Ronnie Might Be A Dead Man Walking, But, He Will Still Win The League

I GROW ever more disillusioned with the state of the Mainstream Media in Scotland today, every time I log onto a newspaper website, or, increasingly rarely, actually buy a hard copy of a Scottish daily newspaper, this feeling intensifies.

Ronnie Deila - a Dead Man Walking apparently

 It might be argued, writing-off Ronnie Deila as Celtic manager qualifies as "news" – at least under the William Randolph Hurst definition: "News is something somebody does not want published – everything else is advertising". Since these: "Deila is a deam man walking" stories all lack one thing – a reliable quote or source, getting printed on the basis of rumour and: "sources close to Celtic", then we have to assume – the Deila is a goner stories are merely the opinions of the journalists whose by-line is on the story, or the opinion of the paper's Sports Editor.

OK, if we are dealing in Opinion, rather than News – maybe the papers ought to make clear: This is an opinion piece. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, publishing rumours is hardly good journalism, the punters deserve checkable facts to be laid before them.

Here are some facts:

Since the end of World War II, Celtic have won 27 of the 70 Scottish League campaigns played; this is a 39% success rate.

Between 1946 and 1965 – when Jock Stein was appointed manager, they won 1 of 20 campaigns; this is a 5% success rate.

Under Stein, between 1965 and 1978 they won 9 of 13 full campaigns: this is a 69% success rate.

Since Stein departed, they have won 16 of 37 campaigns; this is a 43% success rate.

Their average percentage of points gained when winning the league is 84% on-average; when Celtic have won the league during this period, they have won it by 10 clear points. Their biggest winning margin was in2013-14, when they won the League by 29 points, their smallest was in 1986, when they pipped Hearts on goal difference.

These 27 league wins have included 3 Trebles, in 1966-67 an 1968-69, under Stein and in 2000-01, under Martin O'Neill.

There have also been 15 Doubles – 9 League and Scottish Cup and 6 League and League Cup.

In seasons in which they have failed to win the league, they have won 12cups – 7 Scottish Cups and 5 League Cups.

Overall, therefore, Celtic have won 60 of the 210 domestic competitions which they have played; this equates to a 29% success rate.

In the same period, Rangers – ("real" Rangers, rather than the Rangers Tribute Act) won 81 of the 201 domestic competitions which they played in; this equates to a 40% success rate.

Taking these facts into consideration, can someone please tell me: from whence this sense of entitlement which seems to be coming from the Celtic Family arose?

It cannot be disputed, Celtic is the second-most-successful club in Scottish football history. There is also a perception that Celtic MUST play an attractive, entertaining, goal-scoring brand of football. This is expected of the team.

However, there is no benchmark as to what constitutes: " an attractive, entertaining, goal-scoring brand of football". The ability to score more than three goals per game is often cited as a benchmark for entertaining football. Well, during the Golden Era of "nine-in-a-row" between 1965-66 and 1973-74, when the Lisbon Lions, Kenny Dalglish, Davie Hay, Danny McGrain & the likes made Celtic Park the place to watch football, only twice did Celtic exceed the gold standard of averaging three goals per game.

Such goal-mouth pyrotechnics have been rare in the years since. Statistically, the club's most-successful league season, since the Stein Era, was 2001-02, when Celtic set the 38-game top-flight record of 103 points, winning 90% of the points it is possible to accrue. They didn't score three goals per game that season. That was the team of Lambert, Lennon and Larsson, of Hartson and Sutton; and, their average of 2.47 goals per game was sufficient for the task in hand.

The current Celtic squad does not have players of that calibre, but, they have, thus far this season, hit the opposition's net on average 2.36 times per game – which is not that far behind the strike rate of the 2002 team.

As is shown in the figures above, Celtic's average points take in the seasons in whch they have won the league since the end of WWII has been 84%. Since Rangers were liquidated, tht average take has fallen to 79%, and this season, they are on track to win the league with a take of around 77%. Not great, but, hardly a convincing case for sacking a manager who is working with a budget much-reduced from those his predecessors had to work with.

For most of their history, Celtic were a "grow your own" club. Certainly, from the very beginning, when they enticed James Kelly from Renton, and a handful of great players from Hibs, Celtic have never been afraid to recruit from outwith the club. But, they have a proud traition of breeding from within – one thinks of "The Kelly Kids" and the "Quality Street Gang".

Martin O'Neill's success was based on ignoring these time-honoured strictures. He recruited at what was for Scotland, big-money buying prices, and, somewhere along the way, Celtic appears to have forgotten how to bring through home-grown talent.

Between 1946 and 1955, when European club football kicked-off and Under-23 international began, 7 young, home-grown Celtic players came through the ranks to play for Scotland. They were: Willie Miller, Bobby Evans, John McPhail, Bobby Collins, Mike Haughney, Neil Mochan and Willie Fernie. A young Celtic reserve, deemed: "surplus to requirements", one Tommy Docherty, was sold to Preston North End – the Doc didn't have a bad football career thereafter.

And Celtic's breeding policy didn't just aid Scotland, Bertie Peacock and Charlie Tully won Northern Ireland caps, while Sean Fallon was capped by the Republic.

Jock Stein - won one Scottish League cap with Celtic

In addition, a further seven players: Tommy Kiernan, Pat McAulay, Tommy Bogan, Jimmy Mullen, Joe Baillie, Alec Boden and a certain Jock Stein – bought cheaply from non-league football in Wales, won Scottish League "caps" – an honour equivalent to some of the full caps given for "international challenge matches" these days.

Between 1955 and 1965, while Stein was learning how to be a coach with the Celtic reserve squad, Chairman Robert Kelly instituted a youth policy – "The Kelly Kids". This was a long-term development project. Most of the Lisbon Lions joined the club during this time and in that decade nine Celtic players won full caps: Dunky MacKay, Eric Smith, Bertie Auld, Frank Haffey, Billy McNeill, Pat Crerand, Stevie Chalmers, Jim Kennedy and Jimmy Johnstone. A further eight youngsters, Jim Walsh, John Higgins, John Colrain, Dick Beattie, John Hughes, Johnny Divers, Bobby Jeffrey and Ian Young won either Under-23 or Scottish League honours – which Hughes would convert to full caps when Stein returned. Paddy Turner was also capped by the Republic of Ireland during this time.

No sooner had Stein returned than Hughes won his first cap, to be followed into the national team by: Bobby Murdoch, Tomy Gemmell, Joe McBride, John Clark, Bobby Lennox, Ronnie Simpson, Willie Wallace, Jim Craig, Davie Hay, Jim Brogan, Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Danny McGrain, George Connelly, Dixie Deans, Paul Wilson, Ronnie Glavin and Joe Craig.

Of that stellar band, only Simpson, Wallace and McBride were bought-in, and only Wallace arrived at Parkhead already capped by Scotland. Charlie Gallacher also won Republic of Ireland caps.

Other home-grown talent also won international recognition during this period. Pat McCluskey, Roddy MacDonald, Roy Aitken, Tommy Burns and Joe Casey won either Under-23 or Under-21 "caps" during the Stein Years, while Willie O'Neill, Harry Hood and Tommy Callaghan won Scottish League honours.

Stein would give full caps to Aitken and Burns once he became Scotland boss, also capping Davie Provan – who had been bought from Kilmarnock – Charlie Nicholas, Paul McStay, Frank McGarvey - rescued from the Liverpool reserves, Mo Johnston – brought home from Watford and Murdo MacLeod, snapped up from Dumbarton.

The youth policy was still delivering between 1978 an 1986, however. Danny Crainie, Peter Grant, Brian McClair, George McCluskey, Mark Reid and Alan Sneddon all won Under-21 honours. Then, in 1986, Graeme Souness arrived at Ibrox and Scottish football changed for ever. Suddenly, it became that much harder for Celtic's kids to break-through.

In the 30-years since Souness swept into Ibrox, 39 Celtic players have been capped by Scotland: +Brian McClair, Derek Whyte, +Andy Walker, Peter Grant, John Collins*, +Mike Galloway, Tommy Boyd*, +Gordon Marshall, +Tosh McKinlay, +Jackie McNamara, Simon Donnelly, Craig Burley*, Darren Jackson*, Paul Lambert*, Brian O'Neil, Mark Burchill, +Jonathan Gould, Craig Beattie, Scott Brown*, Gary Caldwell*, Kris Commons*, Stephen Crainey, +Rab Douglas, James Forrest, Craig Gordon*, Leigh Griffiths*, Paul Hartley*, John Kennedy, Stephen McManus, Gary Mackay-Stephen*, Shaun Maloney, David Marshall, Kenny Miller*, Charlie Mulgrew, Stephen Pearson*, Barry Robson*, Joe Smith, +Mark Wilson and Kieran Tierney.

The nine players identified by the + sign arrived as experienced players, the 15 identified by the * symbol arrived already capped by Scotland – leaving just 15 to have come through the ranks at the club.

Paul Caddis - Under-21 caps with Celtic, but had to move away to win a full cap

A further 27 Celtic youngsters have been capped at Scotland Under-21 level since 1986 – Paul Caddis, Joe Chalmers, Ryan Conroy, Barry Elliot, Steven Findlay, Marc Fraser, Stevie Fulton, Stuart Gray, John Herron, G Irvine, Stuart Kerr, Paul Lawson, Scott Cuthbert, Simon Lynch, John-Paul McBride, Dylan McGeough, Michael McGlinchey, Callum McGregor, Brian McLaughlin, Mark McNally, Marc Miller, Rocco Quinn, Barry Smith, Liam Toshney, Ross Wallace and Anthony Watt.

Of these, Caddis, Wallace and Watt have all gone on to win full Scotland caps after leaving the club, while McGlinchey has been capped by New Zealand. The sad fact is, of the 27, four never made a first team appearance for the club, only 8 made double-figure number of appearances while only Mark McNally played a century of first team games for Celtic.

Memorably, the 11 Lisbon Lions were all born within a 35-mile radius of Celtic Park. Received wisdom has it, as the song says: "these days are past".

The Lisbon Lions - naming them individually is unnecessary

 Of course, these days, the Champions League is slewed in favour of the supposed, big-money, huge TV audience leagues, making it far harder for the likes of Celtic to win that same trophy as Billy McNeill so-proudly held aloft in Lisbon.

But, I am sure, many members of the Celtic Family, the supposed Greatest Fans In The World, would far-rather see young, home-grown Celtic players pulling on the Hoops, than badge-kissing mercenaries, who are only at the club in the hope of impressing some English or continental club enough, during European campaigns, to win a big-money move away to a more-glamourous football league.

Ronnie Deila has been recruited to manage Celtic within a structure laid down by the board. The structure is working at least as far as the basic plan demands – Celtic are winning the Scottish League title. This is the basic demand made of the manager: "Win the league, get us into Europe".

Deila is not required to win every game 3-0, he is not being asked to meet a pre-determined standard of entertainment, all he has to do is win the league and keep Celtic in Europe. Peter Lawwell is not going to come up to Deila, as Celtic celebrate a Treble or League and Cup Double and say, Michael Caine-like: "You were only supposed to win the League". Sure, if a Double of the much-rarer Treble comes along, Celtic will take it, but, winning the SPFL title is the bottom line, and Deila is on his way to doing that.

As a football romantic, I would rather see Celtic, or indeed any other Scottish side, winning the domestic league with an all-Scottish squad, but, that is not what is asked of them. The competition rules simply demand, one club wins it, by hook or crook.

Scotland is a conservative country (small c). This is particularly true in football, where "Ayebeenism" is rampant. We do not like change in our game. I honestly doubt if sacking Ronnie Dieila will make that much of a difference to Celtic, or to Scottish football, and, for that reason, I am not so sure he will be dispensed with at the end of the season.

After all, there is no guarantee that whichever of the ever-lengthening list of potential successors gets the job, he will do any better. And, in any case, right now – there is no managerial vacancy at Celtic Park.

However, any sports story which can be linked to Celtic or Rangers, or the Rangers Tribute Act, apparently still sells papers or generates website traffic in Scotland, and that is what our MSM is after.