stop this ungrateful snipping at WGS

nope. i accept the stats. they do not lie. they, however, do not alter my opinion of the football being * and thinking that he was a git in general.

guess the football was more important to me than the trophies.

 

I can't admit to something I don't believe. Gordon Strachan's Celtic are my favorite ever team and nothing anybody says will change my mind on that. I loved the way they played football. Now maybe you didn't and that's alright, but I'd never insinuate that anyone who didn't like his football was somehow blinded by bias or favouritism. It's arrogant and self-centred to assume that someone must be lying because they don't have the same opinion as you.

 

I totally agree that everyone is entitled to there opinion and while i completely disagree with you i respect your thoughts,can i ask how many Celtic teams have you watched for example a Davie Hay team or a Liam Brady one or Vim Jansen celtic,you get my drift

 

Certainly couldnt have seen a tommy burns team because if watching Jan Samaras & skippy is more entertaining than the 3 amigos i really need to watch a different sport

 

as usual MON was unlucky, WGS was lucky. Stats about points totals are irrelevant compared to success. Luck is never the reason when its sutained over several years and different competitions. That is a clear trend not luck. WGS had cynical methods to win with cheaper players. He accepted this was his situation and cut the cloth accordingly. Almost every other Celtic manager has been sucked into our own myths that we are better than we are or we must attack. Well WGS was up front about the fact he didnt care what anyone thought as long as he won and he was more than entitled to lose one in four. All but one our managers failed to make 4 in a row. Also some of the most rosy glasses available in terms of MO's style. It was basic and physical, especially in the last couple of years. I laugh when I hear people talking about long balls in WGS's sides when ideas ran out. Long balls were a constant tactic in MON's team.. They played like a battering ram.

 

You can compare an 4 years of SPL marathons and 3 champions leage campaigns with a couple of friendlies against teams who were way below par on the night and conclude that? UEFA should snap you up ASAP. What difference is style. Same players, same formation. Any improvement I saw that wasnt down to dire marking was wee Shauns return and Fortune who looks excellent.

 

The only stats that matter are the final results at the end of the season. Over the period WGS was in charge both SPL teams and the national side developed an extreme touch of the Wattienatio. That has an effect on points totals. You never see SPL teams playing open and getting horsed now.

 

Rangers have outspent us in the last 2 seasons

 

Drip feeding it across 4 years leads to dabbling in the cheap end of the market. It means you cant simply say - right, I am just in the door, now I will go and buy 4 good peak age established EPL players over the next few months as well as Belgiums CB. Today to do that would cost about 40 million quid. That sort of privillage MON got also allowed him to get all his players in in the first season and sort all the issues at once rather than tinker and horse trade at the low end of the market for 4 years. Also, I think you will find that a * of a lot of the money WGS spend can be offset against players that were sold like Stan, Miller, Marshall, Wallace, Beattie, Pearson etc (cant remember if we got anything for the old MON players who were moved on).

 

at least WGS only blew the league on the last day once. Is MON a * for doing it twice in only three years. Once is careless but twice is unforgivable. Why are things like that only an issue with WGS and not MON? Did MON ever come out and say sorry for 2 league losses and no CL progression. NO. I wouldnt expect either of them to. If you give it your best then you have no need to apologise to anyone. Apologise for being the 2nd best manager in 121 years????

 

to actually hate the 2nd most succesful Celtic manager of all time because of some personality traits and interview style in simply insane. Talk about judging a book by its cover. Can people not see through slick 'what you want to hear' patter? Its meaningless platitudes and mock sincerity. Some people are good at it others arent but its very low down on the list of essential qualities of a manager. MON was good at it and Mowbray is very good at it but its all surface presentation.

 

Im not interested that much in success. Id rather enjoy going to the games and watching them and enjoying every match and ending up with nothing than being bored out my * all season and winning the League.

O'Neill was a great manager
Strachan was an average manager
Mowbray is a good manager

O'Neill's team were great to watch
Strachans were boring
Mowbrays are great

Strachan is not a great manager, a great celtic manager or one of our best managers. He was lucky to win the League last year and luck nearly got us it again this season. We have a better squad than Rangers and should have been winning the League with ease.

 

I think everyone is entitled to their opinion. I hate it when people come out and try to tell people what they should say or think. You can love Strachan all you want but he was an * and most managers could have come in and probably done better than he did.

 

If losing the leage once in four is being found out then all of our manager except Jock have been found out. Was MON found out twice? The Ramgers sides in his 3rd and 5th seasons were weak ones but he lost twice on the last day. WGS loses once on the last day so he is useless. MON does the very same thing twice and no mention of it when looking back on his career.

 

Oh well mate fair enough. If you enjoyed watching Strachan's brand of football then fair play to you. Personally I hated it but that's ok.

The reason I said what I said is simply that of all the many reasons people give on here for backing Strachan, the style of football is hardly ever given. I suppose that made me think that even a lot of the pro-Strachan Tims knew it was keech but wouldn't admit it. Obviously not.

 

If losing the league once in four is being 'found out' then all of our manager sexcept Jock have been found out. Was MON found out twice? The Rangers sides in his 3rd and 5th seasons were weak ones but he lost twice on the last day. WGS loses once on the last day so he is useless. MON does the very same thing twice and no mention of it when looking back on his career.

 

I couldn't be arsed to read through the whole thread, but somebody tried to compare TB's side to GS's? People don't know what they missed not seeing TB's side. Along with the three amigo's we had Mcstay and Thom.

As for GS i couldn't care less, a manager is paid to win silverware and the past is the past. I know it seems strange that i mention TB's team in the same thread as the statement the past is the past.But i do have fond memorys of the style of football we played at the time.

 

If you dont win with style it doesn't feel like you've won. Thats the way it was with Strachan.

 

Happy days

 

Its incredible how often something minor like his interviews and public speeches are treated as something important. They are completley peripheral to his main brief which is to win things. I also think its incredible how many people cite the TB death period like it was the most important thing he did for us. He bust a gut for us for 4 years and brought success well above what could realistically be expected and all some people remember is how he presented himself at a funeral.

There is a core of Celtic fans are far far to taken by surface presentation. That is the most easily faked part of the job. What cant be faked is the effort day to day week by week and his final statistics. That is real. Public presentation is a very bad way to judge anyone because you get people who are smooth at it but are in fact * (i.e. most politicians). Judge a man by his actions not his words.

The other thing is, WGS's public persona is hailed by everyone except a core of Celtic fans. Most people love the guy outside Celtic. There are web pages dedicated to his interviews and humour. There is something deep in the Celtic supporter mindset that makes our fans the odd ones out. I think far too many fans believe our own myth and have a need for a manager to constantly do homage to the fans and the club. Saying all the right things tells us nothing about a person other than they know what we want to hear.

Also nobody has explained why him running rings around the hacks is suddenly a problem. Most tims hate the local hacks and should be delighted about it.