The form of the Celtic team is something that has bothered the fans for a number of months now.
Gone is the fast, free-flowing football that we loved under Ange Postecoglou and it has been replaced with a much slower tempo and patient build-up by Brendan Rodgers.
Obviously, the injury issues Rodgers has had to deal with haven’t helped but overall, the supporters are less than impressed with what they have been watching from their team recently.
The most pressing issue for the fans is the alarming drop-off of Kyogo Furuhashi. Clearly struggling for goals, Rodgers changed his tactics to accommodate the Japanese striker by playing Adam Idah as a target man for Kyogo to work off of.
And it has worked. Two goals in his last two games mean that Kyogo could be about to recapture his best form but, it seems, that this has been to the detriment of Matt O’Riley. That’s according to pundit, Gordon Dalziel.
Dalziel said [Superscoreboard], “When he got changed into that number 10 position he scored two goals. I’ve said from day one that Kyogo, for me is an out-and-out striker.
“Brendan Rodgers, at St Mirren, had to change information. It wasn’t really working and he was coming in for criticism with his wingers.
“So he decided to go with the two strikers. He won the game and they played quite well and everybody was quite happy.
“What I thought was the difference for me is, Matt O’Riley was in the form of his life. And every time I think Kyogo gets played on that 10, he suffers from it.
“I don’t think he can make the same runs, I don’t think his timing is right and everything about it short. He sacrifices a little bit of his game.
“But if I was playing my strongest side, I would play Kyogo through the middle all day because I think he’s such a terrific player on the shoulder of defenders and causes so many problems.”
Matt O’Riley’s Celtic form
Out of all the players off form, Matt O’Riley is one that should concern the Celtic supporters. The 23-year-old has been one of the team’s most outstanding players over the past two seasons and it did look like he had kicked on under Rodgers.
But over the course of the last few games, he has largely been anonymous. And his goals and assists in the league have dropped off massively.
In fact, you have to go as far back as the beginning of January when O’Riley last contributed with a goal and assist in the 3-0 win over St Mirren but since then he has largely been disappointing. [Transfermarkt]
The Celtic support will be hoping O’Riley turns this around soon because with 12 games left of the season, the team needs him to find his goalscoring touch if they have any hope of winning the league.
In other news, ‘Privately’… How Celtic really feel about the criticism aimed at Peter Lawwell
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