PREPARING FOR AN INVINCIBLE SEASON
THE SUMMER OF 2016…
The opening of the summer transfer market in June is one of the most exciting times of the season for football supporters across the world. Exciting and sometimes frustrating, as the often-frenzied media speculation in the absence of actual football to report on either comes to fruition or nothing, leaving us disappointed or desperate to see our new stars in action in the coming campaign.
It is a particularly interesting time when a new manager has arrived at your club. Who will he bring with him?Whose face won’t fit in this new regime?
In June 2016, Brendan Rodgers was settling into his new post as the manager of Celtic, having arrived on a wave of enthusiasm and anticipation a few weeks earlier. He would not be aware that he was about to embark on the greatest season of his life, a campaign where long-standing records were consistently blasted away by his Invincibles.
But first he had to build that squad, that team. My debut book Invincible tells the story of that remarkable season, commencing with the events which triggered the appointment of Rodgers. The extract below picks up the story as the new manager assesses what he has and what he needs. It looks back objectively at the comings and goings at Celtic Park over that critical close-season period, when decisions made would determine much of what was about to follow.
THE FIRST TASK
First task for Brendan Rodgers at Celtic was to assemble a backroom team for the coming season. His number two would again be Chris Davies, his former youth team captain at Reading. Like his boss, he had seen his professional career ended prematurely, the Watford-born midfielder still in his teens. Davies turned to coaching, spending time at Leicester then New Zealand – where he tied up with ex-Celtic goalkeeper, Jonathan Gould – before re-uniting with Brendan at Swansea in 2010, the 25-year-old joining as assistant coach, a role he continued with Rodgers at Anfield, two years later. Following the events of October 2015 in Liverpool, Davies headed back to Reading and the Madejski, at 30 becoming the youngest first-team coach in their history, under manager Brian McDermott. Still only 31, the new assistant manager at Parkhead would actually be younger than some of the players.
John Kennedy would remain as Rodgers’ first-team coach, a role he had enjoyed under Ronny Deila since 2014. Yet another young player whose career was blighted then ended by injury, well before his time, he made his Celtic debut on 5 April 2000, a late substitute for two-goal Tommy Johnson in a 4-0 victory over Motherwell at Parkhead, replacing Roy Aitken as the club’s youngest-ever player. Kennedy would be in the home dugout some 16 years later to see Jack Aitchison take his record.
John’s career turned in a week in March 2004. A standout in the Camp Nou with David Marshall, as a young Celtic side prevailed over Ronaldinho et al, he then turned in another excellent performance at Ibrox on the Sunday, as the Bhoys won the derby. The following midweek, he played his first game for Scotland, a brutal Romanian challenge then putting him out of the game for three years. I recall him appearing at Rugby Park in April 2007, my daughter and I celebrating a last-minute title-clincher with the shirtless Nakamura. His second spell in the first team was ended in Donetsk, after a bad fall in the Champions League tie with Shakhtar in November of that year forced him onto the sidelines for another nine months. He would return at Norwich City, on loan in August 2008, the unfortunate defender then suffering ankle ligament damage in December, pre-empting his return to Glasgow. Twelve months later, still just 26, he announced his retirement from football. Graduating through a number of scouting or youth development roles at the club, he was appointed first-team coach in June 2014. John was descended from Celtic royalty, his grandfather being the one and only Jimmy Delaney.
At least the goalkeeping coach had enjoyed a lengthy professional career. Brendan had decided to retain the services of the topically-named Stevie Gerard Woods, his service having commenced back in 2007 under Gordon Strachan. The former Hibernian youth keeper began his senior stint with brief spells at Clydebank and Preston North End in the early ‘90s, before making his name over a decade with Motherwell. In 2003, he moved to St Mirren, for a final two-year playing spell between the sticks, before moving into coaching, initially with Livingston then Dunfermline Athletic. His initial remit on joining Celtic in 2007 was to work with the youth and reserve goalkeepers, however, upon the resignation of Gordon Strachan, Woods replaced first-team coach Jim Blyth, who had followed the manager through the Parkhead exit door. He would continue in this role through the tenures of Tony Mowbray, Neil Lennon and Ronny Deila. With Kennedy, this would ensure a degree of continuity.
There was also a balance to be struck in terms of the players to be retained or released. A number of players who had played regularly under Lennon or Deila would not be involved at all under Rodgers.
PLAYERS COMING AND GOING
Irish striker Anthony Stokes had hardly kicked a ball in Deila’s second season at Celtic, amidst talk of disciplinary breaches. A January loan to Hibernian culminated in two goals and a man-of-the-match award in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final, as the Leith side broke their 114-year-old hoodoo, in the first-ever final between two lower-tier teams. If he thought that would earn him a fresh start at Celtic, he would be wrong. Stokes was released at the end of his contract, signing for Blackburn Rovers in June.
He would be joined at Ewood Park in August by Charlie Mulgrew, whose contract had also expired. The versatile left-sided player had been an automatic pick just a couple of years earlier, however, this had reduced to around one in three under Deila. His Parkhead highlights would include a double Player of the Year award in 2011/12, having scored with a classic free-kick in the Scottish Cup Final as Neil Lennon won his first trophy, the previous May. He would enjoy success again at Blackburn.
Two years after Charlie had scooped both top writer and player awards in Scotland, it was the turn of teammate Kris Commons to clean up at the end-of-season prize-giving, in 2013/14. He had been a sensational signing since arriving from Derby County in January 2011, playing just behind the strikers and chipping in with more than his fair share of goals, many of them spectacular efforts from outside the box. He had fallen out of favour with Deila after reacting angrily to being replaced during the 3-1 Europa League defeat in Molde in October 2015, an incident captured in all its non-glory by an ever-eager media. On the periphery ever since. Commons’ deal still had a year to run but he would not feature at all under Rodgers, eventually joining Neil Lennon at Hibernian on an emergency loan in December 2016. He returned to Celtic the following month, then retired at the end of the season, having failed to recover sufficiently from a chronic back condition, before moving into a media role.
There had been much speculation in the Press and amongst the support that senior players at Celtic had undermined, or attempted to undermine, Ronny Deila, following his appointment at Celtic. Rightly or wrongly, the names of Stokes, Mulgrew and Commons continued to be associated with such reports. All three had contributed hugely to our success on the field in recent years, particularly under Neil Lennon. To the uninformed, outside the inner sanctuary of Celtic Park, the release of the three senior players at the earliest opportunity under the new regime, with a combined total of zero appearances under Rodgers, sent out a clear message that things were about to change.
The other big summer departure had been Stefan Johansen. The Norwegian midfielder had signed for Neil Lennon in January 2014, having won his national title with Ronny Deila’s Stromsgodset the previous year, the club’s first elite championship for 43 years. He had big boots, or perhaps a big jersey, to fill, choosing squad number 25. The shirt of Lubo. The shirt of Naka. Nevertheless, the dynamic little midfielder won many of the fans over with a series of energetic performances, as he played for that jersey. He would succeed Charlie Mulgrew and Kris Commons, voted Players’ Player of the Year in 2015. He would also follow them out the Parkhead front door, joining Fulham for £2m in August 2016. I always thought that Johansen received a lot of unfair stick almost by association to Ronny Deila, despite the fact that his fellow-Norwegian had not actually signed him for Celtic. Just my thoughts.
A number of relatively recent signings, who could collectively be badged as having failed to set the stadium alight, would also be on their way shortly, either permanently or on loan. These included Carlton Cole, Colin Kazim Richards, Stefan Skepovic, Darnell Fisher, Saidy Janko and Scott Allan.
As Stefan Johansen settled in at Craven Cottage in August 2016, he may well have been allocated the locker of the Fulham player who had made the reverse journey on 28 June. Teenage French striker Moussa Dembele was the signing which really captured the imagination of the Celtic supporters over that exciting summer, despite the modest outlay involved, believed to be around £500,000.
The biggest fee, £3.5m, was used to secure the services of a player who had worked previously with Rodgers in his career down south, Scott Sinclair. His form in Swansea City’s first season in the Premier League, 2012/13, had prompted English champions Manchester City to pay the Welsh club £8m for his signature on transfer deadline day. He would make his debut the following month at Stoke then start the next week at home to Arsenal, however, Scott was replaced at half-time and that was pretty much that for his first season under Roberto Mancini. Just as he had done at Chelsea, many years earlier, Sinclair would find it difficult to claim a regular starting place in a side full of stars.
He would fare little better the following campaign, 2013/14, a season-long loan to West Bromwich Albion failing to secure a first-team slot under Steve Clarke or his successor Pepe Mal. Scott headed back to the Etihad for the start of the next season but by Christmas, he remained out of the picture.
Next up was a return to the Midlands, this time to Villa Park on the last day of January 2015, a loan with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. Things did not start well, a 5-0 defeat on his debut at Arsenal followed by the sacking of Paul Lambert. However, things would turn around completely following the appointment of Tim Sherwood as the former Celtic captain’s successor. Sinclair was on target against Midland rivals Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion, Villa moving into the last four of the FA Cup. He would then come off the bench at Wembley for the final fifteen minutes, as a Liverpool side managed by his old boss, Brendan Rodgers, lost a 1-0 lead and a chance of silverware for Anfield. Sinclair would remain an unused substitute in the final, as the dream came to an end following a 4-0 mauling from Wenger’s Gunners. On a positive note, the Villa management had seen enough to pay Manchester City around £2.6m for the signature of their talented frontman.
His final season in the Midlands would again be disappointing, Sinclair featuring in half of the League games as Villa were relegated for the first time in nearly 30 years. The manager on that occasion, back in 1987, had been Celtic legend Billy McNeill, who would bounce back from that heartbreak to deliver a Centenary Double the following season in Glasgow. There was another former Celt at the helm as the Villa ship went down again. This time it was Eric Black, assistant to Jo Venglos in the late 90’s, who had the thankless task of keeping them afloat, after both Sherwood and French successor Remi Garde had been sacked mid-season. Villa had paid a high price for selling Christian Benteke to Rodgers and Liverpool back in the summer, the £32m fee received mere loose change in comparison to the riches on offer for remaining in the top division. But they had a club owner looking to sell.
Sinclair had managed six goals in that doomed campaign, four of those in the League Cup, including his second senior hat-trick, required to rescue Villa from defeat at home to Notts County. The fact that with just six strikes he would be joint top scorer at the club that season probably says it all. It would now be time for a new challenge, his old mentor at Chelsea and Swansea identifying him early on as a priority target. On 7 August 2016, Rodgers got his man. Life would never be quite the same again for the Englishman. For now, it was just logical. Soon it would be magical. Wonderful.
Two weeks earlier, Brendan had welcomed another familiar face to Parkhead. On 24 July 2016, veteran Ivory Coast defender Kolo Touré joined the Hoops on a one-year deal, following his release by Liverpool. At 35, he would provide experienced back-up and guidance to what was a relatively young defence, with perhaps a view to transition into coaching beyond the contract expiry. It was a sensible move, generally welcomed by the Celtic fan base. That young backline included Norwegian Kristoffer Ajer, signed in June from IK Start for a fee in the region of £600,000, after a successful trial.
On 13 August, Rodgers made it a hat-trick of old Bhoys, when he paid Nottingham Forest a nominal fee for their Player of the Year, Dorus de Vries. The 35-year-old Dutch goalkeeper had marched all the way to Wembley with Brendan and Scott Sinclair back in 2011, as the striker’s hat-trick sealed a first-ever Premier League invitation for the Welsh side. He had played in Scotland previously, lining up against Celtic in the Scottish Cup Final of May 2007, beaten late on by Jean-Joel Perrier Doumbe. De Vries would provide some much-needed competition for current Parkhead No.1, Craig Gordon.
There would be one final piece in the Rodgers summer transfer jigsaw. On 30 August 2016, he signed Costa Rican right-back Christian Gamboa from West Bromwich Albion, for an undisclosed but almost-certainly modest fee. The pacy defender had impressed Brendan in a game at Anfield back in 2014, before falling out of favour with new Hawthorns boss Tony Pulis. Gamboa would provide cover for and a challenge to Mikael Lustig, who curiously enough he had succeeded at Rosenborg, Trondheim not perhaps the sort of climate one would think would be appealing to a player from the Caribbean.
An extract from INVINCIBLE, my debut as a published Celtic author, available now from The Celtic Star Bookstore.
Hail Hail!
Matt Corr
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