With twelve players brought into the club in the summer and a further five signed – so far – in the January transfer window, the rebuilding job Ange Postecoglou has had to carry out has been challenging to say the least.
And a statistic from last night’s brilliant win over Hearts at Tynecastle certainly highlights the job the incredible job manager has done, to not just build a team but rebuild a squad, and make it competitive enough to lift the first silverware of the season, and be challenging strongly for a league title – bearing in mind this was supposed to be a season of transition!
The stat was pointed out to us this morning by A Celtic Star reader Terry who emailed this:
Of the 14 players who played last night for Celtic – only 4 of them were at the club last season! That is a crazy statistic not mirrored in any other top flight club and highlights the incredible rebuilding job that Ange is doing! Worth an article on that.
All the best
Terry
Looking at the starting line-up last night and then have a look at the substitutes who took part –
Hart, Taylor, Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, O’Riley (McCarthy 86′), Hatate (Soro 93′), Bitton, Jota (Abada 62′), Giakoumakis, Forrest.
It’s incredible to note – as Terry has highlighted – that Celtic used fourteen players last night over the course of the 90 minutes and only four of those who contributed were at the club last season – Greg Taylor, Ismaila Soro, Nir Bitton and James Forrest. All the rest have only been with the club this season. This is also a turnaround in playing personnel that is not mirrored at any other top flight club.
Now last night’s performance and result on a ground where Celtic lost on the opening day of the season was highly impressive, and to control the match at one of the toughest away ground Celtic visits was good enough, but to do it with ten players who only started playing for the club this season simply underlines both the rebuilding job Ange had to carry out but also the incredible job he’s done in knitting this team together and fostering the team spirit and belief in the camp at the same time.
That’s not just a good job, it’s one that really should have been an impossible one. And when you consider, the players away on international duty and those who are currently sidelined through injury, Celtic’s current form is testament to the incredible rebuilding job Ange Postecoglou is carrying out at Celtic, the depth of quality he has introduced, and of the character alongside the footballing abilities of the players he has brought to the club.
Whatever happens in term of League titles, Scottish cups and whatever else this season, Ange Postecoglou really has revolutionised the playing squad, and at the same time introduced an altogether brand-new playing philosophy. Should he then go on to win the title and lift the Scottish Cup to add to that League Cup triumph just where would his team rank?
He’s undertaken the biggest rebuild job at Celtic Park since Wee Fergus arrived in 1994 and demolished the old stadium to replace it with the brilliant 60,000 stadium we all know and love. We recently in a Celtic Star exclusive featured the photographs taken of the demolition and the rebuild of Celtic Park that were taken by former Celtic Stadium Director Tom Grant. If you missed that the link is below.
READ THIS…Exclusive – A Phoenix Rising, a House of Steel. Celtic Park Redevelopment Photographs
I guess that will be debated at the end of the season and not in January, but that statistic from the match last night really does underline that Celtic landed on their feet with Ange Postecoglou – and to think we’re only just getting started.
Niall J
where oh where is mr howe now lol!!