Biton, Johansen & Griffiths.

I remember in the match thread someone saying how he'd done nothing the whole game (and this post was after he created the goal!). I'll see if I can find the quote.

Edit: found it

http://www.talkceltic.net/forum/showpost.php?p=3954266&postcount=861

The timing of it just seems so confusing.

 

Brown was the weak link in our midfield last night, no question.

 

How so?

 

Apart from when i couldn't see the game for a min because of the green smoke bomb! He slowed the play down when we were in the attacking third, outmuscled by Aberdeen's midfield just like he was in the cup game.

Passes went astray on a couple of occasions. When we were trying to build attacks in the final minutes to get some sustained pressure he aimlessly punted the ball forward.

His colleague Biton was calm, composed, pushed forward when he had the ball and had a very good game. Used his tall physique to get the ball off opponents.

While Brown did very well for the goal apart from that he was poor.

 

Totally disagree with that but each to their own.

 

People around me had the same sentiment. In the past few games out of the central midfield brown has been the weaker of the duo or trio.

Its not a slight on Brown, i still rate him as a player, but i think Biton and Johansen also possess that fighting spirit brown has but they also possess more quality on the ball. It is why they appear at the moment to be performing better.

 

I tend to agree. I like what I see from all 3 so far. Biton is looking better and better with each game. Johnansen has great work rate and seems to be buzzing all over the park while Griffiths clearly knows exactly where the goal is. By the time next season rolls around and they have all had some settle in time at Celtic we could hopefully see big things from all 3.

 

I think people just underappreciate what he does on the ball. Broony out of all of them was the only one with the end product and skill to set up that goal.

 

That must be Browns worst 4 games in a row.

 

I'm surprised at some of the polar opinions on Brown last night. Thought he was OK, personally. Not great; bad not bad either. I also thought he was more willing than Biton (who I acknowledge was probably our MOTM) to initiate pressing really high up the pitch, which was a big factor in how well we did second half.

 

I know Johansen wasn't playing, but I don't think end product will be a problem with him. His pass to Griffiths the other match was * ridiculous. I remember I put up the Tippeliga assist of the year and people thought it was a lucky shot-*-pass by him, but he does those swerving and hard-struck passes all the time - although not always as spectacularly as the Griffiths pass and the pass in the video. Let's look at it again now that we've seen him pull off something similar:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uo5To1TVPM"]Stefan Johansen with Crazy Assist of the Year - YouTube[/ame]

Technically, I think Brown is redundant in our midfield three. But he's good enough not to be a weakness and his leadership/drive inspire others around them, making them better. But let's not make him out to be the one with the most quality in the midfield.

 

That is clearly an assist why would he be shooting so far out, with about 3 defenders in front of him?

I watched him on youtube before he came here, and thought he is going to make some playmaker, his vision and passes are exquisite

 

I agree. I was baffled as to why people thought it was a shot but it wasn't worth the argument.

 

People thought that was a shot? Were they joking?

 

As always you write a lot of sense, Diegan; but if I can just nitpick one small point: Brown is far from redundant.

1) Leadership is an important quality in itself, especially important in a young team like ours.
2) His European experience will be incredibly important if we reach the CL group stages next year.

He's the opposite of redundant: he's vital.

 

I'm not making him out as having the most quality by the way, I'm making the point he is not bereft of that quality and when he does stuff with quality it's genuinely ignored. Which is odd to me because he's pulled it out of his locker enough times in his Celtic career.

 

As I said in another thread would like to see the trio play in the mid together in a 4-3-2-1 formation, see how that gets on. I think it would be an interesting combination, it could either be brilliant or terrible.

 

Thanks, but I think that we're saying the same thing in different ways again. :icon_mrgreen: I didn't mean to say he was redundant. Just that technically, the things he does best are done very well by Johansen and Biton. So that theoretically, we have a great DM who breaks up play in Biton, a great linker between the defense and attack in Johansen, and then Brown whose skills (as good as they are) overlap. Ideally, you'd have a more creative number ten in there. But, as you said, the leadership and the intangibles are his greatest attribute. That's what I meant. Technically (here's where I may have been clear. I meant technically literally) he's a bit redundant, but the other things that he brings do, in fact, make him indispensable.

I agree, but I don't think that final third production is his strong suit. He's not a donkey for sure as other people say.

I agree. To be fair to Lennon, I think he allows his players to do this. At times when one of the two strikers falls off the front line, he (whether Stokes, Pukki, or Griffiths) and Commons make a supporting bank of two behind a single striker. I think Lenny isn't getting credit for how he's adapted to a three-man midfield after seeing Biton and Johansen perform well together. The fact that he put Mulgrew in for Johansen tells me that the fluid formation we've played since after Aberdeen part 1 is here to stay, and I don't think that the red card loss should cloud people's optimism for what looks to be an exciting style of play. Seeing how it all works together is reason enough for me to keep watching, even if the league is a foregone conclusion.

 

That's exactly what happened, Diegan. I didn't realise you meant "technically" literally. My bad.

I agree totally with your POV on Brown.

 

What the * happened to Brown? He's nothing like the player we signed. I remember being really excited when we signed him, he seemed to be a great dribbler. Why did he completely change?