Last night, as the full time whistle went in Molde, you could almost feel something shift, imperceptibly, on Planet Celtic. The tectonic plates moved; it was only a hair, but it was real, and you could feel it whether you were in Norway or Stornoway. It was undeniable.
It could not be confused with someone cutting a loud fart in the main stand.
Ronny Deila arrived at Celtic Park amidst great promise. I thought it was a great appointment, and there have been times during his tenure when I’ve been convinced we were on the right lines. Equally, there have been times when I’ve been sure we weren’t.
I’ve tried to put the positive gloss on Ronny’s time at Celtic Park, and indeed there are times when it hasn’t been hard. But for a scandalous refereeing decision last season we’d have been within a hair of the treble, which would have put our manager in a very small, select club including Martin O’Neill and Jock Stein. That would have been one Hell of a debut season.
Equally, we’ve witnessed appalling performances and scandalous results, things which have given form to the creeping doubts some of us have felt for a while now.
Even in games where we’ve won, those where our results have been positive, those doubts have been hard to shake. Glaring problems plague us.
The way we constantly concede goals from set pieces is dreadfully scary, putting us at risk in every match, no matter the level of opposition.
Then there’s the way this much vaunted “high pressing game” – which seems to have missed the pressing part in recent months – leaves us lethally exposed to the high long ball.
In addition is Deila’s unbelievable inflexibility in playing one man up front, even in the SPL, and his sticking with the same basic playing system even in games where it is plainly not working. In the SPL we can sometimes get away with it. In Europe we never will.
Ajax’s manager took a while to adapt his playing style to counter ours, and they got a 2-2 draw out of it. Fenerbahce’s manager sussed it out quicker; his teams was already 2-0 when he realised that our system was vulnerable, and he acted accordingly. We were the ones lucky to get the 2-2 draw in that game because they ruthlessly exposed us every time they want up the park.
Last night though, well their manager came prepared. He knew our system from the start, because it never changes a bit, and he knew exactly how to counter the attacking parts and expose the defensive ones. We were awfully goddamned lucky that wasn’t a bigger defeat.
We’re playing Molde at Celtic Park in early November, and those who’re talking about us winning that match and getting back on track are more optimistic than they ought to be. Their coach will be bringing his team to a half empty stadium where we’re no longer feared, to play against a system and a manager he can already predict well in advance, who’s weaknesses he’s already exploited in full … why does anyone fancy us to take points out of that?
Likewise the Dutch and the team from Turkey. I think we’ve had our shot at beating both, when they didn’t know what system they’d be up against or the relative strengths of our players. They’ve both seen how little we have to offer and frankly I think we’ve blown it. I don’t expect to get anything from those games, because our team is there for the taking and they know it.
I saw nothing last night which makes me feel positive; indeed, everything I witnessed scares me about as badly as anything at Celtic Park has since Tony Mowbray was manager there.
There were signs, many of them, even in the early part of his tenure, that things weren’t working, that there was something wrong under the hood, that the club wasn’t going anywhere.
Can anyone, honestly, point to this Celtic team and say it has improved in the last two years?
That there’s a clear direction of travel?
That things are … progressing?
In truth, you could make an argument for saying we’ve gone backwards. What boggled the mind last night was not simply the result, it was how easy it was for the home side.
Are we better than the side who took on Milan last season?
All the evidence suggests we’re not.
There’s no sign of the verve and passion and determination of that night. All forward momentum has been lost, and I fear we won’t get it back.
A lot of the attention today will be focussed on Kris Commons, and his reaction to being subbed. That, too, worried me and ought to worry every Celtic fan.
If I were in charge of our first team he’d have played his last game in our colours; no player should ever think he has the right to pull that kind of crap, in public, whether he’s angry or not.
Jock Stein would never have accepted it for one second.
What worries me is that Commons felt he was on solid enough ground to do it. That suggests that our management team is shockingly weak and that’s a concern above and beyond bad results and performances.
I’ve never liked John Collins, and I never wanted him at Celtic Park, and I can actually trace the moment Deila first started to worry me all the way back to the press conference where he was appointed manager. He was talking, then, about bringing in his own people when he was flatly, and publicly, contradicted by Peter Lawwell who “promoted” the idea of having someone who “understood the local game” on the payroll.
I wrote a lengthy, angry article on that for Fields at the time.
I wondered then whether our manager was capable of being his own man; that suggestion made no sense whatsoever either then or now but he accepted it as if it did, and everyone knew Collins was the guy the board had in mind.
He was someone imposed on Deila rather than someone brought in by him, and it was notable last night that Commons focussed much of his ire on the Scot rather than on the Norwegian who is supposed to be running things.
Something else scared me. Scott Brown, on TV, seeming to slap down Commons.
All of this would all be bad enough if the dressing room had been lost to the manager entirely, but that would, at least, narrow our problems down to one simple solution.
Instead, Brown made it seem fractured, factionalised, divided against itself …. a recipe for disaster if ever there was one, and something that won’t be cured simply by replacing the management team.
We have problems here that go way beyond the coaching team. At every level of our club is the reek of fear, and the undercurrent of defeatism and lack of imagination.
We will dominate Scotland for the next couple of years. No-one realistically disputes that. The one club that might have presented a challenge has shown it has no appetite for the bright lights. To get to the top and stay there requires more than Aberdeen has.
But there are other threats out there, of course, and if we continue to go backwards someone will catch us, and end any ambitions we have of reaching ten in a row … which seems, on a day like today, such a pathetic and parochial wee ambition anyway, and the ultimate proof of how little we’ll settle for.
Our sights used to be far, far higher than that.
On that greater front, our decline is now abundantly clear and it’s all the more shocking for being entirely predictable.
During the last months of Tony Mowbray’s time at Celtic Park there were a number of our fans who started mentally preparing themselves to enter a very dark place. They knew a night like St Mirren was coming; you could see it a mile down the road.
At around about that time, someone told me they’d started thinking of the Mowbray tenure as like caring for a terminally ill relative.
Every day brought with it new agonies, until, finally, for the sake of everyone involved, you start yearning for it to be over, for one dark day to bring matters to a close, letting everyone grieve and then get on with it.
“You want it to be over with quick,” is what he told me.
That same person later told me that watching the third and fourth goals go in that night in Paisley was horrible, but oddly cathartic because everyone in the stands realised it was finished.
For the last twenty minutes of the game last night, I thought about that guy and those words, and had we conceded a fourth, and a fifth, I may, too, have felt that odd sense of cleansing, of relief, because that, surely, would have been the end.
I’ve got no more faith in the Deila “experiment”.
I saw enough last night to convince me that we’re already on the down slope to the end. A lot of fans, who otherwise were keeping their own council, last night similarly made up their minds, and you could hear it in the stands at the game when Commons was taken off, and it was there, real and raw, on the forums.
And with that now firm in my mind, with that now settled, I hope that it’s quick, that we don’t have to drag it out, that it’s not going to hurt any more than it has to.
(This article was amended to change the top line, which originally read Malmo not Molde. The consequence of writing with a pounding headache, entirely brought on by that nonsense last night.)
Personally I would get rid of Deila,Collins,McGuinness…and get Kennedy fed-exed out the front gate asap as I have not seen such naivety and lack of
passion in a long long time. Absolutely soul destroying to see what’s been happening
Pretty much covered it, but what about Brown, Iv never seen him give the ball away so much, also the back four were simply hopeless, the whole thing is breaking my heart and many many fans like me
Everywhere we read or hear how we can “get away with it” in the SPFL but not in Europe. What a load of shit. Europe? We are talking about a mid table Norwegian League side taking Celtic apart for f*ck sake. Don’t give me this guff about getting found out in “Europe”. Maribor, Malmo, Molde, Legia – are these elite European outfits to be feared, or does our playing budget DWARF each and every one of them? Four of Ronnys’ eight European triumphs have been against Icelandic opposition, one was Astra whom I’m sure not a single Hoops fan had previously heard of and one was Qarabag. Mighty European opposition indeed! The teams that have cuffed us are hardly giants of the game either.
But here is the biggest problem. The people that appointed Ronny and Johnny are still there. These individuals also appointed Tony Mowbray and took the cheap option with Neil Lennon (they got lucky there). Do you trust them to appoint the next manager? I don’t. How many chances will they get?
James is right, it’s not just the defeats that are scary. Some of the football on offer this season at Celtic Park has been eye stinging. In a recent match against Ross County, the best player on show was Jackson Irvine. Ronny let him go. Liam Henderson is a better player than GMS or Johansen and he’s loaned out to Hibs. O’Connell is a far better centre half than either Ambrose or Boyata but Ronny sent him out on loan as well and lets not forget Darnell Fisher. So much for encouraging and nurturing youth. It won’t be long till young Tierney gets punted as well.
Ah fuck it, rant over.
Hail Hail
Ye Darnell I thought he was cert for fullback as Lustig is always injured ? What pisses me off is the goals we are shipping in
after reading your comments , I find it hard to disagree to most of your observations but two points I beg to differ on are the Commons heated exchange and the 10 in a row , re. the exchange of words I must say I will take the players side of this argument , it was a disgrace they take off the ONE player who was actually still trying to do something was to me incredoulous , I have never seen a Celtic team beaten so badly and outplayed / outclassed to a team that was supposed to be the minnows in the section and although I’m a staunch Celtic supporter give Rangers or whatever their name will be , one year back in the premiership and they will put an end to the 10 in a row you are talking about , performances like last night and SPL games this season will give Rangers all the ammunition they need to challenge and pass Celtic unless they get their act together which means a complete overhaul of the management , Lawwell,Delia,Collins and Kennedy until that happens Celtic are going nowhere and one way to get this done is to stay away from Celtic Park , once the crowds start diminishing then you will see some action from Dermot Desmond or whatever his name is as the one thing they don’t like is losing money , didn’t we have something similar before Fergus McCann arrived , I’m not 100% sure but I know we had big problems before., that’s my opinion anyway.
Liam Henderson should never have been sent on loan and at least O’Connell could pass a ball
and be aware what’s happening around him .
the writing is on the wall for ronny,times up,end of the road, and all the other cliches you can think of. last night’s performance hit rock bottom for me, absolutely shocking at the end I took some comfort from not losing by 6 or 7 goals every time Molde attacked they looked capable of scoring,but whats new? we have seen the same most of our games in Europe this term. The defensive set up is a shambles unable to defend corners,freekicks and such an easy setup to counter attack,last night the first goal came from such counter attack, so did the second and the third surely a half competent management would have done something to counter this but not our ronny. We now have a Celtic team that cant score, cant defend and cant control their players, i,e. Commons, sorry to be so bleak but it’s bye bye Ronny.HH
while i agree in the main with the tone of your article i do think the celtic board have to take the majority of the blame for the shambles that is now our club .The minute the other lot were banished from the SPL the board took the decision to sell our best players, force the manager to buy in cheap safe in the knowledge (or so they wrongly assumed) that champions league football or group stages of the europa league would swell the coffers (and pockets of the board) and be guaranteed for a fair few years – gone are the days of larsson sutton mjalby petrov moravcic now we,re bringing in ciftci and cole !! (not forgetting the continued catastrophe waiting to happen that is efe ambrose) we have become an embarrassment on a meteoric scale and that is scandalous for a club of celtics stature
The money men showed their hand when they went to Dundee Unt to sign players. GMS and Armstrong are O.K. if you think success is winning the SPL and one of the cups, then they will do, any thought of the Champions league or later stages of the Europa league are out of the question. From day one i always though that Deila was inept, especially when it came to defence. My total rejection of him came with the signing of Cifcti. The man has no balance, is flat footed and cumbersome. How he thought he would fit into a fast moving Celtic attack was beyond me. When he chose Ciftci before Griffiths was beyond me. Griffiths had carried the team, just to be dumped onto the subs bench. To his credit he just dug in and forced Deila to play him. We need to build some solid foundations now because there may be something dangerous coming up on the rails.
I have had my doubts about Deila for a while now but last night was the absolute pits. Celtic were marvellous knocking the ball backwards and sideways in their own half. I spent twenty minutes shouting at the screen (pointless, I know, but, as Homer Simpson would put it, what can ya do?) as I watched a team with no direction, no inspiration, no clue, self destruct. I finished watching the first half in silence, saving my tonsils from further abuse and switched over. I switched back to see Celtic score and then give away another goal in less than a minute. Absolutely shameful. Deila has to go. Right away.
i know that i am out on my own here but i am sticking with Ronny.
its our defence that is shite but we did lose our best 2 . we have to cut out the mistakes and stop giving goals away.
i still think we are close to being a very good team but until we sort the defence out we will struggle in Europe.
lets win the treble and give Ronny one last shot at the CL and if he fails again then ok time to go but i still believe he will get it right.
@ ewanbhoy
I was of a similar mind last season but some of the performances of late have been lamentable. I’m at all the home games, as you may be. From my seat, I see us going backwards. I don’t share your faith in Ronny – I honestly wish I did.
How many years will it take to convince you and other like minded supporters,Deila is not good enough to manage Glasgow Celtic football club.
I’m with you …. all those looking for Ronnie’s head have to take a long hard look at themselves . I know he hasn’t shown it quite yet , but I do feel he has the right European mind-set . He is on the right track .Some of his players have to step up to the mark.
‘There are real capable managers out there’. Who? Who that is capable will take on the job? I’ll be honest I can’t think of one established manager that would want the pressure of the Celtic job at the wages on offer and with the limited budget he would have to work with. We would either get a relatively untried guy like Deila or someone who is unemployed (that would beggar the question why don’t they have a job?) I genuinely want to hear who could step in if Deila was sacked next Monday. Please name names, not just say anyone could do better.
Sorry mate but the real answer is anyone but Deila,and there are plenty of managers out there who would come,butbthey need to be asked.
Very good piece agree with it top to bottom, experiment over didn’t work time to move on.
I think on the evidence we’ve seen since Ronny’s arrival and don’t forget the poor quality of league we’re playing in, it’s pretty clear he doesn’t have a clue how to organize a defence, now it’s showing ALL OVER the park. John Kennedy -great player, but totally unqualified to be given such a highly responsible position at this time and IMO John Collins shouldn’t be anywhere near coaching a team of Celtic’s stature. Tho Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond can be held up as culpable as well. Watching the European games i have to agree with just about EVERYTHING Chris Sutton has said. Thing is, although i think possibly and arguably, not so long ago Neil Lennon had taken Celtic as far as he could and had given us some memorable, unforgettable times, this team could not LIVE with one of Lennons. We’re even a WORSE team than last season, going backwards. The people in charge should be doing a lot more prove to the Celtic Support they have the real ambition to take us forward, stop selling our top players for a start and build a team where most players will WANT to stay. We’re far to big and proud a club to be AT BEST Europa league also-rans.
Paul Lambert
No thanks he sets out stale football
Im quite happy with ronnie. The bears will soon be back at the top. Bring it on.
Paul Lambert is the man I’d go for if/when Ronny and his naff roar,get the bullet, and Collins and Kennedy along with him, peter grant as Lambert’s number 2……hh
King Henrik.
get the manger out right away or the stands will be empty Sack his back room staff has well
Sack deila now and his back room staff
James,
Good piece, well written, agree with just about all of it.
I’ve got to put my hand up and admit I have never been a RD and especially a JC fan, I think both were inadequate and cheap. Yet my statement of accounts for Celtic, which dropped through the door during the week, shows Mr PL picking up plenty for his tenure at Celtic. Wonder what his Key Performance Indicators are and how he is measured?
I found myself hoping for more goals to go in on Thursday night, just like St Mirren all those years ago, to get rid of the management team and the type of football we play – naïve, unorganised, unimaginative. Just think Peter L we could have saved a return air fare!!!!
HH