Tuesday’s stomach churning second leg in Israel was the climax of a tumultuous few months in the Celtic’s storied history. The rays of sunshine have re-emerged in the east end of Glasgow and it’s time for us to bask in their full glory. Here we take a look at the sea change taking place at Celtic Park.
This article was written by Paul McCallum.
Change can often be difficult, and ordinarily comes about due to disappointment or failure. In this respect, it may have come as a surprise to casual observers, when our weary Norwegian manager, Ronny Deila, was removed from his position as manger of Celtic Football Club. Having won the league for the second year in a row, the fifth in succession for the club, many would assume that all was well in paradise. Championship winning managers don’t get sacked do they?
In Ronny’s case, winning wasn’t enough. A deeper level of scrutiny suggested that things were not quite as they appeared at Parkhead.
Tactically inflexible, divisive both in the dressing room and amongst those sitting in the stands, Ronny just wasn’t producing the kind of attacking philosophy he had promised when joining the club on 6th June 2014.
At first glance, Ronny seemed like a good fit for the club, albeit a bold move due to being an unknown quantity as well as his relative youthfulness. On the surface Ronny was someone who possessed the attributes to harness and progress the raw abilities exhibited by the talented youth players at the club, allied to a the moneyball style signing policy enacted by Peter Lawwell.
However, a stockpiling of attacking midfielders, odd acquisitions such as Scott Allan (yet another number 10) and an obsession with signing the Dundee Utd first team led to murmurs about who was in charge of player recruitment at the club. The result of this was counterproductive as we accrued a bloated, unbalanced squad full of average players, many of whom were left sitting in the stand, all the while draining resources from a club that continuously espoused a prudent business plan. It just didn’t make sense.
Nevertheless, it’s fair to say Ronny had shown his skills as a coach by extracting the vast potential of players like Leigh Griffiths, as well as showing a willingness to invest in youth players such as Kieran Tierney who was given a chance to cement his place in the starting XI. These were the few high points in what was a laborious two years of turgid football.
Ultimately, a manager is judged on results and, with embarrassing capitulations in European competition against eminently beatable opposition, coupled with inept displays in domestic cup competitions against inferior, lower league opponents, Ronny had eroded any remaining confidence of a frustrated fanbase as well as his own players.
This culminated in defeat to the new club from across the city, in what was an excruciating, listless 120 minutes of football, signalling the end of Ronny’s affiliation with our great club.
Ronny was a good man, he talked a good game but, in the end, couldn’t execute the vibrancy, pace and movement he promised to instil. To play the ‘Celtic way’ it would require a manger with a reputation and track record of producing teams who could play with panache, while developing players to be the very best they could be.
That man, was Brendan Rodgers.
Curiously, Brendan was a manager Ronny had name checked on a number of occasions having studied his training methods at Liverpool FC. While Ronny wanted to see his teams play a possession based, free flowing, one and two touch attacking style of football, Brendan actually had his teams playing this way.
At Liverpool, Brendan came within a game of winning the title. His team, led by the scintillating Luis Suarez, played some of the most exciting football seen in the EPL for quite some time. It was vibrant, breathless stuff and solidified Brendan Rodgers reputation as one of the most exciting up-and-coming young managers in world football.
Of course, Liverpool probably isn’t the benchmark when judging his abilities in relation to the job in hand at Celtic. Swansea City is where we should look if we want an example of what we can expect. Producing a modern, high pressing possession based attacking philosophy, combined with the ability to improve unheralded, undervalued players as well as nurturing youth, I think it’s safe to say that Brendan Rodgers and Celtic are a perfect fit.
Finally, we have a manager who can put his money where his mouth is. A manager the fans can get behind and, more importantly, the players will respect.
Tuesday’s result is one of the most important results the club has seen for many years. Of course, it sees us back in the Champions League but, it also bookends a period in our history where we appeared to be treading water, kick-starting a new exciting beginning for the club.
We have finally installed a manager who has the gravitas, as well as a deep connection to the club, that could see us prosper in ways not seen at Celtic Park since the hallowed days of a certain Martin O’Neill.
Step forward Mr Rodgers, your time is now.
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