Celtic went to Aberdeen needing to prove something.
After Sunday’s meek effort against Rangers, John Kennedy and the Bhoys really needed to restore some confidence. Fine, the result in itself wouldn’t mean much, but there were opportunities here. The opportunities to play youngsters, to use fringe players who are actually staying at the club.
But nah [BBC]. Scott Brown captained, and he’ll be excited by what he saw from his new team. Because again, Celtic were grim. Against an Aberdeen side with a new manager, Celtic toiled in the North East.
In a way, it was the same old mistakes, but the malaise in the Celtic camp has surely reached a critical point. This was listless, lifeless and gutless stuff. It wasn’t just the result – they happen sometimes, and Aberdeen were decent. But again, it’s the manner of it. The passing was awful, runners weren’t making runs, there was no width whatsoever and a Premier League right-back was outclassed by a 17-year-old Calvin Ramsay.
We were lucky to get a point here.
What did we learn as Celtic snatched a draw against Aberdeen?
Tactically, Celtic look confused
How do you field a midfield diamond, and constantly get overrun in the middle?
Somehow, the Bhoys managed. In possession, Aberdeen were given enough space for an extra 11 players around their centre circle. For their opening goal, Dons midfielder Lewis Ferguson ran unimpeded for at least 10 yards before passing out to Calvin Ramsay, whose cross created the corner kick. Subsequently, it went 1-0.
Just how does that happen? In possession, it was no better. Bitton and Welsh tried to drive play forward into central areas, but no matter who had it, it more often not ended up in a pass that went nowhere. There was none of the fluidity we saw against Livingston. Celtic looked devoid of a coherent shape or strategy on the ball. Elyounoussi’s position was an absolute mystery, while there were no wide outlets to choose.
It was awful in the first-half. Far too often, the Celtic players didn’t look like they knew what to do next. How on earth does that happen to a side that’s won 9 titles in a row?
Odsonne Edouard looks bereft
This was a tough game for Odsonne Edouard.
The warning signs were there early; 12 minutes in, Elyounoussi broke lines to make a very good cross to where Eddy should’ve been. On form, Edouard would’ve beaten his marker and nipped in front for an easy finish. As it was, nope. Not so much.
On the 20 minute mark, Eddy had another clear-cut chance, but his first touch was too heavy and the finish was straight in Woods’ arms. The theme continued, and while he did burst the net, it was offside. His positioning, one of his key attributes, was missing for so much of this match. He doesn’t look like he has the confidence to beat his marker, and he doesn’t have his head up when he shoots.
Driving almost every shot low and in comfortable range for the keeper, it’s genuinely concerning, and you have to ask what’s going on behind the scenes. Our star striker isn’t playing with a shred of his prior confidence. Some will call him lazy, or insist he doesn’t put a shift in – that’s nonsense.
But what’s true is, this isn’t the guy we’ve seen before, and not by a long way.
Same old issues from set pieces for Celtic against Aberdeen
The definition of insanity, according to someone that wasn’t Albert Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
That applies to a couple of aspects of Celtic’s play; putting Elyounoussi up front when he spends the entire match playing off the left, making odd substitutions on the hour mark, and so on.
But, and I realise I don’t sound so much like a broken record as a weather-worn 45 that’s been found in a hedge, how is this Celtic side still so vulnerable from corners? Why does no team we play suffer the same deficiencies?
Another match, another disappointment, and yet another example of not putting players on the line to say, kick the ball away. Bain is probably one of two or three players that came away from tonight’s game with pass marks, but what’s he meant to do when our defenders can’t deal with balls into the box?
It’s neither zonal nor man, it’s just the absence of marking. Again, for the millionth time, this is a problem we’ve had for years. It’d be astounding to think that nobody is working on it behind the scenes, and there was evidence we’d improved in that area over recent weeks, but it’s still a huge area to exploit for opposition teams.
Sort it out.
READ MORE: The eerie silence from Celtic board on a seismic week for football
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