Chris Sutton has articulated many of the concerns of Celtic supporters over what has been an underwhelming start to the season, as the halfway point and winter break approaches.
Initially the majority of fans seemed opposed to the return of Brendan Rodgers but much of the hostility made…
Hartson’s second point, that players aren’t giving their all is probably more concerning but again it is something that falls under the remit of a manager.
Rodgers bought into it fully, in June he drooled over the fantastic work of Mark Lawwell in recruitment ahead of seven signings that have contributed even less than some of Daddy’s biggest duds like Vakoun Bayo, Youssuf Mulumo, Boli Bolingoli, Ismaila Soro, Patryk Klimala, Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas.
We lacked any desire in our defending, we lacked that drive when we had the ball and that intensity. And like I said, it felt like we could have played all night and not scored.
I’d actually argue that the least-effective of their three home performances, yet the way they lifted themselves after losing a late equaliser said a lot about their development.
We have to play in a way that makes it really difficult for teams, surprise teams with the quality of our football but there’s no doubt, you can’t get away from it, we have got to have a deeper squad of players to compete at this level.
You don’t build a team around one player but management involves getting the most from your resources. Providing chances for Kyogo should be more of a priority than adapting others into sync with Palma or Yang.
Phillips seemed to have the perfect profile, a member of Jurgen Klopp’s impressive squad in need of matches but like many others from the EPL he has struggled with the different demands of playing for Celtic
With European football ending in a tame 2-0 defeat to Lazio, sitting in mid-table in Serie A Rodgers suddenly started talking about his transfer aspirations, when he took on the manager’s job he wanted four quality signings- before losing Jota, Carl Starfelt and Aaron Mooy.
Within a fortnight of Postecoglou leaving Rodgers was back at the club but it is hard to believe that he is in charge despite his recent claims over recruitment.