Our defence is shite

Kingdom for a CDM. Rodgers has so far avoided using one. Also, Trusty isn't much better than Scales.

 

We play a relatively slow build up game and push our two advanced midfielders so unnecessarily high up the park at the first opportunity.

This kills us for two different, but similar reasons.

Our centre backs have limited options when on the ball. We regularly invite pressure for no reason, and more often than not it’s completely self inflicted.

In transition, if we lose the ball, which happens often against semi competent teams like Rangers, Zagreb, and Club Brugge, we find ourselves defending with one holding midfielder who isn’t a holding midfielder, and a back four who aren’t used to pressure on the break.

It’s a combined recipe for disaster against any team that’s coached reasonably well.

 

It’s his set up that’s killing us, and reading those quotes makes it more worrying to be honest.

For whatever reason, he isn’t willing to legislate for or preempt losing possession.

The best coaches in the world have this as a key element of their set up. Simeone, Conte, Inzaghi, Slot, whoever.

The fact we are so easy to play through is a lot more than the four fellas in the back line.

 

Honestly just think our players need a rest. I think all players, not just ours deserve one. Every other * country gets one. SFA and SPFL have to find a way to implement it even with the European games. The amount of games through December and January is pure insanity. Maybe change the league cup (I know they won't scrap it). Teams in CL or EL go to last 8, ECL last 16.

Round 1 28
Round 2 14 (7 new teams)
Round 3 8 (1 new team)
Round 4 8 (4 new teams)
Semi-4
Final 2

I think I might be 2 teams short, * it Dundee and Edinburgh teams can compete as one, useless * still won't win it.

 

Scales is far superior to trusty. Trusty is lighweight.HH

 

Yeah it's not the backline for the most part, and I don't think we have a major problem in defence against the bottom 10.

In tougher games and in Europe, though, I think the elephant in the room is McGregor as our most defensive midfielder is miles off what we need. He isn't great at that job and he's getting worse. Any CDM coming in would probably be looking to take his position.

I know that people say we should push him up but I think at this stage of his career there are better options for us for those positions too, although he could obviously still be an effective option in plenty of games.

I've mentioned this before but a common pattern for me at Celtic is we tend to have elite-level players and good-level players in our team at any given time, but we fail in Europe because we always leave some horrendous gap in our squad that can be exploited.

People focus too much on the upper ceiling of our squad but we've seen time and time again in Europe it's about being solid across the team.

You could have Frimpong, CCV, VVD and Tierney as your backline with prime Forster in goals, but if current McGregor is their defensive screen you're not getting anywhere near your full potential. Worth noting, the problem is compounded by the other midfielders we have and the way we push them forward, as @FrankMcCallum mentioned. It's not solely about McGregor.


If I was Rodgers, I'd be looking for an Engels-level signing for CDM and begin to transition away from McGregor over the course of this season and next season. He's 32 in the summer so it's not like it's completely unrealistic.

We are once again in a position we have a really effective squad but we need to plug the gaps to really push forward.

 

The way I see it, is there are 4 main issues at play.

1. The physicality and toughness of the players. Outwith CCV we have no one who really out muscles an opponent. Idah and Engels have the size, but neither use it properly.
2. The style of play Rodgers has us play invites pressure by constantly playing a horseshoe at the back to "change the point of attack". This does work, but you have to have the midfield and attackers working back towards the defence and offering an outlet. When we're off it, too many players hide and we cannot handle an aggressive press.
3. This ties in with point 2. The repetitive coaching of playing this way makes it feel like we're training when we're playing a lot of the time. The best analogy I have are boxers/MMA fighters who fight like they're sparring technically, whilst their opponent throws wild haymakers. That's us with 90% possession and then they break once, we retreat and concede.
4. The standard of the SPFL means we are overused to large amounts of possession and not having large enough periods out of possession to become comfortable with defensive positioning.

And I suppose there is a 5th. Basics... Stop standing looking at a winger or fullback crossing the ball in. Go to the man and do everything to stop the cross coming in. And stop backing off runners until they are in our box. Really simple stuff.

 

Your point number 4 is the most important one. Any remotely decent attacking setup will work for us in this league. We don't have a real estimate of our strength until we play in Europe. For the same reason, we don't use a destroyer in midfield.

 

The midfield isn't helping either. It's not doing enough to protect it. We are crying out for a big physical dm in there.

Also we always look more defensively vulnerable without Maeda because he helps put Taylor massively when he's playing

Wasn't that long ago kasper was on the verge of a clean sheet record.

Funny old game

 

You couldn't be more right about Daizen, if we lose him then the whole team drops their intensity. Heaven forbid a white North London team fancy him, because he's an integral part of the squad and we have become over reliant on him.

 

I can see the Hoops getting relegated after the disaster of conceding goals in a soccer game

 

I think our team as an overall unit is quite vulnerable defensively. The defensive positional awareness of most of the team is suspect because they are unaccustomed to having to deal with situations like organised pressing, defensive triggers or transitioning quickly from in possession to out of position.

The back 4 arent very good on the ball for European level and the transition from playing domestically, where they have lots of time on the ball under no pressure, to when they play better teams capable of pressing effectively is hard to adjust to.

Low blocks are unfashionable these days, but against high level opposition it suits our defence more to sit in and play a less complicated approach where they can defend the box and not have to rely on constantly making split second defensive positional reads.

 

Every season the team naturally goes through a wobble at one point in the season. Last season it was Hearts and Kilmarnock before Christmas and every season you can cue the crisis on here. Players are human, they make mistakes and they have off days

Said after the huns league game when we were 11 points ahead we would win the league by more than 11 points..........we're 13 points ahead now, we'll win the league by more than 13 points

 

I think the worrying thing for me is we've been in a slump since Leipzig.

Not having the winter break either is completely * us

 

Best time to have your wobble is before Christmas or when you're double points figures ahead

* the huns

 

Our defence up until a month ago was hardly conceding a chance in any game, our goals conceded have come through some very avoidable things.

Been some lazy defending, some bad build up etc. i also don’t think our counter press has been the same so it’s a full team effort.

Shock horror we aren’t perfect when playing a game every 3 days for 2 months.

 

Since Dortmund we’ve conceded 2 goals in 5 Champions League games. Pretty impressive.