YESTERDAY we published this article by Niall J that has sparked an interesting debate on Celtic’s tactical options over on Celtic Noise. Firstly here’s the article that sparked the debate…
Celtic Rustiness plus PSG v Bayern Preview | The Celtic Star https://t.co/6KGioYWUzB
— The Celtic Star Editor – INVINCIBLE (@CelticStarMag) August 23, 2020
Niall J’s article opened up the following exchange with the original author himself getting involved in the conversation…
Shadow 2, a well-known member on Celtic Noise started the ball rolling with the following feedback for Niall.
“Not trying to detract from what is a genuine attempt to come up with a team line up and a system that works Niall but you started out by saying ‘we are now returning to square pegs in round holes’ then suggested we play Elhamed a RB (or right sided CB) on the left of a back 3 and play Ajer (who’s been playing as a left sided CB for the best part of 4 years) on the right of that back 3.
That imo is the definition of putting ‘square pegs in round holes’ as your moving an extremely competent RB or right sided CB to the left of a back 3 to accommodate the inclusion of Ajer who we’re not even sure would be any better on the right of a back 3 than he was on the left of it.
Your suggestion of a midfield diamond is a good one but would a diamond made up of McGregor, Ntcham, Christie and Moi be able to deal with an opposition who set up with a physical midfield (which we come up against often) or would it end up being overrun as neither of these 4 bhoys are known for their physicality or ability to get stuck into a midfield battle?
In an attacking sense it would certainly lend itself to more fluid quicker attacks but where is its ability to stand up to the pressure of a physical midfield battle which we so often find ourselves in not just domestically but in Europe too?
I would love to see us go with 2 up top again in fact I think it’s a necessity when so many of the teams we’re up against tend to sit in and park the bus but that requires better delivery into the box from both wing positions, good quality crossing coming in for the strikers to get on the end of.
So given this is a 3-5-2 set up with a diamond in the middle I’m assuming your still going with Taylor and Frimpong as your wingbacks but (I’m getting tired listening to myself go on about this now :LOL:) this is more square pegs in round holes as neither of them are wingbacks. Neither of them have shown the required competency to play that position without it resulting in a negative impact elsewhere on the pitch.
Taylor lacks the required attacking ability/awareness to play this role and Frimpong lacks the required defensive ability/awareness to play it but most importantly neither of them have shown they have the ability to supply sustained quality crosses into the box for those 2 strikers to feed off of. Taylor’s crossing has been poor and Frimpong tends to cut in rather than float a cross in so where are those crosses into the box coming from?
I know you’ve said in the past that they will learn and can be coached into being better wingbacks but do we really have the time to wait on them getting up to speed and can it even be done? This is a massive season where we need everybody on it and on it now, we can’t afford to have others covering for the inadequacies both currently have and there’s no time for hand holding in the hope they can learn these skills quickly. So if we want to play with wingbacks then we will need to sign players capable of it to make it work.
I’m not trying to pick holes in what your saying mate, I know you’re only trying to come up with a system and line-up that gets us motoring better. It’s something all of us have been racking our brains about lately and are struggling to come up with a solution to but right now I think what your suggesting comes with it’s own set of pitfalls.
Maybe it’s time we accept that these problems just can’t be fixed by moving around the players we already have and that the only solution to them lie in the transfer market.”
Niall responded to this over on Celtic Noise. “Think you’re last point is probably spot on Shadow, the transfer market will in the end be key. Certainly take your point on Elhamed being the square peg I argued against further up the field, though I only meant that until the world class left sided central defender who can also deputise at full back, wing back and defensive midfielder is signed:)
Ajer I have every faith is a right sided central defender and has performed well at right back. He’s been a left sided central defender for too long it’s not a natural position for him. At least I can see a player in Elhamed who can use his left foot and shifting Jullien to the middle would remove his need to engage strikers-especially large ones.
3-5-2 or indeed 3-4-3 would suit most of the team though I noted Strachan the other night saying he felt the wing back argument could be negated by rotating Forrest and Frimpong as right sided midfielders and a more defensive option on the left in Taylor. I guess O’Neill tried something similar with Agathe or Jackie on one side and Thompson on the other.
I have no massive issues with 4-2-3-1 in certain games, it allows us more patient posession whereby a 3-5-2 we do concede ground and are more open to the counter. I do despair though when in that 4-2-3-1 formation we shift Christie wide right or Forrest wide left then Eddy drops deep and when the balls do get delivered there is no-one there to pounce (one of the most frustrating things from Saturday).
I do admit to having concerns in the combative side of things in midfield as you point out, especially as Lennon likes a physical presence in there anyway so I have no chance of getting what I’d want 🙂 but the game can be pressed without the need to impose physicality by way of old school hard tackling. Brown is rarely doing that at any rate at the moment, that could be getting up to speed but I’d rather have more mobility to press and nick posession back and leave Brown out when we’re playing packed defences, or if Lenny wishes to stick with that type of player perhaps the younger legs of Soro would at least keep up with the pace of play when we are countered.
What I do agree fully though is we are all racking brains to come up with a system to suit and there might be more need for new faces than I thought at the start of the season.”
Spherical Planet, another well-known member on Celtic Noise then added his own thoughts to this tactical head-scratcher. “Both make great points and valid arguments, but the other one thing that’s been missing is the one-touch pass and move. We have at least 5 players who can pass the ball at pace and quickly transition, but even they are falling prey to taking two, three and even 4 touches. It just slows everything down and allows opponents to retain or regain their shape.
The other feature of note is the distance between our boys when we’re playing from the back. There were several times recently when our centre backs are taking the ball from Barkas on the 6-yard line and Broonie’s on the D. That leaves 20-25 yards between the next two centre mids and that’s just not great when you want to play triangles and move the opponents about.
There’s also an issue with everything going into Eddy’s feet and then him being instantly surrounded by two or three defenders. Eddy isn’t half bad at running onto balls and that’s where wee Jamesie (and likely Moi) is most effective too. Playing into feet is fine if there’s a willing runner or second-man up top to play off against, but it doesn’t leave a whole lot of options when you’re isolated up there and having to create something yourself.”
Well-known member Bellshill Bhoy picked up on this last point made by Spherical Planet saying: “that’s why we need two up front, if there are 3 defenders around Eddie there’s space for someone else, we’ve all been calling for it for weeks, why can’t Lennon see that? The team was flying after last Christmmas with 2 up front, scoring for fun, you can’t win games if you don’t score, my blood pressure can’t take much more of this 83mins till we score stuff.”
Niall also had something to say about the points made by Spherical Planet: “Fair shout SP. I wonder how much the stop start nature of the league to date has stopped us geting into our rhythm just yet when it comes to extra touches?
In terms of receiving the ball from defenders it doesn’t help that Broony is a bit slower on the turn now. I’d think Calmac taking the ball and turning as sharply as he does then passing on the turn and moving to be available to receive it back further up the field may be worth considering.
Moi seems to go into the same postitions as Eddy. Moi as a natural right footer cuts inside and Eddy seems to prefer to drop into the same area (he rarely does it on Forrest’s side) we appear a bit lop sided in that regard.
I guess thats why Christie moves more to Forrest’s side but with him being left footed he has to take an extra touch to turn back onto his left foot.
I think Ajeti will make a difference he’s a demanding footballer, can take it into feet but wants service as he moves back into the box. When he’s up to speed those balls across the box or needing flicks at front post and back post will be picked up. Never been so certain of a striker for years than signing this guy. The real deal no doubt.
He’ll want quick passing once he’s held the ball up. McGregor pushing from deep will drive the team up the field faster and Ntcham and Christie can play ahead. One gives guile and one perpetual motion. If Moi plays between the two or even just ahead the options could be amazing. But as Shadow pointed out we’d lack the bite Broony brings in midfield and we’d need genuine attacking and defending capabilities in equal measure from the wing backs something Taylor and Frimpong don’t quite have balanced just yet.”
It was left to Michael Duffy, a bit of a legend on Celtic Noise, to have the last word and typically he ended up by mentioning his own favourite pastime. “Ajer never a left sided centre-back, but he also plays there for Norway? He had a cameo at right back for Celtic, was excellent, so play him on the right across the back line, noo where’s that beer!”
You can join in the conversation on the friendly and crucially user-friendly fans forum where all Celtic supporters are welcome. Signing up to Celtic Noise is quick and easy and many of The Celtic Star writers including Matt Corr, David Potter, Niall J and the forum is run by Winning Captains.
