Taylor’s Debut: Defensive Options Improved

Amidst the flurry of key games – European triumphs, Cup Sem Finals and so forth – the debut of Taylor slipped largely unnoticed.

He made his Celtic bow in the midweek home game against St. Mirren, in his customary left back role. The form of Bolingoli allied to the variation Hayes brings off the bench has restricted his chances. With a hectic December to come, more appearances may follow, however.

The first thing to say is that he may bring greater defensive solidity than other options Celtic have. A one game sample is not reliable, especially against bottom side St Mirren.

Defensive Performance

But, as a first impression, his overall Defensive Action Success rate of 64% is higher than the average for any other full back this season. He was successful with 9 challenges / interceptions, behind only Jullien (12). He also won back possession from his defensive actions 7 times, more than any other player. With 15 recoveries, he was only behind the two centre backs.

Overall then an encouraging start against the core metrics for his position. St Mirren were one of the more expressive teams Celtic have played, with some neat passing movements. They tried to get the ball wide to Magennis and Durmus where possible, so the full backs got a good work out for Celtic.

Creative Performance

We saw from this brief appearance that going forward may not be such a strength for Taylor. His pass completion was ok (80%) and his overall involvement was less than the other defenders and midfielders bar Forrest.

He did provide 2 key passes to create chances, 1 more than the other defenders. The best was an inside pass to Elyounoussi on 65 minutes for a blocked shot.

He only managed 4 Pack Passes – forward passes that take opponents out the game. Bolingoli averages 6.98 per 90m. Also, with no Pack Dribbles and only 1 progressive run, he showed scant evidence he is an effective ball carrier from the back. Bolingoli averages 3.64 forward carries per 90m.

However, he got forward well and managed 5 possessions in the box compared to 0 by Bauer. He also led the team with 14 Pack Receives – being on the end of 14 forward passes that took opponents out. This shows good movement and ability to find space.

When he got the ball wide, he attempted 9 crosses, all unsuccessful. Bauer, for example, completed 2 of his 9 crosses.

Compared to his more experienced right back partner, Taylor had the higher overall Impect (82 to 27), the higher Expected Scoring Contribution (0.44 to 0.102) and the higher CAT Score (7 to 1).

Summary

This was a really encouraging debut from Taylor. He looks more defensively solid as a left back option. Attacking wise, he may not more the ball forwards as effectively as Bolingoli but he worked hard to get involved in the final third and it will take some time to get used to Celtic’s attacking patterns.

Again, it is only one game, but even this brings a lot of data!

I hope we see more of him.