John Kennedy has now taken charge of two Glasgow derbies, and it’s fair to say both disappointments haven’t been helped by the interim coach himself.
In both of the games against Rangers since taking charge, Kennedy has been tasked with having to change the game. In order to do that, he’s had to look at his bench in order to see how they can best get at their rivals.
Back in March, he outrageously made the decision to make his first substitution with only 11 minutes remaining. In the end, the final 10 minutes were then broken up with several changes made.
And again, today, he made a total mess of the bench available to him as he watched the game get away from us before making key changes.
Diego Laxalt was taken off at half-time with Celtic 2-0 down and the Uruguayan struggling. In his place was Greg Taylor, with the Scotland international putting in a commendable second-half performance.
However, that would be it from Kennedy for the next 28 minutes. Once again, it took him until late on to make another meaningful sub. Leigh Griffiths was thrown on for Ryan Christie – another who could’ve justifyingly come off at half-time. Instead, he was given a shocking 73 minutes to once again do nothing in as the Celtic supporters were let down massively.
And worst of all, Albian Ajeti was thrown on for a rare appearance. He was given the final two minutes plus added time. It was a ridiculous decision from Kennedy, who should’ve thrown caution to the wind long before he did considering we were two down at the break.
John Kennedy has struggled badly with his in-game decisions in the last two Glasgow Derbies
Yet again, it was another incompetent display when it came to his usage of substitutions. Another sign that he simply doesn’t understand how to implement in-game changes or even when to do so.
Some will defend the thought-process behind the interim boss’ decisions given that we created a host of second-half chances. That holds merit. But we also created chances in the first half that weren’t taken whilst there were so many midfield underperformers that failed to make a difference.
The likes of Callum McGregor, Christie, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Odsonne Edouard, and Jonjoe Kenny were woefully poor throughout. There didn’t appear to be any sort of plan B at all, and that was again reflected in Kennedy’s subs. He failed to find a way to change his shape when it was clear we were too vulnerable to the counter.
There has been so much talk since Kennedy took the interim gig about whether he would have a shot of earning it on a permanent basis. His lack of tactical nous when it comes to making substitutions proves he’s not ready.
Once again he had five subs available to him, and made one in an effort to change the game before it was clear it was out of sight. He simply isn’t maximising the opportunities available to him on the bench.
That’s been a key reason as to why we haven’t been getting results against Rangers over the last two months. It would hardly be a surprise if it’s a key factor in a fortnight when we return to Ibrox either.
In other news, Chris Sutton has called out Odsonne Edouard after another abysmal Glasgow derby display today.
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