‘Not acceptable’ – what’s going wrong at Celtic?

‘Not acceptable’ – what’s going wrong at Celtic?

Why are Hearts delivering back-to-back losses while the reigning champions, Celtic, faltering?

It doesn’t take much for exaggeration to dominate stories about Celtic.

A tie is a calamity; a win is a catastrophe. League losses in a row? An emergency.

It’s not, in fact. Still. Yes,

Rangers trail the reigning Scottish Premiership winners by five points with two games remaining,

especially considering that Celtic lost to Kilmarnock and Hearts in the span of seven days.

However, one of those games won’t be played by the Ibrox team until after the winter break.

In addition, there’s the important matter of an Old Firm match to be played prior to the break,

so Celtic is still very much in control of their future.

But Celtic fans—many of whom left Saturday’s game early

find themselves wondering why their side is in this situation.

And following Saturday’s disastrous 2-0 loss to Hearts,

manager Brendan Rodgers felt compelled to make “an apology to the support,

” saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever had to do that in all my time here.”

“The performance today was nowhere near the level of what is expected of a Celtic player and a Celtic team.”

It’s safe to say that in his second stint at the club,

the incredibly seasoned Rodgers is up against a different kind of battle.

From 2016 until the beginning of 2019,

Rodgers’ Celtic side won seven straight domestic titles, only lost eight Premiership games (including one at home),

and Aberdeen was, for the most part, their main rival during that period.

Celtic has lost three fewer games in the league this season than it did under Ange Postecoglou,

having dropped 12 points thus far.

This is the first time the team has lost consecutive games in the league since 2013.

Insufficient “free-flowing football”

The Northern Irishman has bemoaned Celtic’s lack of consistency in recent weeks.

He said that he was “not surprised” by Celtic’s clumsy performance following the Hearts setback.

According to former Scotland forward James McFadden,

“there has to be a concern because they aren’t playing their usual free-flowing football,”

that BBC Scotland reported.

“They didn’t suddenly turn into a terrible team.

That quick pass, that mobility, or even the willingness to go in behind don’t appear to exist.

It seems like Celtic is constantly searching for the ideal opening, but it’s not happening right now.”

“True rift” between supporters and the board

In fact, Michael Stewart scored the game-winning goal for Hearts during their 2009 victory at Celtic Park.

He watched the game on Saturday and was taken aback by the excitement within the stadium.

He said on BBC Sportsound, “After the first goal, there were a few folk having words with the board.”

“Stewards’ later attempts to defuse the situation simply made it more tense.

“The gamblers believe they ought to have the right to express their views.

Things grew hotter in front of us as individuals started getting into fights.

The main issue was that there appeared to be a clear gulf between the lower class [board] members and their visitors.

It all boils back to the idea that the board ought to do better since they have money and haven’t spent it.”

Celtic does have money, despite its substantial summer expenditures.

The most recent financial results showed a profit of more than £40 million.

The team is scheduled to make additions in January;

Rodgers has emphasised the need of bringing in top players while also realising that players must go.

Summer signees finding it difficult to play

Paulo Bernardo, Odin Holm, Yang Hyun-jun,

Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Marco Tilio, and Gustaf Lagerbielke

who scored the game-winning goal against Feyenoord midweek

have all made occasional appearances for the team. On Saturday, the latter did not even make the squad.

The fact that Liel Abada, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, and Daizen Maeda

all mainstays of the Postecoglou era—have missed prolonged stints due to injuries hasn’t helped.

Rodgers’ message following Saturday’s game was evident,

regardless of the formation that the team chooses when 2023 ends and 2024 begins.

“It always starts for me against the ball and when it’s so passive and you are not aggressive enough,

that for me is always your desire and how much you want to win the game,” he stated.

“That mindset, lack of consistency, and lack of ambition is far,

far below what this club expects. Sitting there in the middle of December with 60,000 in your account,

that’s how you operate. That is not appropriate.

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