This morning’s friendly saw us do what we’ve been doing all season long; playing excellent football. It also saw us do something we’ve tended to do in Europe, but also in the occasional SPFL game. We missed a lot of chances.
I would be more worried if we weren’t creating so many, but that doesn’t change the fact it’s the reason we’ve got no continental football to look forward to for the rest of this campaign.
When we played against Sydney one of the things that was most obvious was the lack of striking options on the bench, with the slight injury to Giakoumakis ruling him out. Maeda is off with the Japanese national team. We looked, for one game, threadbare.
We’re not, of course. With Maeda in the squad we have three recognised strikers, and Abada, Haksabanovic, Forrest and Abada can all deputise up front at a push. There is firepower in this team even if Kyogo, Giakoumakis and Maeda were out at the same time, which would take phenomenal bad luck and poor squad management.
The question remains though; are we still short in this area? Would one more recognised striker provide us with the last piece of the jigsaw? When you look at our goals to games ratio it sounds daft and a little like overkill, but our goals to shots ratio is the giveaway.
We do still need something extra, some additional cutting edge. The manager has to be thinking about this for the January window. He has to have targets in mind, the kind of people who will be content to wait their turn but good enough to make it.
That’s not easy to find, but we believe in Ange because his record at spotting players is exceptional. Of course, the media will try to say that too big a squad creates issues of its own but they’ve been saying that he started building this one, and those issues still haven’t arisen. I don’t expect that they will if he signs one more front man.
I’d say rather than occasionally failing to take chances, we as a team occasionally convert our chances. It’s the stats every game we play, maybe 9-0 aside. I like Kyogo and GG but a clinical finisher would have 40+ goals already from the chances we create. Too many games we take 0, 1 or 2 chances out of 40. This is hidden in the spl but was badly exposed in Europe. If we want to compete we need a guy who reliably scores what we give him. None of our current options are that guy.
Large squads hold no issues if tbey play over at the scumdome…remember when the press were dropling over Advocaat having enough players to put out three teams? The only problem there was the struggle to keep the vomit from flying out of my gub as I read the succulent sycophancy…
But yes, maybe a clinical finisher is required….
Kyogo just misses too many chances.
Hate to say it, but we have to look beyond him.
GG maybe isn’t an absolutely top-drawer finsher either but it is time he got the kind of extended run that Kyogo has enjoyed and failed to take advantage of.
None of our coaches have been strikers, I think it’s time to bring a natural goal scorer on to the coaching staff. I find it unbelievable how many of our chances are blazed over the bar by experienced players. Have none of them ever heard of leaning the upper body over the ball whilst shooting to keep the ball down. My teacher in the 1950’s who took the school team was an ex Celtic player of the 1940’s and drummed that simple fact into us.
I know the fitness level and tactical awareness are a lot better in the modern game but some of the basic parts of the game are still relevant.
Roll on the 17th of December to get back to the games that matter.
You are quite right Michael. Edouard was an awful striker of the ball as well. The ball barely had the force to make the goal. Abada from the centre of the goal has a tendency to hit the ball straight at the keeper. He is better from the side. Both his goals against Rangers carried an element of fortune. Kyogo often slides the ball just past the post. All of this could be coached out of these players you would think
” occasional” …..only occasional ?
yea…we need a striker who consistently puts a good percentage of the created chances away….i don’t know what has happened kyogo – the worst culprit…
but if a player isn’t performing…get rid…and get someone in who will…
that is the only way celtic will progress…
these players will drop celtic like a hot spud if better offer comes along…likewise…we should ship out any player for a better performer…whether he has a cute haircut or not…
Of course we don’t need a striker – we need 3 ! 2 to replace the 2 we’ve got + 1 more to keep the 2 new guys honest , lot of hype wi kyogo that I just don’t get . We wouldn’t settle for 2 centre halves that keep conceding stupid goals , why settle for 2 strikers that keep missing sitters week in week in week out …..
“Occasional” ???
Just a thought, maybe they should stop trying to walk the ball into the net….. been there before ….!!
Think ‘occasionally’ has long since turned intae a pattern. It is a great aspect of our play that we’re creatin the chances, tho we need somebody that’s gonnae take them, or by far the most of them. As well as that, our present strikers need tae be more clinical. Imo we should bring in another striker, a bit more in the armoury.
Agree we r missing a load of chances. That said our strikers are getting into the right positions to finish off chances. Composure is the piece thats missing for me. Also comment above agree all to often we are trying to score the perfect goal