Davie Provan has called out the performances of Carl Starfelt before oddly stating he didn’t think Ange Postecoglou even signed him.
Starfelt is currently with the Swedish national team for upcoming games against Kosovo and Greece respectively. It comes after recent improvement in the Celtic centre-back’s displays. This was acknowledged by supporters after Sunday’s 2-1 win at Aberdeen.
There’s no denying it’s been a rough start so far for the former Rubin Kazan man. Some early mistakes in big games against the likes of Hearts and AZ Alkmaar have been difficult to get over. But despite that, he appears to be finding some form at last.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been enough to escape Provan’s critical judgement. And as he discussed the Celtic centre-back situation on Go Radio’s Football Show last night, he questioned who actually signed the summer arrival.
“I’m not convinced. I think he looks awkward. I know he’s a right-footed player playing on the left side, but he doesn’t look the part for me.
“I don’t think for a minute that he was Ange Postecoglou’s signing, and hopefully Postecoglou will be given the budget in the January window to get himself a proper central defensive pairing.
“Jullien is obviously is on his way back – he’s a proper footballer. His use of the ball will add to Celtic’s back-line.”
Questioning Celtic transfer chief helps nobody; Starfelt stick needs to stop
It’s incredibly unfair to accuse Starfelt of not even being a Postecoglou signing. There’s absolutely nothing to base that on outside of some sort of gut instinct.
The truth is Starfelt is continuously used both domestically and in Europe. If he wasn’t a Postecoglou signing, why is he continuously used every single time Celtic step out onto a football pitch? After all, Stephen Welsh is there if need be.
Starfelt’s performances are improving. It’s time he was stop being made a scapegoat and given some room to breathe. In recent weeks he’s been doing absolutely fine, and he was impressive at Pittodrie last weekend. Not to mention Starfelt was also solid at Ibrox in late August.
Celtic are in a place just now where they’re looking to build some momentum. Questioning where signings came from doesn’t help us at the moment. We’re trying to build something at Celtic Park this season. Questions like those are for when it’s clear things simply aren’t working.
Even then, you need to have some sort of basis for the argument. There’s literally nothing to suggest Starfelt wasn’t a Postecoglou signing. If he wasn’t Ange’s, then who on earth is likely to be responsible?
We need to be backing the team and the manager. Sunday was an important day for the football club, and it’s time to look forward with confidence.
In other news, St Mirren considering prospect of cutting Celtic away fan allocation
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
