strachan and the supporters

please give me your opinion on this topic

is it just me or does anyone else think the debate about us not liking him is totaly blown out of proportion by the media pundits started when wgs didnt get of to the best of starts as manager. i remember listening to the phone in on clyde after some bad results ,some so called fans were having a pop and keevins came out with the line its because hes not ''celtic minded''

this seamed to gather a bit of steam until we got ''doesnt matter what he does or wins ,we just dont like him'' .now not everyone is gonna like you no matter who you are but i dont believe its many as been made out to be, the more i heard this the more * off i got . i think its been built into something it aint,is there anyone not happy with him and the succsess he has helped bring to our club ,i really dont think many ,thats what i feel ,but i dont know, have we been manipulated into thinking most dont like him.

i know his way with pundits and being interviewed can be a bit abrasive but thats because he is alittle bit smerter than them and THEY ARE THE ONES WHO DONT LIKE HIM. sometimes you have to take the good with the bad and if the bad is his attitude to them then i can handle that tbh.

lets stop all the promoting managers to take his place ,he is still here and doin a good job imo,get behind the team for the run in because WE ARE CELTIC SUPPORTERS FAITHFUL THROUGH AND THROUGH, WIN LOOSE OR DRAW. hail hail and * bless

 

I've seen it first hand on this forum over the course of 3+ years of moderating that some people dont like him because he isnt 'Celtic Minded' and its a bigoted reason for not liking him. I've also seen people use highly subjective reasons for thinking he's a bad manager and when they try to use facts, they want people to ignore his domestic trophy haul, his achievements in Europe and take bad results out of context.

Celtic's key performance indicators are the League and European Competition. He hasnt lost a league yet and competed in the UCL group stages 3 times out of 4 and progressed past the groups twice. Thats success people, enjoy it while it lasts.

Fact is, he's come to the club during a very difficult period. We have gone through a huge restructing process in every way possible and he's been dealt a tough hand to win with but he's doing the business. He didnt choose the circumstances but the board and Martin O'Neill felt that he was the right guy to deal with the situation and their assessment has been spot on.

People say, "its the worst Rangers team in their history". No it isnt, they reached the UEFA Cup Final last season and lost to a very strong Zenit side. Hard to dismiss that. People say that they are in disarray. Well we were heading exactly for where they are but our board made the tough and unpopular decision to radically change the wage structure and change our transfer policy so we could be self sustaining. Reducing the debt was a key part of this too. Strachan didnt decide these policies, he just has to deal with it and I dont think you could name many interested managers that would have done a better job.

Rangers are in disarray for failing to change with the times and ultimately Gordon Strachan's success at Celtic has been the catalyst for their financial downfall. In the summer, barring external investment, we'll finally see the toll of their balance sheet reflected on their first team squad.

Sacking a successful manager isnt the best thing for Celtic because nobody can name someone, within reason and without argument, that could do a better job. Before anyone labels me anything, I had my reservations when he got the job too but his results speak for themselves and given the circumstances and restrictions imposed on him at Celtic, his results are even more impressive.

One problem I see around his critics and criticisms, there is a failure to recognise what he is in charge of and what he just has to deal with.

 

I have never been a huge Strachan fan, didn't want him in the first place and was always quick to criticise him, however my view of him has changed over the seasons.

He still frustrates me with some of his selections and (to a lesser extent as they don't really matter) his post match comments, but you can't argue with his success.

Although I didn't want him to get the job to begin with I am now glad we have had him as I don't think many managers could have coped as well with the constraints he was given from the outset. Hindsight is always 20:20 but the board obviously knew what they were doing and deserve some praise for their foresight.

 

Top post.

 

Got to agree with the points made previous by Dempsey and add that I think its bang out of order the level of criticism that WAGS has flung at him when you consider the success he has attained FOR us, maybe before we condemn the man we should step back and think back to the bad bad years before MON when we won * all and simply enjoy the fact we are no1 again and hopefully will stay that way for a long time to come. We may not like the football on show at times or rip our arms off and * at the pitch in sheer frustration at some tactics but by and large I think he gets it right most of the time and I for one will support the team and manager as long as success comes our way by hook or by crook.

 

Good posts Joe, Dempsey and Danni.

I dont mind Strachan, I dont dislike him or like him, he is the manager and is doing a ok/good job. But sometimes I get frustrated with him and I would like to see a different style of play under a new manager, something more adventurous or risky. Im quite bored of watching us play in a 4-4-2 thats my only problem.

Edit: on the main point, i'd agree that what you read in the Newspapers and hear off the radio from the Media is hugely exagerated.

 

I've ended up in countless debates on the Strachan issue, and every time it ends up in an 'agree to disagree' verdict.

I like Strachan. I like what he's done for the club, I LOVE the results he's given us and the trophies in the cupboard and I like that he's managed all this in what's already been noted as a very difficult time. Even more so now with the financial state of the world over the past few months.

I'll argue his case relentlessly but I think that the anti Strachan brigade will never be won over. Unless perhaps, we win the Champions League. But it's been 42 years since we last managed that!

Hail hail, and get behind the wee fella I say. Results are what matter!

 

You summed it up for me in the paragraph I bolded.

O'Neill built a great team, but that team peaked in 2003 and after that the team began to break up. WGS had to come in and basically build another team and with less money to spend.

 

Well put Dempsey! Took the words right outta my mouth. You can't please everybody all the time but you can please somebody some of the time. Hail hail strach!

 

I haven't posted for a while due to work - and I work from home!!
There's a fair few of the North Stand who castigate the bloke every week, even when we gubbed St Mirren 7-0.
As football is now business; he has done a remarkable job with the board balancing the books whilst being competitive on the pitch. Something that not many football clubs can honestly say. Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea are all in heavy debt.
OK the competition is not as strong as the EPL, but it's no coincidence that Rangers and Celtic have struggled to win against the likes of Dundee Utd, Aberdeen and Hearts, so they are catching up.
Don't forget, Hearts under George Burley should have won the league, but their board sacked him. It could have been a different picture now
I can see some of the fans in the North Stand booing him when we win 4IAR, when we get presented the trophy at Parkhead - now that will be a party!!

 

Dempsey summed it up really well

I'd like to add that if we don't win the league this season then he wont be the one I'll be pointing the finger at.

 

i have to admit that from the start i have'nt been keen on him, never thought he had the credentials to be celtic manager. could'nt care less whether he is celtic minded r not. what annoys me about him is that he places too much on emphasis on the opposition's team/formation rather than worrying about our own game and some of the subsitutions can be baffling.

however credit wer it is due with winning 3 in a row, reducing the wage bill and the average age of the team significantly in this time. personally at the moment i think he should stay as i doubt realistically we will attract anyone better.

 

IMO he is unpopular among the support.

 

Me neither. The board will be getting it and deservedly so. Incredibly arrogant in January, we wouldn't have won the league if we didn't spend in January last year.

I know someone will defend them and say, we tried but they went to England. Big deal. There's thousands of players out there available. Also, it seemed we only tried to do business towards the end of January. Fletcher the main example.

 

He is still very unpopular with a large section of the support. History will probably be kinder to him and his time in charge will be looked upon more favourably in the years to come IMO.

Part of me hopes he wins a fourth title before sticking 2 fingers up to his critics, jacking it in and then going somewhere where he's truly appreciated.

 

It's a very popular discussion on here Joe so understand am not being ignorant for not taking part in your thread, am just sick to the back teeth of going over it all the time. Am sure the other members will turn the thread into a multi-pager though lol

P.s. welcome to TC

 

* the anti strachan brigade

you will never change them and yes its is because he is not celtic minded

 

I'll be the first to admit that his first couple of seasons in charge seen me pick over his every word and result as I just couldn't take to him and a lot of the time I unjustly criticised him.

I had to take a step back and objectively look at just what he was doing with the side and the within the framework he was working. His ability to compete in the transfer market was seriously curtailed due to the club restructuring how we spend our money and overall I think he's done exceptionally well.

Results is the bottom line on football and his achievements over the last 4 (almost) seasons cannot be argued with. The guy has brought us success and along the way has brought in some fantastic players to the club. Some haven't worked out but then the best managers in the game also sign duds from time to time.

I've really grown to respect Strachan and what he's done for the club and a big part of me doesn't want him to leave anytime soon. I think he has the measure of Smith and knows himself we can dominate the SPL for the forseeable future but I do think he's very ambitious and wants to do something more impressive in the CL and herein lies the problem as I don't think our financial stability will be jeapordised to allow him to sign the players which would give us a stronger side to challenge in the CL.

I'd love to be proved wrong though.

 

FTB - that is similar to my views on Strachan, as I stated I was quick to criticise him, unfairly at times, but I've seen the errors of my way and now find myself sticking up for him a lot of the times.

I agree with The Doctor when he says that supporters will look back on his success more favourably after he's gone - which is sad imo.

 

I have never liked him since he arrived and still don't. That won't change I think.

However as a manager, he is doing brilliantly and deserves credit for it.