4) Ronny is a well travelled “student of football.” McCoist is a homeboy who knows where the best Greggs in Scotland is.
That sounds flippant, but it’s actually a very real criticism of McCoist, who’s “football knowledge” was all learned in one place, at the knee of Walter Smith, one of the most negative, and lucky, managers in the history of football who’s one experience outside the gilded protection of Ibrox ended in ignominy and sacking at Everton, who he would have got relegated but for the appointment of David Moyes, who steered them to safety.
McCoist learned nothing new in the course of his career.
His style of football – the long punt up the park – remained almost identical from the first moment he took the job until the hour of his departure.
He’s learned nothing since, choosing not to re-engage with football, but instead to apparently spend much of his time mooching about the local media offices, hoping to get a few words in the papers.
Ronny Deila has tried to learn from other managers and visited other clubs in an effort to educate himself on the latest training techniques and medical and psychological benefits to players.
He’s studied the youth setups at some of the biggest clubs in world football, and believes in a combined approach that binds the development of new players with improving the skills of current ones.
Once again, perhaps this isn’t a style that suits Scottish football; perhaps that’s more our problem than his, so it hasn’t worked here … but no-one can say this is a guy who lets things stand still.
I predict that in the fullness of time even his tactical approach will change in relation to what’s happening elsewhere in football.
He’s a young guy with it all in front of him, after all.
