Over these past few weeks all indications were that Wilfried Nancy would soon become our new manager, and now that it’s been confirmed I thought I would share my thoughts on the Frenchman…
His appointment has been an almost certainty since the bookmakers stopped taking bets on the outcome a couple of weeks ago, so we have had plenty of time to do our homework on Wilfried Nancy and see what he’s all about.
I’m happy to admit that when I first heard us being linked with him I wasn’t sure he would be the man for the job, but much like I felt with Ange Postecoglou, my opinion has changed after delving deeper into the type of manager we would be getting. My main concern was probably the same as many others. It’s whether someone who has never managed in Europe will be able to come in and make an impact at Celtic. To be fair that was pretty much the same worry I had regarding Ange, although he had managed in Europe, it was short spell in Greece that was deemed a failure.
The main difference between Ange and Wilfried however is their experience
The main difference between Ange and Wilfried however is their experience. The Australian may not have made an impact in Europe but he had plenty of experience such as successfully managing not just at multiple clubs in Australia, but also in Japan and with the Australian national side. Nancy doesn’t have this experience and initially that was a worry but the more I’ve studied him the more I feel like it won’t be as big a problem as I initially thought.
I have watched multiple videos now of his Columbus Crew team and studied how they play. I have listened to many analysts who know far more about football in North America than the majority of Celtic fans, myself included . I have read glowing recommendations from players who have formally operated under our new manager. All well and good and if like me you want to go down that rabbit hole you will come out the other side with a lot of your fears quelled. We know however that this doesn’t tell the whole story. We need to know the man himself.
An absolutely ridiculous decision by Celtic
Over the past few days we have got to see a glimpse of that, although we would know even more about the man if Celtic didn’t pull the plug at the very last minute on The Celtic Star’s very own Conor Spence getting to ask his questions to our new manager during the press conference yesterday. An absolutely ridiculous decision by the way, but that fight is for another article which I’ll write at a later date. What we have got to see and hear of Nancy however has been very impressive.
Personally it’s not been what he has said in interviews or press releases however, it’s more what I’ve seen that impresses me. So far he’s had the mandatory easy interview with Gerry McCulloch and answered a few bland questions from the never inspiring Scottish mainstream media. Pretty vanilla stuff in all honesty. What I liked more has been the videos of him at the academy and at Lennoxtown. Not the mundane ‘smile and tell us how happy you are to be Celtic manager’ stuff but watching the man do what he’s most comfortable doing. Managing a football club.
Someone who takes a real interest in players
The Frenchman was filmed meeting some academy players and asked each player to describe a quality of one of their teammates, before he asked them to outline something that they could all improve on. I found this clip so insightful. It was backing up everything I had heard or read about him over the last few weeks. Someone who takes a real interest in players and is constantly demanding they evaluate and critique not only what they could be doing better, but also those around them. Young players getting to hear what their peers think are their strengths whilst also reminding them that there is also plenty still to work on.
We also got some footage of him working with the first team at Lennoxtown and again the short clip told you more about him as a coach than anything we have heard him say in his interviews so far. He was right in the middle of things, already trying to implement his philosophy without over doing it. You could see the players were enjoying something different. He has mentioned he isn’t going to be bombarding the players with his ideas straight away. He wants to gradually implement his style which is the only way it’s going to work, especially with so little time on the training field over the next few weeks.
I’m glad we have went for Wilfried Nancy. Is it a risk? Certainly
When I think of some of the candidates that were mentioned, the likes of Kieran McKenna, Gary O’Neil or Robbie Keane. None of them inspired me. We would have been settling for the average Joe. The vanilla option. I’m glad we have went for Wilfried Nancy. Is it a risk? Certainly. But the possibilities if it comes good are really exciting.
Nancy has worked his way up from teaching under 14 girls teams to this point. He has proved a success and impressed everyone he has come across along the way. What’s stopping him from coming to Celtic and taking us to the next level? If his philosophy has advanced Montreal and Columbus and brought them trophies why can’t he do that at Celtic, where surely even with our malfunctioning board he will have better players and a bigger budget than he’s ever had before.
I’m excited by the future under Wilfried Nancy
Much like I was when Ange Postecoglou first arrived, I’m excited by the future under Wilfried Nancy. I can sense that hunger to succeed burning deep inside him. I feel like he’s finally got his shot at the big time and he’s not going to let it slip away. He will have ambitions even beyond Celtic, much like Ange did, and that’s not a bad thing. That means he will give absolutely everything to make his time at Celtic a success.
I’m willing to stick my neck out and say that I think he’s going to be a huge success at Celtic. What better way to get the ball rolling than to beat Hearts on Sunday. Hopefully putting the Jambos to the sword will be the first of many great wins under our new manager, and the start of a bright new era at Celtic Park.
Conall McGinty
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Pretty much exactly how i feel about this appointment , hope we are proven right , Hail hail .
I agree with the overall point of the article, however, I have been seriously impressed with what hes said in the Celtic TV piece and the press conference. It wasn’t the usual Celtic platitudes, historic team, great fans, massive club, that fans fawn over. The Toni Kross says Parkhead is the best stadium giddy excitement that ultimately means nothing. The guy spoke about football, how he sees it and how we need to develop. Everything was clear and resonated. It was a football geek, geeking out. Just listening to him on Thursday I was hoping the Hearts game was at 8 on Thursday night, I was ready to buy into every word and go through a brick wall for him, just think how the players feel listening to him for 3 days. This was a modern football manager talking modern football. Nothing about what he said can be argued with, the style, the method, the process, it was all on point and sounded like a Football manager guidebook that would have been banned in the 80s for inciting witchcraft. I may be wrong but I genuinely believe he’s the manager that actually does take us to the next level, Europe’s dark horses. This guy isn’t leaving in 2/3 years for a Forest or Brighton, this guy could go big.
Agree 100%
I’m all in & think we’ve unearthed a gem!
Agreed. Despite the board having pissed us all off mightily they usually get it right when they hire a gaffer. Unlike some other recently formed clubs.