Martin O’Neill v Gordon Strachan – Who Really Is The Best?

By Broadsword

The recent glut of international qualifying fixtures has come to an untimely end for Scotland and a, how can I put it, ‘oh ya bastard’ type scenario for the Republic of Ireland. International football does not hold the same appeal for me as the club game, I think it’s only fair that I get that out of the way here. I do attend the odd Scotland game, largely as part of a strategy solely based upon the principle of ‘anything to get out for a drink for a few hours’ and also because I sometimes want to see the other teams playing e.g. I did not go to Hampden to reprise the work of Julie Andrews whilst Schweinsteiger and Müller were on the pitch.

However, there was something about the composition of Group D that would have piqued the curiosity of most Celtic supporters – that being the direct competition between Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan. I have read, indulged and stirred debates regarding who was the better Celtic manager and/or who was/is the better manager. I decided to step away from the raging inferno because I was scared that somebody would call me names on the internet, let the campaign play out and then deliver my ramshackle verdict.

First some background, as if anyone needs it but it’s nice to recap, so I hear. To begin with I’ll consider the merits of each contender as Celtic manager and then how they have fared in this qualifying campaign.

I didn’t want Martin O’Neill, I preferred the option of Gus Hiddink, O’Neill seemed to be the over-excitable guy from pishy Leicester and would be good for the Rumbelows Cup if we were allowed to enter it; however, the Irishman was an absolute dream. He inherited a squad that had some good players and some shite ones. He was tasked with putting together a squad that could offer Rangers a genuine challenge for the title. Rangers had just won the league by 21 points the previous season – their final blow was hammering us 4-0 at Ibrox in a game which pretty much destroyed any chance of Kenny Dalglish spending any more Friday lunchtimes in the Gallowgate. There was another problem with Rangers at the time, actually three, they had a good team, an internationally renowned manager and a belligerently pugnacious owner who didn’t give a fuck whose money he was going to shell out in order to keep his private jet charging around Europe. In these pre-window days they had spent around £11m in transfer fees, prior to the season starting, with another £19m (ish) to be spent during the season. Celtic had question marks over the recovery of Henrik Larsson and Mark Viduka was telling everyone that he wanted to give 30% extra effort somewhere else. There was also the laughable suggestion that, because O’Neill was working for the BBC at the European Championships that Celtic were being neglected the services of their manager. Viduka was quickly sold to Leeds and the money was immediately reinvested in Chris Sutton who, to be quite fair and balanced, had been pish at Chelsea and they were delighted to get a large chunk of their £10m back – as an aside I know someone who worked in a senior role at Chelsea at the time and he said they were doing cartwheels when that deal was agreed. So were we in the fullness of time. There were also genuine concerns about the big money signings from the previous year, namely Petrov, Berkovic and Rafael. This is where I think O’Neill paved the way for his success. He quickly identified who should stay and who required the services of the TOA. I still remember questioning the inclusion of Bobby Petta in the starting line-up of the first Old Firm game that season – he had been a disaster since joining from Ipswich and he did not inspire confidence. Thankfully, O’Neill did not agree with me and we are all too aware of what followed. The 6-2 victory was, it could be said, indicative of that fantastic treble-winning season. 3-5-2, every player performing above expectation and new signings such as Valgaeren and Lennon, latterly, helping to create a strong unit who played some very good football at times.

Martin O’Neill did in one year what many believed would take ten – he turned the tables on Rangers and I would say that was the start of their demise. He didn’t just beat them he buried them. Aye, they won the odd game here and there but, he made Celtic the top dogs and he made it look easy. Given his starting position, especially in comparison to his direct competitors his overall body of work was ‘extraordinary’. Other teams in Scotland had some cash to play with then as well so it wasn’t just about beating the Govan mob. He also re-established Celtic as a worthy European competitor. There were some absorbing games against Juventus, Valencia, Porto, Liverpool and many others. There was the serving of dinner to Souness in his own midden and his team put together the best goal I think I have seen in person against Lyon.

Martin O’Neill was afforded some leeway in the transfer market as well – thanks to getting rid of the likes of Berkovic and Rafael, as well as the belief that money would never run out in football (sorry to any readers of the Kinning Park Rovers persuasion) Celtic were able to spend very decent cash on Hartson, Balde (free transfer but I heard a rumour that his signing on fee was substantial), the aforementioned Lennon and Juninho. This is very much an abridged version of what happened but Martin O’Neill, for the first couple of seasons at least, was able to spend chunky sums on players. He reignited us, got us playing good football, improved players, enraptured the support and made Celtic into something I hadn’t experienced before. In his fifth and final season there were rumours that all was not well in his family life and that he would be taking time out, and rightly so. His final league game in charge was not what he deserved but that is what football is capable of at times and at least he got to say goodbye with a trophy in his hands at the Scottish Cup final. 3 league titles, 2 last day runner up spots, a UEFA cup final, Champions’ League group stage entry, a treble, 3 Scottish Cups, 1 League Cup and putting Celtic at the top of the pile – it is fair to say he did a reasonable job.

Then came Gordon Strachan. I really wasn’t enamoured with the appointment. We were used to winning trophies, competing with big teams in Europe and I just got the feeling that he wasn’t the guy to take the job on. The only achievement of note that I could remember was that he had lost the FA Cup final as Southampton. I was also concerned that the squad needed a complete reboot when he came in the door. So, we were faced with the problem of unconvincing manager who was going to have to rebuild the team and there were rumours that he would have nothing like the transfer budget of his predecessor. Rangers at this point were shite but they thought they were good – we didn’t help this by getting pumped 3-1 at Ibrox shortly after the Bratislava farce. In short Strachan’s first month or two were brutal. Then it started to click – Maloney in particular realised what was going on, he started to really produce in a system which involved a right-footed player on the left and a left-footer on the right of the midfield, it encouraged the full backs forward in to the space and Mo Camara is still running to this very day. The signings of Nakamura and Boruc were just delightful and Zurawski, for a wee while, was banging them in – one particular beauty winning the next Ibrox trip for us in a game where Roy Keane had pretty much every Rangers player in his pocket. Strachan’s team went on to win the title easily, fending off the challenge from Hearts, yes Hearts. He then developed the team, got through the group stages of the Champions League twice, could have made the quarter finals by taking AC Milan to extra time, and with 3 league titles, 1 Scottish Cup and 2 League Cups in his 4 years, he maintained our position at the top of the food chain. The conclusion to his 3^rd title win was remarkable, just think back to the game when Jan Venegoor of Hesselink scored in the 2312432432654^th minute and try not to laugh.

So, how has the recent European qualifying campaign influenced this debate, if it actually exists in the first place? Well, on head to head, Strachan is the comfortable winner. He got his Scotland team to beat Ireland at Celtic Park in one of the most dogshit awful games I have had the misfortune of attending. This was then followed up by a 1-1 draw in Dublin. But it’s not that simple though is it? O’Neill managed to take 4 points off of Germany. Strachan didn’t get a single point. O’Neill got his team to win in Georgia, whereas Strachan got to patronise anyone who is not a ‘top manager on the phone’. Strachan managed 2 draws with Robert Lewandowski, I mean Poland, whilst O’Neill got one. However, with squads of similar quality, or ineptitude if you prefer, Martin O’Neill has managed to get his side in to the playoffs and Gordon Strachan needs to listen to the biannual calls for ‘summits’, ‘millions into grassroots’ and suchlike.

As a Celtic supporter I have a genuine affection for both managers and am thankful for what they did, what they won and how they entertained me (most of the time) during their respective tenures. Both masterminded some unthinkable victories in Europe and both of them seemed to ‘get’ us. That’s not the most important thing in all of this but as an emotional beast of burden then it is comforting to at least be under the pretence that the manager wants to win, and feels the pain of defeat, as much as you do. I’d gladly buy either of them a pint, and because I like them that much I would be open to the idea of a bag of crisps being thrown into that order. So, in my humble opinion who is the fairest of them all? Only just, but I think I will march with O’Neill…