WEDNESDAY night could provide Neil Lennon with the perfect opportunity to experiment with playing two strikers. Celtic have a commanding 3-1 lead from the trip to the Bosnian capital last Tuesday and are unlikely to be tested by Sarajevo on the perfect surface at Celtic Park.
The chance to pair Odsonne Edouard with Leigh Griffiths might be too hard to resist from the Celtic manager who has gone on record as saying that he wants to return to a more attacking style of play.
The suggestion that playing two strikers is something of an experiment would seem crazy to Celtic supporters if that was suggested even a few years ago but it is the case these days. Of course Rodgers promised something similar last summer and even played Edouard alongside Demebele in the early qualifiers and it worked well.
What was happening behind the scenes as the summer progressed though meant that Dembele was sold – and was never replaced – and with Leigh Griffiths unavailable for most of last season, French Eddie was left to get on with the huge task of leading the line all by himself for near enough an entire season.
We’ve said it before but it’s worth noting again. If and when Celtic get to Ten in a Row, people will look back and say it was last season that we were in most danger of losing the league. The Rangers could have missed their best chance.
So a year on there is a different Celtic manager and he has the chance to go with two up top to see how it goes. It could be lethal as far as our opponents this season are concerned. Last week Lenny told Ryan Christie that he’d be playing the Number 10 role – just behind the striker or strikers up top, and after the friendly against Rennes on Saturday Christie spoke to the media, as reported by Evening Times, about the return of Griffiths to the Celtic side.
“Leigh has been brilliant since he’s been back,” Christie noted. “He’s worked as hard as anyone trying to get himself fit again so fair play to him. He’s now benefitting from that and getting his rewards because as you could see he did look very sharp today. It’s only a matter of time before he starts scoring goals again too.
“We’re never going to turn a player like Leigh and his goals down. You are delighted if you have a player like that in the squad and hopefully, he will kick on again. He’s back training as well as ever and he’s certainly not lost his finishing ability that’s for sure. Come the start of the season, he will be firing on all cylinders.
“Towards the end of last season we did well to try and fill his void, but to have someone like him who can create a goal out of nothing is priceless.”
Christie is full of admiration for Griffiths for facing up to his off the field difficulties and stepping away from the game in order to have the time to sort out the personal problems that were having such an impact on him.
“When it was announced that he was going to take a bit of time off, he let us all know,” Christie revealed. “And as you would expect, we were really supportive and understood it. Now that’s he’s back it’s like he has never been gone. He certainly doesn’t look like he has got any problems anymore. So I am delighted by him.”
“Towards the end of last season he started training again and doing drills himself, which I always think is harder because when you are doing it with a squad of players it’s always easier because you are working towards the same goal. That’s him definitely back.
“It’s tough. Credit to him. There’s a difference between been fit and match fit. It’s only when you have played a game that you really understand it. You can do doggies until the end of the day, but it’s a different scenario when you start a match. Everyone’s delighted to see him look so sharp.”
So Christie may well have the chance to combine with both Edouard and Griffiths in what could be a lethal attacking triangle against Sarajevo. He did link up with some effect with Edouard in Europe last season to set up a dramatic winner against RB Leipzig moments after the Germans had equalised after Kieran Tierney’s early strike had given Celtic the lead.
“That was phenomenal and certainly one of the highlights for me last season,” Christie said. “There’s a lot of boys in the dressing room who have played in the Champions League, but I’ve not played there yet.
“The Europa League last year was my first real taste of European football here and I loved every minute of it. That’s what we are working towards and if I can go on to play Champions League football I will be delighted.
“I was around the club in Brendan’s first year when we played Champions League football, but it’s obviously better to be playing a part in it. Hopefully, that’s what will happen.
“It was a brilliant team performance against Leipzig, and I think that was the most we worked all season and it paid off, although we rode our luck in the last ten minutes when we were hanging on a bit, but that’s the kind of nights you want to be a part of at Celtic Park.”
Also on Th Celtic Star this morning…
Celtic fans are a Bullseye short at Currys, Champagne without the Fizz at Arsenal
