CELTIC TACTICS, TEAM, LOOK TIRED, UNINSPIRED
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- 57 minutes ago
- 4 min read
On Sunday, Celtic fired blanks for the sixth time this season in a 2-0 loss to Steven Pressley's Dundee. That marks one more than the entirety of last season. The clocks haven’t even changed yet.
A defeat, of course, against a Dundee side who gracefully handed Aberdeen their first four goals of the season last week in a dismal display at Pittodrie.
It leaves Celtic five points behind Hearts, making next week’s trip to Tynecastle a must not-lose tie. Otherwise, an eight-point gap begins to put the Parkhead club under real pressure, even at this early stage.
Celtic Tactics Emphasize Uncertainty
This time last season, the Celtic XI more or less picked itself. Kasper Schmeichel, Alistair Johnson, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Greg Taylor, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Nicolas Kuhn, Kyogo and Daizen Maeda were nailed on starters for the big occasions. The only areas of uncertainty were the left centre-back spot, with Liam Scales and Auston Trusty both featuring, plus the third central midfield role as Arne Engels, Paulo Bernardo and Luke McCowan all vied for places.
Such stability no longer exists. Never mind knowing his best lineup, the Celtic gaffer doesn’t seem to fully trust his tactical system.
For the second time this season, we saw Brendan Rodgers employ a change of shape at halftime. His first came in a 2-0 loss at home to Braga, when from a 4-3-3 to a 3-2-2-3 as an outnumbered Celtic midfield struggled. Yesterday, the 4-3-3 was ditched for a 3-5-2.
Celtic tactics or personnel changes aren’t inherently wrong or a negative. Yet, when they come from a manager who so rarely does so, alarm bells ring.
A lack of Goal Threat
Celtic have failed to replace speed and dynamism in the front line, with the absence of Daizen Maeda only exaggerating this. Moreover, Celtic don’t have a goalscoring midfielder at the present moment.
Reo Hatate had his most prolific campaign in three attempts last season, registering eleven goals but has struggled to find those heights so far. Callum McGregor has failed to get forward to the same extent as last season and has found his goalscoring opportunities more limited.
Benjamin Nygren has shown promise in front of goal but thrives on space in the box and crisply timed cutbacks to pounce. The aforementioned lack of speed up top makes such opportunities scarce. Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo have shown goalscoring prowess in the past, but find gametime incredibly hard to come by.
It leaves Celtic in the position right now where you struggle to see how they score goals consistently. Iheanacho is a clever footballer, but not a prolific striker who dashes around the box; he prefers to drop deep and link up the play, or drift out to a wide-right position. Sebastien Tounetki is a trickery winger but rarely pulls the trigger. On the right, the situation is far from optimal, to say the least.
Eyebrow-Raising Comments From Rodgers
It’s left Brendan Rodgers with a managerial headache, and not the type of one you want. He cut a visibly frustrated figure in the press conference afterward, stating,
“We lost a lot of firepower, a lot of goals out on the team. And there's no way you'll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, I want you to drive it like a Ferrari. It's not going to happen. So until something changes, I have to find the solutions. Because, like I said, goals, speed, everything has come out of the team. And we need to find a way to be better.”
The intention behind such a quote is what interests. Viewers and respectful pundits alike recognise the diabolical recruitment strategy at Celtic. Key players have left and either haven’t been aptly replaced or replaced at all. Yet, the “Honda Civic” comment is particularly jarring.
Is this an outburst of frustration or a calculated response to motivate the squad? How will they react to such comments?
It’s not the first time comments like that have come from Rodgers. Earlier on this season, he stated that the decision to leave Hayato Inamura out of the European Squad list was “easy” before helpfully adding that “his defensive qualities aren’t at the level that would see me put him in against Lamine Yamal if I had to.” A rather strange comment, as you would have to look long and hard at Lennoxtown to find any defender equipped to do so.
At the back end of last season, he slated the team's mentality after a 1-0 loss at St Johnstone. The Champions scored 15 goals in their following three games; the message clearly got through.
The reality is that only Brendan Rodgers himself and the players will know the implications. Whether it will motivate, harm, or bring about indifference.
It’s rather a symbol of the current times at Celtic: unsure, complicated and not too pretty.