This Need For Success Now Is Not Good For Football

THERE is probably justification for believing, we live in an instant gratification society. This affliction has even affected football, where today's fans demand Success – NOW.

Who would wish to be a modern-day manager? You might be given a four or five year contract when appointed by a big club, but, the chances are, if you haven't delivered a trophy by the mid-point in your contract, you are very likely to be binned and replaced.

Alex Ferguson was perhaps lucky in that the Manchester United board of the time resisted hysterical calls to replace this upstart Jock, as his first few seasons at Old Trafford failed to yield trophies. But, the board stood firm in the face of these demands and, the result was a tsunami of trophies.

Louis Van Gaal has yet to deliver silverware to the club; he may do so this season in the FA Cup, but, already there are calls for him to be replaced. Yes, you might feel his team is not delivering the champagne football which the prawn sandwich brigade at the Theatre of Dreams seem to feel is their birth-right, but, United are not doing too-badly in the Premiership.

And, if those shouting for the appointment of “The Chosen One”, as a means of bringing whizz-bang football back to Old Trafford, would care to have a look at his past record, if they can find a whizz-bang winning team in his past – they're a better man than I am Gunga in.

No, teams which are successful over a prolonged period are built slowly; they evolve over a season or two.

The legendary Class of '92

Take the legendary United “Class of '92”. Maybe Beckham, Butt, Giggs, the Nevilles and Scholes came together in that year of 1992 – when they helped United win the FA Youth Cup, but, it would be seven more years before real immortality with the European Cup win.

Then there is the other legendary home-grown United team: “The Busby Babes”, tragically decimated in the Munich Air Crash of 1958. Of that 1958 squad – Ray Wood, the goalkeeper who had lost his place to World Record Signing Harry Gregg, just two months before the crash, had joined United in 1949, as had sipper Roger Byrne and striker Dennis Viollet. Centre half Mark Jones was already there, having signed in 1948.

Bill Foulkes and David Pegg arrived at Old Trafford in 1950, Jackie Blanchflower crossed the Irish Sea for Manchester in 1951 – the same year as Johnny Berry was signed from Birmingham City. The year 1952 saw the arrival of Duncan Edwards and Eddie Coleman, with Liam Whelan, Bobby Charlton and £29,999 signing from Barnsley Tommy Taylor in 1953.

Duncan Edwards playing for England against Scotland in 1957

They joined a successful club, but, Matt Busby gradually fed them into his side as he replaced ageing stars, the rest is history. The “Babes” evolved over time, they wer not an instant-fix team – the pattern so-many of today's club directors seem to demand.

The same scenario holds for the Lisbon Lions. Bertie Auld first joined Celtic in 1955. OK, he was allowed to leave, before being brought back. Billy McNeill was in his tenth season with Celtic when he lifted that giant trophy in May, 1967, while John Clark and reserves Charlie Gallacher and John Fallon had only been at Parkhead for a year less.

In 1959, Bobby Murdoch, Stevie Chalmers and John Hughes arrived, to be followed in 1961 by Tommy Gemmell, Jimmy Johnstone and Bobby Lennox, and, while he wasn't signed until he had completed his dentistry studies, Jim Craig was training with Celtic from that year.

All these legends were playing for Celtic before that wonderful season, all that was needed to make them great an successful was the managerial magic of Jock Stein.

What Celtic needs in replacing Ronnie Deila, is a manager who can oversee a home-development team-building project. I feel the programme of the recent past, of identifying and improving imported players is too hit and miss. For every Larsson, they have got one or two comparative flops, and, as a result, native Scottish talent has not had a real chance at the club.

As I posted recently, Celtic has, over the period since they decided, however reluctantly, to follow the Souness pattern and buy ready-made talent, rather than, as had for so long been the Celtic Way, mostly grown an developed their own players, seen more than two full teams of home-grown Scotland Under-21 internationalists fail to “train-on” to become established first team players.

I firmly believe, it would not be too-difficult for the present board to convince the wider Celtic Family, this is the way to go, an take them with them. Or, will finishing ahead of the Rangers Tribute Act be the be-all and end-all of next season?

Souness mainly recruited top-quality English players at a time when English clubs ere out of Europe, following the Brussells riot. Once the English clubs got back into Europe, Rangers began to buy mainly players looking for a good late-career pay day or two, or lower class English players, and the other Scottish clubs followed them down-market.

I reckon a well-coached and organised Celtic team, with a real Celtic fan on the park as captain, could successfully see-off the RTA domestically, and have a good Europa League season. Such a squad would be cheaper to run than one dependant on foreign imports.

Is the will there within the club to go down this route, and, could the club take their fans with them? If Celtic was prepared to answer Yes to these two questions, things would get a great deal more interesting in Scottish football, I believe.