Leigh Griffiths

Both hooper and McDonald played with a supporting striker and in a better team than griff yet didn't manage to score the goals griffiths has. The midfield could not be arsed bursting a gut to get up and support griffiths so even if he had held up the ball better who would he have given it to? Griffiths is and always will be an easy target for certain Celtic fans. It's a disgrace that a Celtic striker who is employed to score goals and has done by the bucket load still kops the flack when things go pear shaped. Take him out of the team and see where we would be then. His hold up play isn't the best but not as bad as some on here are saying. McDonald, hooper and especially samaras had their own faults but none worked as hard and scored as many goals as griffiths has despite being afforded far more luxuries than griffiths

 

They both played in more successful teams and were big parts of that team - they contributed in more ways than just scoring. See the times where Griffiths is breaking forward and decides to shoot from 30 yards rather than plays someone through? Yeah well Hooper would have went for the pass and we'd have scored. That's the difference. Goals aren't everything for a striker. This attitude that "the striker scored, he doesn't need to do anything else" * infuriates me. Particularly in a formation with only one striker.

"Take him out the team and see where we would be then"? A player down. Do you mean replace him? Well put Adam Rooney in this team and I doubt he'd be much worse than Griffiths.

 

Hooper played for large spells as a lone striker for us.

 

And when he did he generally had players supporting him. Major difference to what we witnessed yesterday,

 

Hooper was one of the most selfish players at times for us. No different from any other striker. They all get criticised for being greedy. If the team was performing well week in week out and everyone else was doing their job then you wouldn't be nit picking about griffiths.

 

If it hadnt been for Griffiths we could be a lot worse off in the league at the moment.
He was deprived of service against Rangers and was totally isolated the whole first half.
Out of that team i see Griffiths as one of the few winners (mentality wise).
Griffiths is a quality striker and he was a relative bargain too. Selfish or not, we are not exactly spoiled for goalscorers at the moment. And he is one.
Credit must also go to him for that pen under that pressure, despite having missed his last few.

 

Griffiths is not a quality striker. He's an average player. Would we have been a helluva lot worse off without him this season? Absolutely, and his goals tally is quite impressive. But the fact we have become so reliant on a player of Griffiths ability only serves to demonstrate how poor this Celtic team is.

He's not strong, he's not especially quick, he can't hold the ball up, he's selfish and shoots from long range way too much and he doesn't link the play especially well. He's a pretty good finisher I'll give him that.

He's a Scottish Premiership striker and that's all he is. It's all he ever will be too. I don't see much growth or potential in him, he is what he is. I would like to think we'd look for something better in the summer but I'm not convinced that will be the case.

 

I disagree.

Griffiths has just put in that kind of goals tally in a team in that kind of state. He scores all kinds of goals, headers, tap ins, shots from outside the box and free kicks. Hes not especially quick but neither was Hooper or Mcdonald and they got us league goals. Griffirhs movement is very good and he has very good technique. I do think he has good pace also.

Its not Griffiths fault that the team has become so reliant on him to score as there is no other striker who scores. If anything Griffiths should be getting credit for continuing to find the net despite so often playing as the sole out and out striker.

Something you need to remember is that we have spent millions on players in the past who score and offer far less.

What could he be around a better team, under a better coach? Your attitude is incredibly glass half empty so to speak. Its like the * ridiculous argument that Virgil Van Djik was overrated despite continually being a class apart. Look at the * mess we are in now with him gone. So lets apprexiate what we have.

 

^iv just contradicted myself but one was to counter your pace point.
I do think Griffiths is fast.

 

Van Dijk is a few levels above Griffiths and always will be. Crazy to compare them like that.

Leigh Griffiths will never move to an EPL team and be a success. He's just nowhere near that level. As I said earlier, if you switched Griffiths for Adam Rooney would we be much worse off? I very much doubt it.

They are both average players who will score goals in Scotland but that's all they will ever be.

 

at no point did i directly compare the two. I was making reference to an example of
another time that people did not give enough credit to the performance and ability of another good player amoungst a mediocre/poor team.

 

It's clear that Griffiths will always receive criticism over his ability until he proves himself in the CL. In a way it's quite sad that a 37 goal striker is getting this much stick.

 

He's quick over 5-10 yards. I'd say that's all you really need as a Celtic striker when space is at a premium.

He's not the most intelligent footballer. You can see that in his hold up play (lack of) and his tendancy to shoot from distance.

He is instinctive and is normally in the right place when the ball drops in the box, and he hits the ball very cleanly.

The problem with playing him up alone is that it relies so much in the other players to push up and create the opportunities for him. We saw against Rangers how big the gap between Griff and the midfield was at times. It was very easy to defend against.

So we can either moan about his limitations, or the manager can create a system that best utilises a striker who has proven he can score goals for fun at this level.

 

Yeah this is quite often my point regarding Griffiths.

In no way am I having a go at him because of the game on Sunday, the manager is a * idiot and didn't have the ability to see that it wasn't working and Griffiths needed some support. But the black and white of it is, if we want to be back in those group stages and having big champions league nights, we will need to have a better player upfront than Leigh Griffiths. Our fans are talking about guys like David Moyes coming to us, or Martin O'Neill, both of those guys will be looking at taking Celtic to the next level and not just performing in the domestic league.

 

Sad ? You could say that. A player who loves the Club and the fans, doesn't hide, doesn't constantly hint at playing in England.

Doesn't undermine the manager, constantly whinge and blame team-mates for not dropping the ball at his feet ( like some of our recent 'legends') . Chases every * thing and tries to back up his team-mates.

 

Id suggest that if your worried about where we lack quality in europe, then there will be a lot more players that should be prioritised for the punt door before * Leigh Griffiths.

I think he has more to his game than Hooper and given a decent strike partner we will see even more from him.
Give him a chance on the big stage.

 

I know. You'd think he hasn't scored almost 40 goals this season.

 

There are very few players in this squad that can hold their head up high this season....griff has done well and i for one have no complaints about what he has given the team this year.
He for me would be near the very bottom of any player list needing replaced.

 

Hooper was/is a better player than Griffiths. Hooper dropped deep to pick up the ball, could hold it up, passing was better, more clinical, better control of the ball.

Griffiths scores more because all he does is look to score.

He's our very own Kris Boyd. Except not fat.

 

And the fact he can dribble, can shoot from long-range, can hit a free-kick, has better technique, more pace and greater acceleration, a higher work-rate, more endurance and is more determined. Yeah, just like Kris Boyd.

How anyone can criticise a player for scoring 37 goals and counting in a season is beyond me. It is obviously down to personal dislike at this point.