footballsfootball.com/WeknowSFA/celtic-window-hitmen/part 3
attack
Celtic after the window: The hitmen
Who can replace the goals of Robbie?
First of all, you can’t get away from it but Robbie Keane scored goals for Celtic, 12 in the league and 4 in the Scottish Cup…and all that from February. Cue the Rangers fans jumping in and laughing and asking what it won Celtic but that’s not the point here. 16 goals in less than half a season is going to be missed by any club so from wherever you start, Celtic are starting from a negative point when you look at the forwards.
Another loan singing Diomansay Kamara is away, which reduces the options without necessarily weakening Celtic too much and of course, Marc Antoine Fortune was sold after the Utrecht defeat. Fortune was able to play up front or wide and managed 10 goals in the league in an injury hit season where he was never able to reach top form.
Some of they goals were outstanding, strikes against Motherwell and St Johnstone being amongst the best scored in the SPL all season but many times the striker looked unsure of himself when a chance came along. He was the sort of striker who could look deadlier from 25 yards than from 6 and was another supporting striker…or as the Celtic fans quickly came to call that role, “a striker that doesn’t score goals”.
If Fortune had a striker in the box playing alongside him as a focal point, his work-rate and effort may have been appreciated more or brought more reward but the buzzword around the player seemed to be frustration…for everyone. It was possibly the wrong move at the wrong time for the player and leaving Celtic Park is no bad thing…and his absence doesn’t weaken Celtic that much.
Another exit from the striking positions is Morten Rasmussen, a player who never really got a chance but managed to split opinions anyway. Some fans would point to his goals per minutes ratio and conclude, the boy can put the ball away. The opinion was when the parks are muddy and the defenders are tired, Rasmussen will be the man to bundle the ball home.
Its not pretty but that’s how points, and ultimately titles, are won.
Others point to the fact that he looked like Stuart Gray, overweight with a crap haircut, and offered little movement.
There has been talk that Neil Lennon just doesn’t rate him as a player and Rasmussen looked a forlorn figure when appearing for Lennon’s team in pre-season. The Danish striker is currently at Mainz and has been sticking the ball in the net. If he was picked, he would have grabbed goals so you could argue he will be missed….then again, was he likely to be picked?
So that’s the outs…..what about the still heres?
Do we need to spend much time on Georgios Samaras? Whatever we write will have no impact on anyone’s thinking on the player…the die was cast long ago. A player of immense talent on his day but that doesn’t come around too often…and rarely when his club really needs it.
The Greek internationalist has only scored three times in the league in 2010 to date (one against Falkirk and two in two games versus St Johnstone) which is nothing to write home about and you wonder how much the players bruised confidence will be in the first team. A change of formation under Neil Lennon with Samaras as the main striker but being expected to drift wide to create space for others could suit his style of play….but it won’t please the fans.
Far too often, the stands at Celtic Park and away stadiums are filled with shouts imploring Samaras to get into the box and away from the touchline. Far be it from us to suggest that at times Samaras has been following orders to stay out wide but it’s clear the vast majority of Celtic fans would like to see the back of him. If Celtic were able to get others in, Samaras may have been offloaded in August as well but as it is, he remains a Celtic player.
Shaun Maloney didn’t start a game for Celtic last season after October so his return can be deemed as another plus to the squad. There are many doubts over whether Maloney will be able to retain fitness long enough to have a major impact on the season but whether as a second striker or playing wide as a replacement for Aiden McGeady, Maloney could be crucial this season. Maloney chipped in with four league goals before he was sidelined; Aiden McGeady only offered 6 league goals over the entire campaign.
It may be a controversial opinion but with the option of both players being fully fit and top form, we would choose Shaun Maloney.
This will have some Celtic fans up in arms and with reasonable cause. Many are unhappy that Maloney walked out on the club (especially after Celtic standing by him during numerous injury problems) and was welcomed back. It should also be said that Aiden McGeady has been one of the few players in Scotland to truly excite fans and get people coming to matches. What we are saying is, it shouldn’t be deemed a criticism of Aiden McGeady…and heck, its just an opinion.
It’s just that we think Shaun Maloney has more of a cutting edge about him and is versatile in a few roles. Its a massive season for Maloney though, he has to stay fit and have a real impact on the Celtic side…and maybe even Scotland if Craig Levein deems to select him at any point.
And now the new signings.
Daryl Murphy was signed from Sunderland with Lennon extolling the virtues of a player he had liked and tracked for a while.
Some fans responded with meh, others were quite vitriolic in their criticism of the player.
The recent match against Motherwell was the first proper chance for fans to judge Murphy in a Celtic jersey. He, of course, nabbed the only goal of the game from the penalty spot and for a five minute period after the goal, he looked to be winning every ball in the air. For lengthy periods in the match though, Murphy looked out of sorts and he didn’t appear to have much of a first touch.
He is unlikely to be bothering the top of the goalscoring charts but he should offer a different option for the team. Neil Lennon says the price paid for Murphy is nowhere near as high as what has been reported and considering what he could bring to the squad, he may be a reasonable addition….but shouldn’t be starting too often.
Which leaves the players the Hoops fans are pinning their hopes on.
Gary Hooper was the major striker bought, the former Scunthorpe signing coming with a reputation for putting the ball in the net. The past two League campaigns for Hooper (League Division One (the third tier) and the Championship (second tier in English football)) have seen the striker grab 43 goals in 80 league games. The Division One goals may not be too impressive for some observers but the fact that Hooper carried this form to the Championship at least indicates there is a striker’s touch to the player.
A goal in the home leg versus Braga saw Hooper get off the mark in competitive football for Celtic and a few pre-season strikes shows he knows where the goal is for his new club. When you consider the chances that went a-begging versus Caley and Motherwell, the presence of Hooper could have made those two 1-0 wins a lot more comfortable for Celtic.
There is hope that Hooper will be fit for the visit of Hearts on Sep 11.
Anthony Stokes was Celtic’s last signing of the transfer window, coming from Hibs in a deal that should be worth around £1m or so. Stokes certainly knows how to score in the SPL, with an impressive strike rate for Falkirk and Hibs but the player failed to hit the net regularly in England.
There is a school of thought that because Stokes has banged them in for fun in the SPL at lesser lights, he should notch a barrowful of goals for Celtic. This may be the case, Celtic should create more chances than Hibs or Falkirk could and if Stokes can maintain his ratio of tucking away chances, his goal tally could go through the roof.
Of course, life is not always like that. SPL defences facing Falkirk and Hibs are different from those facing Celtic. The Glasgow side face stuffier defences and packed midfields and players with a higher level of motivation. Stokes will find less space to manoeuvre and will be playing against defenders whose concentration levels are likely to be more focussed than he has met before. For all that though, we still think Stokes will grab goals for Celtic.
For all that Hooper and Stokes will bring goals, any team in Scotland losing a striker like Robbie Keane would have to say are a bit weaker. It may be over the course of the season, Celtic will be perfectly complimented by more players chipping in with goals and fans won’t feel too hard done by with the absence of a legendary number 7.
Last season, if Keane was injured or was having an off day, Celtic fans would worry about who was going to score….this time around, there should be many more options to break the deadlock for Celtic, which could be all the difference.
Overall, with the exception of the goal-keeping department, we would say Celtic look to be in stronger form than last season….although much of this is down to the midfield. Celtic’s midfield play has been mainly turgid in the past 2 seasons but the 3 key new signings look as though they can play with pace and passion.
Which should give more breathing space to the defence and more chances to the attack. You can argue that Celtic’s defence is no stronger and the forwards lack a major player….but if the Celtic midfield can reach their potential, they could be the key to success this season.
In brief, Celtic look a far better unit than last season…whether its enough to clinch the league remains to be seen but they should definitely be much more of a challenger.
What do you think of the Celtic squad and their chances of title success?