The Chuckle brothers

The two strikers may have bagged the headlines along with their goals, but it is the midfield where Celtic's improvement was most obvious. The industrious pairing of Hartley and Robson might not be the most creative, but they won the ball, kept possession and used it with the kind of control and dominance that other pairing have struggled to do in that position since the turn of the year, and before, infact.

With Celtic's creative players holding wide positions this season (Nakamura and McGeady), surely too much importance has been placed on getting a creative yet hardworking balance in the middle of the park. If the Celtic midfield can win the ball using their aggression and energy, be available to take the ball from defence, and be able to use the ball well enough, surely that will be enough to win the majority of midfield battles they will encounter. With the style of the hoops wide men, I don’t imagine the type of swashbuckling and steely grit that the Scottish Hartley and Robson provide, would adversely affect Celtic as a forward moving unit.

As long as at least one of the central midfielders, (alongside a wide man, and both strikers) are moving and supporting attacks then it should be enough for the mercurial Irishman, and the class of Nakamura. Energy and aggression in the middle is not enough without the consistency of team selection in order for the players to understand and forge on field combinations. If Brown cant figure out how to use his assets alongside a partner, then perhaps Paul and Barry will be given a chance between now and the end of the season....

In Reserve

Koki Mizuno could become one of the best players to play for Celtic in years. And could genuinely feel he could make a real impact in this seasons remaining games. He has everything that the current first team is lacking. Imagination, invention, ability, confidence. Okay, this maybe was shown in a game against Gretna reserves, but his range and mix of passing, and delivery was quite something to behold. I understand Celtic are allowing him to settle and I completely understand that. But the flatness and almost a fear that looks to have creeped into more than one or two Celtic players is completely harming there ability to construct fluent football and attacking moves with the type of verve and pace that the players are capable of. Mizuno set up one with an exquisite left footed pass to Caddis when all seemed expecting a cross field ball on his right, another when he ghosted into the box causing enough concern to leave Killen unmarked giving him an easy header. And for Killen to complete his hat trick, Mizuno swung in the sort of cross with his right foot that his countryman Nakamura would have been proud of with his left from a free kick 40 yards from goal.

Mark Millar in the middle of the park looks to be progressing very well too, however he isn’t the first central midfielder to have done so and never made an impact at first team level. Paul Lawson, Teddy Bjarnnson, Simon Ferry, and Charlie Grant have all excelled in youth and reserve level but never been given the belief by Celtic that they can shoe themselves in the most difficult position to break into a football team at. The game is won and lost in the middle of the park and anyone watching recent Celtic reserve fixtures would have seen Mark Millar doing exactly that. Sorry, winning I should have said. Tackles, possession, passing, and even goal scoring, he certainly hasn’t been doing much losing of late.

With the undoubted craft of Mizuno, the power of Chris Killen, the ability of Riordan, and the explosive nature of Ben Hutchison in full flow around him, it is no doubt young Millar is able to fuse his skill into such a winning midfield.

Killen’s impact isn’t just in his great reserve goal scoring record; Cillian Sheridan looks to have been learning from the giant Kiwi striker and finding the net pretty regularly too.

Current results and performances aside, I am a tad concerned about the make up of the Celtic reserve squad.

It is made up of several first team squad who are and have been struggling to get into the starting X1 for sometime (Balde, Sno, Riordan, Brown, even Killen), new signings who are young enough to justify holding them back (Mizuno, and Hutchison), then reserve players who have been there for a while and have no real chance of pushing the first team players (Cuthbert, Conroy, McGlinchey, McGowan). Since O'Dea made his debut in December 2006, has any player broken into the first team squad on a regular basis?

McGowan was on the bench a couple of games (to justify knocking back the bid from Morton), out with that, Id say only Caddis has looked likely to not only have the ability, but to get the chance to play in the Celtic starting X1. And even then, how much was Caddis' push was plainly down to injuries to other players. I wouldn’t count Sheridan as he is still featuring heavily at u19 level, and regardless of his goal scoring for the reserves is clearly being given a thorough education before his first team exposure.

I suppose the make up of the reserves should bode well for the current squad Celtic have at the moment, but certainly not for long term progression. However, the fact that the first team are underperforming in terms of their level of performance, results, and league placing, show that we could perhaps do with seeing some potential on the horizon....




Celtic reserves are currently on course for 7 in a row this year

Strachan Must Go?

Strachan Must Go?


Strachan can stay (and has earned the right to do so) IF he is willing to redress certian issues, and renege on his stubburness.

I liked a lot of Gordon's interviews last year and before where he talked about

the future
his plans
his knowledge of what was going wrong
his knowledge of what he needed to do to make things right

I liked how he spoke of changing/playing his team to suit the opposition/circumstances/conditions of each particular game.

I envisaged a team full of fluidity (which we are at our best), but one that could play different formations and different styles to suit the players in our team and to contrast with our opposition. Even the thought of putting X1 players out that could change to different systems would have been encouraging.

But we have gone every bit as stuck in the 4-4-2 as O'Neill's team did. At points this season Celtic have had no full backs, no wide midfielders, and only one striker available and on form enough to geniunely be considered to start matched.

Yet the most radical team set up has been a 4-4-1-1.

And many players out of form, sharpness, and confidence have been routinely left to pull on the hoops.

Celtic have not adapted.

It is my opinion that at the beginning of this season, the Celtic squad were on the cusp of something great - and for that - the current manager should be credited.

Unfortuanely he hasnt yet been able to take this group of players as far as they really could go. Whether or not he is able to do that could be shown in how he deals with the forthcoming end to the season.

Would staying would be an act of stubbornness in itself for Gordon Strachan.

I suppose it would be, yes - but only if he didnt challenge his own descions and actions in his time in charge of Celtic

IIf he stayed but and willing to learn from his mistakes, something he is not alone in football management (but is certianly up there with the worst of them), then perhaps he can use his experience as a basis to move on and improve. Gordon Strachan has so far been a successful Celtic manager, I suppose it’s the manner of that success allied to the consequent slip that is where many Celtic supporters could perhaps legitimately be concerned.