Gap too wide for Strachan to bridge, as prudence now costs Celtic progress

Published on Wednesday 22 October 2008 23:58

CELTIC'S latest abortive expedition to Old Trafford would yield no new discoveries, but it could still prove to be a valuable exercise if it triggers a change of attitudes in the Parkhead boardroom.

The directors' insistence on economic stability is clearly a commendable ideal, especially at a time when so many others are lurching under the burden of heavy debt. But their pursuit of it in recent times – declaring record turnovers and profits – has become relentless. In truth, the prudence is beginning to look uncomfortably like parsimony. In these circumstances, there is invariably a conflict between board members and the manager. This imbalance does not apply to ambition – John Reid, Peter Lawwell, Dermot Desmond and the others will share Gordon Strachan's deep desire to see a team equipped to make a serious impact at the highest level in Europe – but to priorities.

While Strachan, like any other manager, would happily lavish expenditure on the kind of players at the disposal of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, his employers are obliged by their remit to ensure the soundness of the company. It is the nature of the respective jobs that creates the discord.

During Martin O'Neill's tenancy some years ago, the then Celtic chairman, Brian Quinn, defined the difference when responding to the manager's cleverly calculated – and, naturally, well-publicised – hints to members of the media that his work at the Parkhead club was being undermined by budget restraints.

"Of course, that's understandable, it's what you would expect Martin to say," said Quinn. "He has his job and he is quite right to try to look after his interests.

"As a board, we have our job, which is different, and, inevitably, there will be times when the two collide. It's the same in any business."

It is, however, the executives who are in government, with the manager, in the final analysis, powerless by comparison. Strachan himself touched briefly on his own frustrations as recently as a few days ago, when discussing the forthcoming Group E match with United and comparing Ferguson's situation with his own.

"Where Alex is at now," said the Celtic manager, "if he wants to buy a player who will improve the fantastic quality he already has, he has to pay 32 million for Dimitar Berbatov. It's the same with us, but on a much smaller scale. I mean, if I wanted to bring in a player who would be appreciably better than I already have, I would be talking about eight million. But even that amount isn't there."

In fact, Strachan has been operating under economic restrictions through his entire three years in the post, a handicap that makes his succession of league championships and twice reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League the more meritorious. On each of the latter two occasions, his teams have had to overcome a seeding which dictated that they should finish no higher than third place in the group. In that respect, Strachan and his players have literally excelled themselves.

Eight years ago, O'Neill was able to spend upwards of 6 million on a single player, a luxury he indulged three times, with Chris Sutton, Neil Lennon and John Hartson. Strachan's record signing has been Scott Brown at 4 million. In relative terms, the Irishman was allowed a budget around three times that with which the present manager has had to content himself. And, in those pre-Lawwell days, Celtic's finances were nothing like as sound as they are now.

Shortly after United's 3-0 victory on Tuesday night, in the room at Old Trafford where Ferguson relaxes with old friends, The Scotsman's football correspondent ventured the highly original remark that, long before the end of the match, you could see the huge difference between the two teams. "Yeah, about 200 million," said Walter Smith succinctly, the Rangers manager having watched his Old Firm rivals beaten by the same score as his own club – then under Alex McLeish – back in 2003.

Smith, of course, is in a similar position to Strachan, although Sir David Murray has made a creditable effort in recent months to increase his manager's spending power, especially at a time when they were denied the sizeable revenues from the Champions League by the devastating defeat by FBK Kaunas. "It's different levels we're talking about here," said Smith. "You saw Celtic tonight, doing their best to contain United and eventually being broken down. It's the same for both of us, Rangers and Celtic, in our own league, trying to break down opponents who don't have the same resources we have."

Nobody with any sense of reality could possibly argue that Celtic or Rangers should be matching the plutocrats of England in the market-place. But Celtic's three most expensive signings of the summer, Glenn Loovens, Georgios Samaras and Shaun Maloney, cost 2 million, 1.2m and 1m respectively, figures that hardly lend themselves to serious European aspirations.

The contentiousness between directors and managers is no new phenomenon, but, at a relatively wealthy Parkhead, it will continue to prevent Strachan or any future manager of the current Scottish champions from extending his dream beyond the occasional place in the last 16 of the Champions League.