4 escalating Celtic fears go beyond the boos as Brendan Rodgers and board served reality of an expiring truce
4 escalating Celtic fears go beyond the boos as Brendan Rodgers and board served reality of an expiring
truce
The Hoops are five points clear at the top of the league but there are a range or problems bubbling under
that need addressed
The Celtic squad, Brendan Rodgers and even the Parkhead board might have been a little surprised to
hear some jeers on Saturday coming after a crucial league victory.
But they shouldn’t have been. Hoops fans have always been quick to make their feelings known
regardless of the situation. Just ask the likes of Neil Lennon. He got booed against Boavista in the UEFA
Cup semi-finals for daring to pass the ball backwards.
Parkhead can be a tough crowd at times and while it might have seemed harsh to have a go after beating
Ross County to remain five points clear at the top of the table, the punters could be forgiven for having a
few grumbles. The alarm bells are not quite ringing at Celtic Park but the supporters can see there are
some serious areas of concern – with Rangers a proper Premiership title threat and next season’s
bumper Champions League bonanza on the line. These are the areas that need to be addressed in the
final few days of the transfer window and beyond.
Recruitment
It’s more of a nuclear bomb than a hot potato at the moment. Regardless of what happens in the next 48
hours or so, Celtic’s signing policy looks to have gone off the rails a tad of late.
Go back to November 2022 and the AGM when then boss Ange Postecoglou spoke of his vision of the
club. He said there was no point in Celtic just being the nicest house in the street, they had to aim higher.
They had to move the model from signing £2m players in the hope of making £10m. The next move was
to turn £5m in to £20m stars and then £10m ones in to £30m plus players. That was how to hammer
home their financial advantage on the home front and finally gain credibility in Europe.
Celtic have done neither. The likes of Luis Palma, Maik Nawrocki, Paulo Bernardo and now Nicholas
Kuhn might kick on but any fan would be hard pushed to describe any signings of the last 12 months as
an upgrade in standard.
Celtic have never been stronger financially and the summer was a huge opportunity to take major leaps
forward, they they have somehow managed to regress on the park. A couple of big hitters before
Thursday night might be the difference for the rest of the season but the long term growth strategy needs
addressing.
Mr Muscle
The kinds of signings are important as well. Celtic’s best bit of business in the summer was tempting
Brendan Rodgers back but he needs the players to fit his game plan.
The Celtic squad is lightweight and needs some muscle and energy. There needs to be more pace and
precision in the full back areas. Matt O’Riley might be around for the second half of the season but he’s
bound to go at the end of term and will need replaced.
Another striker is an absolute must right now. Despite some moments of magic, Kyogo has not been his
usual prolific self this season. A lot of that is down to lack of quick service and pals spotting his runs, but
there’s also the problem of playing against deep lying defences. Celtic could do with something different
up top and while Oh Hyeon-gyu has promise, he remains raw. Someone like Giorgos Giakoumakis would
have been handy, mind you, but that ship was strangely allowed to sail.
Pitch
It’s an easy excuse for players but the Parkhead playing surfaces definitely not helping Celtic right now.
For a club of Celtic’s stature and ambition, it’s frankly embarrassing. Rodgers admitted at the weekend it
was more of a field than a playing surface and it’s clearly no use to a side who want to move the ball
quickly on the deck.
On countless occasions on Saturday, players were hesitant in possession because they didn’t know what
the heck the ball was going to do when it come their way. It allowed County to regroup and get in shape
and that is the last thing this Hoops team needs when they have already shown they struggle at times
when trying to plot paths through packed backlines. It’s too late to do much about it now apart from wait
for some better weather, but in the longer term it’s something the club are going to have to sort out.
Disconnect from the stands
Ah, back to this booing. Saturday wasn’t the first time frustrations boiled over at Parkhead. Rodgers
seemed slightly shocked when there was a furious reaction to drawing with St Johnstone earlier in the
season.
There was outright anger and hostility after losing to Hearts, with everyone copping it from the board
down. There still seems to be some underlying angst from the doomed 10-in-row season, where punters
felt the men in charge took their eye off the ball. A truce was called during the Postecoglou charge but it’s
been back this term.
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