The other day on The Celtic Star Paul Gillespie published an article covering Greg Taylor’s recent comments praising the contribution of Celtic’s centre back pairing for the majority of the season so far, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt. Left back Taylor reckons that the pair are Celtic’s unsung heroes this season, pointing out that with the American and the Swede at the heart of defence, Celtic have kept a raft of clean sheets as the defence have played their part in conceding only 18 goals in 30 games this season so far.
It got me thinking about the duo’s performances this season and whether they have been as good as the stats suggest. When you compare the defensive stats in the Premiership this term compared to last, it really is night and day. No one can argue that we haven’t shored up the rearguard this season. This has helped end the fans reoccurring nightmares from last season, with thoughts of the unlucky Shane Duffy at the heart of our backline now thankfully a distant memory.
Taylor makes some good points in his interview, and the stats really do speak for themselves, conceding only 18 goals in 30 games is a fantastic record. The centre back partnership have been an integral part in creating those figures. So why is it that some fans still feel like we are weak in defence? Why is it that Carl Starfelt still doesn’t instill confidence in a large chunk of the Celtic support?
Well for a start stats never give the full story. Someone can check the stats on this and say we have been excellent in defence all season. However there are certain things that we are still struggling with. Number one has to be set pieces. Most of the goals we concede come via this route. I doubt I’m the only fan who gets that feeling of dread when we are completely dominating a team then concede a silly free kick near our area or an unnecessary corner.
Not only do we as fans get nervous but it seems our players do to. It’s like the opposition’s players eyes light up as they sense a way back into the contest. Although they clearly have plenty of positive attributes, defending set pieces is unfortunately not high up that list. It’s something that has cost us previously, and will continue to cost us in the future. If these two are to remain our centre back pairing going forward into next season it is clearly something that needs to be worked on.
The main problem however isn’t how the defence has performed in Scotland, where you have to say they have undoubtedly helped us to the position we are in now, top of the league looking down on theRangers. No I would say the biggest problem we have is how badly they have fared when playing on the continent.
Celtic conceded 15 goals over 6 games in the Europa League, the worst out of any team in that competition. They then went on to concede 5 against Bodø/Glimt in the Conference League over two matches. These are shocking figures. Yes you can say it’s a team effort but our two centre backs have to take some of the blame.
This is where I think the discussion around Starfelt becomes muddled. He has definitely proved more than adequate in the Scottish Premiership and put some decent performances in. On the other hand however he has shown that when the level of opposition increases, he struggles. He is clearly unsuited to playing at the left hand side of a centre back pairing, which can cost him vital seconds in possession as he tries to get the ball back on his good side. Defensively he often gravitates towards the ball instead of staying in position, which has cost us countless times this season.
Out of the pair of them I definitely think Carter-Vickers is the better footballer. I would love to see Celtic wrap up a deal for the American during the summer. It’s been suggested recently that Celtic failed to agree a set price with Tottenham Hotspur when they took him on loan, which if true could be a crucial error as the London club will surely have pumped the price up after seeing how well he has performed in Scotland this season.
Personally I think the centre back area is somewhere Ange Postecoglou should be looking to improve during the summer. It frightens me to think that we could go into the Champions League next season with the same defensive line up that shipped 20 goals in 8 matches in inferior competitions this season. A left footed centre back is a must, and if he is strong at set pieces even better. This doesn’t mean I think we should cut Starfelt out completely, he would be more than an able back up, but rather that if we want to become a force in Europe this really is an area we have to improve in.
Conall McGinty
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The Celtic defence only concedes so few goals domestically because so few teams dare to have a real go at Celtic,knowing that they will be picked off time and time again by Celtic players given actual space to operate in.At corners,set pieces and long throws,it is panic stations in our defence and in the stands.The defence is too small,just look at guys MON put in his defence,plus you have a very good goalkeeper who is unfortunately not comfortable with attacking the ball in the situations mentioned earlier.If you watch the Celtic women/girls, Caitlin Hayes is excellent,top class in the air and on the deck,oozes confidence and settles the players around her.Two players of this ilk have to be signed by Celtic.CCV is good,but not CL standard,I’m sorry but just my opinions.
You do realise that probably the only time the whole team is on defensive duty is during set pieces?, do you think this just a coincidence, that our ‘great’ defenders become rubbish at this point?. Also CCV has got no where near his previous flawlessness since returning from injury, while Starfelt in this time has been man of the match, or at least a strong competitor for MoTM on numerous occasions.