Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has slammed the narrative around Carl Starfelt, suggesting he’s been unfairly treated since joining the club in the summer.
Starfelt, a Swedish international, came from Rubin Kazan in a move worth around £4m [BBC]. In the midst of a real defensive crisis, the centre-back had to learn on the job. That meant a couple of errors in his early stages, and a perception of calamity stayed with him.
That’s despite Starfelt being in an excellent defence domestically. Thus far, Celtic have only conceded twice at home in the league.
While in the Scottish Premiership at large, Celtic comfortably have the best goals against record [Sky Sports]. Starfelt has played in all but 3 league games [Transfermarkt].
After an excellent display on Thursday night, Postecoglou backed his man Carl Starfelt to the hilt. He said [Herald]:
“I think he was unfairly judged in many respects.
“Carl had it as tough as anyone. We threw him in without a pre-season, virtually without a training session and asked him to play alongside guys he had never met before. Since he has become accustomed to what we do has played really well, even before the injury .
“Him and [Carter-Vickers] have a really good relationship at the back and we were really pleased to get him back in on Thursday. I was concerned at how he would go for 90 minutes but he finished the game strongly and I thought he was outstanding.”
Celtic boss is right to back Carl Starfelt; anyone would’ve found it tricky at first
Defenders occasionally make mistakes. Especially when they’re thrown in at the deepest of ends, as Starfelt was. Rubin Kazan, it’s fair to say, were not a possession team. Even now, they average about 47% of possession in the Russian Premier League [WhoScored?].
For Celtic in the Scottish Premiership with Carl Starfelt in the team: 71.8%.
That adjustment was always going to take time. But it’s starting to feel as if Starfelt is winning fans over. His strong presence, ability to pre-emptively stop counter-attacks and his bravery in the air are things supporters respond to. He is unlikely to be an out-and-out fan favourite like Bobo Balde or Johan Mjallby just yet, but the signs are good.
Perhaps because of Kyogo’s instant success at Celtic, our perspective is skewed somewhat. If Kyogo could come in and immediately dictate games, why not our other signings?
For defenders, though, learning a new system has got to be a massive challenge. Postecoglou, though, wouldn’t have signed Carl Starfelt if he didn’t think he could adapt.
He’s showing that is he is doing just that.
Read more: Former Celtic youth player takes big step forward at Bayern Munich
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