Sack The Gord?

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so we're told by people far smarter than the average Scottish football fan. Hell, let's be honest here, anyone stupid enough to pay £25 to watch 90 minutes of the unadulterated pish that passes for top level football in this country can't be the sharpest tool in the box. Don't know why I still do it.

So here we are, 90 minutes into a new season, and already our manager is facing calls for his head. Another 90 minutes of dross, another 90 minutes without goals, and another 90 minutes of baffling tactical decisions that leave 90% of the fans scratching their heads in disbelief and wondering why Paul Hartley is still on the park. Only 90% of fans though. The other 10% have left early or gone for a pie.

Tune into any of the radio phone-in's that masquerade as in-depth footballing analysis in this country and the message is the same. Sack The Gord! Browse your way through 18 pages of Celtic Minded internet message board threads and you'll find that buried away amongst all those mind numbing posts about your favourite sweeties when you were a wean, or which TV celebrity would have her face left like a painters radio if you only got the chance, there is a consistent message. Sack the Gord! The Orcs must be laughing up their sleeves at us. Assuming their sleeves haven't yet been flogged by their chairman on Ebay.

Now here at Paranoid Tim we don't believe in sacking managers lightly. If a manager is to be set free to roam the high seas of footballing unemployment we expect him to have fucked up in a major way. If we're wanting to put our old ticker through those heart stopping moments of the club being linked with managerial diddies like Bryan Robson or Ruud Gullit then we require first that said heart stopping moments are preferable to what was on offer from the managerial diddy we've just got shot of. And that, dear reader, is the question to be answered. Does Gordon Strachan really fall into this category?

Are we at the moment yet when being linked with Glen Hoddle is preferable to wearing a neck brace from watching a Lou Macari inspired Celtic side? Have we reached the point where the rumour of Dave Bassett in charge at Celtic Park is a more attractive option than watching John Barnes trying to convince all and sundry that he really does know what he's doing? I don't think so. But what do I know?

We're now in our third term with the wee ginger one at the helm. Six domestic trophies have come and gone. Celtic have claimed four of them. Back to back league titles, one each of the cups. In Europe, our first season catastrophe in Bratislava was followed up by a second season run to the last 16. It hasn't always been pretty, but then football never is. Some of the best football I've witnessed as a Celtic fan came under Liam Brady's tenure. The same Liam Brady who failed to pick up a single trophy in the time it's taken WGS to win four. Tommy Burns packed his team with talent and played free flowing football that could be a joy to watch. He won a single Scottish Cup. And even that was won over 90 minutes of the type of football last seen during a game of Emylyn Hughes International Soccer on the ZX Spectrum. It was also won before most of the talent arrived.

No, I'm not saying that we can only win by playing a poor style of football. Yes, I am dissappointed in the dross we're having to endure. But the point is this. Trophies are won by winning games, not by how you play. And WGS has delivered a side that has won games and, with them, trophies.

That isn't to say that Paranoid Tim thinks all is rosy in the Strachan garden. Far from it. There are concerns there, and some serious ones at that. For a start, the wee man has a very patchy record in the transfer market.

Of his first season signings, only Boruc and Nakamura have done the business consistently. Mark Wilson has been unfortunate with injuries and should develop into a decent fullback, while Zurawski can still offer a lot to the hoops - if he can stay fit and regain his confidence. Of the rest, Keane and Dublin were short term deals to fill gaps. Telfer did a decent job when allowed to, while Du Wei, Camara and Virgo will probably be names forever mentioned in the same breath as Scheidt and Martin Hayes. And did we actually sign someone called Aliadiere or was that just a fleeting dream? Giving Strachan the benefit of the doubt on Dublin, who is a "does what it says on the tin" kind of player, there's a success rate of about 60%.

Season two, however, is a completely different story. Jarosik, Gravesen and Miller are already cast into the flames of flop-hell. Hartely, Riordan and Pressley look like following. Gary Caldwell was unlucky with his injury. He had a consistent start to the season, but was hauled over the coals for one bad game in Portugal. Sno has potential. Brown is backup to Boruc. Of all last seasons signings, only Naylor and JVoH made any kind of real impact. Even with Sno included as a success, the majoriy of our new players contributed little to the cause.

And so onto this season. It's clearly too early to comment on the signing of Donati, McDonald, Brown and Killen, but there are signs there that they can each contribute to the coming season. Then again, I did say that about Gravesen and the like. Overall, WGS has a pretty poor record in the transfer market. For every Boruc, there seems to be a Virgo. For every Nakamura, a Gravesen.

The result of all this transfer activity is another source of concern. We now have a bloated squad the like hasn't been seen since the Dick Advocaat "one team for Europe, another for the SPL" era. You remember? Back in 2000/01? All those sad media hacks telling us how Celtic were doomed. Rangers...ascendency...5 years behind...superior squad...etc. Cue Celtic strolling to an easy title, while it all fell apart across the city. Ring a bell?

WGS has indeed assembled a strong squad. We could field a team consisting of Mark Brown, Gary Caldwell, Darren O'Dea, Steven Pressley, Bobo Balde, Thomas Gravesen, Evander Sno, Jari Jarosik, Derek Riordan, Chris Killen and Kenny Miller and only one of them could possibly be considered a first team choice. And we're not even sure about him anymore. This doesn't even include the youngsters who are banging at the door, awaiting there chance. We've some of the most talented youngsters in the country. Are they going to get their chance with this size of squad?

Competition for places is a good thing. Having so many players sitting on the bench or in the stands week in week out is not. Some of these guys are sucking vasts amounts of money out of our club and contributing little in return. The squad needs trimmed, and quickly. We've still a few weeks to bring in new players, but we can't possibly do that without getting rid of the deadwood already there. Unless, of course, its some cover for the full backs. Having only one full back for each side isn't considered good practice, Gordon.

The other major concern is tactical. We've had two seasons of our 4-4-2 formation and while we've won two league titles with it, the problems are there for all to see. Page 67 of the 'Big Book of Tactics' clearly states that if you want to stifle Celtic all you need to do is find a couple of pluke-laden teenagers from your youth setup to double up on McGeady and Nakamura and you're sorted. It doesn't take any real tactical genius to work that one out. Of course that leaves any team employing this tactic a bit short in the middle, but that isn't really a problem anymore in this post-Stan Petrov era. Official stats from last season show that Celtic managed to get central midfielders into the opposing teams box on only three ocassions. And two of them were Neil Lennon waddling up to argue with the ref.

Now, it could well be that the signing of Scott Brown will solve this particular problem. He's a player who likes to burst forward into the box and pick up on the scraps. But then so is Paul Hartley. Perhaps we can solve this problem with our new midfield. Donati's passing gives us something we've been lacking for a long time - a midfielder with a bit of vision and the ability to make a killer pass. Combined with Browns running and willingness to get forward, and the flair of Nakamura and McGeady, there is the making of a decent midfield unit that should be able to cause any team problems. We didn't see it against Killie, but it's early days yet.

I'm assuming of course that Donati doesn't get subbed ahead of people who are contributing nothing each week.

One final issue with our tactics. This is an old gripe, and one that's been used against many a manager over the last few decades of following Celtic. Now, perhaps I'm not the footballing experts that the likes of Strachan and O'Neil and McNeil and Venglos and the rest are, but it seems to be self evident that you get the best out of a player when you play him in his correct position. There's no point in buying, say, Paul Hartely - a noted attacking central midfielder - and deploying him down the right, or even worse, in the Neil Lennon role as we saw yesterday. He's an attacking midfielder. His strength is getting forward into the box, not standing on the halfway line stroking his beard while play rages on around him. Similarlly, Jiri Jarosik will never be a forward. Ever. Give it up. Gary Caldwell isn't a right back and Darren O'Dea will never make a left back. Oh and Ross Wallace. I know you've punted him, but Harold Brattback made a more convincing wingback than Ross did left back. Just thought I'd mention it Gordon.

The last problem I have with our small Ginger leader is motivation. It has become increasingly apparent that our manager is having trouble motivating his players. Whether this is down to problems within the dressing rooms (perhaps because we have a massively bloated squad?) or that he simply lacks the ability to fire the players up for the game I don't know. What I do know is that the guff I watched last season, and the guff I watched yesterday, is not good enough. There is a lack of urgency to Celtics play. And lack of passion. And this is mirrored by a lack of passion in the Stands. The atmosphere in the ground yesterday was dreadful for a flag day at Celtic Park. People are turning up because they've already paid for their season ticket, not because they're excited about the footballing feast on offer. And this lack of passion is what may prove to be our downfall this season. You don't have to be any kind of tactical genius to win the SPL. All you need to be able to do is motivate your players. And on this score Wattie is far ahead of Strachan.

So where does this leave us? We've a manager who's won back to back league titles, 4 trophies in two seasons, taken us to the last 16 of the Champions League and yet still the calls come for him to be sacked. Outside of Madrid, where else would this happen? And Where do these calls come from? The issues I've already mentioned contribute, I'm sure. But there is also a sizeable and vocal section of our support who have NEVER wanted Strachan at the club - for whatever reason - and who will continue to oppose his tenure as our manager regardless of how many league trophies the small ginger one delivers.

But the question remains. Are we at the stage where booting Strachan is preferable to being linked managerially to Bryan Robson or Terry Venables? Is it so obvious that our season is a write off that we're better off just making the change now? Has he fucked up enough that he should be sacked?

Nowhere near it.

Yes there are issues with Strachan and the crap we're having to endure on the pitch. But surely a man who has won back to back titles deserves the chance to defend his title and to fix the problems that exist. Are we so fickle now that a draw on the first day of the season is sufficient reason for sacking a manager? We're in for a long hard season if that is the case. We may be in for one anyway, but those in charge of our dressing room at least deserve the chance to prove the naysayers wrong.

For what it's worth, here at The Paranoid Tim we have some very serious concerns over WGS as manager, and we don't believe that our current manager will still be in the East End of Glasgow come the start of season 2008/09. There is a growing momentum against him that will not stop until he has left the club, rightly or wrongly. But that's just my opinion. Let's wait and see how this season unfolds before we get the placards out and trudge wearily, once again, towards our favourite spot in the Car Park. Because three things are for certain. Rangers are no great team. Walter Smith is no great manager. And if we don't win the league this year it will be down to us, and us alone. Always the Hoops.