WHY THE CLUJ DISASTER HAPPENED
Had we been starting our European qualifiers now I’d say we’d be just fine with the squad we have, the balance of it, the fact it is now streamlined and also has scope for a bit more to be cut away. Where we stand on the quality compared to the last few seasons we’ll not know until we’ve given this squad a few months to show their various abilities.
But we’ve had the European qualifiers and we’re in the Consolation Cup again. The fact the transfer window closed last night and we got players in doesn’t cover for how ineffective our recruitment was in comparison to the timing of important matches we faced so early on. There are arguments aplenty as to why we went out.
Neil Lennon did indeed make a series of errors during the Cluj game but for me his biggest was the moving of Callum McGregor to left back. Not because he’s a poor left back but because he was our best midfielder.
But this is how I saw it putting myself in Lenny’s boots on that one decision. He felt Cluj intended to target Bolingoli. He was also acutely aware Boli was getting very public criticism for some early shaky performances. Given the circumstances a coach would normally have reached out to his alternative left back and removed Bolingoli from the firing line.
Lennon couldn’t do that, he didn’t have another left back to call on. He gambled and lost and the decision was poor with the benefit of hindsight. He could and should have simply stuck with Bolingoli.
That he didn’t have an alternative choice in place by not the first round, nor the second round but the third round of qualifiers and all the wildcard transfer dates in between was down to the board. Greg Taylor signed last night. He was available all summer. Yes there were other tactical errors on the night but we had a manager who wanted to make a change at left back. He only had one to choose from. The recruitment and transfer policy were just as culpable as Neil Lennon was.
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