Celtic v Ajax – Man by Man!

Thanks to  Scoobs aka Enda for this contribution

Celtic v Ajax – Man by Man (and are they good enough?)

A man-by-man assessment of the starting eleven from last night with the added question of ‘are they good enough?’  at this level. Or are we kidding ourselves on.

Fraser Forster – Once again the Englishman was arguably the difference in winning the game for Celtic. He smothered the effort of Serero with the game delicately balanced in Celtic’s favour and soon after the Hoops doubled their advantage. That aside, despite the protestation of the Ajax manager, Forster was underworked.

Is he good enough? Unquestionably yes. Forster has grown immeasurably since joining from Newcastle’s reserves. He is prone to the odd lapse during domestic action but he can consider himself a victim of circumstance there. In the cauldron of the Champions League, Forster consistently performs mini-heroics. Celtic will do well to hold on to him.

Mikael Lustig – Another solid night for the dependable Swede. He offered assistance to Forrest going forward, got his crosses in and defended with the kind of solidity we are coming to expect.

Is he good enough? A theme that will run across the backline, Lustig is part of a functioning Celtic defence. With memories of ‘The Sieve’ not yet gone, that is in itself an achievement. Good enough to do his job without attracting the hawks of a transfer to England, this is the type of player Celtic should covet.

Emilio Izzaguirre – A much improved night for a man who now flatters to deceive quite often. Ajax were content to retain possession in front of Celtic and this contributed to a relatively straightforward night for our full backs who were also getting decent protection from the midfield. His crossing remains a worry but that perhaps is down to a lack of aerial threat to aim at. Tries hard going forward and clearly relishes the Champions League nights.

Is he good enough? Pass marks once again for Emilio, but gone are the days when we had to consider our options if the likes of Man United put an offer on the table. Seems a far cry now that they might have offered close to 10 million pounds for his services. Prone to being out of position due to a penchant for getting to the opposition byline; that’s an occupational hazard.  He still belongs at this level. Just.

Virgil van Dijk – Continues to impress. His partnership with Ambrose is flourishing with each passing game and both men retain a coolness in possession that Gary Caldwell could only try to tell you he had. Typical Dutch, van Dijk seems to know instinctively when to punt it clear and when he has, or can create, time and space on the ball.

Is he good enough? That night in Kazakhstan you’d have laughed at the suggestion, but van Dijk already looks a clever piece of business by Neil Lennon and his backroom team. He is assured in what he does and young enough to continue on an upward curve. The best compliment I can pay him right now is that of the three ‘key men’ we lost in the summer, Kelvin Wilson is missed the least. If anything, we’ve upgraded.

Efe Ambrose – Alongside his Dutch partner, Ambrose is beginning to look like one half of the central defensive partnership we have been craving since Mjallby, Balde and company departed the scene (Bobo didn’t quite depart as linger forever but he didn’t create the contract!). Ambrose also has a tasty knack of dribbling the ball well beyond the half way line at times and this can create havoc against opposition expecting a simple pass to a full back.

Is he good enough? Forgetting his nightmarish Juve experience when Lennon chose to put him on the field still carrying his boarding pass, Ambrose has been a revelation. Like Lustig, we should hope he stays under the radar of potential suitors and be glad we have him. A central defender is only as good as the partner he can trust. This looks promising.

Beram Kayal – Considering how little game-time he has enjoyed, Kayal was heroic. His confidence visibly grew following the wonder strike that made it 2-0 to the good guys. The wee spin away from his man in the centre circle, drive forward and stinging shot after the hour mark I don’t believe would have happened before his goal. Let’s hope he can build on it.

Is he good enough? On his day, undoubtedly, but getting him on it remains the problem. Injuries, loss of form and Victor Wanyama have ensured Kayal’s promising Celtic career stalled somewhat. He clearly has the talent. Lennon must find some way of coaxing out the determination and hard work to bring it out of him consistently. A managerial “project” if ever there was one.

Charlie Mulgrew – the usual from Charlie. Hard work and application but always that ‘yard off the pace’ at this level. His set pieces remain his most potent weapon and he won’t let anyone down but the feeling persists that he is a sitting duck in the Champions League. Things slow down when Charlie gets the ball.

Is he good enough? If we are to become the consistent Champions League team we long to be, then no. Mulgrew is lacking, especially as a midfielder, at this level. He almost always seems rushed in possession and often concedes the ball back. As a unit in midfield, he weakens the chain. A useful squad man, and capable of a shift in the Champions League, but long term we must seek more.

James Forrest – His penalty was fabulous given the antics of the Ajax delegation beforehand. As noted in The Diary, that he stayed injury free while all that went on was a relief in itself. Forrest always posed a threat to Ajax when he got the ball. Adding goals – not just from 12 yards – to his repertoire is helping young James progress nicely.

Is he good enough? For me the jury was always out on Forrest. Seems to be injured more often than not and I couldn’t really see what he was bringing to the party. Or at least I couldn’t see enough of it. Last night in the second half he picked up the ball, ran at his full back, Blind, and took about five yards out of him over 20 yards to cross into a dangerous area. In that moment the penny fell. He is a talent. A precocious one right now, but we need to nurture him along and let him grow. Exciting prospect.

Georgios Samaras – I’m with The Diary on the Greek. One of those nights I thought where he failed to impress. Running with the blinkers on most times (never more so than when he ran straight over the sideline!). Despite it all, he ghosts past his man and into the box to create the second goal. That’s the thing with Sammy…you just never know.

Is he good enough? No. Yes. No. Yes. Maybe. Oh Lord you frustrating man. Right now, Sammy is on the crest of a good PR wave. Pundits have decided he is exciting because you never know what he will do. Champions League opposition have decided they had better take caution in case he does something great. It’s getting harder therefore for him to be creative as teams double up but he is still trying. Probably unfair comparing anyone to Larsson, but remember how he used to pick the ball up out wide, run at a man and essentially  “win” a free for the team. Dangerous position and a chance to regroup. Sammy just seems to run into them. He will never be Henrik Larsson, but he’s doing just fine.

Teemu Pukki – got on the ball, twisted and turned quite a bit in central positions and tried to bring full backs and wingers into play. Aside from swinging a boot at Lustig’s first half cross though he didn’t worry the Ajax keeper. Short on evidence but he doesn’t seem blessed with much pace.

Is he good enough? It’s too early to say of course, and the man deserves a chance to prove himself. This isn’t a personal criticism but overall last night in the final third, Celtic just didn’t carry enough threat. It is the toughest commodity to find in football of course, goals, but you get a gut feeling when a team at least poses the threat of finding the net. Replacing Hooper is Lennon’s biggest challenge and may require Lawwell’s biggest cheque. This is the Champions League – we aren’t f**kin about now! This problem relates to us becoming a regular at the party, season in season out.

Anthony Stokes – Like Pukki, pace is not his friend. Stokes has stepped up admirably since Hooper left the building. His late surge put Karagandy out and his ‘game-awareness’ allowed him invite that tackle on last night to win the penalty. The question mark hanging over the Celtic forward line this morning must be, had the penalty not come when it did, what would the final outcome have been?

Stokes is certainly trying to grasp his chance, but it is doubtful that he will ever possess that cutting edge to find himself scoring goals regularly in the group stage of the Champions League.

Is he good enough? That last statement is the crux of the argument. Where does the Celtic manager truly believe goals will come from in Europe? If we play 3 more group games this season and 6 next term, do any of us see the current strikers hitting four or five goals in open play?

The main ingredient missing is Hooper’s pace. He was the differential. He also had the striking talent of shooting on site. Sometimes to the detriment of the team but overall that’s what a potent goalscorer does. In Stokes, Pukki and Balde, something is missing.

In summary –

Lennon needs assistance. Sure the squad is stretched and we can look to welcome back Commons, Brown, Ledley, Matthews and Boerrigter. None of them will solve the deficiency in the final third.

Lennon’s tactics and organization – as well as the players willingness to carry them out – mean we now pose a credible threat away from home. We are not cannon fodder any longer. On that basis along the Celtic boss deserves the board’s backing as he tries to locate the fabled ‘blue chip’ striker.  That little bit of quality is the key piece missing in what is otherwise a very pleasing jigsaw for those of us partial to a pair of green tinted glasses.