As the conversation surrounding Leigh Griffiths continues, it’s important to put his Celtic situation into some form of perspective.
Fans will all have a different view on whether the Scotland international deserves a new contract. Some will feel that he can pop up with a goal out of nothing on a regular basis and therefore he should be allowed another year on his contract. Others will believe that Griffiths has had more than enough to impress and should be moved on as part of the rebuild.
Things haven’t been helped by the departure of Patryk Klimala to New York Red Bulls of course. That’s left us with only three strikers, with Odsonne Edouard also likely leaving in the summer. Then there were two, and if we got rid of Griffiths too, we would only have Albian Ajeti available as a senior striker.
That could prove to be too much surgery in one position for the new manager. Especially considering we have so many priority positions we need to fill all over the pitch. If the new boss also wants to play two up top regularly next season, he’ll want four strikers available. Therefore, that’s another potential reason to keep Griffiths.
Former Celtic team-mate Charlie Mulgrew has been the latest to big up the prospect of Griff staying. He actually claimed it was a “no-brainer” given his historical goal-scoring knack [Sky Sports]. In addition to that, Mulgrew believes Griffiths should be in Scotland’s Euro 2020 squad, despite only netting eight goals this season [Transfermarkt].
But now for the hard truths about Griffiths and his Celtic situation
Unfortunately, however, Griffiths hasn’t hit the heights once again this season. People can go on about lacking in minutes this season, but there’s a reason he hasn’t been a regular starter over the last several years. Ronny Deila, Brendan Rodgers, and Neil Lenno have all had their trust issues with Griff.
Whilst it’s important to note his personal demons he’s faced in recent years, we still have to go back to 2015/16 for the last time he bagged over 20 goals. For whatever reason, Griffiths just hasn’t produced enough since then.
For many, it’ll be as simple as giving him more minutes, and that’s fine. However, to say he’s earned a new contract would be going way over the top. To say it would be a “no-brainer” is just ridiculous given he’s only netted 19 goals in the past two seasons. It’s not an embarrassing total by any means, but it’s not good enough for a Celtic striker.
Off-field issues can’t be ignored
We can’t just ignore Griffiths’ poor off-field demeanour at times either. A failure to get himself fit for pre-season was a major red flag – even Griffiths knew this was a disgrace [Glasgow Live]. Lennon still had issues with Griffiths as recently as January too [Glasgow Times]. We can’t just turn around and go “Awk what’s Griff like?”. He needs to be held accountable for his fitness issues. He’s had plenty of opportunities to impress in training this season – he clearly hasn’t done that enough.
That’s not to say there’s no way back for him. He reminded Celtic fans of what he’s capable of at Pittodrie last week. His last-gasp equaliser was the only positive moment of the game for Hoops supporters. And it was a sign of what Griffiths can do after being subbed on for the closing stages.
Next up is Ibrox, a goal or two there and he’ll give his profile a much-needed boost. Of course, interim boss John Kennedy would need to make the bold decision to start him. We’ve already stated that we would love to see a two-striker system at Ibrox this weekend of Griffiths and Albian Ajeti.
Regardless, it’s crucial that Griffiths gets as many goals as he can in the final three games. If he can end the season in some powerful form, it’ll do his chances of staying on no harm. But over a full season, he hasn’t proven to be effective enough since five years ago.
In other news, Charlie Mulgrew has picked out the player he believes should be Celtic’s next captain.
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