Part 4….. Creating and Scoring The Celtic Way
We have had some good attacking players over the years, none better than the 2 men above and while we love players who do well, the real love comes from players who have that something extra. Whether it be an obvious quality, a bag of skills aligned with a willingness to work or in some cases just an absolute determination to make the most of what they have….. and to do that every week with the expectations we put upon them.
The key thing no matter what they have ability wise is mentality that almost always ends up being the key. Some will have it on arrival, some will quickly find it, some will take a little longer and some people no matter how good they are just won’t be able to handle it. So it’s vital that with any signing a club has to know every detail of a player that is available to them and to have a good detailed conversation with the player to get a feel for who they are and what drives them and to give them a clear idea of who and what we are so we have a clear starting block. Then we build from there. How fast is really down to the player, but like anything it has to be managed by the manager and his staff and if it doesn’t work out it doesn’t always mean the player is a poor player, it’s just like anything sometimes you can be great at something but if the environment doesn’t suit you then you can end up struggling with something you know and have proven you can do well elsewhere.
These players below might not reach the levels of Jinky or Ghod, but they are ones that have impressed me over the past 12 to 18 months and I think they might fit the way Rodgers wants his team to play. All bring different skillsets but there is an emphasis on adding a bit more pace, skill and ultimately quality…. some already on show, and all have potential to go up levels if they are willing to commit and are coached in the right way.
I have to add before we start that given the way the season ended I haven’t really discussed Bernardo or Idah, but I feel both have contributed enough to justify adding them to the team. They are now aware of what is required and the surroundings and both have come up with some big moments early on. I had reservations about Idah because his last 18 months at Norwich looked very stale, and maybe what he has found is that he needs what we offer with the mix of high pressure and a lot of love from the support. Bernardo is a player who looks like he could be whatever he wants to be in midfield over time. He can play, he is willing to work for the team and like Idah he produced in some key moments for us and as I continually say we are not an easy team to play for, but both guys have earned the plaudits and the right to feel wanted by the manager and the support, hopefully it’ll get done and they continue to improve as key parts of the Celtic team next season.
I half hoped that both deals were done and would be announced as soon as the Cup Final was over. I understand and appreciate it’s not that simple, but it was a real opportunity for the club to start setting out our stall early and sending a message to the support and our opponents that we aren’t giving anyone a minute to try and catch up, the train is on the move, ready to go round the circuit again with the goal of lifting up all the domestic trophies, and hopefully making a good impression in the Champions League along the way.
Central Midfielder:
This first one would only be viable if we lose Matt O’Riley which I think I a real 50/50 shout right now. I’d love to see another season of Matt, even if that means giving him a big contract top-up and building in a release clause for next summer, but if Matt leaves then this is the man who I would be delighted to see us spend a very significant sum of money on…..
Albert Grønbæk – Bodo Glimdt
23 year old, dynamic central midfielder who has fast joined the list of players who have really exploded onto the scene at Bodo. Some people may look at some of the players that Bodo have sold and think they haven’t proven anything like Berg and Bjorkan, but most have for me chosen the wrong move.
Gronbaek this season in Europe and over the last 18 months in Norway has shown his ability and class. He tends to play on the left of a midfield 3, and likes to drift into wider areas to make himself available, then looks to drive inside to look for passes into the strikers or to find a yard to get a sight at goal.
There is so much to like and enjoy with Gronbaek. He has a lovely sense of the ball in tight spaces, and uses his speed and technique to navigate a way through tight spots in the final third. His right foot has a viciousness to it when he strikes the ball, even when using the in-step he gets good power through the ball. He also has good upper body strength so he deals with physicality well and he has enough pace aligned with his close control over a few yards to make him dangerous in tight spaces in the final third.
The game that stood out for me was the 2-2 in The Arena vs Ajax. That night he was a continual threat to Ajax, popping up in pockets of space that was giving the Ajax defensive unit all sorts of problems, and even in the second leg he was looking dangerous up until he was harshly sent off for a second yellow card. I think had he been on the pitch Bodo would have gone on to win that game.
Given we often see the team lean into a 4231 shape Gronbaek for me would be the player that sits in the 10 role with a view to him getting up and beyond whoever the striker is, basically being a better and more physically capable version of what we had in David Turnbull. A player who can make a final pass and be a threat when shooting from in and around the edge of the box. He can also obviously play in the 8 role, and if it was an O’Riley replacement we could easily move Hatate to the right of the midfield trio and have Gronbaek on the left side and looking to bring a neater technical skillset alongside the pacey non-stop all action skillset of Daizen.
Heatmap for 2023 Eliteserien:
Alternatives:
Kevin Stoger (Bochum) – I’ve already covered Stoger at length in the link:
Kevin Stöger – The Midfield Maestro Of Bochum – Football Talent Reports
And what I would say is since that was written Stoger has gone on to be vital to Bochum staying in the Bundesliga via the playoffs vs Fortuna Dusseldorf where Bochum were 3-0 down going into the second leg away from home and Stoger put on a masterclass to get Bochum back in the game which they went on to win on penalties. 2 assists and a goal that helped take the game to extra time and penalties, he then scored his penalty and Bochum went on to win the shootout. Some may say he’s 30 and that’s outside of the model but again I see Stoger as a player who has found the player he always should have been a bit later than expected, so he’s not over-exposed from playing loads of games and to me still has a good 3 or 4 years in him. In that time you don’t worry about selling him on, you just enjoy what he gives you and all being well he delivers enough in his time to see the club win trophies and get into the Champions League, then you don’t have to care about what he isn’t being sold for.
Ismael Gharbi (PSG– On loan to FC Stade-Lausanne-Ouchy)
This young Spanish magician seems to be the boy who could be. Christian Galtier had high hopes for him at PSG, but after a few sub appearances for PSG he fell away and eventually found himself on loan in Switzerland playing for a team who were fighting against the drop, and despite his best efforts they didn’t survive in the Swiss Super League. His 6 goals and 6 assists a decent return for a team who were often up against it.
The thing that his short spell in Switzerland has shown Gharbi is a gifted technician who is playing for a really poor team. The game that has really stood out in his loan spell for me was an unexpected win vs Servette where Ouchy played with a lot of structure, almost everyone behind the ball and in a manner that doesn’t really fit what Gharbi is as a player, but he stuck in for his team, done his job within the structure and managed to produce a few moments of quality. The standout being a lovely assist where he drives the ball down the left side with numerous players chasing him, then slows down just enough to let the striker get beyond him, and he slides a perfectly weighted ball between the 2 defenders who are racing back. The pass is so good the striker is able to move onto it at pace and he finishes it really well.
So now his loan is up and the question is what does he want next, to spend more time sitting in the stands or taking what he has from his loan spell and progressing by getting games elsewhere.
Winger:
This is very much an area where people need to leave before we look at adding any more players or we’ll be able to field a team of wingers, however if we can reduce the player pool in this area and look to add a bit of quality then these guys would be worth a look…..
Sebastian Nanasi – Malmo
Nanasi is a 22 year old Swedish winger who gives me a little bit of the Jota feeling. He generally plays on the left wing and just has a lovely flow to his game where when he moves with the ball it looks more like a glide than a run.
Speed wise he’s not lightning fast in a sprint but he has that lovely ability to be as quick with the ball as he is without it and has a fabulous technique that flows out of his right foot like a rainbow from a waterfall, it’s just a thing of real beauty when he connects with the ball. His passing range and ability to find targets with a variety of techniques means he is great at creating chances that some players only see when they watch a game back a day later and his ability to give attackers something to attak with his crosses is the best you’ll find in the Scandic region in my opinion.
What probably stands out more than anything over the past few months is any game I’ve sat and watched highlights or the odd game I’ve seen for the full 90, without fail he is involved in a positive manner and his level of consistency is now so good that for me he needs the next step to allow him to find the levels in his game that he has the potential to unlock.
The key with any winger is the ability to score and create, and Nanasi isn’t just another sand dancer who looks good but has no real end product. He has the skill to hit beautifully weighted short passes through tight defensive setups and slight of foot to get him into pockets on the left side of the penalty box is probably one of the things that we have lacked since Jota left. He has a nice shot and is very accurate when the chances fall his way having found the back of the net 5 times from his 16 attempts inside the box after 11 league games this season.
Overall I think he is a player that our support would really get behind and appreciate as he has so much technical ability and as I’ve mentioned he is a player who actively wants to be a part of games, not just waiting for the game to fall at his feet and that what stands out for me more than anything.
Nanasi Heatmap:
Alternatives:
Cesar Huerta (Pumas UNAM)
The 23 year old Mexican has been a revelation over the opening of this season in Mexico. A player who has a very unique dribbling style where it’s like he’s carrying the ball on the outside of his right foot and as a player presses he slips by, his short quick stride seems to be really troublesome for defenders to tackle cleanly. He also has high levels of determination, whether it be wanting the ball or pressing the ball. He really has a never give up attitude and plays the game at a high tempo. Like Nanassi he his technique and footwork has been a joy to watch this season, with some nice little tricks in the bag as well as a real eye for a nutmeg to beat his man. Certainly a player who on his day will entertain the masses.
Tiago Gouveia (Benfica)
At 22 years old Tiago is a player who like many at Benfica, he has struggled to find his way into the team after coming through the academy system. So while he has had a few games this season my views on him mainly stem from last season where he was on loan at Estoril in the Liga Portugal Betclic where he got a good run of games, often playing on the right wing, but he also can play on the left. What I like about Gouveia is he direct and willing to take on a defender in a pure race down the lines, but he also has all the good technical elements that the Benfica academy drills into players. Good eye for seeing passing planes, a nice technique when he strikes the ball and while not quite as flashy as some wingers, he does have a trick in his arsenal so he’s by no means a on dimensional player. A player who a bit like Jota just needs to find a home where he can express himself, if he finds that then I think he will shine.
Striker:
As I mentioned at the start Idah would be a solid move for us, so these 3 strikers are all very different, but the main one for me brings a bit of everything for the level we are at these guys all have ability right now and potential to be better…..
Andri Gudjohnsen – Lyngby
This makes me feel old to be honest. This 22 year old striker, son of Eidur Gudjohnsen (ex Bolton, Chelsea and Barcelona striker) has sprung from nowhere to the forefront of a lot of peoples minds this season after a fine season at Lyngby with 13 goals in 27 starts.
Having come through the Real Madrid Castilla setup he moved to IFK Norrkopping and then to Lyngby on loan where they had an option to buy for a fairly modest fee of four hundred thousand, that I believe they have now taken up.
What stands out about Andri is he has a lot of similar traits and attributes to his Dad. He’s technically capable, he’s a decent finisher, with a good work ethic and he is decent in the air. Far from the finished article but in every area where you want him to have something, he has the base level and a bit more, and now it’s just about cleaning it up a touch and working alongside him to continue his development.
If a team gets it right then they are going to have a very useful striker on their hands because you can do so much with him, play him as a target man where you look for him to have his back to goal, link and then turn to go in behind. He can play a little deeper in the 10, or as a false 9 and try and drive the game, or you can look to get him in the box to be on the end of things and that is an extremely valuable asset when we as a club are looking to add different dimensions to our play. He also is happy moving to either side of the pitch to get involved as shown in his heatmap. A lot of strikers have a tendency to focus their movement on one side, so again it’s a little thing that adds value to what he is as a player.
Some may view Andri as a “project” type signing, but when you have a player who has come through a system like the one in Madrid you know that he’s been educate to the highest standard and that he should have things to work with because that sort of footballing education is gold, and you hope that he’s learned a thing or two from his Dad and Grandad that will be of value.
In my opinion he now looks like a player who just needs to keep moving to teams where he can get a good volume of minutes, play amongst better players and work with a manager and coaches who want to push him on to new levels. I’m not comparing him to Haaland because he’s not, but the pathway Erling Haaland took is something that should be used as a good example for Gudjohnsen and as I’ll cover at the end I want us to be a team that good young players look at see lots of positive examples of what playing for us can add to them.
His finishing like any striker is key and this season his goals have been a good mix, some nice one touch finishes in the box, a few where he’s shown a good touch and strike and a few strong headers. I also like that because he is capable physically against defenders he has no issue with attacking the back post, most strikers like to come to the near post or be central these days looking for the low ball across the front so it’s good to see someone who is willing to show a real variety so if Idah isn’t possible then I think Gudjohnsen could be a player who could be a different option to Kyogo and even link with Kyogo by playing in a support striker role.
Gudjohnsen Heatmap:
Alternatives:
Mathias Kvistgaarden (Brondby)
I had to laugh when I seen our name linked with Kvistgaarden because I’d seen him at the tail end of last season and went out my way to get footage of him vs Crystal Palace in a friendly before this season. Kvisty is a real swiss army knife striker because you could play him anywhere in the front 3, not as an out and out winger but as a wide forward, almost like Abada but the difference being is Kvist can drive at a man down the line. Some will point to his scoring record not being amazing but in part it’s due to him playing as the support striker behind Omoijuanfo. In the games I’ve seen his finishing when he has a good chance is near when he uses the instep and places his shots, he’s actually quite good in the air for a smaller striker and has a real skill for finding pockets of space in the box where he has nodded home a few goals totally unchallenged. He has had a few niggly injuries this season so that will be a consideration for teams but he could be a very useful player if used correctly. His 8 goals and 5 assists from 18 starts in the league this decent is a solid return given the role he has for Brondby.
Duncan McGuire (Orlando)
I have to admit I’m torn on McGuire and in many ways he reminds me of a player I looked at a few years ago, Zian Fleming who ended up joining Millwall. I remember watching Fleming and having similar thoughts about him as I do about McGuire. He’s not always pleasing on the eye but he is effective. At the time I was almost sorry his move to Blackburn fell through as I’m interested to see how he does when he leaves the MLS, it was a comedy show from Blackburn messing up his registration that seen the deal fall through, which could pay off for other teams if they want to move on him this summer as his deal is up at the end of 2024.
It has to be said that the real positive thing about McGuire is that he gets shots off in situations where you think the chance is gone and has got himself a decent chunk of goals because he has that ability which was shown in his xG last season which was 5.58 and he got 13 league goals. As I write this I’m still 50/50 on him but like I had watching Zian Fleming there is something in his style that I can’t quite pin down exactly but I find myself looking out to see how he’s playing. At 23 and in his second season in the MLS he still has a lot of potential to fulfil but I do like that he has a strikers instinct and that willingness to do whatever he can to hit the target.
Last but not least I’m dropping in a name that would likely cost a record fee for us having moved to Ajax last season for around 15 million pounds, it like many of the Ajax signings didn’t work out this season. I think more to do with the club being a bit of a mess, but the reason for this is Rodgers was pushing to have Kyogo, dropping in and playing as a 10 in the build up and then moving to his 9 role. This man is very good in that exact role……
Georges Mikautadze (Ajax – On loan to Metz)
Mika is probably as close to a true false 9 as we could get near in the transfer market today if we pushed the boat out a bit. His spell at Ajax wasn’t a failure because he lacked the ability, he’s shown twice now with Metz he can play and has bags of ability, but the team he is in needs to have a clear design that allows him to fall into the 10 role or to roll out to wider areas, so the players around him need to understand what those rotations look like and where they move to when he takes the ball and gets his head up. The wide players need to be happy making darting runs inside for him to make use of passing lanes, one of the central midfielders needs to be willing to go and link with him or drive beyond him, and then you just need to give him the freedom to play. It sounds like a lot but if it’s done right you are going to get a lot of joy from watching it.
Metz in some ways will be kicking themselves because had they kept him they’d not be scrapping in the relegation playoff. His 13 goals and 4 assists in 20 games since he returned have been huge in getting them out of the relegation places, sadly for them the defence and goalie have been brutal in the playoff vs Saint-Etienne so they have work to do if they want to stay up. An away leg to come next week where they start 2-1 down will decide their fate.
Metz have a 12 million option to buy clause built in to his loan that they want to activate, but if they are relegated maybe things will change and others would be foolish not at least consider Mika if they want a striker who can impact the game in deeper areas with his ability to find spaces and create and also inside the box with his ability to finish off moves.
Final Comments:
This 4 part series on Celtic and recruitment is purely based on players I’ve enjoyed watching and there is no right or wrong answer when having these discussions, well unless you want to sign anyone who currently plays at Ibrox….. in which case I can confidently say you are wrong and should go and have a lie down.
We all have players who we like, or ones we don’t rate as highly as others and when it comes down to it right now there is one opinion that as supporters in my opinion that we need to stand behind and that belongs to Brendan Rodgers.
I don’t know the ins and outs of what goes on behind the scenes at Lennoxtown but I do know that things are being restructured in some areas and fully stand behind the idea that the manager should have the final say how his support teams are setup and with recruitment because he needs to be able to look around him or at a player and see things he likes and that he believes he can work with to create a team that can fulfil his and more importantly our ambitions.
In his previous tenure he done really well to get things out of players who looked like they were going stale or going nowhere until he arrived, but to do that he had to add quality on the pitch and within the staff and in doing so that quality helps raise the level of everyone and excites the good players who are here because guys like Cal and CCV are like all of us, they want to win and win well.
Back then we had guys like Moussa Dembele, Scott Sinclair and even the experience of a guy like Kolo Toure….
You often hear top players saying if players see quality come into the building it gets them going and they know that if they want to be a part of the team then they have no choice but to work harder to improve. So it’s vital that after the last few windows not really paying off up to now, that we add 2 or 3 players who can inspire the team, the support and arguably most important of all the manager so he knows the board value him and his plan for the team.
He came in with a cloud lurking, and a lot of people desperate for it to rain…. It did drizzle at points, but he finished the season stood in the sunshine and in his own words he and the team wrote their own story. I fully understood why their was concerns when he returned. I was looking at the situation and thinking this looks like a real 50/50 on rain or shine, but he backed himself and the players and we should all be immensely proud of that and give a huge amount of credit to Brendan for managing to finish the story of 2023/24 on a real positive note. Long may it continue….
Rodgers has now made it clear what his ambitions are going forward and each to their own, but for me he has earned the right to have everyone on board going forward and I hope the club from top to bottom is on the same page. No more silly stories about internal conflicts or people getting involved in things they have no need to be anywhere near, just get people focusing on what they are paid to focus on and let Rodgers focus on controlling the football side of things.
We can lose people because big clubs come and pay money that the club and players or manager cannot refuse, that’s football. But we don’t want to be a club that loses our best people because they feel the club lacks ambition to be the best it can be within the reality we live in, so the goals to me look simple:
Continue to be the best team in the league and win the league
Play the best football we can in every game. It won’t always be 4,5-0 wins and flicks and tricks but we play our game and as we have so many times over the past few years we show we have an armory that is unmatched, not only the best team technically but also the strongest physically and mentally and that to beat us you’ll have to be willing to give everything and some because we will continue to show the endurance and stamina over a season that is only bettered by one in this world…. and thankfully he plays for us… Daizen Maeda. I heard a rumour from a ITK chap that upon missing his flight home to Japan with Siegrist and Iwata, he gave them quite the shock when the Captain said a cargo door had opened midflight… only for Daizen to step in and say すいません遅れました (Sorry I’m late). He didn’t even look like he’d broke sweat in the Instagram pics Benji put up.
Build the best recruitment and support setup to feed into the club and ensure it’s always looking to set best practice, setting the standards for clubs so when people ask which clubs have the best setups that Celtic is a name used as a positive example. We are a team who can offer some things that you can’t get by playing at the likes of Everton or various other mid-table well known clubs across Europe and we should be selling it on this basis:
*You come here and to succeed you need to be able to play to a high level consistently to earn the backing of the support and the plaudits that will come your way
*You need to be able to deal with, or very quickly learn to deal with intense pressure (something that should stand out to any top team)
*You get the chance to learn what it takes to be a winner by playing for and alongside proven winners like Rodgers, Cal, Forrest and the rest (again something that any top team should value)
*Most importantly if you can do the above you will get adulation that very few clubs in the world have, and with all of the above comes a platform that will set you well on a path to play for any top club in Europe
I type and read the above points and I think stepping stone and it’s an expression I think is seen by many as a real negative, but the football world is wild now and unfortunately our domestic circumstances dictate a lot of things but I look back and think we had Van Dijk who was amazing, Wanyama who was brilliant and many others who stayed for a year or two and while I’d love us to be able to keep these players for 5 or 6 years I accepted a long time ago that seeing 1 or 2 years of them in the Hoops is better than not having them at all.
We should have the best academy we can that again is promoted across the world as an example of excellence, where players and parents look in and know they are getting the best footballing education and support system on offer from any academy available to them.
Continue to enhance the womens team and ensure that the goals are aligned to make them the best in the country with the best support network behind them too. I take great joy as a Dad in knowing that now we have an environment where my son or daughter can grow up wanting to be footballers and that we will have great examples of what excellence looks like. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Amy Gallacher scoring the winner against Hibs to seal the title and hope the womens team continue to have success and that we see the women game grow in Scotland.
Champions League, can we win it….. No, or if you are an optimist then extremely unlikely, but should we be a team who can push to get out of the group stages and move towards the last 16, Yes.
To do that, and also continue to be dominant domestically only happens if we are bold, innovative and willing to constantly evaluate ourselves to find the areas that can be enhanced both on and off the pitch.
We most certainly need a Head of Recruitment in place that Rodgers is fully on board with and to look at the womens team setup across the board to ensure we bring that up to standard.
I’m not sure if a Sporting Director is the way to go as I prefer a manager to cover most of the elements that come under that role especially around implementation of things like tactics and playstyle, but certainly think a Director of Football who is there to give total support to the manager, and engage with all the areas that support and feed into the first teams to ensure they are functioning at a high level to give Rodgers and Sadiku what they need, and to continue to evaluate the structures and processes on a regular basis to ensure they are pushing towards the goals that are set by the managers wouldn’t be a bad thing.
On that note, my thanks for reading and my thanks for all the support via socials and the guys on the HB who are a never-ending source of support. Hopefully we will start season 2024/2025 full of excitement and optimism and end it with another story written that ends with McGregor, Forrest and co adding more winners medals to their haul.
I may add one more Celtic post over the coming days that will be more of a look back at my history of posts on the Huddleboard so people who haven’t seen where this all started can get a look and also so I can reflect on the players I’ve enjoyed watching over the years and a laugh at some of the ones who I was totally wrong about.
Last but not least a shoutout to the guys who have just finished SFA Talent Identification Level 2. It’s been a pleasure and hopefully many of us will get the chance to cross paths in a work capacity down the line.
Thanks again…..
RH