Celtic Diary Wednesday May 27: The Good , The Bad, and the Very Ugly.

My wife has a motto which we live by in our house.

If at first you don’t succeed, try doing it the way I bloody well told you to do it.

And looking at the interview with John Collins, in this weeks Celtic View, those words may well have been used when Collins and manager Deila tried to get their ideas across to the players around this time last year when they rode into town with a remit to change things.

I think we are satisfied but the key word is progress,” 

“We started slowly which was understandable considering we were getting to know the players and the players were getting to know us.

“But as the months have gone by, we have seen progress in every department. Defensively and attacking-wise, we are creating more chances and scoring more goals, so the second half of the season has been very pleasing indeed.

“I think it was all the hard work on the training pitch. We’ve asked them to do slightly different things like constantly pressing opponents and playing more forward passes.

“Now the foundations are there. The boys know the system we are playing, know what to do when they have the ball and when they don’t have the ball.

“Everyone knows their job within the team and when we lose the ball, there is a responsibility to get it back.

“That’s maybe one thing which took a bit of time instilling into the forward players, that when we lose it, you are defenders and you’ve got to hound opponents and force them into rushed passes. 

“That brings an excitement to the game and I think the supporters love it and appreciate it.

“We get that from a lot of hard work from our wide players and our forward players who are doing a lot of grafting which takes a lot of energy. Those are the players that have been rotated more often than not due to the amount of physical work they put in.

“The homework is done Monday to Friday and the test is the games, so the test results have got better. The boys have worked hard and they’ve got their rewards.”  

However, it does beg the question, what do the players do when the other side harasses our defenders and makes them play rushed passes ?

As the bold Ronny said, ” one thing at a time ” ( I’m paraphrasing , but you get the gist ).

There’s no doubt the management have a plan for this. I include Collins and Kennedy in this, because they have both played their part. Ronny is  always referring to “we ” when he talks of things that work, and “I ” is only used when he gets it wrong. a level of responsibility and management technique virtually  unheard of anywhere else.

If you look carefully you’ll see this.

When the new team took over the coaching, many were critical of the system. however, it was necessary to get everyone playing in this way so that the coaches could see who was prepared to listen, who was prepared to adapt, and who was surplus to requirements.

Only when this style was mastered could they move on to other things.

Thats the stage we are at now, and thats another reason why supporters are looking forward to next season.

If that truly is the first level, then we have a lot to look forward to.

Collins ,  Deila, and the inexperienced Kennedy would not have been everyones choice for the three top jobs on the playing side, but they have gelled, and the work they have done in changing the work ethic  at the club is nothing short of stupendous.

For Collins, perhaps the title win was sweeter than for others, in that Celtic supporters, whilst recognising his skills in the hoops as a player, never quite forgave him for leaving for Monaco, on one of the first Bosman transfers, or maybe it was that we only had two class players in those dark days, and whilst McStay didn’t leave-it would have taken him weeks to past customs, given the huge amount of unnecessary baggage he carried in those days- Collins went.

In hindsight, you couldn’t blame him. And he did give us six years.

For Kennedy, he will be pleased, and so should we, that the remarkable attributes he showed as a defender are able to be passed to todays players, and he is showing that he can go on to be a top class coach.

The silly season continues, and we may yet have the Daily Record getting something right.

Which, in the Record, became…

DUTCH side Willem II have revealed that Celtic are the only club to have made an offer for defender Mitchell Dijks.

The Hoops are desperate to land the left-back but Ajax and Feyenoord are favourites to sign the 22-year-old after he spoke to both clubs last week.

However, Celtic are the only club who have so far made an official bid with the Hoops slapping in an offer for £800,000.

Dijks has been hugely impressive for Willem II this season after joining from Ajax a year ago.   

“desperate ” “slapping in offers ”  …… wish we had a ”  private jet ” so we could “swoop ” for players from “crack ” foreign “giants “

It would make life so much easier.

Elsewhere, half a dozen FIFA -or is it THIEFA-delegates have been arrested on charges of corruption.

From the BBC;

Six football officials have been arrested over corruption charges at governing body Fifa, as Swiss prosecutors launch a criminal case into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

The suspects, who are said to include a Fifa vice-president, have been detained pending extradition to the US.

It involves alleged bribes worth about $100m (£65m; €92m) over two decades.

Fifa members are due on Friday to vote for a new president, with incumbent Sepp Blatter seeking a fifth term.

However, Mr Blatter is not understood to be one of those arrested  

No shit.

We hear that he was away at the time, discussing a new sponsorship deal with kitchen utensil firm Teflon.

Congratulations need to go to New York times journalist Matt Apuzo, and his colleagues, who broke the story.

It must be the dream of any journalist to be given a lead which can turn into  a career defining story.

 The FIFA story concerns bribery, money laundering , maybe a little bit of cheating and under the table payments.

 These kind of stories, thankfully , don’t come around too often, and fortunately, in Scotland, if such a tale was out there, we can rest assured that our own diligent hacks would labour night and day to get to the truth and expose it.

 On an entirely unrelated matter, tomorrow  sees the first leg of the play off final which will decide whether Motherwell or newly formed Second Rangers get to play amongst the nations elite next season.

 The Scottish press, who one might feel have a sneaking admiration for the new club, having  fought their way up through the ranks to be in this postion after just three years, have already booked their seats for the game.

Sorry about that picture, but it could have been worse…

Heavyweight football expert  Derek Johnstone is worried the second leg, on Sunday, could reduce the game to a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. And he should know about laughing stocks.

Motherwell have decided to give the Ibrox club less tickets than they want, because the new club, not used to the rarified atmosphere of top level high stakes football, have not given the Lanarkshire side what they want.

 Johnstone, as insightful and concise as ever, told the Evening Times;

“I think it is an absolute nonsense 

He’s referring to the ticket issue, and not his column.

I can understand why Motherwell are doing it because they are only getting

950 tickets for the first leg, but that is all they would take for a league game anyway.

“Rangers have sold out their stadium for the game. They are quite right to do what they have done.

 “Motherwell wanted 2,000 tickets for Ibrox and didn’t get them, so they are only willing to give 1,500 now.

“Fine. If that is the way you want to be, it is your home game and your choice.

“It is your stadium and you can do what you like, but it looks absolutely stupid.

Well, he knows all about stupid…

“People down south will watch the game. There was a stand half-empty at Easter Road in the semi-final and it will be the same again at Fir Park.

“It looks absolutely ridiculous from the point of view of a spectacle for television.

“We are trying to get people to invest in the game and we are desperate to get people into grounds, but we are going to lock 3000 people out of the play-off final.

“Motherwell are saying they would rather leave half a stand empty. It is ridiculous.”

And he knows all about ridiculous…

 It’s a big game for the new club, and it appears they are terrified of blowing it.

 Motherwell are unbeaten in their last six games, but the Ibrox whirlwind , under Stuart Mccall, is gathering momentum.

and the bonus is if Second Rangers get promoted, Scottish football will be saved.

Sponsors will be queuing up to shower the SPFL with gold, players will automatically become instant worldbeaters, Scotland will win the world cup, and Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster will be hailed as visionaries who were right all along…

Stewart Regan.

 Scotland are playing Qatar in a friendly. Qatar are hosting the world cup in 2022. despite having no interest or history in football, and temperatures similar to what your dishwasher operates at.

When he was asked on twitter why Scotland had agreed to play the middle east human rights abusers, he replied;

@saoirsefanclub oh Linda, really!

 Still, Regan has a history himself of turning a blind eye to uncomfortable truths…

Social media has changed the way news is reported. and the speed with which it hits the public.

Dinosaurs such as Regan cannot cope with that.

While FIFA delegates are consulting lawyers, at the same time as Qatari labourers are dying in their hundreds trying to get things ready in time for the World cup, social media photoshoppers are updating and improving the sponsors ads…

Powerful satire isn’t dead.

It’s merely adjusting to it’s new surroundings.

Finally, there’s one or two stories emerging about the new kit.

Threads pulling,

“Medium boys ” sizes being different , er sizes.

the kids socks not being the same as the adult socks, plain white instead of hoops.

What was that about guarantees on quality ?

A question I have asked the man who secured the deal.

Three times ?

This needs to be addressed immediately.

On a separate and entirely unconnected note, have you seen how they  officials in Brazil when they are at it ?

With the story about FIFA doing the rounds, it’s just a thought.

Might keep the beaks at Hampden in check as well.

Still chuckling at some of the comments on the hugh Keevin picture yesterday, so we’ll throw another picture into the mix for you to explain…