A curious thing happens when British clubs appoint an unknown foreign manager. Supporters adopt an immediate defence mechanism against anyone who raises an eyebrow at the appointment.
This happened in Glasgow when Celtic unveiled Ronny Deila. Within hours of his name entering the public domain, the 38-year-old was being heralded as a Norwegian coaching genius.Reality was ignored: no player worthy of the top level would last six-and-a-half years in the Norwegian league without being snapped up. The same applies to managers and Deila spent that period in charge of Stromsgodset.
Celtic teamed up Deila with John Collins in replacing Neil Lennon and his staff. First impressions of the Norwegian have been of a dreamy idealist and discontent in the training ground was rumoured from his early days. Deila bemoaned the performances of other Scottish clubs in Europe as holding Celtic back by virtue of the country’s co-efficient.
On Wednesday night those comments came back to haunt him when Celtic exited the Champions League in the qualifying stage 6-1 on aggregate to Legia Warsaw.
In November 2012, Celtic were in a formidable position. Domestic dominance was assured courtesy of Rangers’ demise and Celtic were well-placed to establish themselves as a regular European force.
This has not transpired. The club have developed an apparent obsession with signing projects rather than first-team football players. The side who so meekly surrendered to Legia – who are no more than European also-rans – typified the slow undoing of Lennon’s work.
Feel sorry
Those who feel sorry for Deila given the downsized circumstances he has been placed in should remember it is those circumstances which led to his appointment.
Gary Hooper, a striker of quality, was allowed to leave for Norwich City as a string of almost mediocre players – Amido Balde, Teemu Pukki, Derk Boerrigter to name but three – arrived. This business plan makes little sense.
Lennon had generated millions of pounds for the club via back-to-back Champions League involvement, added to the sales of Hooper, Ki Sung-yueng and Victor Wanyama. There was a solid foundation from which Celtic could prove their standing as a vibrant business with aspirations beyond Scotland.
It is legitimate to ask Celtic to invest in experienced talent for assaults on the Champions League. Instead, Deila has been handed a loanee from Cardiff City, a goalkeeper who was lined up before his arrival and an otherwise impoverished squad who will be worse off when Fraser Forster and Virgil van Dijk move on.
Swift conclusions are never wise after wounding results but the Legia debacle was in the post for Celtic. A year ago, they scraped past Shakhter Karagandy in a qualifying tie. Alarm bells should have rung out amid the celebration; they did not. Guardian Service
