Blogs

ADDRESSING THE MALAISE

|

As Celtic conspired to lose a two goal lead to deservedly lose by three goals to two at Dingwall yesterday, it struck me that Celtic are stuck in a malaise. The team hasn’t been playing well but the focus has been on Europe, but now that has ended the focus has to be on domestic matters, and for the last six weeks the form has been poor.

The problems have really stemmed from the fact that the team has been changed so much. I know this is often down to injuries or wanting to give squad players game time, but Neil Lennon should learn to pick his players in their best positions. Case in point – Charlie Mulgrew. Mulgrew won player of the year last season as a center-half, but this season he seems to have been deployed everywhere but defence. Our best defensive partnership seems to be Wilson and Mulgrew, but they rarely play together.

Another problem is Gary Hooper. Since the January transfer window ended Hooper has scored a grand total of two goals. Things just don’t seem right with him. He was obviously kept for the Juve games but in all honesty didn’t contribute that much. Celtic’s transfer policy is based on the policy of buying players for cheap and selling them for a profit. in that case the ideal opportunity to sell Hooper would have been in January. But come the summer he will only have 12 months left on his contract and it’s highly unlikely we will get as much  money for him as we would have in January.

The treatment of Anthony Stokes is something which has to be dealt with. He did make some mistakes off the pitch, but he’s rectified them by playing well since he came back from injury. But as usual he is nowhere to be seen at the ‘big’ games and the partnership of Hooper and Stokes – which has produced some great football – has rarely been utilized. It wouldn’t surprise me if Stokes left at the end of the season, which would be a shame.

However, the biggest problem currently facing Celtic is I’m afraid to say the manager. He doesn’t seem to know his best system or team and he has been manager for almost three and a bit seasons. After every defeat he says the same thing – ‘I’m furious, I’m raging, I’ll sort it out’ – but nothing really seems to happen. We go from one extreme to the other, from playing very well (against Barca or Spartak for example) – to playing dreadfully (any of the last three trips to Hampden).  He has to find a system and stick to it – 4-4-2 is the one we used when played our best football back in 2011. Keep the spine of the team – Forster, Mulgrew, Wilson, Wanyama, Hooper, Stokes – the same as often as you can. Also, Lennon does seem to have presided over some very poor results as Celtic manager, but seems to escape criticism mostly because of our admittedly brilliant European run, but the well is beginning to run dry, and poor results such as Saturday’s can only be excused for so long. Lennon and the players have to put their heads together and sort out the issues, as this season is in danger of petering out to very little. The semi-final against Dundee United will say a lot about certain players at the club, and the manager.

Share this article

0 comments

  • tom says:

    The manager has to be questioned.
    Poor tactics and formations and a refusal to take any responsibility preferring to point finger at players.
    We are not the sum of our parts and far to dependant on individual moments rather than a team strategy

  • Oz Celt says:

    I said last week after the Juventus game and Neil Lennons comments about some players “looking to further their career’s elswhere ” that he should advise them they are on the bench for the rest of the season and pick the players who want to play for the jersey and further their career’s at Celtic.
    Also that our main problem is defensive blunders.
    Saturday being another example of this.
    I see Neil Lennon has said the same thing, although looking at the team selection on Saturday I’m puzzled as to which players he is refering.
    The only ones in the line up who seem to have indicated they would consider moving were Forster,Ambrose and Hooper,however Hooper seems to have been exonarated so that only leaves two ?.
    I agree with all of your comments,and, notwithstanding the above, we must pick what seems to be our strongest side and the best formation,(4-4-2 for me)and stick with it,in fact this is what should happen throughout the whole club so that players coming up through the ranks know exactly what’s expected of them.
    We need to pull finger and fast, as I said last week if our season is not to end with a Whimper we MUST win the double!.

  • paul mcCann says:

    if neil can only trust certain players the pick the14 that will do the job and the rest can warm seats in the stand

  • ianin440 says:

    Obviously we are all thinking about this. 🙁
    The home results have been fine but every away match is a problem. May be the pitches, the exertions of the CL or the injury list. It`s the manager who has to sort this out. I agree that the core of the team and the formation should always be in place. Too much chopping and changing only confuses!

  • wonky says:

    First rule of management: never change a winning team. Lenny does this time and again. For those who do well like up at Caley when we thrashed them 4-2 we had McCourt, Twardzik, Bangura, Chalmers and Watt in the team and yet none have really had a sniff since. It was the same when McGeouch scored his wonder goal against St Mirren ( he never seen the first team for another six to eight months) and the same could be said about Watt. Its really tough for guys coming back from injury, ala Izzy and Kayal, or for guys who can’t get a decent run in the team, like Rogne, McCourt, Stokes, Miku or Zaluska when Lenny is constantly changing the side. The problem for us is that lenny has his strong favourites who are never subbed or dropped like FF, Ambrose, Wilson, Mulgrew, Ledley, Wanyama,Brown and Samaras. Those mentioned who played on saturday have been garbage recently, particularly against County. The jist of what I’m trying to say is that players play on confidence and they need a reward for playing well but Lenny doesn’t do this with his non-favourites. Instead, no matter how well you play, you ain’t getting a game next week or if your a pal and no matter how bad you’re playing you’re guaranteed a place in the team- what incentive then? How does it feel for Rogne or Lustig when he plays Wanyama ( a midfielder) in Central defence instead of them? How does it feel when any of the fringe players play well and are then inexplicably dropped from the first team?

Comments are closed.