Ronny Deila: What Went Wrong?

Now that we are firmly into a new dawn under Brendan Rodgers and most of us have put the disappointment of last season behind us, I feel it is time to take a look at the man who won us the 4th and 5th league titles in what is hopefully our run to ten successive championships. Ronny Deila arrived at Celtic as a Peter Lawell Project and promptly set about transforming the whole club from top to bottom. It didn't matter that most Celtic fans were asking "Ronny who?" or that there were serious concerns about who was in charge of player recruitment, all the Norwegian wanted to do was create a new mindset among our squad and fans.. As it happens RD did transform the club... but not in the way he intended.

To say there were doubts at the beginning would be an understatement. For starters Ronny had asserted that he had no intention of signing players on loan. His policy was to buy them in young and nurture them into top players. Fair enough right? So why in that same season did Wubarek Makaso, Jason Denayer, Alexander Tonev and John Guidetti arrive on loan deals? Who sanctioned these moves? Was it, as some fans speculated an interference from above by either Peter Lawell or John Park? Or was there another explanation?: Did RD not have the courage of his convictions? We shall never know the answer to this but it was strange to say the least. Half the support were concerned by the obvious lack of clarity on the matter and some then eyed the Norwegian with suspicion. On the park things didn't get much better.

RD oversaw two disastrous Champions League campaigns in his time at the club. The first was a pathetic exit in the playoff round to Maribor in what could only be described as the most shockingly negative home performance in years. Celtic surrendered so meekly and the manager's decision to drop golden bhoy Kris Commons didn't endear him to the support in any way. Commons Celtic future under RD would be the subject for media scrutiny for the next two seasons and give them many a negative headline to work with. Ronnie's second Champions League campaign ended in Sweden as a combination of bad tactics, blind officiating and poor decision making cost us dearly against Malmo. It is the opinion of this author that Ronnie should have been sacked that night. Performances like that were not exactly the European progress Ronnie had promised.That things were allowed to go from bad to worse was a damning indictment of the Celtic board. Indeed many of the things RD had promised to implement never materialized. Most of his promises on certain issues amounted to nothing more than hot air and this was made even more evident by the way Brendan Rodgers went quietly about his business when he took over. Take these three RD failings for example:

1: Deila talked of pressing teams hard/ Rodgers did it

2: Deila spoke of making James Forrest a better player/Rodgers did it

3: Deila talked of Champions League qualification/Rodgers did it

A clear pattern of failure there and while it is harsh to criticize a man who won back to back titles, there did seem to be an element of "all talk no action" about the Norwegian. We must also consider the possibility that certain players rebelled and made his job harder. His well publicized spat with Kris Commons on the touchline was an indication all was not well within the ranks with most Celtic fans blaming it on John Collins. The former Hibs manager is an arrogant man by all accounts so it was easy to imagine him undermining RD at every oppurtunity but it has never been confirmed by anyone at the club.

Did John Collins cause an unbearable atmosphere
at Celtic Park?

To offset the negativity surrounding RD at the start of his tenure, the Ronny Roar was created. Unfortunately it was nothing more than a transparent attempt to give the impression Ronnie was a passionate man. Utterly unbelievable to anyone who had heard his interviews. In a way RD suffered as a result of being the first man to replace Neil Lennon. Our former manager was a hero in our supporters eyes: A true Celt! Come On, the man was sent bombs in the post and STILL refused to back down or quit! Courage like that really makes you respect someone. Of course Lenny did the business in Europe and with the death of Glasgow Rangers, it is the European arena where Celtic managers are now judged. Ronny's time with Celtic went from bad to worse as the team began to regress at an alarming rate. A victory for Newco Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final pushed Ronny towards the exit door. It was announced that he would be leaving by mutual consent at the end of the season.

As the 2015/16 season came to a close things were coming to a head at Celtic. The stadium was now a ghostly arena with only the die hard fans turning up and online forums were filled with plans to overthrow the Celtic board. The faithful had seen enough of Ronny's one dimensional team and were putting the blame squarely at the door of  Peter Lawell. Celtic's Chief Executive had tested the faith of fans worldwide by placing an unqualified man in the hotseat. Lawell had brought a knife to a gunfight and now he about to pay the price. Deila left and his promises on new diets, fitness regime's and nurturing talent were consigned to history. Celtic fans wanted a big name signing as their next manager. None of them expected it! Sensing outright apathy in the support, Dermot Desmond stepped in and made Brendan Rodgers Deila's replacement. BR was the big name the fans craved and under his watch we are going places at a rate of knots. Deila will be remembered for delivering two titles but his real legacy is being partly responsible for highlighting the recruitment failings and forcing the board to bring in a quality manager. In a way he did tranform the club. Cheers Ronny. You'll always be welcome at Celtic Park.

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