Gordon Strachan – Time to get behind the manager
Gordon Strachan is not everyone’s cup of team amongst the Celtic support and he certainly isn’t to the taste of any of the hacks either. This leads to the eternal perpetration of the myth that WGS lacks the correct ‘credentials’ to be manager of Celtic Football Club.
That notion is used ad nauseum by the media in an attempt to share the blame equally for the Sectarian behaviour that is witnessed around Scotland every time a certain teams supporters are up to their knees and fornicating with an octogenarian pontiff. As the Jungle Bhoys sign says "no more guilt by association"
Gordon will always be compared to his predecessor, a manager who was peerless in his generation and second only to the late great Jock Stein in the impact that he had on the club. Trying to follow Martin O’ Neill must have been as hard as following in the footsteps of Big Jock. Luckily the person who followed him had already had a glittering career with the club.
One of the biggest criticisms of the current incumbent of this post is the style of football that he brings to the club. I for one felt that the football played by Strachan’s team one was some of the best football I had seen since O’Neill’s first season. Team II has at times equalled the paucity of entertainment that was to be found in O’Neill’s final year. Here we are however at the beginning of a new season, with new and exciting players and a team that looks capable of passing a team off the park. So lets give team III a bit of time to gel before we get on their backs.
Another criticism of WGS is the way he deals with the media. This particular assertion makes my blood boil and if you have found yourself commenting on how our Manager talks to these people remember this.
These are the people who constantly attack our club, with headlines such as "Thugs and Thieves" and broken crests the norm! Quite how anyone attached to this football club is expected to show these cretins anything other than the contempt they deserve is beyond me. We are not Dignity FC; we do not pander to these oxygen thieves!
Gordon Strachan has done a remarkable job at Celtic. He has taken over from the most influential manager in a generation, totally revamped the football operation without inheriting the kind of quality his predecessor had to choose from. He has done this whilst managing to maintain a successful side and be a part of a backroom team that has turned the Club into a financial giant with limited resources.
Yes he has been lucky enough to be up against tactically naïve opponents such as McLeish (remember he won seven trophies against O’Neill) and the nightmare that was Paul Le Guen. However he has also triumphed in a time when a serious challenge has emerged from Edinburgh and in a time when teams such as Aberdeen and Falkirk no longer get rolled over by large winning margins.
He will face a tougher challenge from Watties bunglers, who seem intent to ram raid their way to success, injuring opponents as they go. So surely this is the time to get behind the Club, regardless of the manager, support the team and help them get through this season as victors. Too many people seem to base their opinion on the opinions of the very people that would damage our club, the media. I remember many a Celtic fan based their opinion of a previous Chairman based on what they read in the red tops and are now embarrassed that they treated the very man who saved our club in that way. Let’s not make the same mistake again!
Otherwise we will have to change the line in our anthem to "Faithful through and through" to "faithful as long as we like the manager"
Yours in Celtic (and supporting the Manager)
Clydebuilt