26 Sep 2015 21:26:08
All that remains now is Jackie will replace RD and inherit his old squad. would it surprise you.
26 Sep 2015 21:50:48
Thankfully Lawwell and McNamara don't get on due to a contract he was supposedly offered before he ended up at Wolves on a free. Can you imagine him with Donelly and Darren Jackson in the Celtic dugout. I would be heading for the hills and probably wouldn't return!
{Ed007's Note - Would they really be any worse than John Collins?}
26 Sep 2015 21:58:41
I like Paul Hartley, and looking back he would have been a good no 2, he's the only one in Scotland I'd let near Celtic. McInnes is doing well, but not for me. I like Ronny, and given time, and a bit more money and support will do well. You are only as good as your players though. I don't think Guardiola would make Burnley that much better. And I love Guardiola, - having guys like Xavi and Messi certainly helps though!
26 Sep 2015 22:07:39
I know you don't fancy Collins Ed, I remember you didn't want him appointed in the first place. I'm not sure about him as a coach/assistant manager, I think he knows the game, but it's not just about that, look at Steve McClaren, I remember Fergie raving about his coaching sessions, he doesn't seem to get the complete respect of the players though, I don't know if he comes across as a know it all/arrogant. I fancied Roy Aitken for the position. It doesn't matter now.
27 Sep 2015 10:15:36
RE the Pep/ Burnley post.
I think he probably could make Burnley better for the following reasons;
1) he would probably be 1st choice for the job
2) be backed financially
3) be able to pick the coaches he wants to work with
4) have a say in the players he wants to sign
5) have the respect of the board
6) be strong enough to get rid of crap players earning 10- 20k for doing nowt
7) implement his own playing style
I think RD has 1 out of the 7 above.
27 Sep 2015 12:05:21
Yeah I wasn't meaning that Niall. I meant if everything was the same as it is now at Burnley, - I don't think he would make that team a force. I don't think he would make guys like Scott Arfield that much better. You've basically went through everything Deila isn't getting at Celtic. Obviously all those things help any manager/coach. Of course it's all relative. My own opinion is that the manager makes about 20% of difference and the players he has the other 80%. When I first got a season ticket it was hard work watching Celtic, the only real top players we had for any period was McStay and Collins, the other mob had brought in Souness and were buying guys like Butcher, Gough, Laudrup and Gascoigne - are you telling me if Billy McNeil or Davie Hay was in charge of their team they wouldn't have won the league also. And do you think Souness would have been as successful with guys like Lex Baillie? That's what I meant when I said you are only as good as your players. It's not just about coaching and tactics, it's about buying the right players. I don't think Davie Moyes is a top tactician, he was brilliant in the transfer market though. I was watching Everton last week, their back 4(all bought by Moyes) - Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, and it's normally Baines, they cost around £12 million for the 4. That's why scouting and having an eye for a player is as important as anything else at a club. We need to improve big time in this area. You need to be getting at least 60/70% of your signings right, over the last few years we must be at about 30%. So bottom line although you can work with the team and improve tactics, fitness, etc, and of course guys like Guardiola get instant respect, and deservedly so, I think he is the best around, it will always be about good players!
27 Sep 2015 12:54:25
My doubts about Ronny are not so much to do with his coaching ability, more the fact he seems from the outside to be too much of a yes man.
In my view, it's bad enough that he doesn't seem to have a say in who we sign, but the fact he doesn't seem able to pick his own backroom staff just makes him look weak. when he was interviewed for the job you'd think he would have insisted on it, with all the other restrictions placed on him, you'd think that would be a minimum requirement.
If he is as weak as that, it's inevitable that players will eventually start to lose respect for him.
The board at Celtic in my opinion, is such that it needs a strong character to stand up to them, and fight the playing side's corner. When we have a manager who can't even argue for his own coaching staff, I have very little faith that he is the man to do this.
I reckon Celtic's board can't believe how lucky they are in getting such a puppet, most decent managers wouldn't work under these conditions, It makes me wonder whether Ronny really has the club at heart, or whether he is just happy to feather his own nest.
27 Sep 2015 13:19:39
Delphic
I agree that if you have garbage players you won't turn them into world beaters overnight but it is all about getting the best out of the players you have and being consistent.
RD is far too much like Lennon for me in that he never plays the same team 2 games in a row. I understand that players need a rest but we have played around 15 games and already we have played 7 different centre halves VVD, Boyata, Ambrose, Simo, O'Connell, Mulgrew, Blackett in different combinations. Players are never going to improve if they are never given a run of games. Why was Denayer a standout last year? Because he played week in, week out and was rarely rested (plus he actually had ability).
With MoN and to an extent Strachan you roughly knew who would be starting when fit but RD doesn't have a clue who his best 11 is.
27 Sep 2015 14:28:14
I think you guys make good points. I think part of the problem with not knowing his best team is that they are all very ordinary and there isn't much between them. Other than Lustig(when actually fit) Gordon, Brown and Biton, last year Johansen, I don't know who the best of the rest are. Up front I suppose Griffiths, simply because Cifti has done nothing and Stokes can't be trusted. With regards Ronny bringing his own staff, and being a yes man, - the board are so intransigent I don't think they would employ anyone who would be making demands. Supposedly that's the main reason Keane said no, - they wanted his no 2 to be Ronny. Keane actually said that it showed they didn't trust him if they wouldn't let him make his own decisions. I was told that the board after going for Deila wanted someone who knew the club to assist him because he knew nothing about Celtic/Scotland, - they had Collins, Willie McStay(who came back as a scout not long after) and Peter Houston(who took the Falkirk job not long after) lined up. Ronny was told he could meet them then decide, after meeting John Collins he said they got on brilliant and had the same views on the game! He has brought at least 2 staff from his old club, who work more behind the scenes, inc sports science. He also goes on about how much he loves John Collins, so personally I don't think that's the problem. The biggest thing for me is the lack of ability. A top striker would be a start, we've also needed another left back for about 3 years. We knew Van Dijk was leaving, going further back knew Hooper was leaving. Whoever is in charge of all that is to blame for me. If we had better players we would have beaten Malmo, and we'd all be in a better mood! The ones that played that night were a disgrace! Off the top of my head only Janko got pass marks. So what chance have you got?
27 Sep 2015 19:35:50
Why did we need better players to beat Malmo? Individually we are every bit as good as Malmo. As a team we just don't perform on big occasions. It's not just the players the manager and back room team must take a lot of that blame
27 Sep 2015 20:47:41
You obviously rate our players more than me, - I thought our's were better than theirs also, until I saw the second leg! If the players can't handle pressure it's not Deila's fault! I'm not saying he's blameless, but it's not his fault the players don't have the character. The strike force is an embarrassment, are you telling me if we had 2 decent strikers we wouldn't have had a much better chance? Hooper has never been replaced, who's to blame for that? You obviously don't rate our manager, and that's totally cool. I like him, and think to change the whole infrastructure/dynamic of the club will take him a bit of time. In the short term though he needs more support from the players, they need to do what they're paid to do! And by the way - most of our players get paid at least 3/4 times what the Malmo players do, - are the Celtic players 3/4 times better?
28 Sep 2015 00:50:57
Nialh I note that you say Guardiola would be strong enough to get rid of players earning between £10,000 and £20,000 per week for doing nowt .
I would be interested in how you think he could do that , as players have contracts that are virtually unbreakable unless thes want to , and secondly it wouldn't be his job
Practically every successful club nowadays don't waste their manager/coach time fiddling around with contracts .
28 Sep 2015 21:43:58
All this nonsense about Ronnie not having enough input in choosing players and the current players not being good enough is only a smokescreen to camouflage Ronnie's lack of ability as a manager and coach,the way the team/squad is rotated is ridiculous,find his best team and play it,play it in domestic and european games,change it as minimally as possible,playing one striker is ridiculous as well.
29 Sep 2015 12:07:18
Aindoh. I don't know if all eleven players on team can play twice a week over a pro long period . I don't know of any club that doesn't regularly give their players a break if continuously playing week-end , mid- week , week- end etc .