In recent weeks it has all been spring forward for Celtic. Yesterday however was more a case of a touch of fall back as opponents Livingston went all meantime on coughing up clear chances for Celtic to take advantage of.
And even when the damn eventually broke and Livingston gifted a kick from twelve yards, Celtic appeared caught in a trance and failed to cash in their get out of jail free card offered right at the death. Instead, we had to settle for a share of the spoils against a Livingston side who, much like St Johnstone a week ago, were the poster boys for anti-football and played out the encounter as if a bout of nosebleeds would occur if they were to cross the halfway line.
In the end a goalless draw was all Celtic could bank from this encounter, and although two steps forward and one step back is something we should expect from a side who still very much remain a project in transition, few would have expected it to have come against Livingston at home rather than some of the tougher encounters we have prevailed in on the road at places like Pittodrie, Fir Park and Easter Road. But there were mitigating factors and all self-inflicted, be it from in game management or in stand decision making.
The game itself started in a quiet and eerie fashion as many within the Celtic support took their lead from the North Curve and remained silent for the opening thirty minutes. This was of course a protest over the rumoured impending announcement of Bernard Higgins of Police Scotland as a likely appointment to a senior security role with the club.
It is of course another example of an out of touch, or even antagonistic, appointment by a Celtic Board who either cannot read the room or more believably have little interest in doing so.
As such the approach taken by Celtic Shared, North Curve Celtic, The Celtic Trust and others to call this out should be commended. However, you can’t help but think a group of players buoyed by their midweek heroics at Easter Road may have been a little surprised by the lack of atmosphere to welcome them as the game started yesterday. Subsequently it isn’t a stretch to say the impact of the protest was felt more keenly amongst the players in the Hoops rather than those filling the blazers in the director’s box.
Ange Postecoglou’s side after all are a side who come out the traps and they already appear to have a good relationship feeding off the crowd, the North Curve in particular. As such to start the game without that backing may well have had an impact on the performance, especially at the outset of this game. Given that, perhaps off field tactics as well as on field decision making needs to be given a little more thought as to the consequences.
I can fully understand the message of an officer being appointed who tried to silence the footballing culture from the stands being protested by exhibiting their own wall of silence, but did it have the desired effect?
The people making those decisions after all are a PLC board. Their own decision-making processes of late have shown a disregard for the advancement of the club. This Board, as any PLC sadly does, have legal responsibility to shareholders, particularly large shareholders, and not supporters who they have evidenced they see simply as customers. As such a half hour of silent treatment is unlikely to have even registered.
If it’s direct action the supporter’s groups are after there are probably other ways of carrying out more meaningful disruptive tactics on the other business interests of those on the Celtic board and those on NED roles that will cause them greater discomfort and hit them where they truly feel it, in their pocket, on their reputations and in turn egos.
Such an approach may not be so public and it may not result in banners gaining headlines the morning after, but it may well make life more uncomfortable for board members, it may actually register with them and it may well have more effect on backing the team, while impacting the board, rather than hindering a playing performance and having little meaningful impact on the decision-making processes of the current custodians.
Whether or not that lost half hour had any real impact on the final result is difficult to fathom, however what was certain was the gift horse delivered at the end was passed up and it came from a strange on field decision.
When that late, late penalty was awarded few would have expected Georgios Giakoumakis to be tasked with converting the spot-kick. Not while Mr 100% Josip Juranovic, a player who had just during the week explained, having won a training ground penalty kick shootout, he was the official penalty taker with no mention of an understudy role to Georgios Giakoumakis, remained on the pitch.
It was a strange decision and one that backfired spectacularly as the Greek striker hit the tamest of penalties. And the post-match solidarity of explanations from both manager and captain, whilst commendable, hold little water.
Even if you believe the explanation that Giakoumakis was the official taker, you don’t remove a guy from spot-kick duties who has been exemplary in his task up to that point, it simply puts pressure on the new taker. If he misses, as he did, it adds subsequent pressure to Juranovic, if as you’d now expect, he takes the next one. Or you double down and give it again to Georgios Giakoumakis and even greater intensity lands on his shoulders. There was enough broken yesterday, without fixing something that required no mending.
But that wasn’t the only tactical issue that felt strange yesterday. The constant recycling of a massive 85% possession of the play from side to side with little attempt to get in behind and cut the ball back, or centrally try and commit to carrying the ball occasionally to break stubborn defensive lines was infuriating. Particularly so when you consider the tactic of poorly directed cross balls had been our undoing against the same opponent at the Tony Macaroni so recently, and had resulted in a painful defeat.
In those two encounters against this West Lothian outfit Celtic have now attempted 81 cross balls and completed over 180 minutes of football without finding the net or creating many meaningful goalscoring opportunities, evidenced by one point out of six to an opponent who are simply agricultural at best.
And as the clocks went back yesterday so Celtic’s play regressed somewhat as again Livingston proved a defensive wall, we were incapable of breaching. And it isn’t something we can simply disregard as facing a bogey team or a bout of bad luck. Instead, it is something we will need to remedy as other sides will adopt similar tactics, especially now they have seen the successes that can be gained.
On and off the field decisions made backfired yesterday and it culminated in Celtic falling back. If we are to spring forward there needs to be a little more subtlety adopted in tactical approaches on the field of play and in the stands, as much of yesterday’s disappointment can be put down to self-inflicted wounds, and we have enough to contend with this season without harming ourselves.
Niall J
The penalty should of been retaken. Keeper way off the line and Livi player already in the box before its hit 🙈🙈 pic.twitter.com/6WT0VljQwp
— BigItalianMaximo (@Bigirishcelt) October 31, 2021
