Soldato
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Based on the not very witty comment of your double act partner.
Tony Mowbray sacked
- Thread starter McRod
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America being the rest of the world?
I don't doubt that Rangers and Celtic are well known in Europe.
I wouldn't expect a child from Argentina or Brasil, or a lot of South America, Africa and to a lesser extent the middle east to of heard much about Rangers / Celtic in the same way they would Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool ect
It's usually the ones that laugh and look down on Scottish football that disagree with the popularity of Celtic and Rangers. I'll be the first to admit that our league has problems, but that can't change the fact that we are universally known around the world.
Celtic and Rangers are obviously very well known and supported in Europe. As I'm a Celtic fan, I'll focus on us.
Celtic in particular are huge in Asia due to their signing of Shunsuke Nakamura. After that, they then signed Koki Mizuno. Nakamura himself did lots of promotions for us over there.
We then signed Ki Sung-Yeung which recieved a massive response in Korea because of his popularity over there. He is one of the brightest talents from Korea (and the whole of Asia) along with Bolton's Lee Chung-Yong, who is already a fan favourite over there and playing very well in the EPL.
I've already watched various interviews and promotions in Korea after him signing. We will only get larger over there now. I also read about people in Korea wearing the Celtic strip simply because it was stylish. Apparently the green and white hoops are very fashionable over there, no joke!
We even signed Zheng Zhi who is the captain of the Chinese national team.
We also have a large fanbase in the United States. I've read about various supporters clubs and pubs and even speak to a few American fans on Celtic forums. We actually held a bounce game against Benfica in America at the start of the season, albeit we played a reserve team because we were already playing SPL matches.
As for Africa, I've not read much on the Celtic, but I'd imagine that would be a hard region to crack. Brazil and Argentina? Of course Real and Barca are going to dominate there. I'd say the only regions we aren't very popular in is South America and Africa.
For a team that hasn't shined as bright as it once did, I'd say it's pretty impressive. I try to not get too worked up about these things, but I'm sure most big football fans will understand the love for ones club!
EDIT: I'd also like to say it's nice to see a few people not straight out slating the Old Firm for once.
Outside of Celtic and Rangers forums, there are a lot of ignorant people and it's hard to have any club talk.
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Tony Mowbray was a good guy, but focusing on attacking and neglecting defending lost him his job. It's all well and good trying to play attractive football, but the football wasn't very attractive, and we couldn't defend for toffee.
Davie Provan wrote a good article last week about the style of football is celebrated in the SPL and how it has held the national team back. He's right, and it doesn't look like it will change. We do not focus on technical ability in Scotland, instead it's all about blood, snotters and stifling the opposition. Hopefully it will change one day.
I think Celtic have a better squad of players overall than Rangers, but Walter Smith is an excellent manager had his team busting a gut for the cause whereas Celtic didn't. Congratulations to Rangers for winning the league, hopefully Celtic can win at least some silverware this season and roll on the next one.
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Soldato
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Based on the amount of spankings he recieved at Martin's hands. Celtic where dominant during Martin's reign and although Rangers did win the title twice it was by the narrowest of margins as opposed to the times Celtic won the league under his guidance.
How many spankings did Walter receive from MON then?.
Soldato
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Okay, my bad. It wasn't Mr Mitty, it was Agent Le Guen and Alex the Ginger. Still, Minty would quiver at the thought of having to face up to St Martin.
TBh thats quite a big "my bad" and merely confirms what i`ve suspected for a very long time.
Soldato
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Yes you've caught me out. I couldn't give a hoot about Rangers and barely pay attention to anyone employed by them.
Evidently.
Now, about MON`s dominance, do you know how many trophies he won compared to "Alex the ginger"?
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I think it's a good thing that he wants it, but actually getting it might not be so good.
It seems he has some of the attributes needed; intelligence, tactical awareness, passion, good philosophy etc, he's been in and around the club for about 10 years so he should know the internal politics and other BS like that. He knows the league, the competition, the governing bodies etc so there should be no surprises in that respect.
But...moving from being one of the proles to management (in any job) is a steep curve, he can't really have any mates in the squad now and I'm not sure how well some of the senior foreign players will react to being shouted at by a little ginger skinhead (but maybe that's Mjallby's role?). I'm not sure if he's going to be able to keep the heed in the high-pressure situations that he'll find himself in, he still has a bit of that GIRUY that isn't acceptable from a manager.
That said, if he gets to the end of the season without any serious screw-ups and, dare I say it, a Cup win to his name, then he deserves a full season at the helm.
I don't think Lennon has the experience for the long term. It might persuade the fans to renew their season ticket thanks to him being "Celtic minded" but I doubt much will change since the board won't fund another spending spree like Mowbray had, especially given the money wasted on the loan deals.
The main problem for Celtic is that the quality of manager they'll require will probably want to go to the EPL or Championship since most have better finances available for players. It'll probably cost them even more than what they paid for Mowbray this time around.
The main problem for Celtic is that the quality of manager they'll require will probably want to go to the EPL or Championship since most have better finances available for players. It'll probably cost them even more than what they paid for Mowbray this time around.
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I think a large body of Celtic fans are beginning to distance themselves from the whole 'Celtic-minded' thing. It's a parochial, out-dated concept and incompatible with a modern football club. Sure, there's still a huge number of dinosaurs who cling to it, you'll know that better than I, but I think more people are becoming less concerned about the background of potential candidates for the hot-seat. The contrasting fortunes of our two most recent managers have injected a level of pragmatism into the collective conscience of supporters, or at least, it should have.
Completely agree, which is hopefully something that'll change with the next manager since Celtic will be desperate for getting the title back from Rangers next season.
I think it has helped swing some of the lunatic fringe. I'm not convinced it was of huge important to most fans.
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Not sure that would be a good appointment to be honest, I guess he would be paid a lot which could otherwise be thrown back in to the squad.
A cheap manager might not get the best out of any squad though. I think Hughes would be a good appointment. He has the strength of character needed for a job in Glasgow. There's reports today that Martin O'Neil has quit Villa, but they probably aren't accurate. Would love to have him back.
It's a big deal for Celtic this next appointment. The board need to get it right, as Walter Smith has Rangers maximising their potential and if Celtic mess up again it'll be more leagues for Rangers.
Btw. Most likely we'll end up with neither and we'll go for a cheaper option who we hope can become a good manager.
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