Supporting Celtic…….

Quickdraw has been pondering the way things are right now….

A few days ago I decided to write a response in the comments section of the diary, something I don’t often do. Now, I’ll get back to that shortly but firstly a bit of background. I wrote a few articles for eTims a several years back but decided to chuck it as I questioned whether or not I was good enough or that my points were really worth making. However I still enjoy a lot of the articles that appear on eTims and I read the Diary every day. It has become a very important source of news and entertainment for me personally over the last few years.

I moved to Australia five years ago and the time difference is a right bastard when it comes to following and watching Celtic. I have little interest in Australian sports. Rugby, Cricket, Aussie Rules, Kangaroo boxing… doesn’t matter, none of it can match the level of love or passion I have for the beautiful game or to be more specific, Celtic. I watch every game no matter the kick off time and I have lost count of how many nights I have decided that sleep can wait so I can sit up and watch the game. European football in particular is a trial as the late kick off times mean it doesn’t usually start until 4.45am here.

I don’t have the time to be involved in one of the supporters clubs that are here, and with the only game that ever attracted the crowds big enough to make it worthwhile going out at eleven o’clock at night have been gone for a few years now. I rely heavily on Celtic TV (A service that has been a target of my fury and rage over the years, but that story can wait until another day) as well as the internet, either through Twitter or blog posts such as the Diary to keep me informed and connected to what is going on back in the East End of Glasgow.

Which brings me back to my comment the other day. Ralph has been getting a lot of stick lately, some of it fairly, most of it not. The biggest compliment I can give Ralph however is that no matter what the circumstance, he still puts pen to paper and gives us his thoughts. I am the worst for hiding after a dismal result, I just don’t want to know. I’ll turn off my phone and go and do something, anything, else until it’s gone from my mind. Ralph however still puts his thoughts on paper and shares it with the rest of us and that is what makes him worth listening to. He doesn’t shirk away from the online hysteria, he jumps in feet first and tells it how it is. Do not underestimate just how difficult that can be at times.

The internet doesn’t follow the same rules as, well, anything. It’s a free for all really. The comments section is the wild west and the sheriff was shot dead years ago. Everyone has an opinion, and despite what it leads to, it’s what makes the internet so damn appealing. 

I am for the most part what you would call a lurker these days. I generally avoid getting involved with most of the topics that show up regularly on this website. The reason being is that for the most part, nothing anyone says or does really makes a difference. Now, that might make me a cynic (And now possibly a hypocrite for breaking my silence by writing this nonsense) however I have yet to see any evidence towards the contrary. I know that no matter how well I make my point or argue my case that there will be a section, and what seems like a large section at times, of readers that will never change their view or perspective. That realization is enough to make anyone lethargic to the cause. 

The reason why I was compelled to respond to some of the comments that had been showing up of late was out of frustration for reading the same points over and over again without offering any viable alternative solution.

My point, for those who didn’t read my comment, was simple. That we, as Celtic supporters, have never been elitist when it comes to how we support our team. We have historically been a humble and loyal support that above all values everything good about the game. I alluded to my own past experiences as a Celtic supporter and how it compares to what I see today. I was born in the mid-eighties. I don’t remember the centenary year, I was too young, and my first memories of supporting Celtic were that of us at our lowest point, when we were on the brink of oblivion. However, the clearest memory of my childhood when it comes to my love of Celtic was Tommy Burns lifting the Scottish Cup, it was, at least to my memory, the first time I saw my beloved team win a trophy. It was a turning point, at least in my mind, of who Celtic were and what they represented. I have had the good fortune to have grown up whilst Celtic were in the midst of a renaissance. I watched as the new Celtic Park was built, and I watched when we stopped ten in a row. I was there when Larsson joined us and I was there when he left. I watched as we went from nearly being extinct to us reaching a European final. I have seen my team beat AC Milan, Juventus, Manchester United, Barcelona and Liverpool. I have some wonderful memories that will live with me to the end of my days. Celtic are a club like no other, we are not successful because we have the most money, and we have never been that kind of club. It has never been about spending the most money or buying over inflated players. It has always been about being part of a family. Supporting a club that always tries to play open, attacking, free flowing football even when results aren’t going our way. It has been about singing loud and proud and showing that we aren’t the type of club that chases glory at all costs. We win not only because we have the best players but because we have the best fans. Our past record at home in Europe is no coincidence. Sixty thousand passionate and noisy fans inside Celtic Park are just as big a reason as to why Celtic were able to topple some of the richest and most deadly teams in Europe than say Martin O’Neill or Henrik Larsson were.

I am a supporter of Ronny Deila and I am a realist when it comes to the circumstances he is currently working in. The gulf in finances between ourselves and most of Europe is gaping. Celtic have been saying for a while that we just can’t compete within that market, and one quick look at what other teams outside of Scotland are spending will confirm that they are bang on. Celtic cannot compete against clubs down south. When Bournemouth are spending ten million during the January transfer window like its pocket change then how on earth do you imagine that Celtic can attract even the lesser known talents that may be floating around?

Deila was given the job of turning Celtic into a team that can play good football and win trophies whilst on a tight budget. The idea was that Celtic would look to setups similar to that of Ajax. We would invest in youth, we would have a universal system across the board so that we could implement our youth players quicker in the first team setup. We would attempt to buy in young, talented players on the cheap and sell them on at a profit. All of which sounds great but as it turns out, much more difficult to implement. Now perhaps that’s down to the fact that Deila has only been in the job for eighteen months and that completely revamping how a football club is run takes more time than a season and a half, or perhaps it’s down to the fact that without some team playing out of Govan to play against he has simply walked into a lose lose situation. He has been told by the fans and the media that the only way he will be successful is if he wins every domestic trophy.

That for me is the crux of the matter. For some reason, we, as Celtic supporters have forgotten what success looks like. Apparently we have forgotten that winning five league championships on the bounce is rare, or that a treble is even rarer.

I understand everyone’s frustration. Europe was a massive let down this year and our performances have not been anywhere near the standard that the back end of last year had promised, but how on earth is calling for the manager’s head going to change that? In fact, how does it make us any different to the undead hordes over on the other side of the city? They booted out Le Guen because he had the audacity to actually try and run the club the way he thought was best.

The truth is, this has nothing to do with the performances on the park. Strachan was one of the most successful managers we have had in the modern era, counting a treble and two last-16 spots in the Champions League. Yet, there were Celtic fans who just didn’t like him. They wanted him gone. He “isn’t a true Celtic man” was the cry from most of them (If anyone has watched him since he left Celtic then you all know just how wrong that thought process turned out to be).

I want to believe that Celtic is still truly a club for everyone. That we are unparalleled in our hospitality towards others and that we do not let a few bad performances dictate how our club should be run, especially when despite some of those said performances we are still on course for a domestic clean sweep.

Yet all I hear is a support that sounds like it has been spoiled over the years, a support that has begun to grow a superiority complex that is awfully reminiscent of a now deceased team from the other side of Glasgow.

So here is my advice to anyone who thinks that Deila should be sacked. Stop throwing your toys out the pram and man up. Understand that this isn’t the early 2000’s and we do not have anywhere near that kind of money to spend. Understand that Deila, despite his failings is still delivering success and that he actually has a plan in place for the club. Understand that if we did sack Deila that we aren’t going to get Moyes (Although why we would want him is beyond me) or Rogers (He won’t fucking come). Understand we would be back to square one in the same financial circumstance with a team of players who has spent nearly two years trying to learn a new system.

This team has talent, it has potential and the same goes for the manager. What they need now more than anything else is confidence and they are not going to get it from the Scottish Press.

Support the team, support the manager and maybe, just maybe, we can start to remember what supporting Celtic Football club is really all about.