One of the definitive acts, or rather failure to act, of Ronny Deila’s regime was his failure to stamp his authority on the club from the moment he walked in the door.
In allowing John Collins to be his number two, chosen from a list that we hear included Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics and politician George Galloway, Deila allowed the directors to retain control of who was in the team.
And those in the team simply took the piss, from Scott Brown lounging in a semi coma after a night on the refreshments, to Kris Commons having a rant when he was substituted.
There are countless other instances we have heard of, and all point to the then manager losing authority and them interest. The Diary pointed out on numerous occasions during his reign that he must not let the tail wag the dog, and in the end that was what happened, and he lost his job, possibly down to player power, but certainly down to a lack of managerial power.
He’s gone now, and his time at the club is over.
Brendan Rodgers, an experienced gaffer who likes his players to call him gaffer and treat him like one is making no such mistake.
There was a little snippet i picked up on whilst reading the Huddleboard forum, where all the loonies go to talk to each other, that I found interesting.
It came from Paul the Tim , who stalks the squad on a regular basis and hears and sees things that most of us don’t.
In a thread which centred around a story that Craig Gordon had cut short an interview when the manager wanted to see everyone, Paul noted that he had seen a memeber of the staff also run to the managers call, although the staff guy shouted “two minutes , gaffer” to make sure the boss knew he had heard him, and also to explain he was on his way.
The point here, according to Paul, is that this would not have happened under Deila, and we would tend to agree, from the tales we have heard.
The huddleboard thread also mentions -or corroborates- wee tales of players openly flouting Deilas dietary regime, eating cheeseburgers and such like in front of him, but lets be honest, we are fully aware that Ronny chucked it after the ajax game, and probably didn’t give a toss by then.
The players, however, are a different matter.
They wear the jersey and play for the fans, who indirectly or directly, are the reason they are so well paid.
More than that, they are playing for a cause, not a club, and if they want to fall out behind the scenes thats up to them, but anything less than one hundred per cent on the park is inexcusable.
Maybe that is a wee pointer as to the conversation that Rodgers had with captain Scott Brown in London, because as a traditional manager the Irishman would have simply used Brown to convey the message to the players that whatever little cliques were working behind Deila’s back, it wasnt going to happen on his watch.
All of this may seem a bit irrelevant now Ronny’s away, but it also seems to be playing a part in the current buying and selling drive.
Kris Commons is idolised and despised in equal measures by Celtic supporters. Okay, maybe despised is too strong a word, but when you look at the abuse, disgracefully handed out by “tims ” on twitter to the player, and unforgivably , to his wife/life partner/missus , you wonder why anyone would want to play for Celtic at any price.
Lisa Hague does a fair bit of work for Celtic charities, and her involvment in that scene may well have played a major part in commons signing a second contract at the club, which if I recall correctly was what everyone wanted.
Now, the family have become a target for the haters. I can’t figure out why, but the bold Lisa doesn’t seem overly bothered;
Lisa HagueAbuse on social media I take with a pinch of salt, I have never in 6yrs in Glasgow had 1 incident whilst out & about, Only warriors on hereX
Commons has , it seems , more or less been told he can go. Whether or not that is down to his rant last year is the question.
Is Rodgers breaking up the clique ? Anthony Stokes , another who had a public rant, only his was on twitter, had gone on loan, decided he wanted to come back and make a name for himself, only to find himself in Blackburn as soon as the transfer window opened, giving the impression he was thrown through it rather than released.
Charlie Mulgrew has been given a contract and told to take it or leave it.
Brown, as we have sen , has had a one to one with the boss.
Of course, this is just speculation, based on what everyone is saying, but there’s something else…
Emilio Izaguirre tried to humiliate his new coach at Celtic
Honduras begins to gain the confidence of his coach and already played his first match holder
The days of tension seems to have passed for the Honduran Emilio Izaguirre left -back has been a lot of fun in the últrenamiento he has had with the Celtic of Scotland.
In full fatigues, this day with the traditional rondo, coach “Hopps” Brendan Rodgers, entered the center and when it sought to recover the ball, the Honduran you tried to make a tunnel.
But Rodgers was alive, when he looked intension of catracho, closed her legs, which made his companions burst into laughter and yelled at the oleeee and applauded the game because it avoided the embarrassment.
Emilio seeks to regain the trust that was lost last season with the former coach who relegated him to the bench, but Rodgers and put the holder in a game doing a great job and now the confidence to return to being the player wins we’ve always known.
The Celtic makes the preseason in Slovenia where you have two more games before returning to Scotland to start the tour party by some countries in which to Leicester City in England, Barcelona in Spain and Inter Milan of Italy will be measured.
“It’s really exciting. It’s a new way of coaching I haven’t been used to but it’s really something I like and I’m looking forward to getting to know it even better. It’s how I want to play football and it’s just about getting that fitness so we can play that way.
“It’s more disciplined and much more aggressive and higher in the pitch and it’s all about the individual skills as well.
“The manager talks about the players needing to flourish and do their thing in the last third, while the defensive players have their focus on getting the ball as quickly as possible.
“But he speaks a lot about the team as we need to stick together when we have a lot of games. All we want is to win games and go to the Champions League and that’s the main goal now.
“It’s a bit different to what it is in Glasgow so it’s been nice to here and enjoy the nice weather, but we are here for football reasons,”
“We have been training twice a day but it’s still been fun. There have been a variation of different drills in training, so even though you are getting tired you still think it’s fun and that’s the way football is meant to be.
“We are getting more and more confident with the way we need to play and it’s all about getting those important games. We are happy so far.”
Celtic are in action tonight, 6pm, against Olimpia Ljubjana, and here’s another team we know very little about.
so lets have a wee look…
Nogometni Klub Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovene pronunciation: [nɔgɔˈméːtni ˈklúːp ɔˈlìːmpija ljubˈljàːna]; English: Olimpija Ljubljana Football Club), commonly referred to as Olimpija Ljubljana or simply Olimpija, is a professional association football club, based in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the country’s highest football division.
Founded on 2 March 2005, under the name NK Bežigrad, Olimpija began competing in the Slovenian Fifth League during the 2005–06 season and have managed to achieve promotion in four successive seasons, reaching the top division for the first time in 2009, after they have won the 2008–09 Slovenian Second League. After seven years in the top division, Olimpija won their first major trophy when they were crowned champions following the 2015–16 season.[8] Their previous best result in the top division was in the2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons, when they were runners-up. In 2012 and 2013 they were runners-up in the Slovenian Supercup.
Originally, the club played at the Bežigrad Stadium and ŽŠD Ljubljana Stadium during the club’s stay in the second division and during the first year in the top division. In 2010, they moved to the Stožice Stadium with a capacity of 16,038. The club played its opening match on the new stadium on 22 August 2010, in front of 7,000 spectators in a league match against Koper.[6]
Olimpija’s nicknames are The Green-Whites (Zeleno-beli), referring to their primary colours, and The Dragons (Zmaji), referring to the dragon which is a symbol of Ljubljana and is represented on the city’s coat of arms and on the club’s crest.
Another club who play in green and white ?
Has no-one at Celtic any imagination?
Not only do they wear Green and white, there are other similarities…
Originally, Olimpija Ljubljana claimed to be a new club that was formed on 2 March 2005, under the name Bežigrad.[3][12][23] However, in 2010 they have launched their official website and adopted a new club crest with the year 1911 inscribed on it, which was claimed by the dissolved Olimpija to be their foundation year.[12][24] However, the dissolved Olimpija was founded after World War II and has never been associating themselves with the year 1911 until early 1990s, when amid political turmoil during the breakup of Yugoslavia, the club began claiming direct lineage to pre-World War II club Ilirija, which was at the time playing in the Slovenian Second League.[25] This too was never recognized by the Football Association of Slovenia, which officially recognizes Ilirija as the sole club established in 1911 to this day.[4][25]
Because of their association with the dissolved club, Olimpija Ljubljana was criticised on numerous occasions by several media outlets in the country, which questioned the legitimacy of their actions and even the fact that the club has a year 1911 inscribed on their crest.[3][9][10][11][12][26][27] They are also criticised by Ilirija.[12][28] The dissolved Olimpija filed for bankruptcy after they have accumulated a debt of over 700 million Slovenian tolars(around three million euros in 2004 exchange rate).[3][12][29] In 2013 the Davčna uprava Republike Slovenije (English: The Tax Administration of the Republic of Slovenia), or simply DURS, publicly disclosed the list of tax debtors in the country and among those was also NK Olimpija Ljubljana, with a tax debt between 100,000 and 300,000 euros.[3] The next day Olimpija Ljubljana’s officials made a public statement where they confirmed that the club in question (i.e. dissolved Olimpija) is a different legal entity and is not, by any means, connected with Olimpija Ljubljana who competes in the top division and does not have any financial obligations to the State or any third parties.[3][30]
Except for the bit where they said they were a new entity, and nothing to do with the old club.
Mind you, there’s time yet.
Speaking of the other Glasgow club, how about this, thought by some to be a parody, from website “Ibrox Noise “, which is presumably the sound of the roof falling in…
I don’t know about you – but I want to know what you really think about a giant club, the size and stature of Rangers, being dragged down to such a low financial state, that we cannot afford to pay any real transfer fee for any player still attached to a club. What a catastrophic position to be in when your team is attempting to win a league title, when other teams have had years experience of competing at a higher standard of players.
Rangers have been reduced to scrounging around, looking for the best free transfer players currently on the market, that are available to sign right away. This will enable us to bed them in for the start of the new Premiership season, after a four-year sabbatical, forced on us by the SPL clubs in 2012. We can use their services to play for our world record breaking team, without having to pay a transfer fee for any of them. In fairness, we have picked the best of them, to the great credit of our management team getting the homework right, and with their experience and perseverance paying off.
We do have three new young players all under 23, and Rangers do have to pay some compensation money, as part of the deal agreed for them signing. A £250,000 fee has been agreed with Liverpool for Jordan Rossiter who is only 19 years-old and is a current international player who has featured at every level for England since he was only 15. Roughly £50,000 development fees have been paid to Accrington Stanley for Matt Crooks, our new 6’ 4”, 22-year-old and also for Josh Windass, who comes very highly recommended as an exciting, attacking scoring midfield player, by Mark Warburton.
I find the present situation a little embarrassing, and I feel very sorry for such a great management team, having to try and wrestle the league from Celtic’s clutches, with both hands tied behind their backs. In saying that, they have worked wonders with players of the calibre of Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar, Clint Hill, Lee Hodson and Matt Gilks – so far, with ‘one or two irons still in the fire’ for another defender and striker!
I also believe that at long last, we have a board that we can trust to run the club properly now. Even if they have to run it frugally for the time being, it is so much better than spending money we obviously don’t have. Once we are on an even keel, Dave King will be in a much better position, if he gets help from others, to invest some more money in the best club in the world – especially with all the best supporters! We have haemorrhaged millions since 2012, and it will take something drastic to eliminate the problem and hopefully, I have devised an idea to rid us of the bad debt that we have accrued in the process of being demoted to the lowly Third Division of Scottish football – shame on the Scottish Government for not stepping in, to help save the whole of Scottish football. The Spanish Government would not have let Real Madrid or Barcelona suffer the same fate!
What I am strongly suggesting has never to my knowledge, been done before, but I feel for the long-term benefit of all the Rangers, “We are the people” supporters, and indeed our proud club – can we be allowed to put our own money (cash/cheques and bank transfers), into a specific Rangers F.C. bank account, called the “Rangers Transfer Fund”, to enable us to help pay for future signings and their wages? It would be an account that would very strictly be used for transfer fees and the particular signed players’ wages ONLY.
We have fans around the world who could easily get involved, and we also have a load of wealthy fans, who I am sure would be willing to help us out, in our time of need. I will be happy to contribute money to the fund, and I am sure that every fan would appreciate the opportunity to help in any way they can. Even the poorer Rangers fans could help by fund-raising in their communities, just to help the team that they have always cared for, so dearly in their hearts. We are the Rangers Family and it is time to stump up and do what we can, but please remember, you can only give what you can afford. We also have all the Rangers clubs, Orange Halls and Masonic Lodges to help eradicate this financial burden, by using their premises to arrange fund-raising events, with all the proceeds going into the, “Rangers Transfer Fund” account. Let’s be honest here – charity begins at home with this one!
All contributions, could accumulate to millions of pounds, if promoted right by a Richard Gough/John Brown/John Greig – representing a full-on Rangers publicity machine, involving all the newspapers and radio stations with the “Rangers Transfer Fund” project!
Rangers Football Club have the financial responsibility for all the repairs required for Ibrox and Murray Park, coupled by all the wages and extortionate running costs each month, so this influx of money, could prove to be a godsend to the board.
Would you be willing to contribute to the, “Rangers Transfer Fund” account?
Contribute ?
I’d be willing to set it up for any of the daft bastards that are willing to be fleeced again. I need a new motor.
A poll underneath the article indicates that this might not take off… only 34% said they would, and two of those votes are mine.
One of the replies maybe explains why….
I’ve already did my bit as a fan buying 3 season tickets, where is the millions King promised us, where is our season ticket money going? 300k and free transfers, the fans deserve better, just wish Brian Kennedy had taken over our club as King obviously isn’t going to his hand in his pocket
Shocking. Truly shocking. It should be “I’ve already done my bit ” and “Where are the millions King promised us”,
No wonder there club died. ( I know, its to emfersise the point. )
There is also a story developing that a charity may have been fleeced as well;
Armed forces charity Help for Heroes has said that a clothing company closely linked to a Rangers fan group is using its name and logo without their permission.
The Lionbrand,which sells a range of Rangers branded clothing and says on its website “All proceeds from sales will be invested directly into the club,” has a range of “Help for Heroes” t-shirts for sale retailing at £22.74. However a spokesperson for the charity said: “Help for Heroes has not authorised the use of its logo to The Lion Brand and as such we are looking to speak to them as a matter of urgency.” The charity also said it could not confirm if any money from the sale of the shirts had ever reached them.
Rangers fans have long been unhappy with the retail agreement between them and Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct organisation with many calling for a boycott of official merchandise until a better deal can be secured. In June the largest Rangers supporters group, Club 1872, told it’s membership: “we would encourage Rangers supporters to back Rangers and Club 1872 by purchasing merchandise from Lionbrand.”
According to its website Club 1872 receives £10 for every Lionbrand shirt sold.
Both Lionbrand and Club 1872 have been approached for comment but no response had been received by the time of publication.
Update
Help for Heroes have now confirmed they have asked Lionbrand to remove the shirts from sale “As a matter of urgency.”
The Sons of Struth, another rebel fans group, were quick to disassociate themselves…
Well, they had to…
We’ll keep an eye on that one, and no doubt it will soon be all over the papers.
Regarding the papers, one or two of you have mentioned that certain publications should not be given the oxygen of publicity in the diary, and whilst i hardly think that anyone is likely to rush out and buy one on the strength of hats written here, its important to re-iterate what the Diary is all about.
Its about Celtic, and the things that affect the club and the way it is seen. Its about the way that we see tham as a support, and i see it as an individual. Sometimes the two overlap, and sometimes they don’t.
That includes the media, the other clubs, the SFA and anything else that happens to catch the eye.
Such as this…the BBc Scotland lass doing the news
A little close to a “rangers “top ? Or, inded , these days, a Celtic top ?
Nonsense, of course, but if you look at her tinder account, it appears she is desperate to marry a man called Derry….
I went on one of those dating site thingies once, but had no luck…
Yesterdays caption competition produced a very high standard of replies, but there can only be one winner…
Caption:
Over at Larkhall, they are still sure those rangers shares will come good.
But special mention has to go to a couple of others…
Caption: ” Now remember children, off to bed early because Lord Livingston of Parkhead, is taking us to the new foodbank in the morning “.
By the way, I’ll not be watching the game tonight. I’m off to join our Celtic cousins in Wrexham to have a look at our new players as they attempt to put Wales in the final of the European nations championship.
to this end, i’ll be adopting the most welsh sounding name I can think of-Evan Williams-and practising speaking with my mouth full of phlegm in case I have to ask for directions.
Looking forward to joining up with some of the Lennon CSc lads based there, and enjoying a refreshment or two.
