It was a rare if not unprecedented occasion on the bus coming home. Brendan Rodgers was being pilloried. His defenders said that he had to do what he did, that it was a good idea to give young lads and fringe players a chance, but the consensus of opinion was that seven changes were just rather too many.
The feeling was also expressed that, irrespective of what happens in Russia, the games against Aberdeen at Pittodrie and Dundee at Celtic Park at the end of February MUST be contested by the best available players. A defeat at Pittodrie could put us in trouble, for it would reduce the lead to six points, and there are still a lot of games to be played.
So let’s hope a lesson has been learned from this game. Indeed there were a few positives. The defence, for example, was good. Ajer continued his impressive form, and Jack Hendry has settled in well while although Calvin Miller will never be as good as Kieran Tierney, he was far from a failure. And nice to see Christian Gamboa back again.
The failures were sadly upfront. Just what has gone wrong with Scott Sinclair? Last year he could win games on his own. This year he is almost a liability. Is he in the right position? For someone playing on the left, he uses his right foot an awful lot. Yesterday, he did put in a lot of effort, but seemed to lack confidence at the right time.
And poor Odsonne Edouard just did not seem to be able to get into the game at all. And very few players seemed prepared to shoot from outside the box. Loads of goals came from there last year!
Midfield clearly lacked Scott Brown. That was not, of course, the fault of Brendan for Scott was suspended, but one felt that it maybe would have made more sense to keep Olivier Ntcham in the team in those circumstances. Brendan afterwards admitted this too but had his hand forced as Olivier was ill and unable to play.
Callum McGregor started well with some nice touches in the first half, but faded badly, and although it was nice to see Tom Rogic back in action, it might have been better to use him for the last half hour as a substitute. He did not look as yet completely match fit.
The jury stays out on Eboue Kouassi. He has certainly had his opportunities of late, but does not yet seem to have done enough.
Some sort of credit must be given to St Johnstone – they got what they came for – but I thought they got off with far too much from referee Mr Beaton whom I had hitherto reckoned to be one of the better ones. Not yesterday, however. Still, it is a very weak excuse (although a common one) to blame it all on the referee, and the real reason for the disappointment must come back to the team selection.
Yes, it is a good idea to rotate, but one or two would have been fine, and seven makes the team barely recognisable.
Probably no real harm done – indeed we have gained a point over Aberdeen over the weekend – but a warning has been laid down to Brendan Rodgers. The next two games in St Petersburg and Aberdeen are huge, and I’m sure the teams will be the best available. Brendan must however resist the temptation to “rest” players for the games against Dundee and Morton after that, or if he must do some “resting” of players, he must do it sparingly.
And I wonder, with everyone on such a high after Thursday night, did anyone really need to “rest”? Surely better to field the best players when they are so happy and confident!
David Potter
The Celtic Star Podcast: A Celtic State of Mind presents its 36th instalment of insightful discussion around the culture of Celtic Football Club, the city of Glasgow, and fans of the reigning treble-winning Scottish champions.
This week, Paul John Dykes and Kevin Graham are joined by one of the heroes of Celtic’s centenary season – Frank McAvennie.
When Frank joined Celtic from West Ham in October 1987, he was undoubtedly one of English football’s hottest properties. Billy McNeill had to splash out a club record fee to secure the flamboyant striker’s services, but there is no doubt that he repaid every penny during that glorious double-winning season.
None more so than in the 1988 Scottish Cup final when Frank scored a double as Celtic came from behind to clinch the league and cup double. He immortalised himself in Celtic’s history that day, yet he cannot be seen on the stadiums fascia, which is decorated with images of club icons.
This omission by the club is understandably something of a bugbear of Frank’s, and he is candid when discussing his disappointment at being left out by Celtic’s current incumbents. The 1980s pinup also speaks about his fallout with the Celtic board, his appearance at a criminal court following an Old Firm sending-off, and that gloriously sunny day at Hampden almost 30 years ago.
A Celtic State of Mind has gone from strength-to-strength over the last few months, and there are many more guests lined up in the weeks ahead from the world of sport, music, film, art, broadcasting, literature and politics.
Connect with A Celtic State of Mind @PaulDykes, @anorthernprose and @CelticStarPod and subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or through your podcast player.
