Leigh Griffiths appearances on TV and radio in the last week or so have been frustrating to watch, particularly as Scotland appeared in a major finals for the first time in 23 years and the Country’s most natural finisher was watching from the stand or passing comment in the media rather than letting his feet do the talking on the park. Meanwhile those chosen in his absence could easily have been prosecuted under the trade descriptions act by describing themselves as strikers yet having an incredible knack of being unable to bother a goalkeeper from little more than six yards from goal.
Griffith’s latest appearance on BBC the morning after Scotland’s night before was a bit of an eye opener, given the striker with days left on his contract appeared to indicate, following a chat with Ange Postecoglou, he was expecting terms to be agreed between Celtic and the striker that could result in Griffiths donning the Hoops for a season more than most of us expected.
Should @Leighgriff09 have been picked for Scotland?🏴
Was he fit for selection?💪
Was he treated fairly by Celtic?😬
Will he stay at Celtic?📝Leigh Griffiths answers all 👇
Listen live 📻➡️ https://t.co/NsrNtEIQRj#BBCEurosBreakfast pic.twitter.com/4z1SaQYLrL
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) June 23, 2021
Such a deal has yet to be confirmed by the club and Griffiths himself didn’t indicate anything had been finalised but unless there was a breakdown in communication it seems an agreement is in the offing and the new man, who arrived at Lennoxtown on Wednesday, appears willing to give Griffiths a chance to be part of his Celtic revolution.
There will be many amongst the support surprised at this. Griffiths, who was at pains to contradict his ex-manager, who in the same studio just a week prior had questioned his former striker’s fitness, claims somewhat bizarrely that he had been fit enough to play but had been given the cold shoulder after a poor first half in a 2-1 defeat to St Mirren at Celtic Park on 30th January, surprisingly omitting the fact he’d returned from lockdown to a delayed start to pre-season training ahead of what was hoped would be a historical season so out of shape he didn’t travel to either the club’s Loughborough training camp or the subsequent pre-season trip to France.
Whether or not Griffiths was fit later on, or simply not fancied by then, seems a moot point as Griffiths was required to at least be at a comparable level of fitness to his teammates at the start of pre-season training and instead let everyone down by returning out of shape.
🗣️’He’s on full pay for the three months of lockdown and comes back totally out of condition’
Neil Lennon on Leigh Griffiths 👇
Listen live 📻➡️ https://t.co/Xnic9U36BA#BBCEurosBreakfast pic.twitter.com/udq06JIICP
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) June 24, 2021
To choose between Griffith’s version of events and Neil Lennon’s at present would be to choose between Billy Liar and the Boy Who Cried Wolf, and given the water that has since passed under the bridge it probably makes no difference to the here and now to go over old ground. Suffice to say both parties let Celtic down when it came to decision making last season and both seem incapable of any admittance to their own failings. One however has paid for a calamitous season with their job whilst the other appears in line for a chance at redemption.
My own thoughts on this are fairly simple, I wouldn’t have given Leigh Griffiths another chance. He’s long since had a visit to the last chance saloon and appears to have fitted a revolving door. I’ve been more than willing to support Celtic’s maverick in the past given sometimes flaws come with the type of footballer who produces something magical when most needed, but last season given the importance to us all and Griffiths having no excuse not to know what it all meant, was the last straw for me.
Despite this I am more than willing to back the judgement of Ange Postecoglou. If he is willing to give Griffiths another shot, he must have seen enough in his own due diligence on the Celtic squad to think another year and another shot at redeeming himself is something Celtic’s new manager can assist with and in turn Griffiths can deliver and return the favour. It is a hell of a gamble but there is merit to it if Postecoglou can get the best out of Leigh Griffiths. Leigh after all remains the best finisher at the club and with a limited squad of players available, and Ange currently unsure of how far his budget will have to stretch, having both Albian Ajeti and Leigh Griffiths available ahead of the Champions League qualifiers probably makes sense, particularly as it is looking somewhat unlikely that Odsonne Edouard will be hanging around.
It would also make sense given the new manager tends to play with a solitary striker and with two retained it would mean perhaps only one more striker need be signed and perhaps the budget for that can be extended by retaining Griffiths as back-up . It would make further sense if Griffiths’ contract was not an extension of his current deal and instead a new contract on a smaller basic and heavily incentivised on appearances and goals to make up the shortfall. If that is to be the case remains to be seen but surely would make for financial security for the club and focus Griffiths on ensuring he’s as ready, available and able to last 90 minutes.
For Postecoglou this could well be a sign to us all he’s an astute man manager. Budgetary issues aside the new boss will be aware Griffiths options outside of Celtic would be a step down for a player who will be aware, as he watched Scotland perform at Euro 2020, that he needs to be scoring at a high level and consistently to have any chance of playing a part in Scotland’s campaign to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Griffiths will have watched Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes fail to trouble goalkeepers over eight days and believe he could shift one of those. To do so a move down the Premier league won’t cut it, but a revival at Celtic and plenty of goals could well see Griffiths back in Steve Clarke’s thoughts. As such Ange Postecoglou could have a player who immediately owes his manager and also has a crack at a World Cup to aim for.
I’m not one for any further chances being afforded to Leigh Griffiths but you can see why Ange Postecoglou may well offer him just one more. Griffiths needs to be ready to return the considerable favour.
Niall J
