes , Burns , Brady mould, unable to close down a game against better opposition. 1 up or not.
With any luck we will get a manager who understands that in Scottish football you need a big strong team of strapping lhads and pressurise the opposing back 4 from the get go , easy really , I have got the application in the post ⚽️
BSR
I haven’t studied John Collins’ head as closely as you.
But I do know this: he – along with McStay – was one of Celtic’s finest players of any era.
The midfield conundrum has baffled many this season.
Plenty to chose from but none seemingly good.
McGregor- can shoot but often played in a position to nullify this
Commons-as above but also seemed disinterested
Rogic-some very good moments but inconsistent
Brown-has fight and energy both recently missing
GMS- occasional moments but to often invisible.
Bitton-total imposter and reason for lack of team rhythm
Johansen-energy but not much else
Armstrong -some decent games but to many poor though played out of position.
Allen-rarely seen and usually out of position.
Christie-not seen enough
Boeriggter-thankfully not seen
Mulgrew-played centre mid sometimes and slowed us down even more which is some feat.
Roberts-few games and some bright moments.
That is a huge amount of players for midfield area and the fact that we rarely coaxed a performance from them suggests a coach unable to implement an effective unit from choices available and a scouting system that views players on an individual basis rather than a team strategy.
EK BHOY
With any luck we will get a manager who understands that in Scottish football you need a big strong team of strapping lhads
One of the weaknesses we have had under Ronny’s tenure IMO is a lack of height ,muscle and physicality.
The Hartson, Sutton, Bobo, Mjallby, Virgil types. Not big stiffies like Cole, but guys who can play a bit AND impose themselves physically on the game.
Watched the ronny and griff interviews
Clearly the pressure has been playing on ronny for some time…. celtIc need to stand up against the media campaign
Was impressed by griff standing up for ronny … he has matured well under him . Also noted how casually he mentioned JC … so much for anti Collins cliques
Funny this is I was dead against Roy Keane becoming Manager 2 years ago.
Too fiery, too opinionated , arrogant almost. Would say it as it is no matter how unpalatable.
Just what we need now IMO
( with Martin at his side)
Just read the article and none of the comments yet. When did Ronnie win two leagues? Am I losing the plot?
Really time for big boardroom changes. No more sinecures? Anyone any idea what Bankier brings to the club? Lawwell as a CEO has probably stayed 9 years too long. Time to find another job. Sunderland will be ideal to rejuvenate you. What does Brian Wilson do for his dough? Time to retire. Give youth a chance.
Our recruitment has also been a failing department. Who is in charge? Park? Time for a change.
Ronnie is not the problem. Time for big changes.
TBJ HAS NO TRUST IN THE PLC on 21ST APRIL 2016 8:25 PM
What was the Griff/Ronnie bust up about at 1/2 time on Sunday about? Griffith’s was letting Deila know what he thought was wrong (I’ve got a feeling he doesn’t fancy one up front versus lower competition ).
Great ongoing tribute to Prince on CNN
terje vigan
That must be most culture related nom de plume this side of ‘bada bing’!
Or er ‘Blantyre Tim’.
Blantyre Tim
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I posted earlier from the CQN 5s as I was ten minutes early in arriving. I did try to get Paul McStay to play incidentally!
Here’s how Paul is progressing with this:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/maestrosports/the-maestro-paul-mcstay-autobiography
Quite a unique way to go about this – Paul has a computer software business in Australia and this is how things are done in that industry. It only kicks in if the target is reached in the timescale outlined. There’s much more to it than just his book as you will see.
See Paul’s showing off having his pic with the Maestro on Facebook!
Exiled Tim, appreciate the info regarding holiday home.
On another topic; my friends and I were at a Celtic function, Lenny was there, he was the manager at the time, one of my friends was chatting to him, he asked how he got on with DD, he calls every day. Assume Ronny Delia was giving this honour or was he? You would think Ronnie would ask him, why are we bulk buying midfielders?, Carlton Cole, he came to us unfit, why was he signed? No way Ronnie signed him or wanted him.
CELTIC MAC on 21ST APRIL 2016 8:42 PM
?
It’s my name. What’s yours?
terje vigen
Finn MacCoull
Hey Ronnie, just before you go mate could you please explain wtf was your logic in signing Carlton Cole And Kaz Richards?
Thanks WC
Thought it couldn’t be as was being made out
Oldtim
If you pop across to the Gorbals on May 8th…the Norfolk court high flats are being blown up. It will all be visible from outside Sharkeys and then we’ve got the Aberdeen game on the tv and big screen.
Not had a drink for a while but if you/BT or others are in the area I may break my abstinence.
Hail hail
Matt
Once again we are in a media circus brought on by our (Peter’s) arrogance and stupidity. Don’t we just love to hand the press and our enemies bullets to fire at us. For years (and I’ve been going since around about 1970) the supporters have been taken for granted. The latest shambles shouldn’t come as much surprise to any of us. We are the constant in all of the years of mismanagement and this is partly our downfall. Guys like Lawell do what they like assuming that the support will be “faithful through and through”. Mugs with cash, ready to part with it when asked to do so. Well there comes a time when us “mugs” should let these sharp suited crooks know how we feel. If Lawell stays and we get another “cheap option” thrown our way then maybe that time has come. Think on Peter, the natives may be more restless than you think.
Dj67SupportsTheResignationOfLawwellDesmondDeila&TheToryWhores
silly bhoy
Real dignity and humility from our manager today.
Contrasted with some of the thick as pigshit So called Celtic supporters on radio Clyde tonight.
Entitlement complex CFC.
tough choice … two of my favourites, Gregory Porter and Wynton Marsalis, both playing at the Jazz festival this summer … but on the same night and at the same time in different parts of the city! damn!
which one to choose?
for what it’s worth, I’d be happy with nfl
Roy Keane for me.Even just for a month to put put some fire into the bellies of those masquerading as Celtic footballers.
HH
Burnley78. I don’t listed to Clyde but I find it a bit strange you are annoyed at fellow Celtic fans for what you describe as an entitlement complex.
The performance of the Celtic board has been nothing short of disasterous and has allowed all of us to be utterly humiliated. Turn your fire on where it belongs.
Process of elimination.
Biscuit-tin mentality….except when it comes to PLC bonuses.
Same tired agenda…same outcome
Paper over the cracks.
Voila…step forward Neil Lennon.
Thunder?
Damp Squib?
One thing is certain.
There will be no surprises.
HH
Neil Lennon letting DD and PL know….that he doesnt need a transfer budget.
He can improve the squad seemingly.
Music to PLC ears.
HH
Today: ‘Where did it all go wrong for Ronny?’
Tomorrow: ‘Where did it all go wrong for Celtic?’
Almore
Its Keith Jackson to blame for all this you know.
And if it wasnt him….try Chris Sutton.
If that doesnt work…blame Aberdeen because they have improved.
Or its the supporters fault for complaining about the PLC.
In fact…blame anything that moves…except those responsible.
HH