So Celtic have finally won the SPL 2006/07, after a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Gordon Strachan has emulated the feat of his predecessor, Martin O'Neill, and won back-to-back titles in his first two seasons at the club. His award as Scottish Players' Association Manager of the Year later on Sunday night was recognition for the fine job he has done rebuilding the Celtic squad while maintaining a dominance over the rest of Scottish football. It was his best signing, Shunsuke Nakamura, who secured the win with a trademark freekick right at the end of the game (he also won the player of the year award, too).
Yet clearly all is not well with Scottish football. Celtic's hold on the title was practically complete by Christmas, and it was only their recent poor form that kept Rangers in with a mathematical chance of snatching the championship until the split. Of Hearts, last season's pretenders to the crown, there was no sign. It is impossible not to let the paucity of competition take some of the shine off Celtic's latest trophy.
There were 8,000 Celtic fans down in Ayrshire to celebrate with the team on Sunday, limited by Kilmarnock's decision not to turn even more of their ground over to the visitors and annoy their season ticket holders, rather than a lack of seats. Kilmarnock really don't have anything more to play for this season - but, as Jim Jefferies sighed, this lack of revenue will hurt his plans for rebuilding his squad over the summer.
Even more depressing was the pitiful crowd at Pittodrie. They weren't helped by a tiny travelling support from Hibs, but less than 10,000 people turned up to watch Aberdeen try and secure European football for next season. Aberdeen have improved markedly in recent years, and yet their supporters just don't seem interested. It's true that they aren't the prettiest team to watch, but without more punters coming back and putting more money into the club, the chances of them attracting better players in the summer remain remote.
Something, it's clear, has got to change.
Showing posts with label strachan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strachan. Show all posts
Monday, April 23, 2007
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Agent's role under scrutiny as the SPL transfer windae opens
Newspapers have always speculated about possible player moves... it helps shifts copies, and arguably meets the needs of fans, who all enjoy a bit of idle gossip and speculation from time to time about who might be turning up at which club. Such stories are often based on little in the way of hard facts, using "sources close to the club" and "insiders" to flesh things out... but in this context, it's usually a bit of harmless fun.
What has been happening in Scotland over the past couple of months has, however, arguably crossed the line into manipulation of the market. Willie McKay, an agent with an already dubious reputation amongst fans, and one of the few agents who refused to comply with the recent investigation into corruption in the English Premiership, began representing Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown of Hibernian earlier in 2006, and almost immediately began pushing for moves for them both. When his initial efforts were rebuffed by the club, he has waged an increasingly bitter campaign against Hibs, using a complicit Daily Record newspaper as his main weapon. Most recently, it ran a story with extensive "quotes" from Scott Brown, claiming that the fee Hibs are seeking for him is too high.
Now, the Daily Record, you can imagine, is quite happy with the arrangement. They get the inside information on a story involving two of the most highly-rated players in Scotland, and as long as the story runs, they can generate more and more copy. As the Hibs board have a long-standing policy of "not commenting on speculation", the paper has only one source for these stories, yet that has not dulled their enthusiasm. It is time to ask, however, if this blatant disregard of all the basic tenets of responsible journalism is acceptable.
For one thing, no one who knows Scott Brown personally believes for a moment that the quotes attributed to him actually came from his own mouth. That is not to say he didn't agree to them appearing alongside his name... almost certainly he did. But if even supposed direct remarks from an individual can now be ghost-written, it makes the reader question if anything in the paper can be taken at face value. Secondly, although Hibs are not speaking to the paper, surely they have a duty to investigate the situation anyhow, rather than just print one side of the story? Their most recent effort was to print a claim from Willie McKay that both players had "been more than threatened" by the Hibs manager, and told they would be dropped from the team - claims that were palpably untrue.
All of this has rather overshadowed the forthcoming month of wheeler-dealering, but here's brief summary of what might happen over the next 31 days:
Celtic: Started the ball rolling by signing Steven Pressley on an 18 month contract on Friday, unlikely to do a huge amount of business beyond this. They need a long-term replacement for Neil Lennon, but Strachan has stated a preference for waiting until the summer.
Aberdeen: There's been speculation over Russell Anderson, their inspirational captain and centre-back, who surely should have had more Scotland caps by now. Rangers dearly need him, but Anderson has said warm words about staying at Pittodrie. Jamie Smith may go in January if still refusing to sign a new contract. Have already brought in Craig Brewster as cover upfront.
Rangers: Their defence, in particular, is an absolute mess, and with Lee Martin and Phil Bardsley going back to Man Utd after their loan deals, they need reinforcements. Whether there is any money to bring in the kind of quality they need, though, is debatable. Scott Brown looks to be beyond their budget; Paul Hartley maybe isn't.
Hearts: There are anything up to 30 Lithuanians training in Edinburgh right now, so expect plenty new faces from Romanov's footballing empire to turn up at Tynecastle. Pressley's already gone, and there will be few surprises if Hartley and Craig Gordon get sold.
Hibs: need a new keeper, need a new keeper, need a new keeper. John Collins threw Scott Brown's transfer request in the bin, but if he and/or Kevin Thomson are sold, expect replacements. Collins will want to stamp his own mark on the squad he's inherited, but may wait until the summer.
Kilmarnock: Ongoing rumblings about their winger Steven Naismith, and Killie are after another striker, but money is, as always, tight down in Ayrshire.
Falkirk: Having just scored a hat-trick at Inverness, Anthony Stokes is attracting more and more attention by the day. Falkirk are desperate to extend the Arsenal player's loan until the end of the year, but may be outbid by another club down south. Alan Gow has interested Hibs, but they will probably only move for him if Scott Brown leaves.
Dundee Utd: Lee Wilkie has gone out on loan to Ross County (given he only signed a pay-as-you-play deal with Utd in October, who knows if he has any future under Craig Levein). The Arabs are absolutely flying under their new boss, but the chairman will probably want to wait before spending some more money, given the amount of cash that's been wasted on under-performing squads over the past few years.
Motherwell: Plenty speculation around striker Scott MacDonald, but happily Stephen Craigan has signed a new deal.
ICT: Charlie Christie will have been relieved when Craig Brewster got sacked at Utd, because it would stop him trying to sign all his players in the transfer window. They are a tidy outfit, though, and a number could still be coveted elsewhere. Here's some pure speculation - Hibs will make an offer for keeper Mark Brown.
St Mirren: deserved point against Rangers to sign off 2006, but St Mirren's recent results have been poor. Gus McPherson wants a few more players, and luckily he's familiar with the lower divisions, because that's where his budget will send him.
Dunfermline: Put simply, they need to sign the Messiah, because little short of a miracle is going to pull them out of this one.
What has been happening in Scotland over the past couple of months has, however, arguably crossed the line into manipulation of the market. Willie McKay, an agent with an already dubious reputation amongst fans, and one of the few agents who refused to comply with the recent investigation into corruption in the English Premiership, began representing Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown of Hibernian earlier in 2006, and almost immediately began pushing for moves for them both. When his initial efforts were rebuffed by the club, he has waged an increasingly bitter campaign against Hibs, using a complicit Daily Record newspaper as his main weapon. Most recently, it ran a story with extensive "quotes" from Scott Brown, claiming that the fee Hibs are seeking for him is too high.
Now, the Daily Record, you can imagine, is quite happy with the arrangement. They get the inside information on a story involving two of the most highly-rated players in Scotland, and as long as the story runs, they can generate more and more copy. As the Hibs board have a long-standing policy of "not commenting on speculation", the paper has only one source for these stories, yet that has not dulled their enthusiasm. It is time to ask, however, if this blatant disregard of all the basic tenets of responsible journalism is acceptable.
For one thing, no one who knows Scott Brown personally believes for a moment that the quotes attributed to him actually came from his own mouth. That is not to say he didn't agree to them appearing alongside his name... almost certainly he did. But if even supposed direct remarks from an individual can now be ghost-written, it makes the reader question if anything in the paper can be taken at face value. Secondly, although Hibs are not speaking to the paper, surely they have a duty to investigate the situation anyhow, rather than just print one side of the story? Their most recent effort was to print a claim from Willie McKay that both players had "been more than threatened" by the Hibs manager, and told they would be dropped from the team - claims that were palpably untrue.
All of this has rather overshadowed the forthcoming month of wheeler-dealering, but here's brief summary of what might happen over the next 31 days:
Celtic: Started the ball rolling by signing Steven Pressley on an 18 month contract on Friday, unlikely to do a huge amount of business beyond this. They need a long-term replacement for Neil Lennon, but Strachan has stated a preference for waiting until the summer.
Aberdeen: There's been speculation over Russell Anderson, their inspirational captain and centre-back, who surely should have had more Scotland caps by now. Rangers dearly need him, but Anderson has said warm words about staying at Pittodrie. Jamie Smith may go in January if still refusing to sign a new contract. Have already brought in Craig Brewster as cover upfront.
Rangers: Their defence, in particular, is an absolute mess, and with Lee Martin and Phil Bardsley going back to Man Utd after their loan deals, they need reinforcements. Whether there is any money to bring in the kind of quality they need, though, is debatable. Scott Brown looks to be beyond their budget; Paul Hartley maybe isn't.
Hearts: There are anything up to 30 Lithuanians training in Edinburgh right now, so expect plenty new faces from Romanov's footballing empire to turn up at Tynecastle. Pressley's already gone, and there will be few surprises if Hartley and Craig Gordon get sold.
Hibs: need a new keeper, need a new keeper, need a new keeper. John Collins threw Scott Brown's transfer request in the bin, but if he and/or Kevin Thomson are sold, expect replacements. Collins will want to stamp his own mark on the squad he's inherited, but may wait until the summer.
Kilmarnock: Ongoing rumblings about their winger Steven Naismith, and Killie are after another striker, but money is, as always, tight down in Ayrshire.
Falkirk: Having just scored a hat-trick at Inverness, Anthony Stokes is attracting more and more attention by the day. Falkirk are desperate to extend the Arsenal player's loan until the end of the year, but may be outbid by another club down south. Alan Gow has interested Hibs, but they will probably only move for him if Scott Brown leaves.
Dundee Utd: Lee Wilkie has gone out on loan to Ross County (given he only signed a pay-as-you-play deal with Utd in October, who knows if he has any future under Craig Levein). The Arabs are absolutely flying under their new boss, but the chairman will probably want to wait before spending some more money, given the amount of cash that's been wasted on under-performing squads over the past few years.
Motherwell: Plenty speculation around striker Scott MacDonald, but happily Stephen Craigan has signed a new deal.
ICT: Charlie Christie will have been relieved when Craig Brewster got sacked at Utd, because it would stop him trying to sign all his players in the transfer window. They are a tidy outfit, though, and a number could still be coveted elsewhere. Here's some pure speculation - Hibs will make an offer for keeper Mark Brown.
St Mirren: deserved point against Rangers to sign off 2006, but St Mirren's recent results have been poor. Gus McPherson wants a few more players, and luckily he's familiar with the lower divisions, because that's where his budget will send him.
Dunfermline: Put simply, they need to sign the Messiah, because little short of a miracle is going to pull them out of this one.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Celtic defy Utd to make history
So, Celtic are through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, after a stunning victory over Man Utd at home. It's the first time in seven attempts that they have successfully negotiated the group stages of this competition, since the competition was created out of the old European Cup. Gordon Strachan may well go on to become of the greatest managers in Celtic's history. But after another night of high drama and frayed nerves, he has once again shown himself to be one of the luckiest.
When these two clubs met in the corresponding fixture at Old Trafford back in September, many in England rashly predicted a thrashing. Blinded by the riches of the Premiership, and Utd's recent history in Europe, they assumed the Scottish club would be unable to live with their hosts. Celtic did lose the game 3-2, but they left the field with some credit, having taken the game to their hosts. Now, in Glasgow, they needed a win - anything less, and their chances of qualification would be hanging by a thread.
The accepted approach for the underdog in this situation - and Celtic were the underdog - is to try and lull the opponent into a sense of complacency, by stressing how much stronger they are, and then attempt to surprise them on the park. Strachan did the opposite in his pre-match press conference, wrapping his club in the old Scottish perceptions of injustice and arrogance by claiming that the English "pat yourselves on the back too much", and that the gap between the Premiership and the SPL wasn't as big as people assume.
This was brave. By the end of the first half tonight, it also looked a little foolhardy. For the first 45 minutes, Celtic were all over the place, as Utd dominated possession and launched attack after attack. But once again, Strachan proved just how lucky he is. Despite getting his tactics and personnel desperately wrong, his side somehow got to the break without conceding a goal.
Strachan had made some fundamental errors in setting up his team. His first mistake was to select Evander Sno in such a high pressure game. Strachan might have been charmed by his strong performances in recent weeks in the SPL, but tonight the 19 year old looked hopelessly lost. He seemed to shy away from the ball, and when it did have it he either conceded possession or passed backwards. His other big mistake was a baffling formation that left his midfield outnumbered and overrun. Somehow, United couldn't quite make their superiority stick, although they might have had a penalty when Balde tugged at Rooney.
Two substitutions at half time turned the game. Jarosik came on for Sno, and Maloney replaced Zurawski as Celtic belatedly went 4-5-1 to match their opponents. He couldn't do much about the hapless Bobo Balde in defence, with Caldwell out and Kennedy still recovering from his long injury, but he seemed less shaky with Lennon and Gravesen in front of him. With the right footed Maloney on the left, and left-footed Nakamura on the right, Celtic now had lots of bodies competing in the middle of the park, and Utd found far less space to operate.
Then they got a fortuitous decision, Nakamura scored a wondruous free kick, Boruc saved Saha's penalty, and the game was won. Celtic deserve to celebrate this great win, but they also need to learn their lessons. Surely, their luck can't hold forever.
When these two clubs met in the corresponding fixture at Old Trafford back in September, many in England rashly predicted a thrashing. Blinded by the riches of the Premiership, and Utd's recent history in Europe, they assumed the Scottish club would be unable to live with their hosts. Celtic did lose the game 3-2, but they left the field with some credit, having taken the game to their hosts. Now, in Glasgow, they needed a win - anything less, and their chances of qualification would be hanging by a thread.
The accepted approach for the underdog in this situation - and Celtic were the underdog - is to try and lull the opponent into a sense of complacency, by stressing how much stronger they are, and then attempt to surprise them on the park. Strachan did the opposite in his pre-match press conference, wrapping his club in the old Scottish perceptions of injustice and arrogance by claiming that the English "pat yourselves on the back too much", and that the gap between the Premiership and the SPL wasn't as big as people assume.
This was brave. By the end of the first half tonight, it also looked a little foolhardy. For the first 45 minutes, Celtic were all over the place, as Utd dominated possession and launched attack after attack. But once again, Strachan proved just how lucky he is. Despite getting his tactics and personnel desperately wrong, his side somehow got to the break without conceding a goal.
Strachan had made some fundamental errors in setting up his team. His first mistake was to select Evander Sno in such a high pressure game. Strachan might have been charmed by his strong performances in recent weeks in the SPL, but tonight the 19 year old looked hopelessly lost. He seemed to shy away from the ball, and when it did have it he either conceded possession or passed backwards. His other big mistake was a baffling formation that left his midfield outnumbered and overrun. Somehow, United couldn't quite make their superiority stick, although they might have had a penalty when Balde tugged at Rooney.
Two substitutions at half time turned the game. Jarosik came on for Sno, and Maloney replaced Zurawski as Celtic belatedly went 4-5-1 to match their opponents. He couldn't do much about the hapless Bobo Balde in defence, with Caldwell out and Kennedy still recovering from his long injury, but he seemed less shaky with Lennon and Gravesen in front of him. With the right footed Maloney on the left, and left-footed Nakamura on the right, Celtic now had lots of bodies competing in the middle of the park, and Utd found far less space to operate.
Then they got a fortuitous decision, Nakamura scored a wondruous free kick, Boruc saved Saha's penalty, and the game was won. Celtic deserve to celebrate this great win, but they also need to learn their lessons. Surely, their luck can't hold forever.
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