Ah, but Eddie Howe hasn’t arrived at Celtic yet!
I hear you, and no: we’re still no closer to knowing when the former Bournemouth manager will arrive at Paradise. It’s taken as read that he will, however [BBC]. In any case, we’ve got a tough, demanding route to the Champions League this season, made more difficult by events last night.
In a beautiful graphic made by my very tall colleague Hamish Carton, you can see that some elite company awaits Celtic in qualifying this season. If we are able to navigate our way past the likes of Rapid Vienna, Galatasaray or FC Midtjylland, we face the very real prospect of Henrik Larsson’s son scoring past us in the next round. Or, a meeting with Eboue Kouassi, now of Genk.
It’s a funny old world, this.
Now, we don’t currently have the squad to do that, realistically speaking. Or, at the very least, we have a squad that desperately needs reinforcements and upgrades in certain areas. But which areas specifically? Glad you asked:
Eddie Howe has to find answer to Scott Brown absence
Whether at the back, in goals or anywhere, the loss of Scott Brown necessitates someone Eddie Howe can trust in to be a vocal presence. While Callum McGregor will almost certainly be our next captain, leadership doesn’t start and end there. The Seville team, for example, had about 7 or 8 worthy choices for captain. Between McStay and McManus, the club had countless options, but only the very best were picked to wear the armband.
That stuff matters. And while it’d fun to pick a name out of a hat and say “bang! Vice captain!”, it’s just not that simple. Howe will surely have players in mind for this, either ones he’s worked with or players he’s admired from afar who could be in Celtic’s price range.
Scott Brown’s going to be a huge miss in a number of ways. He’s not exactly replaceable. That’s not to say that signing someone who’s unafraid to get right in amongst it from their arrival at Parkhead is by any means impossible. Some prefer their captains in defence, or deep in midfield but honestly, it matters little. Quality and influence are needed.
At least one new centre-back
Although there are some encouraging noises from Kristoffer Ajer’s camp for next season, we were undermanned in a prime position in what should’ve been our 10IAR campaign. That’s absolutely inexplicable. I’d rightly get a stern word from work if I shrugged and told them that vital letters were missing from my keyboard.
Fine, we were unlucky with Christopher Jullien’s injury woes, but Nir Bitton is a defensive midfielder, and has never truly looked comfortable at the back. Shane Duffy’s loan spell was a well-reported disaster, with some key reasons left out for hasty narrative purposes in the press. Stephen Welsh came in and eventually got to impress, but for a club that had designs on playing a back 3, it was a mess.
While bad luck also accounts for our pursuit of Liverpool (?!) man Ben Davies (?!?!), bad planning is a factor, too. So, even without the prospect of Kristoffer Ajer moving, we need at least two first-team quality centre-backs in as a matter of priority.
Width needed for Celtic Champions League chances; an area of expertise for Eddie Howe
Again, picking out specific names is good and fun, but we’re speaking in generalities here. Also, I’m quite aware I am unqualified as a scout. I have never worked as one, trained as one or been employed as one. So, there’s that.
Eddie Howe will have scouts aplenty though, hopefully including his main man Richard Hughes, and he’ll already be aware that this Celtic squad are incredibly narrow. That’s bizarre, given that we’ve had plenty of wingers over the last 5-6 years who just couldn’t get into the team.
Would 16-17 Gary Mackay-Steven have started in 20-21? 18-19 Lewis Morgan? You’d have to imagine they probably would’ve. Because Celtic’s central build-up play was incredibly easy to deal with, and teams defended it with consummate ease. That’s an issue. It was made even more frustrating by wins against Livingston and St Johnstone where we actually utilised wide forwards.
As sad as it is to say, we can’t clone James Forrest. So, we need wingers. Mohamed Elyounoussi may return, but even then, it’s just Forrest and Mikey Johnston in the first-team. Karamoko Dembele may see more opportunities, sure, but even then, we’re chronically under-manned on the left side of the pitch.
Someone with a bit of flair and guile on that flank is utterly crucial. Well prepared European teams aren’t going to just sit back and let us knock it around the middle of the park. They’re going to need to be attacked from all sides. A club like Celtic, with a history of fantastic wingers, have neglected that over the last year.
That’s got to be a focus.
READ MORE: A sign of things to come?
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