![\"MON](\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/MON-and-WGS-handshake.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFirst some background, as if anyone needs it but it\u2019s nice to recap, so I hear. To begin with I\u2019ll consider the merits of each contender as Celtic manager and then how they have fared in this qualifying campaign.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t want Martin O\u2019Neill, I preferred the option of Gus Hiddink, O\u2019Neill 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 \u2013 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\u2019t 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 \u00a311m in transfer fees, prior to the season starting, with another \u00a319m (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\u2019Neill 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 \u00a310m back \u2013 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\u2019Neill 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 \u2013 he had been a disaster since joining from Ipswich and he did not inspire confidence. Thankfully, O\u2019Neill 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.<\/p>\n
Martin O\u2019Neill did in one year what many believed would take ten \u2013 he turned the tables on Rangers and I would say that was the start of their demise. He didn\u2019t 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 \u2018extraordinary\u2019. Other teams in Scotland had some cash to play with then as well so it wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Martin O\u2019Neill was afforded some leeway in the transfer market as well \u2013 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\u2019Neill, 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\u2019t 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\u2019 League group stage entry, a treble, 3 Scottish Cups, 1 League Cup and putting Celtic at the top of the pile \u2013 it is fair to say he did a reasonable job.<\/p>\n
Then came Gordon Strachan. I really wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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 \u2013 we didn\u2019t help this by getting pumped 3-1 at Ibrox shortly after the Bratislava farce. In short Strachan\u2019s first month or two were brutal. Then it started to click \u2013 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 \u2013 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\u2019s 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 3rd<\/sup> title win was remarkable, just think back to the game when Jan Venegoor of Hesselink scored in the 2312432432654th<\/sup> minute and try not to laugh.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s not that simple though is it? O\u2019Neill managed to take 4 points off of Germany. Strachan didn\u2019t get a single point. O\u2019Neill got his team to win in Georgia, whereas Strachan got to patronise anyone who is not a \u2018top manager on the phone\u2019. Strachan managed 2 draws with Robert Lewandowski, I mean Poland, whilst O\u2019Neill got one. However, with squads of similar quality, or ineptitude if you prefer, Martin O\u2019Neill has managed to get his side in to the playoffs and Gordon Strachan needs to listen to the biannual calls for \u2018summits\u2019, \u2018millions into grassroots\u2019 and suchlike.<\/p>\n