Measuring Success

If you listen to any football pundit or analyst bleat on about the game, soon enough you will hear them utter the phrase “It’s a results business”. There is no doubt this is literally correct; as they mean that: in football, success is measured in how good your results are.

As much as football is certainly not as black and white as that, obviously by having more positive results, a manager is more likely to win trophies, and in turn, be deemed successful. And in the main most people wouldn’t argue with the measurement of success being stacked on the amount of games won. Football should be played in the right way, based on passing, attacking, movement, and moments of magic, but there is no getting away from the need, at times, for games simply to be won. There is nothing worse than managers telling you of their great football philosophy of expansive football, but playing in such a way that sees them unable to consistently win.

However if this season has taught Celtic fans anything; is that there are times where you succeed without merely winning matches, titles, and cups. Without playing the victim card, to many, this season has brought back what it is to be a Celtic supporter, regardless of the fact on the morning of the 21st of May this year; Celtic could have well ended the season winning nothing.

Obviously the sense of injustice within the football institutions of this country, and in the wider society as a whole, felt by Celtic towards their manager and the club have unified the fans, players, manager, and club together in a way that can only make positive foundations for their future challenges together.

Neil Lennon has built his team’s followers a squad to be proud of, guys who can show the mix of passion and ability needed to play at the top level. They look like they are playing for the jersey, but doing so with guile, flair, and a cutting edge, so often found missing in the past 7 years. The fact that the team have challenged in every game until the final whistle, and indeed challenged for every domestic trophy right to the final game of each competition so early in both the managers and most of the player’s infancy at Celtic, bodes well for the forthcoming season. The average age of many of Lennon’s starting line-ups have also been nothing short of unbelievable, providing an indication that this is a squad and a team that he will allow to grow and grow, and provide the fans with something more tangible in return for their faith, than simply pride. These players haven’t come to Celtic Park with massive egos, or unwanted elsewhere because they have been proven not good enough. These hungry young players have come to Celtic to prove they deserve the chance to play at this level; Izaguirre, Kayal, Ki, Commons, Hooper, even Mulgrew and indeed others, and have been bought for very reasonable sums. Yes there is no doubt these players will go up in value and if huge bids are made could move on, but the length of contracts, and the scouting methods used, suggest that generally speaking, this team will stay together, be added to, and only slightly altered as they move on.

Another major factor in the success taken from Celtic’s season is the return of the atmosphere and relationship amongst the Celtic support. Whether you agree with their politics, songsheet, or their reluctance to use the seating provided, what can not be argued is the impact made by Celtic’s Green Brigade. A focal point, talking point, instigators, and ultimately; pure unadulterated Celtic fans. Clearly the type of football, incidents with authorities, and the anti-Celtic bigotry that was seen in the tail end of the season has not harmed the type of collective atmosphere that the Green Brigade revel in, but they have definitely taken the current position and used it to galvanise their position within the Celtic support. Bringing new songs, adapting others, encouraging other fans to join in, the noise, the passion, the deep feeling and dedication has definitely forged a relationship with manger and players that leave you thinking, if this isn’t success for this team, I can’t wait to find out what is.....