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Callum McGregor took the field to complete about four tasks.
Kyogo Furuhashi was behind schedule and then hesitated on his one big chance. Joe Hart wasn’t sure and hit a ball that he caught with no problems. Even the usually bubbly Matt O’Riley looked lethargic and screamed in frustration after another offensive miss at the moment.
For weeks and weeks, Celtic’s veteran players have had to bear the burden of a terrible summer recruitment at Celtic and have fought valiantly to overcome it. Both mentally and physically, it will have to have been exhausting and exhausting. At a time when those guys desperately need help, in an era of domestic, European, and foreign commitments, and now in the midst of a key pre-lockdown era, they have been forced to restrict the matrix.
You’re not calling for help. It hasn’t been all season. And it was on that day that, reflecting the patience of the fans, the elastic broke. In truth, one had to feel some sympathy for the stalwarts who won the treble in defeat.
At half-time, the team was booed and, considering what those Americans brought to the club, they found it difficult. But of course, it wasn’t about them. This anger from the stands, even if it was partly directed at referee Kevin Clancy, stemmed from the terrible paints of the last trade market that provided projects that couldn’t help, left those guys exposed in the trenches and in the end tense to the breaking point.
In the second half, anger localized its target: the Hierarchy. The chants of “Sack the Board” were reminiscent of the early 1990s, which was entirely appropriate, as was Celtic’s performance. People have expressed bitter and constant angst about the directors’ platform. President Peter Lawwell’s call is constantly mentioned.
At full time, most of the seats around the plaza were as empty as the tanks of the older stars. McGregor had every speaking right and quality call from Rodgers. No one deserves help more than an employer who was practically begging for help after this painful debacle.
It’s not just about minutes and workload. It’s all about the intellectual aspect. It’s about knowing that there’s someone on your side who can ease some of the burden and not leave you with everything. McGregor and O’Riley had Reo Hatate and Aaron Mooy alongside them last season to ease the pressure. The Japanese would bring magic to win matches. The Aussie may take time to get them out.
With one wounded and one pensioner, there is no one there anymore. The two men fight alone. In December, it was they who had to save him at St Johnstone, the only ones who continued to fight last weekend at Kilmarnock and pushed him against Feyennord. It’s too much. It took its toll.
Odin Thiago Holm, Paulo Bernardo, the wonderful warm-up of the weekend on the bench, Kwon Hyeok-kyu. Nobody did enough in midfield and David Turnbull no longer had any influence. He held on at half-time. While Oh Hyeon-gyu has been slow to catch up this season, Kyogo, with Giorgos Giakoumakis never replaced, has had to take all the batting burden off his shoulders in the early months of the season. Oh scored a few goals in the last six weeks, but the horse had gotten away.
Kyogo was already flagging and one goal from his last 12 games tells you the livewire electricity has shorted. Jota left. Not replaced adequately. Liel Abada’s long-term absence has just exposed that further with Yang Hyun-jan miles from their standard and Marco Tillo barely sighted.
That led to Mikey Johnston’s retirement, but the way he was pushed during the first half was almost torturous. Two defensive signings, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Nat Phillips, were sitting on the bench when Rodgers had to turn to Feyenoord’s opponent Stephen Welsh. The third, Maik Nawrocki, has disappeared.
Hart has played well this season, but he’s also made mistakes and we’re not putting pressure on him. A true challenger to No. 1 wasn’t hired this summer, when he was.
Even side-wrestlers Alistair Johnston and Greg Taylor have lost their dynamism. The Canadian is a far cry from the grades he showed when he arrived and the Scottish foreigner has to update himself every time because Alexandro Bernabei is simply not fit. position to update it, a fact that became clear a year ago.
Of the nine players signed this summer, only Luis Palma has made a decent impact. However, when they were 2-0 down (thanks to Lawrence Shankland’s unmarked header from a corner and Stephen Kingsley’s excellent free-kick) there was an hour to go. and Barnabas replacing him, only underlined the gravity of the situation. That’s when the enthusiasts fell for it.
That’s how Celtic, with their wealth on the bench and their position of strength on the park six months ago, ended up in this situation. Hiring manager Mark Lawwell and his team want to do much better. Last summer’s efforts were a calamity across the team.
Rodgers, of course, has to approve those endorsements and took responsibility for this weekend’s performance by apologizing to the fans. There’s a school of ideas that even if they didn’t give him the tools, he was still able to figure it out.
Only he knows, for example, why he decided to start with Johnston when Maeda got back into shape. But, with his most influential players dwindling and no one under pressure, the coach loses advantage over his most important players even before taking into account the lack of influence of his potential replacements.
Celtic want a big January to breathe life into Rodgers and revitalise those key men. The biggest concern for Celtic is that by the time decent new players come along, the team’s bigwigs could already be exhausted for the season.