Celtic 1 Aberdeen 0 – Edouard has plenty of talent but lacks judgement, says David Potter

We just about threw this one away! But it was a win, and we would have settled for this after the traumatic events of this week. Yet it was so frustrating as well. Even when we were well on top in the first half, there was always the feeling that things were going to be allowed to slip yet again. And that did nearly happened.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Once again I found myself shouting at Odsonne Edouard. The man has plenty of talent but lacks judgement. He doesn’t seem to know whether to shoot, pass or dribble. Yes, he did score today – and that was the right decision to shoot – but it was a deflection, and there were times when he made the wrong decision, not least when he so clearly should have passed to Ismaila Soro at the end. And yet we have seen him scoring so many good goals as well! Maybe we expect too much from the young man, but it is so annoying to see good play not rewarded by more goals.

Photo: Andrew Milligan

I was glad to see Patryk Klimala get a start. He deserved a chance, and on another day would surely have scored that goal that Johnjoe Kenny (my Man of the Match, incidentally) teed up for him. But there was a certain hunger for him for the ball in the first half which I liked.

The only real faults were up front today. The defending was good. Kristofer Ajer was deservedly singled out by Gordon Strachan, and the midfield was really quite creative especially in the first half when for considerable periods, Aberdeen hardly got a kick of the ball. Ryan Christie once again showed a great deal of energy and productivity, and it was nice to see him come back after his shocker in Sunday night.

Photo: Andrew Milligan

It was a win, but not one that I will cherish for long in my memories. The highlights were the half-time games (I was actually at the Beach End among the Aberdeen supporters for that Pittodrie game!) and the chat from Gordon Strachan in particular who addresses the problems of Celtic with a refreshing honesty and clarity. In that he was well supported by Alan Stubbs and Connie McLaughlin, but I was one of the supporters who was on the wrong end of the “issue” involving Celtic TV. Get that sorted, Celtic before you spend money on new players!

Photo: Andrew Milligan

John Kennedy now has 100% record in his managing career. If memory serves me correctly, so does Frank Connor. It would be nice to see John maintaining this, and I am not saying that I would make him the next Manager, but I would certainly try to keep him somewhere in the club.

So Dundee United next Sunday, Hopefully, by then a decision will have been made about the Scottish Cup. I want it played because we deserve a chance to win something this season. And in any case, the incidence of that disease is steadily decreasing. That at least is one piece of good news.

David Potter

About Author

I am Celtic author and historian and write for The Celtic Star. I live in Kirkcaldy and have followed Celtic all my life, having seen them first at Dundee in March 1958. I am a retired teacher and my other interests are cricket, drama and the poetry of Robert Burns. David Potter passed away on 29 July 2023 after a short illness. He was posthumously awarded a Special Recognition award by Celtic FC at the club's Player of the Year awards in May 2024. David's widow Rosemary accepted the award to huge applause from the Celtic Supporters in the Hydro.

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