CELTIC’s 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock yesterday pushes the Champions down to an unfamiliar position in the league table. Celtic are currently sitting in 6th spot, just ahead of Aberdeen – who have been runners up for the past four seasons in the league and the two sides meet at Celtic Park this weekend.
Fresh from winning a seventh successive Scottish title in 2017/18, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic were big favourites to retain the domestic crown for another year. Yet the Bhoys are currently six points off the pace; with early leaders Hearts winning five from five and dropping their first points on Saturday to Livingston in a goalless draw at Tynecastle.
On the other side of Glasgow, The Rangers – now managed by Brendan’s former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard – were four points behind Celtic just over a week ago but are now actually one point ahead. It has yet to be seen if Gerrard’s side can lay down a genuine challenge over the course of a 38-game campaign; as indeed is the case with Hearts. Paul Lambert said this morning that trophies aren’t won in September so there’s a long way to go.
League leaders Hearts have been highly efficient so far this season, scoring 11 goals in their five victories whilst conceding just two and if Steven Naismith had converted the penalty on Saturday it could have been even better for the Jambos. Celtic fell well short at Tynecastle in August but it would be foolish to read too much into that result – Celtic have lost there before and won the league comfortably enough.
Hearts will fall short at some stage and Celtic are only going to get stronger as the season goes on – we can’t get much worse! Remember, the Bhoys have been there and done it all on a regular basis – the rest of Scotland’s top flight have next to no recent title-winning experience among them.
SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP REVIEW
Can Hearts mount title challenge ⁉️
Rangers & Celtic not yet up to full speed ?
Livingston’s strong start to season ✅James McFadden reviews the Scottish Premiership weekend. https://t.co/9H5udyb9z2
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 17, 2018
Remarkably, some fans are starting to have doubts on whether Rodgers is the right man to take Celtic forward. Despite winning the Double Treble in his first two seasons, the poor start to this campaign has fans wondering about a potential managerial change, with rumours doing the rounds that Rodgers wants out and is currently working his notice.
With Celtic eliminated from the Champions League in the qualifiers by a bang average AEK Athens side, the pressure is on Rodgers and his players and the supporters will simply not accept failure in the league.
The Europa League campaign got off to a good start result wise last Thursday when a late Leigh Griffiths goal gave Celtic the three points against a stuffy Rosenborg side. But the performance from the Celtic team wasn’t the best on the night.
Remember too that Celtic were dominant for large periods in the 1-0 victory over Rangers and most observers felt that the score line hugely flattered the visitors. Rodgers’ side finished that encounter with 57% of the possession, notching 16 shots to Rangers’ six whilst earning 14 corners to four. But it should have been 3 or 4 nil, and therein lies the concern. The woodwork saved Gerrard that day on four occasions.
It is that level of domination that Celtic fans demand from their players these days; and with good reason. The defending Champions will be of course be mindful of Gerrard’s impact and influence at Ibrox but focusing too much on Rangers would be foolish. They are far from the finished article…
Another factor that explains the poor start to the season by Celtic is the disappointments in the summer transfer window. Moussa Dembele, one of Celtic’s most important players in recent years, left the club to sign for Lyon and the Bhoys have struggled to adapt to life without the young French striker. His ability to turn a game on its head gave Celtic an edge and the Scottish champions have missed Moussa’s powerful play.
Hopefully Celtic will get it right sooner rather than later though and the Bhoys could light up the Scottish Premiership in the not-so-distant future – maybe against Aberdeen this weekend! The odds at the bookies are changing with Rangers coming in on the betting but backing against Celtic would be foolish to say the least.
Those Supporters calling for Rodgers to go need to relax. Whilst an undefeated domestic season is now out of the window – the Invincible season was a one-off, Celtic can still prove themselves as the dominant force in Scottish football with a convincing title success.
As of 18 September, the Bhoys were as short as 1/6 according to bookmakers compared by Oddschecker and punters may opt to keep an eye on Hearts before placing a wager. Doubts over their longevity to maintain a title challenge for the entire 2018/19 campaign are fair enough given their lack of glory in recent times. Those odds will have changed after the defeat at Kilmarnock.
With Leigh Griffiths starting to score goals again – despite the lack of service to the Celtic frontmen – we have a real goalscorer who is hungry for goals having signed a new deal to stay at the club until 2022.
Rodgers needs to give Griffiths a decent run in the team and maybe look at playing with two strikers over the next few games. The January window can them be used to spend some of that £20million Celtic pocketed from Lyon for the sale of Dembele, on a replacement striker.
Celtic have been THE top side in Scotland for the best part of two decades – and long may that continue. There is no need to hit the panic button just yet; Rodgers is one of the most competent managers in the game and Celtic are well placed to push on and climb above The Hearts, The Hibs and The Rangers in the coming weeks and months.
And once Celtic get their noses in front, it will be a case of fighting for second spot for the rest of Scotland’s top flight; the Bhoys will not relinquish their lead!
COYBIG!
Sam McBride
