Celtic Half Season Review

Since the arrival of Ange Postecoglou, Celtic have progressed mightily. At the half way stage in the season, the Hoops have already won a cup and are still in Europe as well as the title race.

Because we’re well into the winter break in Scotland, I’ll be reviewing Celtic’s season so far and looking at what’s went well and what has not so. 

I’ll be splitting my review into three sections which are as follows; transfers, the domestic front and Europe. We’ll begin with the former. 

Transfers

We all know the scale of the rebuild Celtic faced in the summer. This was proved with the fact twelve players were brought in and eight permanently departed the ever revolving door at Parkhead. 

As of popular website Transfermarkt, Celtic spent a total of £20,040,000 on the arrivals of Kyogo Furuhashi, Carl Starfelt, Liel Abada, Josip Juranovic, Giorgos Giakoumakis, James McCarthy, Joe Hart, Liam Scales, Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide. That’s without mentioning the loan signings of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota from Spurs and Benfica respectively. 

Ordinarily, not all new signings in football are successful ones and this has certainly been the case at Celtic since the huge upturn in the squad. 

The likes of James McCarthy and Giorgos Giakoumakis are yet to find full fitness and get themselves a proper run in the side. Missing a pivotal, last minute penalty against Livingston did not help Giakoumakis though. 

The plight of Liam Scales, Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw are rather similar. All were brought in for nominal fees and have not seen much football. Irishman Scales has seen the most minutes out of the trio and even scored from the bench against Dundee United in a 3-0 win. The fact Scales is a left back certainly aids him in his quest to gain opportunities. After all, said spot is one of the most uncertain in the side with all of Josip Juranovic, Greg Taylor, Scales and even Boli Bolingoli turning out there this season. The acquisitions of Shaw, Urhoghide and Scales seem like somewhat project ones and it looks as though the devise of Liam Scales is the one that is working out the most substantially. 

In attack, Kyogo Furuhashi has been nothing short of a revelation. The Japanese striker has averaged a goal or assist every eighty seven minutes at Celtic so far. The twenty six year old also scored two crucial goals at Hampden to lead Celtic to Scottish League Cup success. Clearly, his contributions have been significant. 

Partnering Kyogo up top has been Jota and young Liel Abada. The latter looks to be a shrewd investment that could make Celtic some tidy profit in the future. It should be remembered though Abada is just twenty years old, living in a foreign country and having to adapt to a new language and culture therefore, when he’s not firing in all cylinders, this should be considered. Fellow winger Jota has been one of Celtic’s greatest performers in 21/22 alongside Kyogo. The Portuguese winger has eight goals and six assists in eighteen matches. Jota has made the left wing spot his own and the option to buy on his loan deal is one Celtic should be greatly considering taking up. 

Josip Juranovic, Joe Hart, Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers have all brought defensive stability to Celtic. Particularly the two latter who have struck up a well founded partnership in the heart of the Hoops’ backline. Starfelt is a Swedish International and although he is uncertain at times, the twenty six year old has been an ample addition. His centre back partner, Cameron Carter-Vickers, is arguably among the top three Celtic signings of the summer. The American came in from Tottenham on loan and looks a level above the rest. Similarly to Jota, there is an option to buy included Carter-Vickers’ loan deal which may well be taken up come the end of the season should the twenty three year old keep up his adequate form. 

Two established International players in Josip Juranovic and Joe Hart have also made great contributions to Celtic this campaign. Juranovic has disposed his worth through versatility with the Croatian turning out at all of left back, right back and even right wing. His penalty taking ability is also valuable; the full back has three out of three from the spot. His panenka in the BayArena was especially pleasing on the eye. In goal, Joe Hart has been another tremendous investment. The seventy five time capped England keeper has nailed down the spot between the sticks. Goalkeeping was a problematic position for Celtic last season and Joe Hart seems to have solved that issue. His commanding, leading presence is also a fantastic asset in itself. 

Realistically, all of Celtic’s problems were not going to be solved in one single transfer window. And they weren’t. However, the Hoops have already recruited three players in the January window. 

Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi all provide extreme depth and quality to Ange Postecoglou’s side. Maeda offers a goal threat up top, being the top scorer in the J. League in 2021; Hatate provides versatility through being able to operate in the midfield, on the wings or even at left back and twenty five year old Ideguchi brings depth to the middle of the park. They are all low risk, high reward deals that have all the hallmarks of being successful. 

It will be intriguing to see what the remainder of the January transfer window brings for Celtic but most of the incomings so far this season, who have taken to the field, have been up to the mark and hopefully those who come in next follow in their predecessors footsteps. 

The Domestic Front 

With a trophy already in the bag, it could be said this seasons domestic campaign for Celtic has already been more successful than the last. In fairness, with the Hoops finishing twenty five points adrift of Rangers in 20/21 and securing no silverware, except from the delayed Scottish Cup of the previous season, it wouldn’t be that difficult. 

Celtic started their Scottish Premiership campaign in the worst possible fashion, losing by two goals to one at Tynecastle on the opening day. This was to be the mantra for the next few away games with the Bhoys failing to secure a victory away from Celtic Park in the league until the third of October. 

The home form of Celtic has been contrasting of that of their away fettle; at the halfway point, Celtic have yet to lose a home match in the league, winning seven and drawing two. 

As well as playing away from Glasgow’s East End, another of Celtic’s problems in the league this season has been playing against the low block. There are several teams in the Scottish Premiership that simply just sit in, defend and have no intention of launching attacks except from on the counter. Livingston and St. Mirren are a few that have done this to full effect against Celtic this season. 

In addition, injuries have been another nemesis of Celtic this campaign. A plethora of players such as Jota, Kyogo, Carl Starfelt, Joe Hart, Josip Juranovic, James Forrest, Greg Taylor, Anthony Ralston and Callum McGregor have been missing through injury at one point or another this season. Whether this be due to the fact the players are adapting to the manager’s high intensity style or not is unclear. However, hopefully this matter can be solved come the second half of the season. 

On a more positive note, the progression of Celtic’s defence this season is clear to see. Ange Postecoglou’s men have the soundest backline in the Scottish Premiership, having conceded just twelve goals in the league this season. Not bad for a team with a ‘kamikaze’ style of play. Going forward, Celtic also play some scintillating stuff. Some of the goals the Hoops have scored this season have been simply breathtaking.

Although playing attractive, engaging football is a big part of Celtic, especially under Ange Postecoglou, it is the delivering of trophies and silverware that matters most. 

In the title race, Celtic currently sit six points behind league leaders Rangers twenty matches into the season. With the sides still to play each other three times, Celtic to presumably improve their squad in January and lots of football to take place, the gap is certainly not insurmountable. 

I alluded to trophies previously and Ange Postecoglou has already delivered that in his six months in Glasgow. By defeating Hearts, Raith Rovers and St. Johnstone in previous rounds, Celtic set up a festive finale with Hibs and tasted Scottish League Cup success at Hampden on the nineteenth of December. A wonderful Kyogo Furuhashi double broke Leith hearts and sent Celtic on their way to their twentieth league cup triumph. 

I’m sure if you asked any Celtic supporter at the tail end of the last campaign that by the winter break of the following season, they’d have won a cup and still be in contention for the title and thus presumable automatic Champions League qualification, they’d have thoroughly accepted your manifestation. This is precisely the position Celtic are in at the minute and it is fairly promising. 

Europe 

At the very beginning of Ange Postecoglou’s reign as Celtic manager, the Hoops would take on Midtjylland in the second round of Champions League qualifiers. However, defeat was to be tasted and Celtic dropped into the Europa League. 

By defeating Jablonec and AZ Alkmaar in following qualifiers, a Europa League group stage place was confirmed for 20/21. Celtic would draw Bayer Leverkusen, Real Betis and familiar foes Ferencvaros in group G. 

Although they ended up finishing in third place, Celtic still managed to secure European football after Christmas through the newly formed Europa Conference League. However, Ange Postecoglou’s side should feel hard done by not to be in the Europa League knockouts; their nine point total seen teams like Lazio, Olympiacos and Real Sociedad reach said round of the competition. City rivals Rangers even got to the Europa League knockouts with a lesser points total than Celtic. 

As alluded to, Celtic amounted a total of nine points in their six Europa League group stage matches and it is fair to say each and every game, in spite of one or two, were thrillers with each averaging 4.6 goals. Ange Postecoglou’s attacking, expansive football certainly came to the fore. Notable results include back to back victories over Ferencvaros, two rather close away clashes with Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen in which Celtic lost 4-3 and 3-2 respectively and finally, an eye catching victory over Betis in which a somewhat second string team took to the field. Clearly, Celtic have been extremely competitive in Europe so far, going toe-to-toe with some top European sides.

Now, attention will turn to the Europa Conference League knockouts where Celtic will take on Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt. The winner will secure a place in the last sixteen and it is undoubtedly the Hoops who are the favourites for this tie. 

However, Bodo/Glimt should in no way be underestimated. Kjetil Knutsen’s side are champions of Norway and also defeated Jose Mourinho’s Roma by six goals to one in the Europa Conference League group stages where they finished second in group C. This will definitely be a tough tie but one Celtic could assuredly get through. 

There is great optimism surrounding what lies in store for Celtic in the remainder of their European journey this season. The Europa Conference League is unquestionably a competition the Bhoys could go far in. 

Rounding Off

All in all, Celtic have came on leaps and bounds in the past few months. The rollercoaster under Ange Postecoglou so far has been a thrilling ride and there is still more to come. I personally, cannot wait to see what is in store for the remainder of the 21/22 campaign. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you have any thoughts or opinions, leave a comment below. Also, you can get in touch with me on Twitter @Josh_Footblog where re-Tweets, likes and follows are all greatly appreciated. Once again, thank you.