Celtic play Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Cup Final and for the sixth time this season. With the full SPFL calendar completed, we can compare performances over the season. SPFL Form Celtic finished Champions for the 8th consecutive season whilst Hearts finished 6th. Hearts finished 36 points behind Celtic, and indeed, thanks to the … [continue reading]
Team Performance
Trophy Day 8
For the 8th season in a row, the final home game of the season will see the presentation of the SPFL trophy to Celtic, the Champions. Much like the title clincher where Celtic average 4.5 goals over the last 8 seasons, Celtic usually enjoy Trophy Day. Last season saw a 0-1 reverse to Aberdeen, their … [continue reading]
Cross Yourself And Hope For The Best
The one tactical nuance introduced by Lennon has been a greater emphasis on crossing balls from the flanks into the box. On average, Celtic attempted 15.8 crosses per match under Rodgers and this is now 24 under Lennon. Lennon has seemed visibly frustrated at some of the build up play from Celtic. Under Rodgers they … [continue reading]
Has Lennon Changed Celtic’s Style Of Play?
After struggling to break down Dundee, Lennon spoke about changing Celtic’s “slow and pedestrian” style of play. When he returned as manager, he initially spoke of changing little. So, four games in, what has been the impact of Lennon on Celtic’s style of play? Lennon has had three tough away games as well as a … [continue reading]
Learning Averse Celtic Edge Towards Euro Exit
Celtic meekly surrendered a 2-goal deficit against a compact and well organised Valencia side in the Europa League. Lessons continue to go unlearned at this level. German Lesson This match was similar to one from Rodger’s first European campaign with the Hoops. In the 0-2 reverse at home to a talented by avowedly European middle-class … [continue reading]
Learning Lessons From Losses
In 2 ½ seasons, Rodgers has lost just 8 domestic matches. Half of them were in the initial part of this current season. There were none in his first 16 months of Scottish matches but 8 in the last 13 months. What can we learn from those defeats? Defeats A reminder of the domestic loses, … [continue reading]
Rodgers No Better Than Deila (If You Don’t Count The Trophies)
At the macro level the key performance requirements have been met: But looking purely at match results, the team is not improving. Pts% is calculated assigning 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw to assess every result. It is far more powerful than Win% which completely disregards draws. My data collection started … [continue reading]
The European Gulf
Celtic qualified for the knockout stages of European competition for the second season in a row, finishing 2 points above RB Leipzig. Easy (*not easy*). Do the numbers help to illustrate the gulf between this standard of opposition and that Celtic come across in Scotland? Of course! Creativity By combining two metrics illustrative of creativity, … [continue reading]
Celtic Speed Towards A Future Without Brown
The emergence of McGregor and Christie at the heart of midfield has undoubtedly reenergised Celtic. To the eye they play quicker and with more forward thrust. This has largely come about through serendipity. The injuries to captain Brown and others forced this arrangement. We may have a great manager but do we also have a … [continue reading]
Passing Into The Danger Zone
Danger Zone (DZ) Passes are those completed into the area most likely to yield a goal. The DZ is the width of the 6 yard box and the depth of the 18 yard box. Shots taken from here are more likely to result in goals by Expected Goals (xG) models. These types of passes are … [continue reading]