Scott Sinclair is still nowhere near his A game

By David Walton

December 4, 2018

Scott Sinclair’s miss against Aberdeen was overshadowed by the fact that Celtic won the Betfred Cup.

Rightfully so. It racked up Brendan Rodgers’ seventh consecutive domestic trophy on the spin for the Glasgow giants. They now have eight and nine in their sights, and that’s even after a poor start to the season.

Ryan Christie was the hero on Sunday with his fine close-range finish, and thankfully, there weren’t any villains. The closest anyone came to being one, however, was Englishman Sinclair.

Indeed, the man who signed for Celtic for £4million has raised his game in recent weeks. But what many just don’t want to admit is the fact that he’s still nowhere near good enough on current form.

Scott Sinclair’s penalty was tremendously saved by Joe Lewis (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

In his first season at the club, Sinclair managed to bag a sensational 25 goals in 50 Hoops appearances. He was at the heart of everything positive about the Hoops, and managed those strikes from left-wing.

Last season saw a notable dip in form. Many called him out for it, but the stats still replicated a man in decent enough nick. After all, he still bagged a respectable 18 goals in 55 appearances. Not bad going again for a wide-man.

This term, however, he started in dismal form. He’s bagged just five goals in 25 outings this campaign. Three of those have come during Celtic’s recent renaissance over the last eight games.

Sinclair’s trying, but it’s not enough

He’s showing for the ball more and trying to get into good areas, but he’s still at nowhere near a good enough level.

He’s still brushed off the ball far too easily, his passing can be atrocious, and his finishing doesn’t merit thinking about. Everything about the former Aston Villa man just isn’t at its A game.

The fact is that Sinclair was so bad for the second half of last season and the first quarter of this one that many want to see something that isn’t there.

Sinclair is still several notches off top form (Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Yes, Sinclair has improved, but not anywhere near to the level he needs to be at. Celtic are going for another domestic treble, and to do that they need to rely on all of their attackers. Is Sinclair truly reliable? He certainly hasn’t proved that he is.

His penalty miss at Hampden was unfortunate. Joe Lewis is a fine goalkeeper and an incredibly tall figure. When he dives the right way, chances are he’ll get a strong hand to it.

Sinclair’s overall game, however, needs cranked up some more notches. Much improvement is still needed, and here’s hoping he can pick himself back up after Sunday.