After the three matches last week, which were a very mixed bag in terms of performances and results, this international break is welcome, as it gives Celtic the opportunity to press the reset button…
However, things do not get any easier after the international break, with seven games in just three weeks.
To date this season, we have only played 2 Champions League midweek fixtures, with totally different outcomes. Yet it’s the third fixture in a week, that have been against Falkirk and Ross County, that raises some concern gibe our performances in those two matches.
It’s something of a surprise that in both of these games, Celtic happened to be losing both games at half time. And in both games, we had to depend on our bench, in order to gain the required rand desired results.
Third game in three causing concern
Our first round of three games in a week were all at Celtic Park whereas the second round last week, all three matches were away from him in Perth, Dortmund and Dingwall. Yet the main comparison, was just how much, we struggled in our performance levels, within the third match of the two sequences of fixtures, home then away.
Yet, after this international break, we are going to be faced with three midweek matches, two of which are Champions League matches against Atalanta then Leipzig. It’s also worth noting, that the games after a midweek game, are Motherwell at Fir Park, Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden and Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. No real surprise that the SPFL’s super computer should throw up such a challenging schedule set of fixtures for Celtic, especially with reduced preparation time for each game due to the Champions League games.
No more international break luxuries
However, last week did throw up some concerns regarding the schedule that we face after the international break. We won’t have the luxury of another international break to regroup either in the coming months. So that raises the question as to where we currently are, regarding our overall squad, that will be required for the schedule, that we are going to have to contend with.
The return of CCV would be a massive boost, yet can we expect him to be fully fit, to manage seven games in three weeks? It seems unlikely and he really should prioritise playing in the Champions League, while Auston Trusty takes care of the domestic games. The same could be applied to Alistair Johnston and Greg Taylor also, so Anthony Ralston and Alex Valle will be required to step up. Both are more than capable.
A mixed bag in midfield
Our midfield areas, produced a mixed bag in the displays from our five midfielders selected so far this season. And the same could be applied to our attacking options also, especially with what has been seen in that third match in a week to date.
So there’s much for Brendan Rodgers to ponder with over this international break. I actually believe that the trip to Sligo holds far more relevance to ourselves, then it may have seemed, when the fixture was first announced. The freshness provided from the subs bench, eventually got ourselves over the line on Sunday, yet the first 60 minutes can’t be ignored either.
Nawrocki a better right-sided backup for CCV
With that freshness that was required, has the time finally arrived, for some of our fringe players to start stepping up? Many still remain unconvinced regarding left footer Auston Trusty as the backup option for CCV, and ask is he really a better option than Maik Nawrocki who is a natural right sided defender.
Valle and Taylor looking like they can rotate, but Valle looks more comfortable in the more advanced attacking areas than Taylor, but Taylor possibly better positioned in a defensive manner.
Alistair Johnston has been fabulous
Alistair Johnston has been a fabulous player for Celtic this season to date, yet on Sunday he was looking below par for long periods, yet ended up being a hero. Will the calls increase for Ralston to step up, over the course of the next seven matches?
Again we already have the rotation policy in place and working well for Kyogo and Adam idah as two completely different strikers. Idah seems to have a better impact player from the bench to date, so are we best suited to continue that trend, even if it didn’t work particularly well against Falkirk?
Luke McCowan merits a start
Another question is do we need Luis Palma and Yang to start being involved more over the next seven games, along with our mix and match approach in our midfield areas, with hopefully Luke McCowan starting to get more game time, preferably in actually starting some matches.
For the time being, supporters can take a break after the emotional coaster ride of last week, but that certainly won’t be possible for Brendan Rodgers and his coaching team. Plenty of preparation work is going to be required for our next seven fixtures. We can’t allow that demoralising Dortmund defeat to define our season. However the next seven games in three weeks could go a long way to doing exactly that.
So while the next two weeks could be considered as a borefest supporters, I don’t think the same will apply to Brendan Rodgers and his team, especially with the amount of preparation work that will be done over this international break.
Johnno
