'New Celtic': The Ronny Deila Question

I have some explaining to do.

My almost propagandist features on Ronny Deila so far have clearly been a little miscalculated.

No sooner since I've been preaching to the masses about how Deila should be hailed for his willingness to deliver attacking football and for his progressive and modern outlook on the game, we get trounced in Europe.

AGAIN!

We were totally outdone by Molde on Thursday.

Thursday's defeat comes after I had the audacity to predict a Celtic victory while lecturing the Deila doubters about their (now vindicated) scepticism.

It was a horrible night all round, and after the infamous pitchside bust-up between Kris Commons and the Celtic management team, I assumed we were watching Celtic's Ronny Deila experiment come to a crushing end.

Admittedly I now feel myself partially agreeing with the many fans who have been a little trepidatious to wholeheartedly invest in the Ronny Deila era.

For example, I see why they are a bit perplexed as to why he insists on attacking teams, regardless of the opposition's stature, set-up and arsenal - you're correct, I did say Deila should be applauded for what I described as his "boldness" and his bravado in a previous blog.

After the nightmare showing against Legia Warsaw last year, the embarrassment of Maribor and the torturous Malmo disaster, some Celtic supporters really have checked out after this latest escapade.

Yes, a 3-1 defeat against Molde - who sit in 7th place in the Tippeligaen - has forced fans to hurriedly call for the Norwegian's sacking.

But I want them to stall.

I don't want Ronny Deila sacked. At least not yet anyway. 

Hear me out though.

I felt the same pain as you all on Thursday. My belly ached from the on-pitch annihilaton and from watching the off-pitch spat.

Dare I say that Thursday night's episode even took me back to that rainy night in Paisley in 2010, which saw Tony Mowbray oversee his last match in charge of Celtic in a 4-0 defeat to St Mirren.

I've labelled Deila's management in the past as being brave and bold, but it can also be downright reckless.

His game plan on Thursday was all wrong.

Even rewinding back a full year to our hellish performance against Legia Warsaw in Poland, such heedlessness is still causing us major problems.

People forget that when the clock hit eighty minutes in Warsaw, we were 2-1 down with ten men and confident that we could take them back to Scotland and nick a result with what was then an invaluable away goal.

A whole ten minutes later we were 4-1 down and had watched Legia miss their second penalty of the match.

And on Thursday, we went 2-0 down in the first twenty minutes of the game after attacking a team that seem to be famed on the effectiveness of their counter-attacking football.

Not only that, we lost a third goal within forty seconds of pulling it back to 2-1.

Our playing performances in Europe have at times embodied similar characteristics to Ronny Deila the manager himself: raw and maybe a bit too wishful.

We have to be more responsible, practical and adaptible.

I don't want to do my best Mike Bassett impression but the team shape is far too one-dimensional, too. 

Griffiths had never looked so isolated on Thursday, and the distance between the two anchors in midfield and the four attackers was far too extensive.

The full backs were too high as well (see Molde's first goal).

We need to learn to be more robust in order to manage results in Europe. We can't keep being as predictable and insist on going for the jugular all the time.

Our high pressing game suited Molde. They waited for the inevitable slack pass and pinned us back on the counter.

Every time they ran at our defence, they looked like scoring.

Some harsh truths for me: Deila has clearly got a lot wrong so far.

An inability to learn from his mistakes is troubling a lot of supporters.

However, to say the man isn't getting anything right is slightly unfair and ill-judged.

I would hate to discard the whole Deila project at this stage, especially as his tenure is starting to bring about some significantly good results.

I've spoken at length about his positive man management, having really brought out the best in players like Leigh Griffiths and Nir Bitton.

And promoting Kieran Tierney from the under-20s, at the tender age of just eighten, shows Deila's desire to actively invest in youth.

For Deila's vision of 'new Celtic' (I termed it so) to be realised it was always going to need a lot of patience.

Most of all, however, it needs strong foundations and a sizeable degree of trust.

Deila is going to make mistakes.

That isn't necessarily an excuse for performances like Thursday's, but results such as those are the price you pay for hiring a young manager from Scandinavia that possesses little European football experience (as both a player and manager).

He does have to learn more quickly, however. He needs to be more pragmatic and astute in his approach to European fixtures.

And from here on out, he has to nail his first eleven to the wall. He has to stop rotating things now.

Simunovic was effortlessly cool at the back on Sunday and Boyata looked more confident on the ball. If this is his first choice centre half pairing, he has to stick with it. 

One thing he does seem to have sussed right now is the ability to turn it on domestically - I hope I haven't cursed things (again).

We've picked up nine points in the league after all of our Europa League fixtures so far this season, scoring twelve goals and conceding only one.

Some shout about how our domestic duties are now void, insisting that Deila shouldn't be judged on results in Scotland.

An utterly laughable stance.

Every Celtic manager has (and always will have) the same, fundamental expectations and that is to win the league and enjoy domestic cup success.

We cannot set a precedent of sacking managers for under-performing in Europe while they produce big results domestically. 

That just isn't happening.

Worth noting that if Celtic beat Aberdeen on Saturday, they move seven points clear at the top of the table making the destination of the SPFL Championship almost a formality already.   

But firstly we have a huge test on Wednesday night at Tynecastle in the League Cup.

Defeat would spell the end of another coveted domestic treble and pressure would really sore on Deila, undoubtedly asking tough questions of the Celtic board.

We know how volatile and energised our meetings are at Tynecastle, and it always takes a gutsy Celtic side to leave Gorgie victorious.

I'm confident we will.

So does Deila have a future at Celtic?

In my opinion, he will get until Christmas. 

There's little room for sentiment in football, and Deila may just learn that pretty soon.

We will need to see a real marked improvement in performances in the second half of our duties in Group A of the Europa League, and we will need to remain in all domestic competitions for him to get out of this mess alive.

The man's bruised and a bit battered, but he's not out yet.

Molde v Celtic: New Beginnings

Now that our annually marked summer of disappointment is over, it's time for our season to truly kick off on Thursday.

Some people go to Ibiza for the summer but most of us Celtic fans just stay at home, wallowing in and around our grey humdrum towns where we cry about Celtic being keek in Europe and where we push forth calls for managers to be sacked.

And who could forget how agitated we get about our Club's unwillingness to sign a goal scoring striker? 

I'm so glad that's all over for another year.

Yep, we had a pretty cataclysmic few months there but we're all better off for getting through it.

Honestly, we are!

And on Thursday evening in Molde, now really is the time for Celtic to get themselves back together and really draft out a statement of intent for this season and beyond.

To take you up to speed since we last spoke, Aberdeen's title challenge looks to have really lost momentum (all before Halloween) and we look to have recovered from an unsettling period where our defence looked broken and general hope for the future seemed lost on us all.

I'm telling you. Tyler Blackett has bedded in well, Stuart Armstrong is back, Nadir Ciftci is scoring goals and Saidy Janko looks nearly as good as James Tavernier.

But more seriously, and more crucially, Celtic have a big test this week with them set to face Europa League Group A leaders Molde away from home in manager Ronny Deila's native homeland.

All of us have been taken aback by Molde's start to the group. Beating Fenerbahce quite comfortably in Istanbul and claiming a more than respectable point at home to Ajax left a lot of us red-faced.

But similarly, very few commentators predicted Celtic's start either.

OK, our start to our Europa League campaign hasn't set the world alight, but we should be contented by the fact that we are scoring goals and picking up points against very reputable and capable teams.

We were deeply unfortunate in Amsterdam, and we were admittedly clumsy at home to Fenerbahce. But we set up in both games the way I always wanted to see Celtic present themselves in Europe.

Brave, bold and attacking. We were all of that.

Gone are the days of when we would rotate and change our style of play from how we set up domestically to how we set up in Europe.

And Deila should be recognised and commended for this. He has a real determination and resoluteness to deliver a specific brand of football at Celtic Park all in the aim of setting us apart from the rest, both here in Scotland and indeed all over Europe.

That's what really pleased me about our 3-3 home draw at home to Inter Milan. I wish I could say I always leave Celtic Park feeling proud, but that night especially filled me with unremitting pride like never before.

We fought and played with great distinction.

And so far in our Europa League campaign, I've felt some sketches of the same feelings of fulfilment I enjoyed after that night.

Many of my mates tell me that Deila merely talks a good game. I'm not going to tell them they're wrong (even though they are). 

And six months ago he delivered probably one of his most strongest messages, that galvanised a load of us but left the doubters cringing in agony. He said:

I'm not into surprising teams. I want them to fear us because they know what is coming.

I do love a good quote...

But who knows, maybe the man's quintessence of Nordic and Viking soul will soon shine forth.

I expect us to line up as always: 4-2-3-1, with Griffiths leading the line.

I predict a Celtic victory and for some of my ramblings to be vindicated.

This Thursday's match is a massive one. Be excited.

Ronny Deila at Celtic: A Whimsical Analysis

I love the critically acclaimed Sam Mendes movie, American Beauty.

I remember having watched it for the first time back in my university days and struggling to get to sleep after it. Its heart stopping ending and phenomenal story telling and characterisation throughout left so much to mull over.

One character in the movie that I was most entranced by was the enigmatic Ricky Fitts - an unpopular high school kid who held a keen interest in photography.

Fitts worked as a part-time bar caterer, a fitting and noble front to help assure his authoritative father that the young Ricky is righting his wrongs and learning to become self-sufficient. But on the side Fitts runs a highly successful and profitable marijuana business that is helping fund his eventual runaway pursuits to New York.

When main protagonist and forty-something year old Lester Burnham meets Fitts at his home to score some weed, he becomes fascinated by Fitts’ lavish material possessions. How can this whimsy kid afford such a set-up, he ponders. Fitts coldly informs Burnham: “My dad thinks I paid for all this with catering jobs. Never underestimate the power of denial.”

Definition of denial: noun - the refusal of something requested or desired; refusal to acknowledge an unacceptable truth or emotion or to admit it into consciousness, used as a defence mechanism.

And in recent months, denial is a charge that seems to be routinely thrown at Celtic supporters who dare run to the defence of their players and management team.

Sure, absolutely, people have just cause to still feel a big degree of trepidation over the direction in which Celtic are headed, both on and off the park.

The last month or so especially has been quite calamitous for Celtic, being binned out of the Champions League at the play-off stage before losing a top of the table clash to nearest title challengers, Aberdeen.

But are there any positives to transfix ourselves on at Celtic just now? I’d argue yes.

There are many in fact.

And I think Ronny Deila shares my optimism (OK, he has to). In his post-match interview at the weekend – following Celtic’s 2-1 away win at Hamilton – he defiantly defended his players after the BT Sport reporter questioned him about Celtic’s well publicised defensive frailties.

“Why can’t you talk about the goals we scored?", he exclaimed. "You always take the negative. Our three games after Europe, we’ve [picked up] nine points.

"I’m very tired of talking about negative things. We played against Fenerbahce, they’re quite a good team with good players.  And we got a draw. Yes, there was individual mistakes, but we got a draw and we scored two goals.”

Deila was letting rip at the Scottish media for persistently undermining his Celtic players, but the 40 year old Norwegian could extend the same criticism to a section of his own supporters.

After all, he must feel somewhat perplexed as to what us fans want and expect of him. His management is being constantly questioned by a lot of our fans, and I do truly believe some fans have never forgiven him for his failings in last year's Champions League qualifying rounds.

The Champions League is what we obsess over and where every Celtic supporter wants to be. But gaining entry into the most prestigous competition in European football is a lottery to us now.

Financial inequality aside, we are expected to play six qualifying games at the height of our pre-season, all the while offloading players and introducing new faces to our side. Can we really give a manager an ultimatum, demanding that he reach the group stages of this competition every season or it's curtains?

I don't think we honestly can.

Even looking back to last season, and after a massively disappointing start to life at Celtic, Deila for the most part turned things around and built up a team of players that were both confident and effective.

Winning our 46^th title and claiming a League Cup (a trophy I’m not too accustomed to seeing us lift) meant a great deal to me.

And let’s face it: had it not been for the right hand of Josh Meekings, Deila could have had a real go at putting himself in the Celtic history books for being only our third domestic treble winning manager.

Oh, and while we’re clutching, see that right hand of Kari Arnasson? That went and robbed the man of the chance to see his Celtic side enter the Champions League group stages for the first time in two years – remember that when we’re all reminiscing over Deila’s time at Celtic down the pub in a few years.

But let’s not speculate, let’s look at the facts coldly.

Right now, we’re one point adrift of Aberdeen in the SPFL, and plying our trade in the Europa League group stages having accumulated two hard-earned points from two games against (assumed) superior outfits, Ajax and Fenerbahce.

But it's how we're playing that is pleasing me most. It's maybe not the most expansive football you'll ever see, but we're not even two months into the season and we're managing results well both domestically and in Europe.

I watched Celtic at home to Dundee two weeks ago. They absolutely capitulated the visitors 6-0. Celtic played with a real verve and tenacity that's prompted me to choose this one specific performance as being one of the best I’ve ever seen under Deila.

And in our goalless draw at home to Hearts, we were outdone by a team that had no interest at all in winning the game of football. We hit them and hit them and hit them until our boots went blunt. The chances were there, we just failed to capitalise before it was just too late.

I’m often seen arguing on Celtic message boards and with fellow fans on Twitter about Deila. And I got into quite a lengthy exchange with a guy the other day who was arguing that Deila hasn’t been influential at all in having developed the Leigh Griffiths that we see and enjoy today.

For him, he said, Griffiths always had it. And it was stupid and wrong of Deila to omit him from a starting place in the side one year ago when the manager first arrived from Stromsgodset.

But I disagree. Deila has shown himself to be an astute man manager.

Tony Watt was relieved of his duties at Celtic after Deila claimed that the Coatbridge boy didn’t want “to make the necessary sacrifices” that's required to be a success at Celtic Park.

And I presume Deila expected a lot more from Griffiths initially too. Yes, Griffiths was scoring goals for Celtic before Deila, but his actions and application off the pitch (y'know, the things we don't see) most probably concerned the manager.

Speaking in August 2014, Deila spoke of how he demands his players exude a tremendous level of commitment to their roles as Celtic players. He said: “It’s about commitment. If you say to yourself you are going to be a Celtic player you have to change. You have to commit, you have to make that sacrifice.

"If you don’t accept the consequences of your actions you will look back and say at the end of your career: 'I was a good footballer, but I was just a player at Celtic.' If you really listen, if you really do it, you can be a legend at Celtic.

"I was one of these guys. I wasn’t the greatest talent as a player, but I could have been much better than I was because I didn’t sacrifice everything.”

I’d argue that this particular facet of Deila’s coaching is beginning to bear fruit. Griffiths looks healthier for it. He seems more grounded, hungry and disciplined.

And Nir Bitton has clearly benefited from his stewardship. Bitton is now an integral part of our team and really fits into the system of how Deila wants us to play.

The Israeli midfielder looked destined to be a bit-part player under Lennon, who'd probably be more suited to a rotational place in the Celtic midfield. But since Deila has taken the helm, Bitton is playing with such poise and is arguably one of our most valuable players at present.

And who would have thought the man from Oz, Tom Rogic, would ever have claimed a stake into having a future with us?

One other player who seems to be enjoying life at the moment is James Forrest. I was always a big doubter and pained over why he was still allocated space at the club. But recently Jamesy has looked the real deal.

And he hasn’t played like the Forrest of old, and this is crucially why I believe he can go on to really cement a place in our starting eleven. His defensive work rate has rocketed, and his tracking back and covering for the full backs on the flank has been exemplary.

With a consistent run of games, James will continue to learn and develop. I always felt Forrest never truly had a natural football head. I didn’t think he had a cuteness or a tactical brain. I always brushed him off as that fast kid who got lucky. But I can just see him now, kicking on and playing an instrumental part in our club’s future success.

I really have invested in the Ronny Deila era, and maybe I am blinded to some other harsh reality that you all see. But this guy is striving to revolutionise the way we do business at Celtic Park.

It’s not denial or delusion. I just trust the man to get the best out of his players and do his best by the badge along the way.

I read quite an illuminating stat yesterday that said that our longest winless streak domestically in 2015 is still only one game. For all the alleged 'crises' we've had over the last year, it doesn't half help to look at these 'catastrophes' objectively.

Ronny hit out at the press on Sunday, bemoaning the fact that we can’t always play “Playstation football.”

And therein lies one of the biggest positives we’ve seen thus far. The ability to win ugly, to fight back in the face of adversity. It’s this lion spirit that will see us reach the halfway mark in our pursuit of ten-in-a-row.