Where to (Re) Start?

Celtic vs. Rangers. It’s a fixture that comes with so much emotional baggage, history, controversy and yet they have never played each other. In the build-up to this game, the first between two major clubs in Glasgow in almost 3 years, the key point of discussion is that Rangers are no longer Rangers. This is not the Old Firm and therefore should not be viewed as one. That fixture ceased to exist in 2012. Yet there is a quiet anticipation, at least to this individual in the West of Ireland ahead of this game. In the absence of Champions League football and a domestic fixture with so much riding on it, this is arguably the biggest game Celtic have played since they hosted Juventus at Celtic Park in 2013.

Are Rangers a new club? Not in the eyes of Celtic fans! It is a point they want to make clear so much that they took an ad out in the Sunday Herald in Scotland.
http://www.thedrum.com/uploads/news/208281/celtic-ad.jpg

The advert, linked above, summarised the legal and football ramifications of the liquidation of Rangers in the summer of 2012. They outlined that there is "no track record" of the fixture. There was no demotion of Rangers as they “ceased to function”. In conclusion, the letter re-iterated the fans desire “to achieve a victory in our first meeting against this lower league club”. The advert, drafted very much in a matter of fact presentation and incendiary tone, does raise some interesting points that I agree with it. Do I think its necessary to publish a full page advert highlighting these facts? Not really. People have long since have made up their own mind on what has become of Rangers over the last 3 years.

To choose a point in the past to begin with, I look back to the last time a game took place between a club called Celtic and a club called Rangers. It was the first time I decided to watch an Old Firm game on my laptop. The league was already won, bragging rights was all that was at stake. Rangers’ administration had effectively destroyed any chance of a serious challenge to Celtic at the top of the table. Administration or not, the Celtic team that year were deserving champions in every sense of the word. Losing to the Champions would be the least of Rangers worries that day. Celtic fans were looking forward with a young talented squad playing in European competition. Something much darker loomed on the horizon for the fans of Rangers. It wasn’t the 3-0 victory that Celtic coasted to, but the future of their club. Fast forward a few weeks later, on the afternoon Celtic lifted the trophy, Charles Green assumed ownership from Craig Whyte. It was apt point that day that in more ways than one, Glasgow was Green and Whyte.

While I do not claim to be an authority on the saga, I know this much for certain. Two things happened on the 14^th June 2012. I drank enough alcohol and sung numerous songs on the town square in Gdansk that I truly believed Ireland would take nothing less than a point against Spain in Euro 2012. And Rangers were liquidated. I saw a few Celtic jerseys that day but to be honest, those of us there to see our country couldn’t give flying fuck about Rangers. Ireland wouldn’t take that point, losing 4-0 to the eventual champions. And I actually only heard 3 days later the fate of a club I once harboured severe hatred for. The words “Rangers are gone” were uttered and hit me. It might have been the large amount of alcohol in my system but I was shocked. I didn’t actually believe it would get to that point. I truly believed they would be “sanctioned”, at worst relegated one tier. The questions, the pithy answers, the lack of clarity, the confusion of what lay ahead, the jibes and emotions. It was a rollercoaster period for those involved with the club. However, as turbulent as those 6 months were for the “oldco”, the following 30 or so would be an undead nightmare.

It is almost impossible to summarise the whole saga into one excellent paragraph or even two. Yet here are just a few words to associate with what has gone on at the club in that period. Everything from legal action, cancelling contracts, allegations of owner misconduct, cup upsets, resignations, arrest warrants, consortiums, power struggles at boardroom level, triallists would serve to twist and turn this story more than Tommy Burns in his prime. Every few weeks a new story would pop up and generate emotions within me that begun with laughter, followed by disbelief. I could not believe that sheer mismanagement at all levels would continue to reign at the club. I could not believe the reported wages a lower league club were sanctioning in pursuit of a quick return to the top tier of Scottish football. Amongst all this, I saw a support divided on different sides of the discontent over different stages of this time period. I happen to know decent Rangers’ supporters, and I can’t begin to imagine how they have felt over the last 3 years with all that has happened.

Even to this day, the madness continues. Rangers, playing in the Scottish Championship after two successive promotions, are operating at a significant monthly loss. It is believed that, nearly 3 years to the day that Rangers of old went into administration, the club needs to secure substantial investment in order to continue operating. Looking at this situation, Mike Ashley, the "unassuming" owner of Newcastle, has come to the aide of Rangers recently. He has given them a £10 million loan to the club. Yet his intentions have been subject to much scrutiny, from the fans, from the club, from members of parliament. It is questioned, and rightly so, whether he is fit and proper to be getting involved with the club.

On the field, Ally McCoist stepped down as manager late last month. The club legend steered his side to back to back promotions in the last 2 seasons but have found themselves chasing Hearts in first place for the sole automatic promotion spot to the Scottish Premiership. For some time leading up to his departure, fans grew discontent with his tactic selection, poor performances and significant cup upsets. However it was the manner in which he left that typified Rangers growing reputation as a club in disarray. Tendering his resignation, McCoist intended to serve out a 12 month notice period in charge. However relations between himself and the board had broken down, and a meeting was held which led to McCoist being removed from the position. To compound matters further, his assistant Kenny McDowall also tendered his resignation just 2 weeks ago. Unlike McCoist, he is being allowed serve out his 12 month notice period and will take charge of the team on Sunday.

With all this chaos that has ensued, Rangers are barely recognisable from the dominant club of years past. This is a sentiment echoed by Donald Findlay, former Vice-Chairmen of the club, whose opinion formed the basis of that Celtic fans advert. In his own words, “It is a different club, they may play at Ibrox and they may play sometimes in royal blue jerseys. But you cannot pass on that which is undefinable. And that is spirit and tradition and all the rest of it. To me this is a new Rangers which has to establish its own history and tradition. But it's not the Rangers I know. To me, genuinely, it is a new entity”. These are strong words. And while many fans of Rangers would not share his opinion, I believe it to be a valid one. I don’t insist they are a new club. I don’t find myself debating the matter endlessly on social media. However, I don’t feel they are the same club as the one I saw play 3 years ago. Focusing on the game this Sunday, I don’t fear Rangers, I don’t consider them to cause an upset tomorrow. They do not evoke the same feelings they used to whenever they faced Celtic in the past or if they were mentioned to me. At least nowhere near the same level. I enjoyed the rivalry immensely in the past but I have struggled to raise the same expectations I once had of a Celtic-Rangers encounter. My opinion won’t be the focal point of a full page advert any time soon (I hope) but it’s a strange feeling I’ve experienced ahead of the game this Sunday.

And what about Celtic? It has all been a bit calmer and rosier for those in Green & White since 2012 but it has not come without change. Of the Celtic starting XI that defeated Rangers 3-0 three years ago, only Emilio Izaguirre, Charlie Mulgrew, Scott Brown, Adam Matthews, and Kris Commons remain. And just last year, Neil Lennon resigned as manager. Having completed 3 in a row, Lennon set his sights on breaking new ground for the club in the Champions League. Yet, the Celtic board have been very reluctant in recent years to spend money. This despite raking in big money for key players and establishing a foothold on the domestic game. It is this reluctance to spend a cause for concern amongst the Celtic support. Celtic are not exactly big spenders historically, but the failure to replace key players has impacted on the clubs fortunes in Europe.

In the summer of 2014, Ronny Deila took over as manager. I think he is a good manager. I find his philosophy on football to be refreshing. Of the games I have watched this season, there is desire to press forward and play a fluent passing attacking style of football that can be relentless. However, the defence can be less than convincing. In my lifetime I don’t think I have ever come across a solid back four complemented by a reliable goalkeeper at Celtic for an entire season. You might have one part of that combo but never both. Some players have given individual performances that have become folk legend at Celtic but never a formidable season as an ever-present. The Celtic defence is made up of unproven youth such as Jason Denayer and more experienced players such as Izaguirre, Efe Ambrose and Virgil Van Dijk but their best form seems to have deserted them this season.

And that inconsistency has been Celtics main problem this season. Early on, they absolutely swept Dundee United 6-1 at home. Four days later, they went out of the Champions League, once and for all, in another toothless display at home to Maribor SK, losing 1-0. This was preceded by the Legia Warsaw farce, where Celtic proceeded to the final play-off round via default of Warsaw fielding an ineligible player. (Celtic had lost 6-1 over two legs initially) The knives were sharpening for Deila, but amongst the backdrop of a reliance on loan signings and a difficult start, he has slowly begun to get the most out of his Celtic side. It’s a difficult situation for the young Norwegian manager. He is expected to win the League title, so that achievement merits little. European results are where Celtic are being judged onto today. Ahead of a novel last 32 encounter with Inter Milan in the Europa League, Deila knows a good run in the latter stages of that competition can endear him to the sceptics amongst the Celtic support

The focus is on Sunday first and foremost. Celtic are the better team, and are expected to progress to the final. It is a game that Deila and the players cannot afford to lose, not just because it’s Rangers or a club in their image with the same fans who still hate Celtic but because it’s the pathway to a cup final. It’s been 6 years since the club won the League Cup last. And Celtic need to be winning trophies other than just the League title.

Flirting with Relegation: Part 1

The author of this wonderful blog is currently in a relationship. And he thought it might be funny to say to his girlfriend that he was flirting with someone else. It didn't go down too well. I had to say it was something else I was flirting with!


I’m lying on two points here, I’m not flirting with anyone, and my relationship with relegation is a lot more than suggestive teasing and risqué banter. Believe me, I WISH I was flirting with relegation. A mere 5 games left to play in my league season, my club lie in 9th place and remain favourites to be one of two teams relegated from Division 1, the second tier in my county. I have calculated that we will need at least 9 points and favourable results elsewhere to give us a chance. After 13 games, we only have 7 points. So that doesn’t bode well for us. Pressure is only for tires I always say. I wonder if I’d be saying that when I’m defending a last minute corner holding onto to a precious one goal lead.


Although I wonder, this scenario is not all new to me. I have been in this position before, knee deep in a relegation battle just two years ago. Everything was new to me back then, as it was the first time I played club soccer since I was 8 years old. I had walked away from underage due to my omission from an end of season competition. I never went back to that club. Anyways, my lack of consistent structured training in that time left me with a lot to learn when I joined my new club. And I had a lot to learn. My playing time would be extremely limited in that first season but I accepted that and a position on the sideline where I watched the magic or lack of unfold in front of me.


Losing games, sliding down the surface of the table, not being able to make a difference to a terrible situation, these things were all compounded for me that bit more than others on the team. I had a deep connection with this club I was now playing for. One of their founding members just happened to be my uncle. And I just happened to be named after him. Tragically he was killed in a car crash a few years before my arrival into this world. It was a huge blow to the family, not least of all my dear grandmother. I was told a lovely story of how my grandmother first held me as a child and how my mother told her she had named me after my uncle. My grandmother broke down in tears. It was if her own son was given back to her. I was extremely close to my grandmother and her passing some years ago was heartbreaking for me.


Sadly there was no happy ending to my poignant decision to play for my club. There was no triumphant playing of the Great Escape theme tune. A mid-season revival where we played to our potential made me dream of bigger things. A team-mate told me we wouldn’t be making any such dreams a reality. He was right. However, I never expected us to lose our last 7 league games in a row. Our fate was confirmed in the penultimate game. We were denied a go ahead goal in the first half via a dubious offside decision and never recovered after that. It was soul destroying. I never had been relegated in anything before in my life. The closest experience I had was on Pro Evolution Soccer 2010.


This was no game, it was reality. There was one small crumb of comfort. Our last game was against the team in 2^nd. Our fierce rivals were in first place with no games left to play. All going well, we would have to win the final game and virtually hand the first division title to our rivals to ensure our survival. No such favours were necessary and we struggled our way to a 5-0 defeat. It was scant consolation to be honest. Champions crowned in front of us, rivals still promoted, my club relegated.


We intended to go straight back up the following year and that’s what we did. However, a lack of training at the turn of 2014 saw us stumble yet again midway through the season. A prevailing attitude that we could just show up and walk through this division was evident throughout. For the most part, when we turned up, we were good. However, too often we let games and poor opposition get the better of us. We finished 2^nd last year, one point away. In truth, we should won the league by 6 or 7 points.


Unfortunately, it’s an attitude that has stayed with us to this season. Despite winning a pre-season tournament, we soon found ourselves rooted to the relegation spaces. But instead of throwing games away we’ve been on the receiving end of thrashings. It’s just as if the team surrenders when we go a goal down. Ironic considering that in the first league game of the year we came back from a man down and a goal down to gain a point. That desire and spirit has seldom been since. I’ve suffered too personally, suffering a reoccurrence of my knee injurie that has kept me out for over a month. At the time of writing, I am desperately trying to restore my fitness for the final few games.


Playing for this club gives me no end of pride. More often than not when I step onto our home field, I bless myself in honour of my family. It’s not attention seeking, it’s not a ritual, it’s a mark of respect. It just so happens our pitch is beside a graveyard, one where my family members of past now rest. So much of my family and my life is intrinsically linked with this club that ferments a loyalty. A loyalty to this club that I could never replicate with any other. And while my name may never be filling the column inches of broadsheets or tabloids of this country and beyond for my talent, I have an unrelenting desire to give everything I can to make this club a success. Right now, its starts on the field.


Being part of a relegation once was enough. I have no intention of going down again.

Suso - Taking his chance elsewhere

A lot of Spanish players have plied their trade at Liverpool’s academy in the last 10 years. Daniel Ayala, Mikel San Jose, Miki Roque (who sadly passed away in 2012), and Dani Pacheco to name a few. None of which, ever made the grade. Pacheco was a name I heard and read about intermittingly for nearly four years and it never deviated from glowing praise with a mix of righteous indignation that he hadn’t featured in the first team. The nadir of this praise was reached when Mark Wright (a person I never had much time for as a player and from that point on, as a pundit) was commentating on TV3 (a channel I have no time for). As Pacheco was just about to come on as sub in extra-time, Wright proclaimed that if this fella gets a chance on the ball he will deliver. Pacheco looked like a rabbit in headlights against Madrid as the home team failed to get the vital goal to send them to the Europa League final.

Less than a year later, Jonjo Shelvey made his debut for Liverpool against Manchester United in a FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. He entered the fray with Liverpool a goal down, a man down and only 5 minutes remaining. Realising the urgency of the situation, Shelvey would not take long to make himself known, throwing himself into a desperate tackle to win back possession. While I’m not sure if a foul was called him against him for the tackle, I was certainly inspired! This was desire in the face of adversary, this was passion. And it was a time Liverpool that desperately needed passion, with Steven Gerrard the man sent off and Kenny Dalglish only having taken the manager’s job the day previous. Liverpool would go on to lose the game, and I would immediately proclaim that Shelvey had done more in 5 minutes on the pitch than Dani Pacheco had done to justify a place in the first team squad. 4 years later, Shelvey is still playing in the Premier League while Pacheco is in the Spanish second division.

A year and a half later, another defiant lunge from Shelvey on a Manchester United player would prompt a very different reaction. He received a straight red card and Liverpool once again found themselves a man down against their fierce rivals. All signs pointed to a comfortable second half for United and although they would go on to win 2-1, remarkably Liverpool would dominate the 2nd half in terms of possession and territory. And the key factor in this Jesús Joaquín Fernández Sáenz de la Torre, otherwise known as Suso.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ury_eKr33Ko

(a 2 minute highlight video of Suso's second half performance that day)


To put into context how well Suso stood out that day, the previous night I was at a wedding reception and did not get home until 7am that morning. Waking up at 1pm, and realising I was missing the match, I rushed to town to watch the rest of the game. To say I was hungover was an understatement but even now I can vividly recall how well Suso played. Everything from his composure on the ball, the control, his passing, his decision making, his movement on and off the ball, just oozed sheer class. This was an 18 year old making his Premier League debut against a team that would go on to win the League title that season. It was emotionally charged occasion but he looked like he had playing the game all his life.

So why is it more than 3 years later, this young starlet has not become an integral part of Brendan Rodgers team? Again, I don’t have all the answers and I don’t fully understand why. His decision to sign a pre-contract with Italian maestros AC Milan has come as a huge disappointment to many Liverpool fans, especially those with a passion for passing football. Many people believed he had only a bright future ahead of him at the club. Most of these people still believe he has great things ahead of him.

Suso would make 14 appearances in the 2012-13 season, all coming before the end of 2012. He would continue to impress those who watched him and his form eventually secured a new contract and the praise of his manager for his “maturity and commitment”. This was a Liverpool side in transition but it seemed that Suso would become an integral part of the team going forward. You could typify the Liverpool of that period with an analysis of Suso’s game. Liverpool looked good in possession, and regularly found themselves in the opponents half creating chances. However, with the exception of Luis Suarez, they would fail to capitalise on these chances. The one aspect of Suso’s game which was lacking was shooting. He would do superbly to hold onto the ball, shielding it from defenders or jinking his way past the opposition but it seemed at times this would affect his balance when it came to taking on a shot or making a cross. However, no one is perfect. This would be a small price to pay for everything else he had shown. To highlight the fact again, he was only 18, he would only get better I believed.

The January transfer window would eventually curtail Suso’s development in the first team with the signings of Daniel Sturridge and, more importantly, Coutinho demoting the Spaniard. This was not seen as a cause for concern at the time. Raheem Sterling, another young first team prospect would also see less playing time for the rest of the season. Suso himself seemed happy to remain on the fringes of the squad, rejecting a late loan move to Wigan. It was a move I thought he should have considered, as playing for a Roberto Martinez side would have helped his development as a player. He would have also have won an FA Cup medal and experienced the joy of relegation!

For the 2013-14 season, Suso would go on a season long loan at La Liga side UD Almería. As Liverpool forged an unrealistic title challenge, Almería would spend the season fighting relegation. Suso was a key member of the side, making 33 appearances. He would also contribute 7 assists and 3 goals, decent returns for a struggling side. A more comprehensive analysis is available at http://basstunedtored.com/2014/05/20/suso-201314-review/ but his incisive passing and movement continued to shine. Playing constantly at his age is crucial and it was a season well spent, fighting relegation instead of fighting for recognition in a title chasing side. The most interesting aspect of his loan spell was the versatility of Spaniard in a number of formations. Over the course of the season he was played as right winger, a left attacking midfielder, a central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 and a deep-lying forward. Given the interchanging ability of the Liverpool attack in 2013-14, this versatility boded well for Suso that he could contribute in many areas of the Liverpool attack and give Rodgers more options.

However, his shooting continued to deflate expectations. And his increased playing time only served to give the youngster an invincible aura that only resulting in taking too much out of ball instead of laying it off or going for a wild shot from distance (waheeeeeey). Off the ball, he was liable for a lack of effort in tracking back or retrieving possession. The low point of his loan spell occurred when he received a straight red card for a wild lunge on Real Betis’ Damien Perquis. Suso was given license to control the game in the final third but he might have sacrificed any intention of defending with this license and freedom. It doesn’t work that way with Brendan Rodgers, with high pressing and a high work rate without the ball as crucial as providing the end product on goal.

I will say again, that for a young player, he had shown plenty in his game to prove he could be a match winner. The flaws in his game could be worked on with the right type of manager. Despite not watching as much of him as I would have liked, I still remained convinced that Suso should be retained and be given a proper chance to stake his claim for a place. Unfortunately for him, a number of new signings coupled with the development & experience of the 2013-14 season made the Liverpool first team a hot commodity. One that now had a lot more depth, and one that had high demands in order to succeed and maintain a place in.

As Liverpool developed into the most exciting attacking team of last season, I wondered what future Suso would have at the club. I believed that Suso lacked the pace to seamlessly integrate himself into the attack. His selfish attacking potential was widely lauded but when Liverpool lost possession, he rarely stood out pressuring to win it back. I have seen many comparisons with Coutinho of late. It was the Brazilians arrival in 2013 that curtailed Suso’s run in the first team. While Coutinho had the pace that Suso lacked, I believe Suso to be a better player in possession. They both had excellent control and both had terrible shooting. Yet it was Coutinho who was thrust into the team alongside Daniel Sturridge, and they have never looked back.
The arrival of Adam Lallana only diminished Suso’s prospects further. A grossly inflated 24 million pound acquisition, Lallana is a similar type of player to Coutinho. At the time of Lallana’s signing was being debated, I was far more concerned that the club should sign Xherdan Shaqiri. Shaqiri would have offered a lot more to the void left by Luis Suarez whereas Lallana would only add more competition to an area where Liverpool had depth, the No.10 role. Lazar Markovic’s arrival was another nail in the Suso coffin as he offered another option in the attack out wide.

Liverpool have struggled throughout the first part of this season, with injuries, poor form, change in formations all playing their part. And through all of this, Suso has played a mere 22 minutes. It was an extra time cameo where he scored his goal for the club and two penalties in a shootout against Middlesbrough in the League Cup. Not long after, he suffered a groin injury and was ruled out for 2 months. It would be the final blow in trying to establish himself again in the Liverpool team. It was very possible he would have seen more game time in that turbulent period for the club but now finds himself further than ever from making the first team. Suso himself knows that, refusing to sign a new contract and looking to towards Milan for his future.

Am I saying Liverpool will rue this decision in years to come? Possibly. AC Milan are currently struggling in the Serie A and there are far more cases in football of potential failing to translate into success over a period of time. With that being said, Suso has far more going for him than any Liverpool youth prospect in the last 10 years (including Raheem Sterling). That may not be saying much given what has come out of the Academy in the last 10 years but I believe he has every chance of doing better than Sterling has done and more. There is life after Liverpool, Suso has every confidence in his own ability to succeed, and I will not be surprised if he does.