Life In The Slow Lane

Martin O'Neill's observation did not foresee current realities and applied to a difference set of circumstances. His prediction is coming true regardless.

As we ponder why, after months to plan and execute on getting the club in shape for the new season, we are faced with, instead, a strange stasis synonymous with club business since the early days of Ange Postecoglou, one wonders how Martin O’Neill would characterise it all.

It was to The Guardian on 30^th September 2003, that O’Neill is reported to have said to Kevin McCarrra “If it is the case (that stars like Henrik Larsson depart and are replaced with players on lower wages), we’ll have to get used to life in the slow lane”.

The situation the Irishman referred to was very different to that faced by Celtic today. Then, an expensively assembled squad reached a European final, but the club was losing money and growing the overdraft.

Now, money sits in the bank, the club is sustainably run yet has arguably never been as paralysed in terms of strategy, direction, vigour and energy.

Celtic have, of course, broken record after record since that time in racking up an incredible tally of domestic trophies including four trebles in a row (always worth reminding ourselves of that as no on else will). However, performance in Europe has seen a wilful disregard for the realities of the calendar, specifically qualification matches, and a failure to develop the club in line with industry best practise. Now, clubs like FK Bodø/Glimt, Club Brugge, Royale Union St Gilloise, Qarabag, Olympiacos and Atalanta regularly eclipse what was once a club solidly part of Europe’s upper middle class.

And let’s be honest about the last season, as gloriously as it ended. Celtic got away with gross mismanagement and essentially brute forced success despite that due to inherently superior resources. Performance levels were on a par with the worst of the 2020-21 COVID-19 afflicted season, the recent benchmark for “nadir”.

It feels like the club has not so much entered the slow lane but come to a standstill on the hard shoulder.

As I go through the usual end of season exercise of updating endless summary spreadsheets, what does that macro picture look like in the data?

I’m glad you asked the question despite likely not being enamoured with the answer.