Some Celtic fans have called on Neil Lennon to end the Lewis Morgan experiment that threatened to cost us the Betfred Cup yesterday.
Morgan put in a power of running against Rangers, and did his best to put as much pressure on their back-line as possible. However, over the course of his near 60-minute appearance, he didn’t cause Rangers any bother with Celtic struggling to get up the pitch.
Lewis Morgan got stuck in but didn’t do enough (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The winger was thrown in at the deep end and struggled to hold the ball up efficiently enough. It was only after he came off for Odsonne Edouard that we started getting any sort of final-third joy.
And after what was a grueling experience for Morgan in his first derby outing, some fans want the new Lennon experiment to end:
I never want to see Morgan upfront ever again. Experiment over. Infact I don't think he's good enough..
— CHRIST.ie Ryan (@TeaCeltic) December 9, 2019
For me it was like playing with a man down with Morgan up front, he’s not a striker & can’t hold the ball up, if Eddie started we would have been a different team & you seen that when he did come on.🤙🏻🍀🍀
— celtic (@112wilson) December 9, 2019
Celtic played nearly the whole game with 10 men as Morgan is never a centre forward.
— Rockstep (@Rockstep6) December 9, 2019
Morgan up front a mistake. First fifteen minutes disappeared in a succession of sevco at pieces. Celtic couldn't settle.
— glesgacroft (@glesgacroft) December 9, 2019
When we stop laughing, let’s think. Forster played the game of his life. Morgan should never be at Celtic. Johnston is too light weight for big games. Forrest has not played a decent game for 3 months. Punt Elyounoussi back to Southampton. We're being carried by half a team.
— Sylvester Marcus (@Sylverster67) December 9, 2019
We may have ended with 10, but we started with 9 ! Elyounoussi wasn't fit, & Morgan isn't a striker. However, our mentality, won the day ! 😀
— Celtic Symphony (@DM8883) December 8, 2019
Re-watching the highlights there. Having Edouard up top makes such a difference to how Celtic play, his hold up play and bringing the wingers into the game are crucial, done more in 2 mins than Morgan did the entire game. When January comes a 2nd striker is an absolute must buy.
— JohhnyMartin88 (@JohhnyMartin88) December 9, 2019
Euphoric as that was. That was utter toilet from Celtic today. I hope never to see Hayes and Morgan grace our team in those positions again.
Midfield three swamped. Christie incredibly poor.
— James Patrick (@JPFlawless82) December 8, 2019
Celtic are way better without Lewis Morgan and even more better when French eddy's playing. 💚🍀
— Adz 💚🍀 (@Adz_plays) December 8, 2019
If Griffiths is injured again then Bayo must be third-choice
The idea of Lennon playing Morgan is surely down to the fact that we have no striker fit to play. Odsonne Edouard clearly wasn’t fit enough to start the game, whilst Leigh Griffiths wasn’t in the squad.
However, Vakoun Bayo hopefully isn’t too far from a return to contention after being confirmed to be back training last week (The Scotsman). When our first-choice duo aren’t available, it should hopefully be Bayo who gets his chance to step in over Morgan from now on.
Vakoun Bayo must be Celtic’s third-choice striker over Morgan (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Morgan should by no means be done at Celtic. This game was just a step too far in a position he hasn’t played much in. It worked against Rennes’ second-string, and he performed well enough against Ross County too. However, those are the kind of games you can get away with it in.
Subscribe to 67 Hail Hail TV now
Playing Rangers in a cup final must lead us to playing a proper, natural centre-forward in the position. The same goes for any game against the better sides in Scotland.
Will Neil Lennon stick with the Morgan experiment? (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Yet, it will be interesting to see if Lenny sticks with Morgan for Cluj. The manager stated today that he’s hoping Eddy will be up to full speed for the visit of Hibs on Sunday (Celtic Twitter). As for Griff, there’s still to be any word on him. So it could be the case that, if all three strikers are out, Lenny once again turns to the former St Mirren man.
Morgan deserves a break, but he isn’t a striker. Any chance he gets between now and the end of December simply must be in his natural wide positions.