One Of The Reasons Celtic Isn’t Blazing Past Teams Is Kyogo Isn’t Getting On The Ball.

There are always a lot of different factors to take into consideration when a team is not on form. One of the most important is to consider how individual players within the unit are doing, and when you look at the Celtic team right now one thing stands out.

Kyogo is way off the mark at the moment, and that’s a concern.

We’ve seen slumps before, but this one is worrying because you look at it and wonder if the problem isn’t with the player but the role he’s being asked to play, and if it’s that then he’s not going to break out of it quickly, or easily.

This has always been a problem with playing one-man up front; once defenders surround the guy you’ve got major problems. Strikers need to be fed the ball, and with a single one surrounded by three or four players that’s difficult to do.

Under Ange, players were always in motion. Kyogo himself is exceptional at finding those little avenues and areas of space. He has great instincts. But if players aren’t always moving around him, he’s just a guy standing amidst defenders, and unable to genuinely exploit his opportunities. And if he’s dropping back, so he’s in front of the defensive line, how is he supposed to get in behind them?

Our recent – worrying – tactic of crossing the ball into a packed box doesn’t work for a player like Kyogo. It leaves him nothing to capitalise on. Even a modestly talented defender is going to be able to read that play all day long. In Europe, where teams do not put everyone behind the ball, Kyogo has got more room to run and do his thing … the same applies to playing the club from Ibrox. It is not a coincidence that his best performances are in those games.

So, what do we do?

I think he looked better at the weekend when Oh came on and there were suddenly two focal points for the ball, and defenders were made work harder. When we’re counter-attacking because teams are caught up the pitch with no so many players behind the ball, he is lethal. The key to getting the best out of him is playing in a slightly different way; don’t forget, he was signed to play Ange Postecoglou’s system … we’re no longer playing that system.

Rodgers has his own ideas, of course, and his own way of playing, but he surely does see that we’re not getting the best out of Kyogo under the current style. This is why he’s now emphasising movement and speed of play more; he’s moving closer to something like what we had before, and he’s frustrated and even angry that the players aren’t reading it right and doing as they are told. He knows we’re losing Kyogo’s potency in this slow, steady style of play … and he seems like he wants to put that right. Our best forward is being played out of the game right now, so this isn’t something he can afford to let continue.