We all knew that Wednesday night’s performance was impressive.
You could see it and feel it in the stadium watching the goals. It’s there in the general buzz among the support. It’s online on the fan forums, and the chatter on social media. It’s clear in the news stories and right there in a beautiful-looking Champions League table.
But I’m a geek, and yesterday what really caught my eye were the running stats.
Amazingly, we had four players in the top 10 for distance covered in the first round of ties. That’s a remarkable bit of data, showing just how much Rodgers has instilled a work ethic in this team. It is one of the cornerstones of our start to this campaign.
Earlier on, I wrote about how this side is delivering on Brendan’s promise of showing us a new Celtic—or as he put it, the real Celtic.
It’s evident in the results, in the performances, and now, thanks to the stats, we have clear, objective proof that this team is better than last season’s.
That’s not to say the players last year weren’t working hard. And I don’t mean that Rodgers has had to whip anyone into shape. This squad was already one of the hardest-working you’ll find, with players like Callum McGregor putting in an incredible number of games. No one could accuse them of lacking effort or motivation.
But think about what Rodgers has emphasised over and over: pace and power. When you view Wednesday night’s performance through that lens, and when you see players like McGregor and Arne Engels each covering 12.6 kilometres during the game and with Maeda and Taylor not all that far behind, it becomes obvious what this team is all about.
Thankfully, we now live in an age where geeks like me can dive into these stats and dissect every facet of a team’s performance. When you do that with this side, it’s clear how much of an improvement Rodgers has managed.
A handful of players last season probably didn’t impress him with their work rate or aggression. He’s put that right, and you know that because guys like Hatate and Palma, who might have moved on, are still here. That tells you he’s now satisfied with what he’s seeing from them.
We’ve always known McGregor is an elite-level performer, but when you look at the stats for Engels, you start to understand exactly why we broke the bank for him. He’s not just skilful—he’s a grafter and a team player, too. That’s the reason you pay a club-record fee for someone in their early 20s. He’s already excellent, but the player we see now is nowhere near as good as the one we’ll see by the end of this campaign or the start of the next. That makes him a true asset in every sense, even in the sense of being a valuable investment, though we don’t always like to talk about players that way.
What’s even more exciting is that he already seems to be striking up a fantastic partnership with McGregor, and that will only get better the longer they play together.
In fact, the entire midfield trio looked more in sync during last night’s game than they did at the weekend and that tells you that for all the class that was on display that this a partnership which is still evolving and as such it is only going to grow, although it does leave Paulo Bernardo in a slightly tricky spot, as he might feel a bit outside of the dynamic right now. But we know he’ll get plenty of game time, and that will sort itself out.
It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a Celtic fan.
The more you see this team, the more you want to see of them.
As the season goes on, almost every player will continue to improve. But keep your eye on Engels—if he and McGregor can build on what they’ve already started, we could be witnessing the most exciting Celtic midfield partnership since the Lambert, Lennon, and Petrov trio under O’Neill.
That’s a tantalising thought.
Calum a terrific player, and him and Engels look a great partnership, I’d like to see Bernardo just behind Kyogo, , as I think that’s were he is at his best. I have been very impressed with our start, the power and dynamism showed against Bratislava was a joy to watch, long may it continue.
Ye mention social media. Can I say as a side note. If anybody wants tae see, just how the ugly minded faction of the ibrox support works. Just go on to the Celtic forums, also face book, twitter etc ; where our supporters are commentin on the game, the sheer scale of obnoxious, despicable comments from ibrox supporters referrin tae one issue. CA. Even tho their level hypocrisy beggars belief, with their own clubs past and contemptous refusal to compensate their own victims, you’ll never find a crowd who excel so much in rejoicing (that’s the only way to describe it) on this horrible subject. It’s all they can turn tae for a small bit of solace. They’re a sad fuckin indictment on society.
Kevan they scumbags the huns have got a cheek trying to slag anyone especially in the SPFL were its a 2 hourse race eh and there liquidated club oldco ranjurs cheated using EBT SIDELETTERS to beat the mighty Glasgow Celtic fc 1888 thats how bad their club has been run its the only way oldco deadco our newco can won anything eh..DEADCO OLDCO
LIQUIDATED 2012 HAHAHEHEEEEE NOW FOR NEWCO TO FOLLOW FOLLOW OLDCO TO THERE GRAVES.. RIP CHEATS OF SCOTLAND DEADCO RANJURS RIP SCUMBAGS.
And just to make it clear, although this type of vitreol is common amongst them, this is only since our win on Wednesday. The scale is sickenin. Shameless bastards.
Its all they’ve got m8…all they’ve got.
Take solace in that.
Engels is a gem who will be polished towards perfection by Brendan. It pains me to say it, but the way football is going, if we can keep and enjoy him for two full seasons, we will be doing well.
It is one of the harsh realities of working in a football back water. Our stars, particularly our foreign stars, will move on. The CalMacs and the Broonies of this world are from an endangered species. The likliehood is that big money will win out over domestic success. They will enjoy their time here, indeed it might well be the most enjoyable part of their careers, but money talks. We’ve seen it with Matt O’Riley and the vultures are rumoured to be circling around Kyogo and Hatate. These stories (baseless rumours?) will begin to slip down the agenda when the searchlight is focused on Engels.
Enjoy him while we can.
Hope we get full whack for him when he leaves.
Hope we can source another gem or two with the proceeds.
I hate myself for writing this, but I fear it is the reality. A reality which we have to face up to and prepare for if we are to continue to flourish.
Jimmy – I share you fear and realism! On first impressions I’m amazed that (at least) one of the German big 4 didn’t beat us to his signature. It was said that Champions League football was the draw for him to sign with us. With eight high profile matches this season, let’s hope he enjoys his time so much that he stays a wee while!
Our midfield strength this season is looking really good – with a great mix of age/experience/legs
Ignore the knuckle draggers comments, they will weaponise any subject however horrendous because of their inferiority complex due to their klubs slow demise into the gutter where they live , all this anger because our successful club goes from strength to strength.
Jackson made a sniggering comment last night, sort of agreeing with you, something along the lines of ‘mcgregor can spot a decent player, he’s seen enough midfield partners through the years so its easy for them to look good quickly’. Imagine how many puff pieces on morroccan wonderkids he’s going to have to write when calmac and engels actually get to know each other!
The midfield is TRULY. FUCKIN. AWESOME !!!!
There again – so is the whole team…
And the manager…
And the fans !!!!
The ability to have stamina for multiple games each season, in multiple competitions is tough and to then have players who’s stamina levels deliver pace and power for a full 90 minutes is what top teams have. We had it in spades on Wednesday. It will help for the tougher games, as we come up against players of equal stamina, pace and power. Many times in the past, especially the CL, we would see a late goal conceded. This campaign (and with the squad competition ie Engels/Bernardo, Taylor/Valle, Trusty/Scales) we have a better chance of going the full 90, hopefully in the lead! Top teams always have competition from super squad players. What I’m enjoying seeing is noticing that so many are genuine first 11 challengers or improved to be first 11. Scales a great example. Jamesy of course. Trusty maybe. I’ll not jinx by predicting anything but this is a great place to be in and the buzz around us just now is fantastic
Agree, good article and both mcgregor and engles were terrific. One thing though, I actually thought hetate was just as good and raised his level, even after probably feeling hard done at losing penalty taking responsibility after letting engles take the pen the game before. The three are great and bernardo an able replacement. Happy days
It’s a high bar to maintain, those running stats. Avoiding injuries through rotation will be key and keeping players fresh. Guys like Palma need some game time to be sharp in case Maeda does pick up a knock. If we keep that work ethic we’ll get what we deserve this season.
I always loved the McStay, MacLeod & Burns midfield trio of the 1980s.
After Lawwell took over in the early naughties I swore I would never return to Celtic Park. Why? Because from day 1 he was feeding us garbage and I thought he was in no way up to the job. Give a million crayons to a million monkeys and you wont get anything as moronic as tis guy is saying. Remember Porto used the UEFA cup to climb higher. We used it to bask in our glories. I am starting to change my mind though.
Power precision, and technical excellence all in evidence