Last night, Copenhagen took on Manchester City in the Champions League. The home side lost 3-1, but they put up a hell of a fight and put on one hell of a show. They got there by getting out of a group that included Manchester United. I watched their games in that group and I was mightily impressed. They aren’t a great team, but they are effective.
Copenhagen are the beneficiaries of a TV deal that is bigger than ours, but that’s about it. Our stadium is vastly bigger. Our merchandising is vastly superior. We make more money than they do. They aren’t even close to having our global football footprint … but this season they’ve climbed the mountain. They don’t do it regularly, but this season they did.
Why? How? How is it that teams like that can advance further than we do? Well, they won the League and Cup double last year in Denmark, and what did they do in the summer?
Well, they purchased an international left-back, Birger Meling, from Rennes for £2 million. He is 29, and about as experienced as they come. Their second signing was also 29; we know the guy well. Mo Elyounoussi, on a free from Southampton. No messing, they went out and bought a player on English football wages, a guy who has no re-sale value and stuck him in their team. He was excellent last night, as was Meling. They bought 25-year-old Elias Achouri, an attacking player, spending good money on him too. They also bought 26-year-old Jordan Larsson, another name we’re all familiar with. The total cost was around what we paid for ten players in the same window. They were strategic, rebuilding their left flank and forward line.
Then in the January window – you know, that one we all hear is impossible to get quality in – they paid £4 million for the midfielder Mattson who scored their superb goal last night on his debut. They also, by the way, signed Scott McKenna on loan. Mattson came from NEC in Holland, and the Dutch had signed him on the back of an excellent scoring record at Viborg.
Their four big summer signings were all 25 or over, the age we’re told we shouldn’t be shopping at if we want to be able to sell players on, as if that is the only thing that matters to us.
Where did the money for that come from? How did they fund this spending spree? Easy. They sold one of their own development players, Hákon Arnar Haraldsson, to Rennes for £12 million. Between that and two wins and two draws in a Champions League group boasting Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Galatasaray, in which they finished second, they’ll probably post a healthy profit and get ready to go again next year.
They didn’t overspend. They didn’t buy a bunch of projects either. They simply identified what they needed to get better, and where they needed it, and went out and got the right guys in. A lot of people want to convince you that this stuff is rocket science; in fact, it’s actually pretty simple. You trust the manager, you tailor the football department to meet his needs instead of the needs of a bunch of bean-counters and watch the rewards accrue.
Who have been Celtic’s most successful managers in recent decades? O’Neill, Rodgers and Postecoglou. And those guys were strongest when they were running the show unencumbered by the interference of others. Even Strachan, when he was allowed the luxury of spending and bringing in who he needed to, showed you what happens when you let a manager manage and you give him the tools for the job. Champions League Group Stage football. Qualification from the Groups even. And oh, how the money rolls in.
Sure, you have to be careful to keep an eye on these guys and set your budgets so things don’t get out of control. But throwing a bunch of unproven players at a boss and telling him “Make something out of that” is a dreadful way to run a football club.
This policy of not signing experience is quite obviously self-defeating nonsense. Some of the best players those managers were able to put onto the pitch were experienced when they arrived here; Sutton, Lennon, Lambert, Nakamura, Venegoor of Hesselink, Scott Sinclair, Aaron Mooy, Kyogo … I mean these guys brought the quality with them. The idea that our policy should be built around projects instead of those ready-made players has been shown to up over and over again. It is those footballers who elevated us above the hum-drum.
Those guys made the other players around them better, which is how development is really done at the top-drawer clubs. When you have eight quality players out on the pitch you can blood the projects alongside them, bringing them into the team slowly until they have the requisite experience and class to be considered at that level … when you are asking a manager to blood four or five of these guys at a time, that’s just madness. It makes no sense.
We needed a left sided midfielder and a left back in the summer. When you see what Copenhagen did on that side of the pitch it’s a flat-out disgrace that we wouldn’t even attempt that because both of those players were 29 years old. Imagine Elyounoussi in this team right now. Imagine a player like that in an Ange team? What in God’s name is wrong with us that we don’t think that sort of signing has value? Yeah, his wages are probably high; so what? Copenhagen can afford that and we can’t? This is the lunacy of the so-called wage structure at Celtic again, the one, I swear, exists deliberately so that players who reach a certain point in their careers have no choice but to leave us for the greater rewards we just won’t give them at Parkhead.
And this is exactly the sort of system Rodgers wants put in place. One where he can go out and sign a Daniel Podence or an Elyounoussi and not worry that some accountant is going to second guess the decision. He wants to build this team his way; what the Hell else do you hire an elite level manager for except to manage? Instead, his hands are being tied. If we ever want to be more than this, if we ever want to be more than we are, the right people have to be running the show at this club, and you will not find them amongst the stale old timers in the boardroom.
It’s a model Celtic should be using. But until the Lawwells are out of the building, it ain’t gonna happen.
Back the team – Sack the board.
Very well said Bunter. Lawwell and his offspring are needing booted out the door as soon as possible, if not the them across the city are going to be challenging us year after year, mark my words.
@ Bunter. And that really is it in a nutshell.
Exactly what I was thinking last night, it’s not that long ago Meling was being touted for us, also playing last night was another player who was touted for us McKenna.
It shows what can be done by an ambitious board.
OK, they lost but gave a good account of themselves against a club both the BBC and SKY have already decided are this seasons Champions league winners.
If only our board could grow a pair, even between them we could take teams like City on.
At the moment I dread to think what would happen if we were still in the competition.
The decent quality players are out there, our recruitment staff are either wearing blinkers or are working under the self appointed Director of Footballs instructions.
We will not move forward as a club until we are rid of Lawwell.
He casts a dark shadow over the club and undermines any good work that has previously been done in his absence.
Playing devils advocate, on the whole, our recruitment is said to be run by one or two Lawwells, but behind them is a multi millionaire who is the one that refuses to open the biscuit tin.
We have been steadily going backwards and downgrading since the bunnet rode off into the sunset.
They’re still out on their arse and out on their arse big time…
The ‘Champions’ League is a truly awful and rigged competition that I’m only interested in Celtic getting to the groups to keep ahead of Sevco domestically –
And we are utterly unable to do that under the stewardship of this useless non spending board of miserable bastards which is an utter disgrace…
The Europa League is a bit more like it as is the Conference League –
At least it’s different Quarter Finalists every season and that keeps it kinda semi interesting at least !
Clach ,they may be out on their arse but they got through a group tougher than ours and never once got spanked by 7 goals,I wish we could do what Copenhagen and Rosenberg could do in Europe,we are an embarrassment, because of these greedy bastards on the board, desmond and liewell,the biscuit tin is thriving at Celtic.
Buy for peanuts, sell for big bucks.
Thats how PL earns his big bonuses, linked to turnover of course……
James this just shows how Rodgers hands are tied ,we were dire in Europe again,if Rodgers had got decent money for bringing good players in and then got humped out Europe early,we could blame him but at present Copenhagen are miles ahead of us.The board is to blame but until we cut off their money supply is STs and merchandise,the board are here to stay and every transfer window will be as bad as the last ones, Celtic fans have got to try somehow and get rid of the money grabbing leeches.
Too many Lawwells and Strachans at Celtic.
Great article. It’s pin the tail on the donkey stuff at the moment. Buying in lots of projects, desperately hoping that one or two of them might not be duds, then punting them on if they do actually do well. Not a formula for success!!
Hi James, I think you written a great article and I agree with most of what you say, Celtic signing policy is Amateur at best, Criminal at worse, Copenhagen must be run by better Football People than Celtic.
Two points tho, Rogers needs to grow balls and stand up to this penny pinching board, if that does not work then leave and tell everyone why.
Secondly, Ellanouisy was at Celtic for a while, he was not even a first team pick, he was a Micky Johnstone clone, it just shows that some players need a certain team to perform at their best, Ellanouisy never did that at Celtic, despite how well he doing now I would not have him back at Celtic, no doubt he feels the same.
Copenhagen have over a number of years been steady over achievers when you consider their size and fan base. One thing in their favour is that they do produce some good big sturdy and technically gifted homegrown players and surround them with non Danish experience and quality before selling them on for decent money.
But aye I agree that it’s generally speaking a better model than ours I.
Couple of other points;
You forgot to mention Lubo from your list of rather good experienced players we’ve brought to the the club in the past.
Strachan did bring last 16 CL qualification but I remember one night in particular when we played Copenhagen away under Strachanin a cold sleet pouring night when they gubbed us 3-0. Luckily we qualified thank to a Man Utd win, also in our group. They have decent ground and I was high up in the stand behind the goal watching us get mullered and a certain Kenny Miller led our front and was absolute back of shite. Good night in town in the Irish bar in town afterwards though. HH sack this shitty board. Top of the league Kenny hahaha
It’s all fine and necessary to talk about the signing model and I agree 100 percent with you on that but you also have to talk about tactics on the park – only those managers who had experienced players and didn’t neglect to defend did decently in Europe i .e. not Rodgers and not Ange.
Rodgers and Ange left the team too open which is not a good strategy in Europe as opposition quality is higher. We need a better transfer model but we need to adapt to find success in Europe as did Stratham, MON and Lennon.
,Accountants have always had too much influence at Celtic Park. Desmond White[accountant] was a precursor to Lawwell, a tighter guy you couldn’t get. 1967-1974 Celtic always top 5 in Europe, 5 years later not in top 50.
Players sold Hay, Macari and Dalglish among others, we still competed with the Ibrox mob but were also rans in Europe, sound familiar.
Celtic boards throughout the clubs history have had very little respect for the support and have nearly always taken them for granted.
Fergus McCann managed to take the majority of fans along with him on the journey of rebuilding the club in the 1990’s, although even he had some rocky moments, especially around the time of the three Amigos.
This board better realise all eyes are on them, the days of only project signings have got to end.