D’OH LEDLEY OR JOE LEDLEY

When Neil Lennon took over the club as full time manager in 2010, many fans were intrigued  to see how his collection of key summer signings would progress and develop over the next few seasons.

Players such as Izaguirre and Kayal have sadly never hit the same dizzying heights as they did in their debut seasons. Gary Hooper, despite netting over 20 goals for the third season running, has generally declined as a footballer and looks a shoe in to bounce (literally, at the rate he’s going) down south to pastures new.

Then there’s the curious case of Joe Ledley, who many feel had an underwhelming debut season but has since progressed into the role of one of Celtic’s most influential players.

For me – it’s the opposite.

In 2010/11, Ledley was an imperative cog in the wheel of a Celtic team putting the ghosts of the Mowbray season to rest. Covering every blade of grass with a brimming enthusiasm and displaying more guts and graft than the previous seasons midfield four of Crosas, NGuemo, McGinn and Ki put together, Celtic were onto a winner with the freebie acquisition from Cardiff.

The Welshman was quietly effective in matches where we ground out key wins away at Motherwell and St Johnstone by doing the dirty work in a sleekit and controlled fashion as well as weighing in with his fair share of goals – six in all competitions including the leveler in the CIS Cup Final against Rangers.

Ledley seemed to excel in matches where Celtic were up against it and no one favoured us to get a result in that season. The game at Ibrox on Jan 2nd 2011 was an example of the sort of game the midfielder relished. Although known as ‘The Samaras game’, it was one in which Joe Ledley ran the show in midfield alongside Beram Kayal in a 4-4-1-1 formation. He was instrumental in nullifying the threat from Steven Davis in midfield and needed additional pockets to slot in Lee McCulloch and Jamie Ness as well. He capped off a fine display by setting up Samaras for our opener, intercepting a Ricky Foster pass and cutting open the Rangers defence with a superb long through ball for the Greek striker who gave us a deserved lead.

His next Ibrox masterclass would be on Feb 6th 2011, in a 2-2 draw in the Scottish Cup. Trailing 2-1 at half time and with 10 men, Celtic stepped up and again Ledley was excellent – setting up Kris Commons for our first half equaliser and continuing to be the dominant force in midfield , despite the numerical advantage of our hosts.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that our title bid that season derailed when Ledley was forced out for the rest of the season after  he only managed 55 minutes in a 0-0 draw at Ibrox in April 2011. Two matches later, Celtic lost the title after a dismal 3-2 loss at Inverness. Had Ledley been in the team that night and allowed Brown to switch to right midfield, maybe it would have been a different story. Due to his injury, Shaun Maloney was drafted in for a hugely important game and put in a world class performance at hidey.

So – all in all a successful first season for Joe, capped off with a Scottish Cup winners medal.

If 2010/2011 saw Ledley in fine form, he was even more instrumental in 2011/2012 in Celtic’s league winning campaign. After a torrid opening quarter, Celtic began to hit form and the 15 point deficit in the SPL was overturned when Ledley himself bulleted home a header in the last Glasgow Derby of 2011 to put Celtic ahead of Rangers in the league. He went three better with his goal tally finishing up with nine, the pick being a classy chip for our fifth goal in a 6-0 rout of Kilmarnock to clinch the championship.

And there you are. A dazzling review of Joe Ledley’s performances with Celtic in his first two seasons.

So where’s it went wrong this season ? I doubt he’s peaked. Is it a motivation issue like we seem to suggest on a weekly basis at The Blog ? Is he simply having a bad season ? Amazingly, it’s been known to happen to the best of players before.

It’s well documented this season has been largely a dirge devoid of inspiration and excitement but there’s no excuse for players being incompetent and struggling to pass a ball 5 yards on a frequent basis. Unfortunately Ledley has been guilty of this several instances this season. Guys like Rocco Quinn, Paul Lawson, Tom Taiwo and Liam Kelly have looked like more accomplished players than Ledley. He’s been found severely wanting in many games, lethargic and even at times – uninterested. People raved about his ‘virtuoso display’ against Dundee at home in our 5-0 win. Dundee for Christ Sake. That’s like me going to a Nursery and boasting I know the five times table. Of course, the next game we lost 2-1 to Motherwell at Fir Park and the momentum and confidence was knocked out of him as he was confined to the bench, so ‘wise’ decisions like that from our glorious leader won’t help him recover his form.

The late runs and lung bursting workrate we’re so used to seeing has been replaced by the fitness levels of an asthmatic slug. The same man who was looking forward to ‘early holidays’ has seen the comments explode in his face.

Despite all these shortcomings this current campaign, he’s netted seven times and could still beat his personal best if he scores three more times before the end of the season.

Perhaps he’ll have a big role to play in the SC Semi at Hampden next weekend. He needs to finish the season strongly. He’ll want to splash a pinch of Southwest Sauce on a very ordinary Beefburger to make it worthwhile and not look back on an otherwise dull season with regret.

Whatever happens, I’m sure many of our fans will be conveying their thoughts to his ‘burd’ on Twitter.

What a bemusing world.