Full-backs get more Celtic assists than the forwards
Celtic need to get a better balance
Aiden McGeady tops the Celtic SPL assist list, which isn’t a surprise given the run of form the Republic of Ireland of star has been in of late. With two central midfielders more suited to sitting and pushing the ball wide, Celtic are definitely reliant on getting the ball wide to create chances.
There are two other Celtic players in the list of top 12 players for assists.
You may think that Scott McDonald or Georgios Samaras would be in there but no, the two other players are the full backs.
Andy Hinkel and Danny Fox have taken their fair share of criticism for the shambles that has been Celtic’s defence this season but they have played a strong role in the attacking play of the club.
It is not uncommon to see the Celtic wide men cut inside, allowing space for the full backs to overlap and cross, drive or cut balls back into the box. In fact, if the Celtic forwards could get into the box more often or learn how to finish, the full backs would likely have more assists to their name.
For all that both of the full backs are listed; their assists come from different styles.
Hinkel is the full-back who will get down to the by-line or into the box and then fizz the ball across whereas Fox takes a great number of dead ball situations for Celtic.
Maybe not as well as many Celtic fans would wish for but with 3 assists, considering he has missed a number of games through injury, he hasn’t done too badly in the oppositions half.
They both need to improve their defensive work though. Hinkel’s marking for cross balls coming to the back post area leave a lot to be desired and Danny Fox needs to work harder to stop crosses coming into the Celtic area.
The presence of Celtic’s full backs in the assist table shows that Tony Mowbray is bringing his style of football to Celtic Park…but is it at the expense of defensive solidity?
Celtic’s attacking full-backs…good or bad?
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Good article, well written!. I think the way Mowbray has his full backs bombing forward is naive and disastrous to be honest. Basically he almost has 4 wingers on the field all the time, leaving his central defenders hung out to dry. Every half decent manager starts building his team from the back, and Mogga hasn`t done that. I much prefer a solid back 4, and this also gives you 2 more midfield options, posing more of a threat to the heart of opposition defences. I`m afraid i totally fail to see what Mowbray`s “football philosophy” is, and i doubt if he actually knows himself. Unless he drops his naive ideas, and becomes a much more pragmatic and clinical manager, i`m afraid he`s destined for failure.
Thanks AnkaBhoy.
The attacking full-back appears to be the way of the modern game.
This article on the main Football’sFootball site discussed this.
Now, its all well and good bringing up the name of Dani Alves but Barcelona are a machine, Celtic, well…at times they have looked like Johnny 5.
If you want to have your full backs swarming up, you need to ensure your midfield covers and your centre halfs are strong enough to adapt to dropping wide and covering.
There needs to be a pulley system, if one full back is bombing on, the other must be ready to come inside at the back, allowing one of the centre halfs to shift sideways if a break comes in.
Celtic don’t have the defence to confidently repel teams when they have four at the back…this style of play is only going to put increased pressure on a struggling backline.
It is one thing for a manager to have his belief and style of play….but if the players are not there to fully implement that system, is the manager then wrong for sticking to his principles?
No one will deny that Celtic are a lot more exciting going forward under Mowbray than Strachan (if the strikers could put the ball away, this discussion would probably not be happening) but perhaps Strachan realised how weak the defence was and tailored the midfield to protect it more?
In stifling the forward play, did Strachan make the defence a bit more solid…and left Celtic relying on a set-piece or a moment of magic up front to win matches?
It is all about results after all.
Strachan won titles, Mowbrey has a helluva way to go before he gets anywhere near Stachans record.
Terrible situation when a non Celtic minded guy is driven from the club by peer pressure. His only fault…….. he didnt play football the” Selik wy man”
If celtic had lost the OF would fans be calling for him to go?
It’s fair to say that Gordon Strachan had more than one fault.
Never mind the recent Celtic v Rangers matches, there have been Celtic fans calling for Mowbray’s head long before then. The Falkirk draw and Dundee United loss in succession probably being the lowest point for many.
Mind you, every club has their fair share of nutters – most people realise that Mowbray has a big rebuilding task….but it is not as if the defensive play of West Brom last season offers any hope that the Celtic rearguard will toughen up.
When Celtic were looking for new managers, the big issue held by WeKnowSFA over Mowbray was that for around 6-7 months, his West Brom team was almost a scientific experiment in playing without a brain. The defensive approach and attitude was bordering on embarassing.
Having poor quality centre halfs in the first place was harsh on Mowbray but choosing to play a style that exposes them further has not been the managers best move. It will be interesting to see if he can get better quality central defenders in this month.
Mowbrey inherited the centre halfs that Strachan had and with the exception of Loovens did Strachan not win the leauge with McManus and Caldwell.
The comments regarding Mowbrey at WBA are spot on , how the Board at Celtic could go for a guy who`s football tactics were extreme to say the least, really surprised me.
Anyway the beer is flowing faster than the brain now so I will leave it at that , Celtic can stumble from draw to defeat to draw as far as I concerned.
We gathered you would have that opinion on Celtic Ned, enjoy your beers!
As alluded to already, Strachan utilised a more defensive midfield to act as an additional barrier to the defence and it worked….but dragged down a lot of the attacking flair the fans would want to see.
The board knew that the fans wanted to see more attacking play, they knew Mowbray would bring this.
On a more cynical side, the “playing for Celtic” background would have helped as well although thats not something that WeKnowSFA outs too much importance on….we dont think we would find too many Celtic fans who would have been happy if Mark McGhee got the post in the summer and his Celtic-mindedness is not in question.