MARTIN O’NEILL AND SHAUN MALONEY: A STRATEGY SO SIMPLE IN ITS STYLE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
I have, in recent days, seen a number of people compare former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers to the David Brent character from BBC’s The Office.
Such comparisons, while funny, are, I think, a bit unfair. What we have here is a complete change not just of managerial style, but footballing culture at Celtic over the past week.
Rodgers’ decisions and tactics, which came under increasing scrutiny as his second Celtic tenure neared its end, were driven by data, analytics and input from various other modern sources. He did, at times, appear to be using these footballing “buzz words” to mask the team’s wider failings.
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney have stepped in now and basically said: “B*llocks to all that, let’s just focus on playing simple, attacking football!”
So far, we have to say, it appears to be working.
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney Both Deserve Huge Credit for Swift Turnaround
The spotlight has, for the most part, been on Martin O’Neill. A Celtic legend coming out of retirement for “one more round” Rocky Balboa style.
However, we cannot overlook the huge impact that Shaun Maloney has also had. Like many others, I don’t think he’s quite ready to be Celtic manager in his own right. The man himself has said he’s quite happy to go back to his role as pathway manager for Celtic’s youngsters once a new, full-time boss is found.
And if the recent emergence of Callum Osmand and Colby Donovan is anything to go by, then maybe things are finally starting to come good on the youth development side for Celtic.
It’s also very telling that, while Martin O’Neill handled the pre and post-match interviews at Sunday’s League Cup Semi Final win, it was Maloney who gave what, in hindsight, must have been a massively impactful team talk ahead of the start of extra time.
Celtic came out with a renewed vigor and a hunger so often lacking from the team in recent times. As soon as extra time kicked off, it seemed there was only going to be one winner. Whatever else may happen in the future, if indeed this semi final leads to Celtic claiming their first trophy of the season in December, then both Maloney and O’Neill deserve massive credit.
One has to wonder though, who gets the medals if we win?
Brendan Rodgers managed the first two games of this campaign; O’Neill and Maloney just masterminded a semi-final victory. By the time we reach the final on December 14th, it’s very possible that a completely different manager may lead the team out against St. Mirren.
In any case though, the simple, direct football that Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney have brought to Celtic over the past week has been genuinely refreshing. The players seem to be thriving in it too.
A tough European away tie against Europa League pace-setters Midtjylland later this week may well bring us all crashing back down to earth.
It remains to be seen if this straightforward, yet remarkably fluid style of play Celtic has now adopted will translate to the European stage.
So far, we’ve proven we can win league games playing this way, and we’ve overcome Rangers, something Celtic hadn’t done without penalty kicks for over a year previously.
Europe is the next big test for the O’Neill/Maloney rejuvenation project. Win or lose, I think we can all agree we’re feeling a lot better going into this game now than we were last Monday.