BAMBOOZLE BOOMERANG
Postecoglou ruled the A-League and Celts will dominate Scotland for years says McGlinchey
IN Scotland it’s been dubbed Angeball. In Australia a decade ago the term might have been bamboozleball.
Rotations, intensity, ferocity – a footballing system that left opponents tied in knots and feeling like their heads needed put in a cooler after 90 minutes. More importantly, it’s one which ultimately delivered success on both sides of the globe.
It’s 10 years since Ange Postecoglou led Brisbane Roar to a second A-League Grand Finals championship in succession – thwarting Central Coast Mariners and his great friend and rival Graham Arnold in the process.
Much has been written about his ruthless transformation of a Brisbane side that finished second bottom of the table in 2010 into back-to-back champions. Out went the old guard, including former Rangers stalwarts including Craig Moore and Charlie Miller. In came a fresh, young and hungry group of players that would lead the club to its first ever title – and immediately a second.
But more than anything it was their merciless attacking style which struck former Celtic midfielder Michael McGlinchey who was part of the Central Coast side that were victims of the Roar’s ferocity under Postecoglou. Only once in 11 meetings did the Mariners sink Brisbane, despite the two sides finishing in the top two spots in the regular season both years.
That sequence of results included losing out in front of 50,000 in the 2011 Grand Final before being dumped in the semi-finals a year later as Postecoglou’s side went on to defeat Perth Glory in the final.
No surprise then that McGlinchey backed the Aussie to deliver for Celtic after raising a few eyebrows when he arrived to replace Neil Lennon a year ago.
That same ruthless attacking style which blew away rivals down under saw the Hoops romp to the title and prove McGlinchey’s optimism right.
Now he is backing Celtic for a period of domination under the 56-year-old who he reckons will be hungry to prove his credentials on the biggest stage of them all – the Champions League.
McGlinchey, currently playing for Weston Bears in the Aussie second tier, told Record Sport: “To Aussies it’s absolutely no surprise what Ange has achieved at Celtic. He was doing that in this league 10, 11, 12 years ago. When I was playing against his Brisbane Roar team – some of the systems he produced just blew your head.
“You’d be wondering what he was doing as there were players running all over the place. I was telling people back home that this guy is the real deal as soon as Celtic appointed him. They never even knew his name!
“I came over to Australia in 2009 and a few months later he took over Brisbane. That’s when I got to know all about his ability.
“I had Graham Arnold as my manager who again is a fantastic manager and the pair of them had a two or three year dugout rivalry that was incredible to be part of.
“Ange was doing these rotations with his team that I’d never seen before. I don’t think anyone really had.
“The frontline was moving all over the place and your head was getting scrambled at times. It could leave you totally bamboozled.
“They had a 38-game unbeaten run at one point and dominated the league for two or three seasons.
“So it’s great to see how his career has kicked on. Everywhere he has gone he has had success.
“Being a Celtic fan myself I was buzzing to see him lift the trophy last month especially after I had backed him!”
Postecoglou has already admitted he’ll have to pinch himself when he leads Celtic out in the Champions League having secured group stage football by winning the title.
Humble maybe but the Hoops boss is hungry to succeed and McGlinchey is in no doubt he will continue to move Celtic forwards.
He said: “Celtic will get better again next
“It’ s exciting times for the club and going by what Ange has said he’s just getting started MICHAEL MCGLINCHEY EXPECTS CELTS TO MARCH ON IN SCOTLAND AND IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
season. Honestly, the type of character Ange is he will not shy away from anything.
“I would back Celtic for a period of domination with him at the helm.
“He drove Brisbane on, he then had success with Australia winning their first ever Asian Cup in 2015. He’s won titles in Japan and now Scotland.
“It’s so impressive. But the Champions League will give him even more incentive to drive Celtic forward again, not that he needed any.
“That is another challenge he will be desperate to take on and prove himself in.
“It’s exciting times for the club and going by what Postecoglou has said he’s only just getting started.”
It’s not only Celtic that should be thankful for
the job their boss has done though as McGlinchey said: “What Ange has achieved in Japan and Scotland has really opened up the Australian market for players to get opportunities in bigger leagues.
“When I first played in Australia people outside the country didn’t really know too much about it. Now they do. “The foreign rule is a good thing as it gives a lot of the young players the chance to play and get game time. “Then they get to a certain age where they have to leave because it’s a salary-capped league. “You’ve seen it with players going to Celtic and now Hearts and Hibs. “It’s brilliant the A-League is getting the recognition it deserves now.”