I realise that I am opening a can of worms here >:D
I think Rocko said before that he thinks they would be challenging for the league. A person at lunch yesterday said that they would be fighting off relegation
Opinions please. I need to think about mine
I think we touched on this before on one of the pre Christmas CL threads and the consensus among the Celtic supporters was that we’d be in the top 4/5 with our current squad and financial constraints but with the vast amount of additional income we’d receive in the EPL then we’d be able to compete with any club in the world for any player and I’d expect to challenge for the title every season after the initial season or two to bed in. The performances this season against Manchester United and Milan have further emphasised that in my own mind and I like Strachan’s footballing philosophy and recognise what he’s trying to build at Celtic and how he’s going about it.
with their current team they would come fifth. Not enough quality to break into the top four. However Celtic is a big club and after a couple of years of getting same amount of TV money as the rest of the EPL they could possibly challenge for the title.
They would also need a better manager than Strachan to compete for the title
I think they’d get fourth with their current squad. The last few seasons the fourth placed team in the EPL hasn’t really been all that great at all. Celtic’s problem would be consistency because our squad doesn’t have the same depth that othes in the EPL have. That said we’ve an outstanding record against English opposition and I don’t think many teams would get a point from Celtic Park.
I can’t agree that they’d need a better manager than Strachan? Out of the managers in the EPL I think only Benitez, Mourinho and possibly Coppell and Wenger are better at their job.
This article from Celtic Quick News sums up my own opinion on Strachan:
Ferguson should learn a lesson from Strachan
I was travelling yesterday evening when I heard Sir Alex Fergusons pre-match comments explaining how Manchester United would play their own way against Milan, we only know one way to play, which is evidently true. Maybe he should have taken notes from his former player.
Despite our heroic victory in November, Manchester United are a better team than Celtic, with better players, however, all they needed from their visit to Milan was the same result Celtic achieved in February.
Gordon Strachan received criticism in many quarters for not being more adventurous against an over the hill AC Milan, but it appears self evident that a more expansive approach from Celtic would have brought a similar, or probably worse, defeat.
Milan are a fabulous team; three Champions League finals in five years, four semi finals in that time. Our performance in both legs, though ultimately fruitless looks no less heroic. If you are my age, you were brought up on Celtic teams who attacked at every opportunity. You were also brought up on Celtic teams who were eliminated from European football by their first serious opponents.
Setting out to primarily defend home and away is counter culture, but had one or two breaks gone their way in Milan, Celtic would have had the opportunity to test their defence in Munich, and Milan would have suffered their earliest exit from Europe in seven years.
Gordon Strachan deserved his Manager of the Year title for schooling his resources against two of the finest teams in Europe, not to mention his second Scottish title. He is growing in the job; when he arrived he might have been tempted to send his team out with similar instructions as Sir Alex issued last night, but a really important lesson was learned on day one.
To turn a 0-1 extra time defeat against the European Champions (elect) into a deserved victory will take a lot; players, heroic scouting, money and time, but the one thing we are not short of is a coach who can take-on the best.
Congratulations Gordon, I am proud of you.