Wilson that is. But let’s start with Thomas and Chico and the rest of the Celtic defence for that matter and then we’ll come back to Kelvin later. Like many of you I’m sure I used to wince and cover my eyes when a long ball bounced through the Celtic back line. Bloody murder it was, watching as the big back line tried to flail the ball away as Fraser Forster tettered on his line indecisively.
But I’m over that now. And so are they, which is the most important thing. The Celtic defence in the past 10 games or so has had a new ring of confidence and that’s what I’m really planning to talk about.
Confidence. That’s the thing that was so lacking before. Only now they all seem to have it. Everyone. To the last man. *Crosses fingers.
It played an important part in the overhaul of Rangers in the SPL and at Celtic Park on 28 December. The whole Celtic team have begun to play with passion and a new-found flair but it has all seemingly been underpinned by this newly-minted self belief that hadn’t shown itself since last season and even then it was a faint and frankly fragile thing.
Confidence eh? And why now I hear you ask? Put it this way, it’s just one of those things that you have or haven’t got but when you haven’t you’re really in big trouble in anything in life. But, like you, I know it when I see it, and I’ve seen quite a bit of it at Celtic Park and on my Sony flatscreen TV with Craig Burley permanently on mute.
For the Celtic defence confidence started to come back some time in November and it was confidence and that confidently saved penalty that was never a penalty in the first place, against Hearts, that was the defining moment. Easy to talk about turning points but Fraser Forster hasn’t been the same man since. He’s grown an extra foot in height for a start and he then went on to give his best ever performance in a Celtic shirt against Udinese in the very next Celtic game.
Rangers thuggery can sometimes seem like the nasty tired old tag team wrestlers that used to feature on Dicky Davies era World of Sport compared to the fiery knuckle-duster thuggery that calls itself Heart of Midlothian. Beating Hearts convincingly but with a small goal margin and that all important saved late penalty was just the thing the Celtic team needed and the manner of the win seemed to bring the whole squad together.
Young Thomas Rogne has just oozed confidence when he has played in the back four, expecially against ‘them’, while Charlie Mulgrew has been even better than last season now that he’s matured and refound his regular place in the heart of the defence. With Emilio Izaguirre coming back after such a long break too it must give the whole team added confidence as they seek to extend their winning run.
Even Big Dan and Loovens were getting the vibe before they went out through ill-timed injuries and then there’s Victor Wanyama. It’s Victor’s style and technique that always seems to give him confidence on the ball no matter how sticky the situation.
But it’s the flowing play from the back that seems to be the hallmark of the Celtic style. Adam Matthews matches Izzy’s darting attacking play perfectly and it should be fun to see them carving though opposition defences on separate flanks. While Mikael Lustig adds a further dimension and after his short winter break he should really find a place in the starting eleven – a grungy Pearl Jam right-footed version of Izzy. With Kayal out for the rest of the season I wonder if Lennon will think of using the versatile Matthews in midfield where his strong tackling and incisive passing could bring added steel?
We’ve been here before I know but a bit of extra quality in the side during this transfer window could make all the difference. An exciting striker Hamdi ‘The Bomber’ Salihi has been linked with Celtic since the end of last week and the exciting young Icelandic winger Ingolfur Sigurdsson has been on trail this week at Lennoxtown and with current players returning to full fitness, which may or may not include Kris Commons, there must be a confident air about the whole team right about now.
Which bring us back to Kelvin. Having recently returned after injury Kelvin Wilson is only just coming back into the team. Against ‘them’ at Ibrox in September young Kelvin lost his cool and lost his shape and like one or two others it has to be said he seemed to bottle it as long balls rained down in the Celtic penalty box.
Kelvin needs his confidence fully restored and one thing in his favour is that he’s coming back into a team, and a back four, that are simply reeking of confidence and his return is giving much-needed defensive options to his manager. All Kelvin needs is to go with the flow and he’ll soon be as cool and calm as he first appeared before the Ibrox storm.
And now there’s no more talking needed. It’s time to get stuck in!
No comments:
Post a Comment