Underwhelming - Celtic continue to toil

Article by James Payne

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Ten days or so ago - I think it was the day before the Aberdeen match of the 13th of September- the founder of one of the more widely read Celtic blogs wrote an article that contained the assertion that after the closure of the most recent transfer window and with the signings of Scepovic, Wakaso, Tonev and Giudetti having been secured, Celtic now possessed 'an embarrassment of riches'. After a good result but mostly uninspired showing in Salzburg and a dull showing against Motherwell at Celtic Park when only a highly dubious penalty prevented Celtic from losing I would not go so far as to say we now have 'an embarrassment of embarrassments' but it is beginning to feel a bit like it.

It probably is a bit unfair on these 4 players to judge them so soon - though even without the disturbing allegations made against him after his debut I don't know that I can see even potential benefits in the capture of Alexsandr Tonev. The Ghanaian winger, Mubarak Wakaso, got his Celtic career off to a flying start with a superb goal against FC Salzburg but otherwise did little of note save failing to control the ball when he would have had a clear run in on goal in the closing minutes. The two strikers have been invisible other than, in Scepovic's case, for a worrying tendency to be caught offside. The service both players have had has been negligible though and most strikers would struggle to make an impact in similar circumstances.

Celtic is toiling unexpectedly and already manager Ronny Deila is expressing concerns regarding Celtic's title retention. In turn many Celtic fans are expressing serous concerns at the performance of Ronny Deila. This may seem ridiculous as we are not yet into October but with only 3 wins in the last 11 matches and a succession of numbingly mediocre performances the former Stromgodset boss needs to up his game as well as that of his team substantially.

At the moment it is hard to see what on earth it is Deila and his assistant John Collins are trying to do. The constant unenforced changes to the team line-up are way beyond tinkering and have led, in my case at least, to a feeling of dread an hour or so before kick-off when the team for the day is about to be announced. Sunday's game with Motherwell was probably an opportunity to rest one or two players but Scott Brown and Kris Commons should start games like this - one provides the drive the team needs and the other is the only player we have who can , at least against Scottish teams, produce something special when neither he nor the team is playing well. By all means take them off with half-an-hour to play and coasting but having them sit out the first 45 minutes is a mistake- and on Sunday Celtic barely laid a glove on a visiting side which has had a poor start to the season.

Admittedly Deila has been unlucky that three right backs - Lustig, Fisher and Matthews- have usually been absent and he has had to field Efe Ambrose in this position. The Nigerian World Cup player seems more than just a liability in that role and Efe's vaguely terrifying displays in the role are a surprise that Deila would not have wanted from a player who plays, apparently competently, in the same position for his country.

I had concerns about the appointment of both Deila and his assistant John Collins at the time they were announced but I had not expected them to be so bad, so soon. Both were hailed as fitness freaks and tactically astute- things the previous management team was deemed not to be. I looked forward to Celtic running teams off their feet because of their superior fitness but any changes for the better in this respect seem to have been minute. Tactically Celtic's game changing tactic late on seems to be punting the ball into the box for Virgil Van Dijk to head it. Celtic are not, at the moment, a good team to watch.

Both men are first and foremost coaches which is in itself no bad thing, but football management is not just about tactics and at the moment I wonder how much 'managing' is going on. I have heard from a reliable source that at the end of matches there is no discussion, praise or criticism by the managerial team with everything left until the next training session. This doesn't strike me as being a good idea however innovative it may seem. A bit more of the 'hairdryer' might be needed as a lot the players seem apathetic as they troop off at the final whistle. There have been several performances this season where some of the players should have been scared to come off the pitch.

Deila’s public pronouncements haven’t been particularly helpful either. Most recently he reportedly said that he hopes we get to play Rangers again soon. Aside from many of us thinking that we would be playing a new Rangers for the first time as the original version ceased to be in June 2012, I would dread this particular Glasgow derby – everything which surrounded the original version’s matches showed Glasgow at its worst and whilst there were some great games on the pitch itself they were more often scrappy and nervy affairs. This time round there is the added dimension of the considerable sense of injustice some fans of Rangers feel regarding the way their original club was treated in 2012 [it was all a giant ‘fenian’ conspiracy don’tcha know?] which could lead to even more serious disorder than the previous versions usually produced. And, incidentally but more pragmatically, with Ronny Deila seemingly incapable of putting a Celtic side on the field that possesses anything close to ‘fire’ in its collective belly there is the distinct possibility that Celtic would lose.

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