The Ronny Deila Thread

I think you are wrong. Last night we played as a compact unit and frustrated the Germans. They missed chances sure but we made it very hard for them to score. That's the whole point. Make them work for their chances and punish them if you can. As a team we could take a similar approach to how MON did last night. That strategy works. Not always but not conceding against top sides is more important than going at them and trying to play through them. Chances will always come. We are always going to be underdogs in Europe so we have to be used to practical football. Anyone who thinks we could pass it around, press and attack Bayern are deluded.

 

The real loser is the child sitting at his desk posting negative * about Ronny day after day ,you could not lace his boots little boy...do you understand?

 

Better side player wise,but i would argue we are getting better results this year than last.

 

You make a fair point there but I aspire to more TBH. My favourite Celtic game was Juve at CP in 2001. We went toe to toe with one of the best sides in Europe and won!

We don't have the quality to do that in the short term, but I really feel Ronny can, given time, build us up to that kind of level again. The Inter game at CP showed a the first green shoots in that direction IMO.

It's why I'm prepared to overlook some of Ronny's errors in the short term (a 3rd failure in CL qualifying next summer would probably see me change my mind about him, but I don't think that will happen TBH, I think Ronny is learning).

 

Than this time last year, yes; than 6 months ago (which is what he was saying), no.

 

Do you think our defence is better than last year? Which of out centre backs would you have over the Denayer/Van Dijk partnership?

 

We had a team that could go toe to toe with them though mate.

I liked his approach against Ajax though, brave and responsible.

 

Whatever :smiley-laughing002:

 

I really miss those days because we feared no team.

 

No i don't think our defence is better than last year but our results show we are more consistent team overall.

 

I know that, mate. But I really believe that in maybe 5 or 6 years we could reach that level again, it's why I buy into Ronny's project. Obviously this year losing Virgil and Denayer is a massive blow, but I'm looking at it as one step back to take two forward. Maybe Jozo can reach Virgil's standard in a year or two, for example. There are encouraging signs such as trying to get Bitton on a new contract, for example.

 

We won't mate, not because of us but because the talent is more concentrated in the top teams now because of the money, teams can afford to have top players on the bench. That wasn't the case 14/15 years ago, teams would have a great first XI and solid back up players, like Man Utd with John O'Shea, Wes Brown etc.

Now the top teams have top, top players on the bench. Going toe to toe with that is extremely difficult. We can still get results like Barcelona but being equally as good going forward and defending like we did against Juve, it's impossible.

We could turn into a team that's a * pest though, brave on the ball and don't give them a 2nd and wily in defence.

 

Look I get that point of view I really do. I do think that some people make judgments with their heart rather than with their head. Like Devlin alluded to, you need top players to match the top teams. My head tells me our days of having top players are over. So for us to compete with the likes of Bayern we have to do whatever it takes to get the win.

Dont get me wrong I would love it if Ronny could get us passing circles around the top teams with a whole host of youth players. Again my head says that this is unrealistic and we should find another way to compete. Like Lennon, WGS, and MON, we are capable of big results in Europe. Conceding at Parkhead early on can nullify the crowd. If we are still drawing coming into the last quarter of the game then you would bet on us winning it with the crowd behind us. That is why it is so important to set up in such a way to make it really hard for top teams to score. I call this grinding and there is a time and a place for it and we should be using this approach in some games.

 

5 years is a long time in football, though. A few bubbles might have burst by then. #believe

 

I wonder what Jock would make of this grinding pish?

 

If you're trying to say Jock Stein didn't value a solid defence you're wrong. He had us defending as a team. Which allows you to do what you want going forward.

The Lions grinded out more than a few games on the road to the 9.

 

"I think it is important to win a match, but I think what is even more important is the manner in which you win."
Jock Stein

"The best place to defend is in the opposition penalty box."
Jock Stein

"Without fans who pay at the turnstile, football is nothing. Sometimes we are inclined to forget that. The only chance of bringing them into stadiums is if they are entertained by what happens on the football field."
Jock Stein

 

The Lions were before my time but according to the aul boy they were as tough as they were good.

 

Stop with the presumptions :smiley-laughing002:

 

Just speculating here but it might be reasonable to say that sort of ideaology wouldn't really work in the modern game.