A tale of three centre backs. Celtic’s second most expensive Summer import was Carl Starfelt at a reported £4.5m from Rubin Kazan. After Furuhashi, this was a big investment by Postecoglou. Many studied the data, including me, and thought, “he’s not an aerially dominant behemoth like Jullien”, but looks a good fit for what we … [continue reading]
Player Performance
Not As Expected
I still maintain the biggest issue Celtic have faced this season is not finishing off their chances. There are undoubtedly many concerns for Postecoglou to address: A settled defence First choice left back Curing the hamstring epidemic How to operate a midfield with no natural “8”s The never-ending striker shortage Lack of aerial presence in … [continue reading]
McCarthy: A VERY Specific Skillset
Arguably James McCarthy had the most effective game of his fledgling Celtic career, away St Johnstone. Filling in amongst a COVID and injury ravaged squad, he fulfilled the sitting midfield role (or “6”) in a midfield three. Saintly McCarthy Some of his numbers were eye catching in that ultimately comfortable win. He led the team … [continue reading]
The Johnston Conundrum
A quick piece on Michael Johnston given the furore following the St Mirren game. According to FotMob he led the team with 0.46 xG and 0.26 xA giving an Expected Scoring Contribution (xSC) of 0.72. This is slightly below his average of 0.8. And, of course, this yielded 1 assist and 0 goals – leaving … [continue reading]
A Glimpse of McCarthy
It has been a frustrating start to Celtic life for James McCarthy. Injury and illness have limited him to just over 400 minutes of action. Sunday saw his first 90 minutes for his childhood heroes, against Aberdeen. It was an odd changing of the guard, with Scott Brown patrolling the same zone for the visitors. … [continue reading]
Juranovic’s Debut
Croatian right back Juranovic made his Celtic debut at left back in the recent Derby. He became the latest new recruit thrown in with barely a training session, and in a position he has populated 5 times in over 200 appearances (Transfermarkt). Such expediency has been thrust upon Postecoglou due to the enormous challenge to … [continue reading]
The Abada – Turnbull Shoot Out
Many great performances against St Mirren at the weekend. The Hartson selected candidates for Bhoy of the Match were Abada and Turnbull and online Celtic selected Turnbull. Here’s my data-driven comparison. Goal Threat Turnbull managed his first Celtic hattrick off 8 shots, 4 on target. This was double Abada’s output. Abada managed an astonishing 14 … [continue reading]
Ralston, Taylor and Remembering Why Celtic By Numbers Started
In the aftermath of the AZ Alkmaar first leg, Celtic’s home-grown full back, Ralston, continued his “local underdog comes good” narrative arc with a performance that included some notable interventions. Bad Habits On The Huddle Breakdown last week, recorded after the AZ game, (follow the link to listen, and please subscribe to the channel – … [continue reading]
Starfelt’s Start
Early term centre back issues for Celtic are as regular as the seasons themselves, but nothing has prepared us for the current plight. Forced to play an 18-year-old and 21-year-old in Champions League qualification eclipses even the Hendry-Simunovic axis as a head-behind-hands moment for Celtic fans. Into that context was thrown Carl Starfelt, 26, a … [continue reading]
Celtic’s Bane
The goalkeeping question is one of a long list of defensive conundrums for Postecoglou to resolve. With Barkas at fault in his only on target engagement versus Midtjylland, followed by poor positioning in conceding to West Ham United, his fierce critics are even more vociferous than normal. Goalkeeping data is similar to defending data. We … [continue reading]