Many Celtic supporters have moved to shield goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas for some of the heavy stick he’s been receiving.
The Greek stopper has struggled in Scotland after signing for a reported £4.5million in the summer [Scottish Sun].
He’s failed to convince despite featuring on 20 occasions for the Hoops. Barkas has let 21 goals slip in that period and has kept a total of nine clean sheets [Transfermarkt].
However, he hasn’t made a big save of note and has been part of a Celtic side that finds itself 23 points behind Rangers in the “title-race”.
Barkas has also had to watch on as he’s been battered from pillar to post by pundits. Chris Sutton has this month labeled the former AEK Athens man a “waste of money” for example [Daily Record].
Celtic career not off to a great start for Barkas
Yet it feels difficult to judge Barkas too much on this season alone. A season in which every single Celtic player has suffered from a massive drop in morale.
New signings such as Albian Ajeti, Shane Duffy, and Diego Laxalt have seen their performances decline rapidly. Generally top performers such as Odsonne Edouard, Jeremie Frimpong, Ryan Christie, and Callum McGregor have also seen huge performance dips.
Of course, Barkas plays in a position that opens itself up to huge levels of criticism. He’s the last line of defence and will therefore always be scrutinised more than most. But he’s the last line of one of the worst Celtic defences we’ve seen in decades.
Lennon has tried to drop him from the team for two substantial periods of time. But nothing appears to be working as Barkas continues to see goals fly into the back of his net too easily. Some will blame him, and others will look at how vulnerable and exposed he is by his back-line.
Whatever the issue is, Barkas needs to press the reset button in the summer or whenever a new managerial team comes in. Celtic Park has carried with it a toxic atmosphere this season that hasn’t helped anyone. Not least someone who’s just gone through a massive change in culture both on and off the pitch.
And it looks as though some supporters have tried to give him a pat on the back as they discussed the goalkeeping situation at Parkhead. Here’s a look at what some fans are saying about Barkas on Twitter:
In other news, we discuss the only scenario in which it would be acceptable for Celtic to sign nobody in January.
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