Just read this online, got to say I agree with most of it, what do you think?
Gord may not be every fan's cup of tea .. but he's better than O'Neill
May 25 2008 Andy Walker
THE ability of the players at your disposal ultimately separates the winners from the losers in a league campaign.
And the harsh reality for every Rangers fan is that Celtic won the most dramatic of SPL championships because they have more quality in their squad.
Winning ugly and being difficult to beat was enough to get Rangers so far but the prizes they really wanted slipped away in the last few weeks of the season.
While Walter Smith men's were toiling, Celtic timed their push perfectly to seal three-in-a-row for the first time since the Jock Stein era.
But does Gordon Strachan get the credit he deserves for this feat?
In football timing can often be everything. Gers gaffer Smith was named Manager of the Year a few weeks ago but if that vote was taken today would he be judged more successful than Strachan?
The Celtic boss has never lost the title since taking charge and has also led the club into the Champions League last 16 in successive seasons.
He did all this while trimming the wage bill and no one can deny it's a magnificent achievement. In my book that makes him a better manager than predecessor Martin O'Neill.
Many Celtic fans will disagree with that assessment and Strachan's relationship with thousands of punters is undeniably strained.
Had O'Neill been enjoying the same lap of honour at Tannadice last week his name would have reverberated round the stadium as much as the late Tommy Burns'.
In contrast the praise for his replacement was guarded and unenthusiastic.
The Celtic supporters I spoke to during the season kept referring to the difficult period around Christmas when the football their heroes were playing was awful to watch.
To make matters worse Rangers were on a good run and rarely dropping points.
There's nothing like a bit of success on the other side of the city to draw attention to your own shortcomings.
But Celtic came through it until apparently throwing the league away with successive defeats to Rangers and Motherwell. At that point the title was gone in the eyes of every fan and most of them wanted the manager to go.
Don't be surprised to hear the same discontent among the Celtic support at the first sign of a blip next season.
Would Strachan have enjoyed the last laugh this term if Rangers' fixture schedule hadn't been so hectic?
Probably not. But Gers were still in the box seat when they headed into a crucial Old Firm double-header.
And they lost the momentum when Strachan's side claimed six points.
Had Rangers avoided defeat in either game that would've been enough for them to go on and clinch the championship.
Instead, two wins in 11 days gave Celtic the belief that Rangers would blow it - and they did.
It also proved to the doubting Hoops fans that Strachan could get the better of Smith after four failed attempts. And any player will tell you an Old Firmsuccess can work wonders for morale.
The winner from the much-maligned Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink deep into injury time during the first derby at Parkhead was a massive turning point.
To get that one then follow it up with the title-winning goal at Tannadice suggests the criticism has been too harsh.
The header against Dundee United was the Dutchman's 20th goal of the season and he has formed a prolific double-act with Scott McDonald who bagged a tally of 31.
At the other end of the pitch Gary Caldwell has been an easy target for the boo-boys. But without his contribution in the last three months Celts would have been dead and buried.
Caldwell raised his game at the most critical time of the campaign and was Strachan's most consistent player in the run-in.
Rangers had fewer successes when the season reached boiling point but they have still had a memorable campaign.
Smith led them to the CIS Cup and a stunning quadruple was still on the cards a few weeks ago after their march to the UEFA Cup Final.
They came up short in Manchester against Zenit St Petersburg and also slipped up in the league but under Smith's guidance Gers are unquestionably on the right road.
Walter's biggest problem has been raising the fans' expectations to a completely unrealistic level. Talk of an unlikely quadruple reached fever pitch and the stunning run to the UEFA Cup Final is filled with moments few Ibrox fans will ever forget.
But the European success didn't help in their pursuit of domestic glory.
Much has been made of their heavy schedule. That comes with being successful and I'm sure they'd love to have as many European ties next season and still be challenging for the title.
Coping at the business end of the season is hard and Rangers blew it.
They dropped 15 points from April onwards while Celtic only let three slip away.
That was a key difference between the sides as was another telling statistic.
Rangers were only able to win once away from home against a side that finished in the top six. That's not good enough.
To secure a championship you need to be able to win big matches on your travels.
But apart from one successful journey to Easter Road in December, Rangers couldn't beat Celtic, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hibs or Dundee United on their own pitch.
One win in 10 massive away games is hardly the mark of champions.
Domestic success will never be measured in cup competitions.
The SPL title and access to the Champions League grow more critical every year.
Celtic have the upper hand for next season already because they have guaranteed income from direct entry to the Champions League.
Rangers need to negotiate a qualifying round and simply have to be involved at that level.
If they don't make it, the £9million sale of Alan Hutton to Spurs won't seem like such a good piece of business after all.
Discuss Andy Walker Todays mail in the Celtic Chat area at TalkCeltic.net.
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daviebhoy88
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He has done one thing that O'Neill could never do... Cope with a challenge from Rangers.
every title O'Neill won with Celtic was a stroll and he got praised for it, yet WGS does the exact same thing and HE is the one getting critisized.
Now he has done what "St Martin" couldn't do.
GIRFUY! -
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Why does everyone want to compare wgs & mon, different times, players etc.. both succesful..
Mon had Henrik banging in goals all over the shop, like ronaldo at man u i think he had a lot to do with uniteds success this season -
daviebhoy88
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why? you are obviously entitled to your opinion, but I am just asking why you don't agree? -
Didnt post this to start another lets compare wgs v mon thread, put it on because he makes some fair points
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lol you need to cheer up. Everything you have posted is negative. Cheer up. WGS has just won us three in a row. He just beat the most difficult to beat Rangers team of the last 6 or 7 years. Are you on the wind up?
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Talking about MON is daft it's in the past WGS is the manager now and a very successfull manager at that, I wish everyone would just support him. The comparisons with MON are unnecessary as they are completely different and both should hold a place in the hearts of the Celtic support.
Support WGS and back the team its the only way. -
Absolute pish mate.
O'Neill was always up against a reasonable Rangers side who were bank rolling * Advocaat at the time. We just battered our way through the seasons, breaking records for winning so many home games on the trot.
And to say that GS "coped" with a challenge from Rangers. Hardly. It is admirable how we kept fighting to the end, but we had to rely on other teams taking points from Rangers in the last few games which we were very fortunate for.
I think this season has proven how quickly the fans (includiing myself) will turn on strachan after a bad spell. I hope Strachan spends his money wisely in the summer or he is in for another tough season with the fans. -
i agree with exactly what your saying about backing the team and manager, thats partly why ive posted this Walker makes some fair points. My point is we need to push on back WGS and the team be positive and lets enjoy another summer as champions
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I have always felt that technically WGS is a better and more hard working manager than MON. WGS seems to be an absolute workaholic and obsessive who kills himself for the side. He also clearly puts more effort into scouting etc than MON. A few days back he put MON in the shade with the one thing you cant argue about - results. Three in a row as against MON losing 2 out of 3 in his last three season and two last 16s in the CL. Managers are judged on results and WGS's are better than MON's domestically and in Europe and all done in far less financially favourable times with a much smaller net spend. So its an open shut case. The cold * treatment WGS has gotten from our fans is Celtic's shame.
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End of the day:
WGS - 100% Title Record
MON - 60% Title Record
WGS - 66% Last 16 Record
MON - 0% Last 16 Record
And MON had a better squad aswell, with more money to spend.
ARISE SIR GORDON STRACHAN -
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he has made some valid points there strachan doesn't get the praise he should
well done GS
the facts about rangers near the end are very intersesting only beat one of the top six away from home.....didn't know that -
sorry but the Rangers sides MON actually lost the league too in seasons 3 and 5 (especially the last one) were poor ones. The other SPL teams were much more niave then and played far more open football which led to gubbings.
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I accept that there is some truth in the first part of your post but the second part, in bold, get a grip. Perhaps WGS need to look at his role in his relationship with the Celtic fans. Relationships are two way.
What you fail to mention is that prior to MON arriving we were a shambles. MON gave us back our pride and put us back on the European map - these things are unquantifiable, immeasurable. It might not mean much to you but it means a lot to thousands of others of Celtic fans. -
MON saw off some good Rangers teams - FACT.
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I agree. He beat the better ones and got beat by the poorer ones. Strange but true.
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BTW Keltoi your desperation to put down MON and what he did for us is every bit as snide as the negativity towards WGS that you complain of.
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daviebhoy88
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Rangers did spend a lot of money in those days, but so did we.
Everyone also knows that the standard of Scottish football has risen in the last few years and teams like Hibs, Motherwell, Dundee Utd give us more of a challenge than ever before. So it is obviously harder to keep these records going
Obviously we rely on other teams taking points of Rangers, thats what the league is about, just the same way they rely on teams taking points of us. -
cos MON was a celtic man ,GS aint ,and i dont get it at all ,maybe at the start for a few months ,but 3 years ,beyond a joke ,now hes proved to everyone that he is a great manager ,yes the word great ,not my word ,but all the players ,neil lennon ,peter lawell,dermot desmond ,all say hes great ,he must be they work everyday with him, us we dont ,so how do we judge him .RESULTS , so if 3 out of 3 championship wins arent good enough ,tell me the problem was is it then ,this guy GS if he stays can take us on and dominate scottish football for years to come ,why should we doubt him ,hes delivered what everyone is assessed on ,and thats the league , i dont know the stats but 3 times 38 = 114 games played just in the league ,how many has that team lost ,can some one post the stats if possible ,he has a great record ,but i supose now the doubters who remain ,might move on to say ,but jock stein done this n that, if he leaves and reveals he left due to the abuse or the uncertainty of the fans ,people should be ashamed
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