Celtic Diary Monday June 9: When Peter Met Ronnie….

Well, its pretty much what we thought. Ronnie Deila was sounded out for the job as number two at Celtic, and so impressed Peter Lawwell with his philosophy, attitude and wage demands, that as soon as Neil Lennon started moaning again, then he was out the door.

Half of that conclusion is based on this, from David Neilson, who was Deilas right hand man at Stromgodset;

“He went in to interview for the assistant’s job and I believe he’d have taken it because it’s such a big club.

“But Ronny knew in his heart he could do the top job and, when he went into the meeting and came out, there was no more talk of him being an assistant.

“The board knew that wasn’t an option. He blew them away. He was their man. That’s what happened.”

 Of course, there was the tricky problem of someone already having the top job, but he wasn’t happy with the way things were going, so it was just a matter of waiting until he started bashing his gums about something -or someone- and then he could be told

” Well, if thats the way you really feel, then perhaps it is better that we all shake hands and call it a day. “

 Add that to what I learnt from someone who really didn’t think he was telling me something that wasn’t already common knowledge, then it is the considered opinion of the Diary that Lennon has been replaced.

 Whilst Lennon achieved a lot in his time with the club, and for that we will be forever grateful, it perhaps is time to move on. Whether or not the team will move forward is a matter of conjecture, but all the signs are there that we have , in fact, upgraded, and maybe what the board saw in Deila at those interviews meant they had to move quickly before someone else got him.

 Time, of course will tell, though there grounds for optimism rather than pessimism, and it does appear to have sparked a bit of interest in the new season that perhaps wasn’t there while Lennon was in charge.

 I just hope it works out for everyone concerned. Lennon doesn’t deserve to be cast aside after all he has not only done, but endured on behalf of the club.

Neilsen then went on to tell us what Deila has in store for us…

“I played in England for three years, I know what it’s like.

“They have all the money and the culture is great but it just needs a bit of creativity beyond: ‘Go and f*****g tackle’.

“Every time something goes wrong or you are not winning you are told to run harder and tackle.

“In Spain it’s totally different, it’s about an angle of the pass. That’s how you win the game. The potential for Ronny and Celtic is limitless because he could combine William Wallace with Andres Iniesta and the qualities of Braveheart and Barcelona. You can see that potential.

I think we can stop now. Look, we know Deila is highly respected, and has a growing reputation in the game. Lets stop using words like ” limitless ” and “potential ” . and fecking ” Braveheart “

“It’s all about the academy. I don’t know how good it is at Celtic but Ronny will have a look at it when he has time.

“Developing the players and coaches will follow because that’s the most important thing.

“We’re going to start our game on Monday with three or four players aged 15-19-years-old, we’ve got a fantastic academy.

“We have a lot of young players coming through because we can have the pick of the young players in the country. Ronny has taken them and put them straight on to the pitch.

According to OPTA, before Deial arrived at Stromgodset, they had never had a youth player capped at any level. By the time he left, there were 179. The tweet didn’t clarify whether that was total caps, or the total number of players. Either way, its pretty impressive.

“Martin Odegaard is 15 so I don’t want to say too much but he’s trained with Bayern Munich and Manchester United. This guy is very, very special.

Odegaard, unsurprisingly , has been mentioned as a possible recruit for the new man. Surprisingly, only the Scotsman has thus far made the obvious connection…

 He’s Larsen Kwarasey, Stromgodset and Ghana. And he doesn’t want to stay at Stromgodset. It’ll give us something to have a look at during the World cup, I suppose.

“At a big club like Celtic you should also be able to recruit from anywhere and I just hope he gets the time. I know he’s good enough, he’s the right man for the job and he will revolutionise British football with the way he thinks.

“If the foundations are strong enough within the academy and the club, great. If not, then it might not shine through straight away.

“Ronny’s biggest strength is developing players, but, if you can spend money on a good young player who can get better you can smash through the glass ceiling.

This is kind of what I’m hoping for. I want to see what he can do with Adam Matthews, who is at a bit of a loss just now, with no settled place in the first eleven. He’s too good for the bench, so will we see him in the middle with Johansen ? They could provide an excellent balance of speed, strength and  intelligence in the engine room. 

“If you only ever have three eggs you can only make a three-egg omelette. You can’t make foie gras with beef.”

No, but you can make Veggieburgers with grass.

On his own new position as manager, he revealed he’d already discussed it with Deila.

“We were on the bus back from the game in Tromso on Wednesday night and Ronny said, ‘You know we’re going to end up against each other going for the Champions League’.

“We just burst out laughing but I think it will happen. It
is destiny.”

All of that seemed a little hysterical form his old pal. But this isn’t, from Scotland on Sunday.  Pay particular attention to the last bit. We could indeed be in for something completely different;

Learning from mistakes ? Tactical substitutions with more than five minutes left ? Wow, thats perhaps too radical too soon…..

 Meanwhile, Fergus McCann has been drafted in for his opinions. The board presumably thinking that because we are all glad to see him again he is the the very man to write to those of  us who, for one reason or another,  have allowed  season books to drop off our priority list

 Remember McCann is  raising the flag at the first league game to give us a chance to say sorry for booing him the last time he did it. We will say sorry to him, his part in todays Celtic is immeasurable, and he deserves a thank you.

McCann tells us;

” It is important for people to stand up and show their support by buying season tickets. That is my simple message.”

He added: “The league is important going forward. Filling the seats makes a huge difference to the club’s chances of getting the players it wants, paying the salaries and getting into Europe.”

 Paying the salaries ? Well, obviously, but giving that as a reason will alienate supporters who are already finding the going tough. While we all support the club in whatever way we can afford, the harsh facts are that Celtic will not pay our bills , we have to, and that comes first. 

“The rebuilt Celtic Park has 60,000 seats for a purpose. It was built on my belief that 60,000 at every home game would give the club a key advantage. And it has.”

“Money is important,” he says. “Season ticket cash is essential for Celtic to buy players while TV income is a small fraction of that of the bottom club in the Enlish Premier League. But not all-important. Personal attendance at every game – through and through – is a key part of our culture. It shows how important Celtic is in our lives.”

Theres no denying that a big crowd behind the team makes a difference, we’ve all been there. And I can understand the thinking behind not only asking supporters to buy  a season book, but actually using it. However, some supporters buy the book to get the perks that come with it, away briefs, European tickets and so on. They don’t attend all the games, simply because work, family, and other commitments will always interfere. 

 Mind you, it doesn’t help when the club shifts fixtures around for jaunts to Turkey, or because tv companies tell them to.

 Buying something that entitles you to , say twenty games, doesn’t make a lot of sense if you can only do ten. But it does get you the Champions League matches, and on top of the season book, financially thats a big hit early in the season. With a limited amount of money available, choices have to be made, and I’ve never heard anyone say that they were going to skip the Milan game because we’ve got Kilmarnock on Saturday. Incidentally, before EPL admission gets debated again, substitute Hull City, or West Brom for Kilmarnock, and the outcome  would be the same.

 Theres no easy solution to the “problem “, making the product more attractive might help, but theres no guarantee of seeing a good game whether its Bayern, Barcelona or bloody Motherwell you’re playing.

 Towards the end of last season, the club did appear to make an effort towards improving the ” Match Day Experience “, which was fairly successful. Realistically, this is about the only area that can be controlled and enhanced, so perhaps that museum should be hurried along, and that cafe with former players popping in and out, such as Craig Burley, Andy Walker, and Mo Johnston, and a room in the back with some gloves and a ring….

 Thats given me an  idea there for a tv programme;

“Teach yourself waterboarding with Craig Burley ” He’s not the presenter of this show, you understand. More a participant.

 Why Burley, I hear you ask. Well, no I don’t, but I’ll explain anyway…

Cameroon players refuse to board their plane over bonuses. You would think representing your country at a World Cup is a privilege.#greed

To which he received the reply…

@CBurleyESPN @jum_spence the same way you took the huff over CL bonuses under Venglos?

Craig, though, hit back…

Craig BurleyVerified account‏@CBurleyESPN

“@SoccerNewsscot: @jum_spence the same way you took the huff over CL bonuses under Venglos?”

Club v Country, spot the difference?

Prompting a flood of replies about his own level of commitment, in a particular game against Croatia Zagreb 

1. Martin Mann ‏@mrtnmann  19h

   @CBurleyESPN @SoccerNewsscot @jum_spence and representing Celtic in the CL isn’t a privilege?? #greed

   @SoccerNewsscot  19h

2. @CBurleyESPN so you had no pride in representing a football club from your home country, in the worlds greatest club comp? Fair enough

   But Craig showed us all why we love him…..

3. Craig Burley ‏@CBurleyESPN  19h

   “@mrtnmann: @CBurleyESPN @SoccerNewsscot @jum_spence and representing Celtic in the CL isn’t a privilege?? #greed”

   That’s a job

   Fair enough, it is a job. He is entitled to treat it as such. Thankfully, the club saw through that attitude at the time, and sent him off to Derby, where he went from hero to zero, and a tv career where he sunk even lower. 

    Job or privilege ? It may be a job, but we like to think of wearing the hoops as a privilege granted to a select few. I guess we just wish, in hindsight, we’d granted it to someone who would appreciate it.

   The Celtic Trust have helpfully put the latest financial report on the web for us, and here it is for those who understand this sort of thing.

   AnnualReport_2013

   Peter Lawwell has been criticised for his wage, which was just short of £1m for his work at the club. no doubt he earned it, and in his defence, CEOs at English clubs get paid much, much more.

    Er, so do players. Which is why we can’t compete with them when it comes to transfers…

   Or is Peter asking us to read between the lines here, as he is going to use himself as an example as to why we should break the bank from time to time, and bring in real quality, to improve performance on the field to match his own off it ?

   

   Emilio Izaguerre put a smile on our faces when he tackled English forward Simon Sturridge with enthusiasm , and then helpfully kicked the ball firmly back to him so he could take the free kick. But then, emilio always puts a smile on our faces.

    Back to the World Cup, and who has played the most minutes in finals tournaments, as opposed to Lothar Mattheus , who played the most games ?

   By the way, has anyone seen Ally Mccoist. Is it true he’s set up a new business ?