Contrasting values clash in Scotland - FIFA article

[Zappa 0]

Interesting article from FIFA.com -

 

"Contrasting values clash in Scotland

 

Ever since their legendary rivalry was born 122 years ago, Celtic and Rangers have always had very distinct, opposing identities. Rarely, however, have there been as many clearly marked differences between these Glaswegian Goliaths as there are in their current battle for the Scottish Premier League title.

 

In the green corner, Celtic are undergoing a revolution. No other description would do justice to a transformation that, having started with Tony Mowbray�s appointment during the summer, has included the addition of 12 new players, eight of whom arrived during a frenetic January window. Mowbray has earned renown, and occasionally ridicule, for his romantic football philosophy, and a commitment to reviving Celtic's tradition for expansive, attractive football resulted last month in the biggest personnel changes anywhere in world football.

 

The dramatic deadline day capture of Robbie Keane, whom 5,000 fans waited until midnight to greet, capped an unprecedented period of activity in which the Celtic manager also moved on 10 players, including the clubââ?¬â?¢s captain, vice-captain and top scorer. ââ?¬Å?It's a gamble," Mowbray admitted. "But you either sit on your hands and do nothing, or you try to make improvements.ââ?¬Â

 

In many ways, a lack of new faces has helped us. Because there's not been much movement in or out of the club, there has been a stability that's benefited us.

Rangers manager Walter Smith

 

While Mowbray�s challenge is to knit a dressing room of strangers into a cohesive unit - and quickly - the task facing his Rangers counterpart could hardly contrast more starkly. Walter Smith is nothing if not stoic, but with Rangers� financial plight having prevented him from making any permament signings since August 2008, he must have been envious of the spending spree taking place across the city.

 

Smith, though, has taken a 'glass half-full' view - and with good reason. After all, while Celtic have dominated the headlines, it is Rangers who lead the Premier League table by the not inconsiderable margin of eight points. Stalwarts such as David Weir, Kenny Miller, Steven Davis and the prolific Kris Boyd have excelled and, ironically, Rangersââ?¬â?¢ greatest weakness ââ?¬â?? an inability to change their squad ââ?¬â?? looks to have become their most significant strength.

 

As Smith acknowledged: "In many ways, a lack of new faces has helped us. Because there's not been much movement in or out of the club, there has been a stability that's benefited us.�

 

Even before the financial shackles were applied, Smith differed from Mowbray in purposely building his team around a core of admittedly ââ?¬Å?unflashyââ?¬Â Scottish players such as Weir, Miller and Lee McCulloch. The result has been a team that rarely dazzles, but is never lacking in determination, togetherness and team spirit. As Weir said today: "I know we're not the most pleasing on the eye at times, but it's all about winning - that's why we're here. We're not looking for credit or pats on the back. All we're interested in is winning."

 

I need to be inspired and the supporters need inspiring. When I watch Spain, Barcelona and great technical teams and players, I try to recreate that.

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray

 

While Smith sent out a line-up containing eight Scottish internationals on Wednesday, Mowbray has opted for a more cosmopolitan approach, recently fielding a team that included ten different nationalities and not a single Scot. The former West Bromwich Albion manager is from the Arsene Wenger school of thought in this respect and, unlike Weir, shares Wenger's belief that football should be about more than the pursuit of points.

 

As he said at his first-ever press conference as Celtic manager: ââ?¬Å?I need to be inspired and the supporters need inspiring. When I watch Spain, Barcelona and great technical teams and players, I try to recreate that where possible.ââ?¬Â

 

These were ambitious words, and translating them into reality has proved easier said than done. Mowbray�s Celtic have been plagued by defensive fragility from the outset, with injuries, inconsistency and changes in personnel ensuring that the Josh Thompson-Thomas Rogne partnership which finished Wednesday�s win over Hearts was their eighth centre-half pairing of the season. Furthermore, Thompson and Rogne are 18 and 19 respectively. Compare that to Rangers, whose defensive solidity is based on the unmatched experience and unflappable composure of 39-year-old Weir.

 

To the teenagers� credit, both performed assuredly as Celtic succeeded in narrowing the gap with a morale-boosting win in which the team's outstanding player, Aiden McGeady, was back to his bewitching best. Inventive, skilful players such as McGeady, Keane, Kamara, Shaun Maloney and cult hero Paddy McCourt are at the heart of Mowbray�s vision, while Smith will be pinning his hopes on solidity, unity and pragmatism providing the foundation for a successful title defence.

 

Whichever philosophy prevails, this matching of contrasting styles, volatility against stability, and youth against experience promise to make this Old Firm title duel one of the most intriguing in years."

 

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1169203.html?cid=rssfeed&att=

[pete 2,499]

Yes i like that i wonder who wrote it? I doubt that it would be Graham Spiers.