Personal

Fullname: John Charles Bryan Barnes
aka: John Barnes (or "Barnesy")
Born: 7 November 1963
Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Manager from: 10 June 1999
To: 10 Feb 2000

Manager 1999 - 2000

John Barnes was announced as Head Coach of Celtic on 10th June 1999.

The story of his impending appointment had been reported in the press, but it still came as a considerable surprise given that it was the former England international winger's first managerial job in football. After the failure of Liam Brady in the early 90's it was never expected that we would make the same mistake again by putting in a novice manager in charge of the first team again. However, Kenny Dalglish was in place as Director of Football, and the choice of Barnes was clearly his, the two having been team-mates at Liverpool, and Dalglish was expected to act as the mentor. There were dissenting voices from sections of the support but counter to what many may say now, his appointment was very warmly received by most. The partnership was cringingly dubbed "The Dream Team".

In one important point, he was the first black or non-white British person to manage one of the premier clubs in Britain, and for Celtic it was an honour to have this milestone in our proud egalitarian history.

By July, new signings Olivier Tebily, Stilian Petrov, Eyal Berkovic, Dmitri Kharine, and Bobby Petta had been secured. Berkovic's signing from West Ham broke the Scottish transfer fee record, at £5.75m. Early results, despite a loss at Tannadice in the third league game, were promising but there were some misgivings about the new coach's 4-2-2-2 formation, as well as murmurings about the role that Craig Burley could be expected to play in the new system. Both the misgivings and murmurings proved well-founded when the team lost key matches to Motherwell, Lyon and Rangers in the autumn, and Craig Burley was sold to Derby County (against the wishes of the support).

Compounding the gloom was the loss of Henrik Larsson due to a severe leg break in the first leg match in Lyon, an injury which was to keep him out for the rest of the season. Barnes moved quickly to secure ex-Arsenal legend Ian Wright as a short-term replacement, but it was a measure which did not pay off, as the ageing Wright struggled to cope with the pace of the Scottish game. Worse was that Ian Wright was taking the role little seriously which was embarrassing to say the least to see someone so well paid pay so much lip service to the fans on the terraces.

However, Celtic maintained interest in the league championship race with a 1-1 draw at Parkhead against Rangers just prior to the winter break. During that break, Barnes made another big money signing, Rafael Scheidt from Brazil. But the player would not really feature much due first to a sudden bout of appendicitis and then later an injury. The whole episode with Rafael became one of the most comical and tragic signings in our history, which led even the highly regarded "When Saturday Comes" football fanzine/magazine to write a long article on "The Curious Case of Rafael Scheidt" years later. According to some, Raphael Scheidt wasn't really too bad a player but he didn't even play enough games for the rest of us to be able to tell if that was true, and in many ways is the lasting icon highlighting Barnes' reign as manager.

Of the number of other signings Barnes made, none of them were unqualified successes either in his time as manager.

Didn't help that he tried to implement a system that was supposedly based on Latin American style tactics, being very overly attacking/aggressive! The whole idea neither suited the players or the rest of the coaching staff. It was a failure and just further added to the problems at the club. The basis of the formation is of using fast attacking full-backs, but they maybe ten-a-penny in Brazil but not in Scotland. Formation was similar to below:

- -+ +-- - -+ +- - - -+ +- - -++++- - -+- -

Celtic returned from the winter break with hopes high that we could push Rangers for the league title. But those hopes suffered major set-backs with dropped points at Kilmarnock in the first league match after the winter shutdown, followed by a very discouraging loss at home to Hearts after Celtic had led 2-0.

Three days later Barnes' team crashed disastrously at home against First Division Inverness Caledonian Thistle (8th February 2000), one of (if not) the worst cup result in the club's history. Rumours of dressing room strife were rife (later revealed to be fact). The following day, Barnes was summarily fired (along with Eric Black and Terry McDermott), despite assurances earlier in the season from senior management that he would be given plenty of time to prove himself. It was no surprise, and few (if any) actually sympathised at the time.

Kenny Dalglish stepped in as interim boss and it was more of the same underachievements to the end of the season.

In retrospect, Barnes was simply in over his head and a managerial role came to encompass far more required than what he had at the time. His 'mentor' has to take the flak for not assisting more but the buck stops with Barnes, and an early streak of arrogance and hubris was to be Barnes' downfall in his short reign far sooner than even the most sceptical commentator on the appointment could have predicted. When you have players of the calibre of Lubo, Viduka, Petrov (admittedly still to prove himself) and Larsson (until his injury) in your side, you should hardly fail so badly. Yet he did.

After the disaster of his reign at Celtic it wasn't until 2008 that he finally got another managerial job, and that was as the manager of the Jamaican national side. It was very short lived (just 6 months) and he moved onto Tranmere Rovers as boss. As at Celtic and the Jamaican national side, his stint was again brief and he was fired after a very poor run. This time there was no way he could talk his way out of it. He simply didn't have the ability to be a manager at the highest level of the game.

All the best to him and we do hope him good fortune. It was a real baptism of fire at Celtic for the man and it was not an easy time. He squandered his opportunities, but he is still a popular figure in footballing circles. So through this, he will etch out an easy living; reality TV and side-show football analysis awaits.

Managerial Career at Celtic

Team	From	To	G	W	L	D	Win %
Celtic __________	10-Jun-99 __________	10-Feb-00 __________	29 __________	19 __________	8 __________	2 __________	65.51 __________

Major buys:

Eyal Berkovic (West Ham £5.75m);
Stilian Petrov (CSKA Sofia £2m);
Dmitri Kharine (Chelsea free);
Olivier Tebily (Sheff Utd £1.25m);
Bobby Petta (Ipswich free);
Rafael Scheidt (Gremio £5.6m)

Major sales:

Simon Donnelly and Phil O'Donnell (Sheffield Wed, both free);
Craig Burley (Derby County £3m)

Quotes

'It was just an accident waiting to happen."
John Barnes on the 3-1 defeat to Inv Caley in 2000, speaking in 2002

"What it told me is this: my whole philosophy about football was to worry about what happens on the pitch with the players. But increasingly these days you have to know more about the men you are working for. Your bosses impact on you far more than what is going on on the field.
"If they don't support you, you are in trouble. At Celtic they were not with me. They wanted Kenny Dalglish, they didn't want me."
Barnes had already been subjected to criticism when Celtic lost Henrik Larsson and Paul Lambert to injury. The problems escalated swiftly. "Player power took over because they started talking to the board of directors about things," he laments. "There is definitely too much player power. Only Alex Ferguson is immune to it. Players aren't accountable for their performances. When you are in a comfort zone where you know that if you lose the manager is going to get it, there is not the same pressure to give everything."
John Barnes on his time at Celtic, interview with the Observer (2008)

Pictures

• Picture Gallery

Interview

• Scotland on Sunday, October 1999

Articles

• The "Dream Team"

Links

• Celtic Sack John Barnes
  

Celtic chief plans 'full review' (BBC) 9 Feb 00

Celtic are "urgently addressing" the club's position amid calls for coach John Barnes to be sacked after their Scottish Cup defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Chief executive Allan MacDonald has described the 3-1 embarrassment at Parkhead as "totally unacceptable to myself, my fellow directors and simply not good enough for the Celtic support".

Barnes sacked as Dalglish holds the fort

Football Unlimited staff guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 February 2000 17.57 GMT

John Barnes has been sacked as manager of Celtic. Barnes, along with assistant coach Eric Black, has had his contract at the club terminated. Terry McDermott will leave Parkhead by mutual agreement. Director of football Kenny Dalglish will take temporary charge of first team affairs.

At a press conference held this afternoon to announce Barnes' departure, Dalglish defended his protege's tenure. "John Barnes is an admirable fellow and someone I think will go on in later years to establish himself as very successful in managing a football club," he said. "Unfortunately it won't be at Celtic Football Club."

Dalglish was also strong in his support for McDermott, who had been the subject of some criticism in the press and labelled with the tag of Celtic's 'social manager'. "For people to suggest he was a social manager is an absolute joke. Terry worked hard for the club and received tremendous respect from all the players."

However, Dalglish reserved his most passionate words for the Celtic players. Claiming they shared an equal responsibility with the coaching staff for the club's current plight, Dalglish said: "The supporters demand that the players who wear the shirt wear it with pride. We want players who are totally committed. If they aren't they don't deserve to be here. We can accept bad results and performances but we can never accept anything less than 100% commitment."

Barnes' dismissal will not come as any surprise. His position has looked untenable since Celtic's shock 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Tuesday night, but rumbles of discontent have been echoing around Celtic Park almost ever since Barnes' appointment as manager last July.

There have been disputes over Barnes' tactics, over his coaching qualifications, and more recently over the standard of player he brought to the club: Eyal Berkovic, Olivier Tebily and Stilian Petrov are three of the big-money buys who have failed to impress the Parkhead faithful.

The club have given no indication as to how long it will take to find Barnes' permanent successo, chief executive Allan MacDonald insisting, "we won't sacrifice quality for speed."

Expectation is the enemy of Barnes

By Glenn Moore
Saturday, 4 December 1999

(Independent)

It was finally official. Scotland's crisis club had "an emergency situation". However, the solution was not the sacking of John Barnes, the coach, nor the resignation of Kenny Dalglish, the football operations officer, but the evacuation of Celtic Park.

The irony was delicious. The assembled media, having heard from Barnes - but not the players, who had refused to attend a planned publicity launch - were waiting for Dalglish and Allan MacDonald, the chief executive, to deliver a vote of confidence in the coach. Then the public address emitted a sound like an air-raid warning following by a request: "An emergency situation has arisen in the stadium. Please leave by the nearest exit in an orderly fashion."

Very suspicious, but off we trooped to wait in the car park along with a shivering youth team in freezing temperatures. Several fire engines duly arrived before, just as the snow began to fall, the doors re-opened and Dalglish and MacDonald made their appeal for time.

Time, as Barnes observed in his recent autobiography, is a luxury managers do not have, but even he may be surprised at the pressure building on him after just six months at Celtic Park. For Barnes, who won everything English football had to offer, including 79 international caps, is finding life more difficult in a Scottish dug-out.

The problems began for the 36-year-old on 21 October when Celtic lost at Lyon in the Uefa Cup and, more seriously, Henrik Larsson suffered an injury which is likely to keep him out for the season. Though he scored 35 out of their 99 goals last season, Larsson is more than just a goalscorer to Celtic. He is involved in the build-up play in a way that his replacement, Ian Wright, is never going to be and, more than that, is, according to one observer, the presiding "deity of Celtic Park".

A series of defeats, including a 4-2 loss to Rangers, intensified the mood and Wednesday's League Cup victory over Dundee has not eased the pressure, although Celtic won despite having only 10 men. Instead the papers are full of talk of revolts after several players openly criticised the sale of Craig Burley.

Yesterday's regular press conference was, admitted Barnes himself, "an inquest" into the transfer, the mood and the results. On the surface he was as relaxed as ever, leaning back in his chair and making quips in seductive Jamaican burr. But, behind the smile, he was watchful and defensive. The words came more slowly than usual, each weighed for the damage they might do if turned against him, and for the message they sent out to players and bosses.

"It was a fantastic performance but the players have not received the credit they deserved because the papers have been dominated by other things," he said. "The response to [Burley's sale] from certain players has not been as good as I would have liked. Players have responsibility to conduct themselves in the right manner and I am disappointed, but I will not hold it against them. I won't be dropping anyone."

Burley's move was partly precipitated by his desire to play in a different manner to the holding midfield position Barnes had ascribed to him. That, and the reaction of his team-mates, illustrated a point Barnes made in his book about player power. Yesterday he admitted: "You can't manage the way managers used to. Football has changed and you have to change with the times."

This cannot be easy for Barnes, a man of stronger opinions than his relaxed manner would suggest. Brought up by a father who placed great emphasis on discipline, he is most influenced, in management style, by the similarly strict Graham Taylor.

Barnes' footballing philosophy is radically different to Taylor's old long ball game, but there is a link in his espousal of what he calls a team's DNA, a structure which functions regardless of personnel.

His ideal is 4-2-2-2 as practised by France and Brazil. Unfortunately Celtic do not possess players like Lillian Turham and Bixente Lizarazu, or Cafu and Roberto Carlos. Instead they have Stephane Mahe and Jackie McNamara. As a result the team became too narrow in their play, with the middle pairing, Eyal Berkovic and Lubo Moravcik, getting in each other's way.

Barnes has now changed to the more conventional 3-5-2, though whether it was his decision, or forced upon him by the players, is a matter of dispute. The ball is also being moved forward more positively; previously the play reflected Barnes' obsession with "the sanctity of passing".

The opportunity to coach Celtic was, he admitted, "a real shock" and his arrival, on a three-year £1.5m contract, was greeted with scepticism. He understood why.

"I was an untried, untested commodity and turning round Celtic represented a huge task," he said. "I understood the misgivings of those who argued the job should have gone to an older, better known manager. But I have never lacked confidence in my ability."

Does he now wish he had more experience? There is a very long pause before he replies: "I am hesitating because you can always say you wish you had more experience. As a player at 17 you could wish you had played in World Cups. I want to do well. I don't necessarily need more experience. Experience means you might deal with the press and players in different ways, but whether you are competent to do the job is a different thing.

"When I took the job I thought: 'If things go well and I win every game this is going to happen. If things don't go so well this will happen.' I'm not going to say I expected this situation because I didn't want it to happen but I knew if we went through a dodgy patch it would.

"I don't know how big a job it is. Maybe we will turn it around after the Dundee game and carry on winning. I would like to wait until the end of the season and say this is what I need. At the moment I don't think we are too far away."

Celtic have won everything the Scottish game has to offer, many times. But, of their 77 major trophies, including the European Cup, only four have come this decade as Rangers have dominated the Scottish game. While they picked up nine successive titles Celtic were flirting with bankruptcy, undergoing an economic regeneration and chewing up managers. Barnes is the seventh this decade. Thus yesterday's appeal for calm and a long-term perspective.

Barnes is under immense pressure from outside but, as Charlie Nicholas pointed out recently, the last thing Celtic need is another manager. Besides, it would be a huge admission of error.

Even the plummeting value of the share price may be withstood; there is no majority shareholder. With resolute will on all sides, Barnes, who has interesting ideas on the game, could be a success, but to do that he has eventually to eclipse Rangers. The learning curve is steep. As one Celtic fan said: "They have the former manager of the Netherlands and PSV Eindhoven, we have a YTS trainee."

The alarm yesterday was provoked by a faulty smoke detector. As with the crisis it appeared there was smoke without fire. Not yet.