Last week, Kris Commons believed Celtic fans should’ve been criticising Mohamed Elyounoussi for his recent performances.
Indeed, speaking in his Daily Mail column (21/09, print edition, The Verdict page 16), Commons said: “If they’re (the Celtic fans) looking to have a go at someone, then you’d have to say the performances of Mohamed Elyounoussi would warrant greater scrutiny.
“Elyounoussi might well end up being the most high-profile casualty if Lennon persists with a 3-5-2 system. I just don’t see where the on-loan Southampton star fits in.”
Commons was entitled to his view of course, and Elyounoussi didn’t spend three games on the bench because he had been playing well beforehand.
However, the Norwegian has truly answered back the criticism in a fine way. Not only has he scored two goals in two games since Commons’ comments, but he’s also managed to prove that there’s a place for him in the 3-5-2/3-5-1-1
No need to keep Elyounoussi as a winger
It was a tad bemusing that Commons appeared to urge greater criticism of Elyounoussi. However, he had a real point when he spoke about how it’s difficult to see where Moi fits into the current system.
Instead, the on-loan Southampton man showed that he’s tailor-made for playing just in behind whatever strikeforce Neil Lennon fields. Whether that be Odsonne Edouard and Albian Ajeti or just one of the two, Elyounoussi can thrive playing in that number 10 role.
Yes, that means a direct clash with Ryan Christie. But competition in that area of the pitch is healthy given the rigorous fixture list we’ll hopefully have coming up.
But he can reflect on his last week with Celtic and be satisfied with what he’s produced. He kept us alive in Europe thanks to his late goal in Riga, and was also one of the best attacking performers against Hibernian in yesterday’s Celtic Park clash.
All of a sudden, Commons’ criticism of Moi has now been answered with aplomb. There won’t be any fan criticism coming his way for some time if he can keep up performances like he’s managed over the last week.
The pressure has now been lifted from him. Therefore, it’s going to be extremely interesting to see what he can produce going forward. But he can firmly be satisfied that he’s rattled back at his critics over the last seven days.
In other news, a worrying moment yesterday has these Celtic fans concerned.
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