Pundit and former player Darren Jackson has recently talked about Celtic’s issues under Neil Lennon so far this season.
Jackson was a guest on the latest episode of PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show and the panel discussed multiple issues involving Scottish football. One topic of discussion was Celtic and their recent form. Jackson talked about how the lack of two strikers up front has been a concern for Lennon as that had reaped rewards for them last season – while he bemoaned the departure of former goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Forster left the club for a second time this summer as his loan move from Southampton was not extended. The £4.05m-rated goalkeeper had enjoyed a successful temporary return to Celtic last term, with his match-winning display in the Old Firm League Cup final in December arguably the highlight.
Have the absences of Griffiths and Edouard been Celtic's main problem this season?
Yes
No
The Hoops have failed to win a single game out of their last three outings in all competitions. Jackson believes that the fact that Lennon hasn’t had Forster at his disposal has hindered the team’s progress this year, although he made a point of injuries meaning the Celtic boss has been unable to play a two-striker system that worked so well last season.
He said: “When they came back last year, they changed it to a 3-5-2 and that won the league. And because just now, the biggest thing is he can’t get his two strikers upfront. That is the main problem. Yeah, it is probably the goalkeeper – Forster, they’ve not got him.
“When you look at the clubs around the country just now; everyone thinks Liverpool will win the league, no bother. Van Dijk gets injured, Liverpool might not win the league. Aguero, De Bruyne, Silva’s missing from Man City, struggling. So you miss big players and Lenny’s missing those two big players.”
TIF Thoughts on Darren Jackson’s comments about Celtic…
Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard had played regularly for Celtic in the second half of the 2019/20 campaign and during that period, they had contributed to a fair amount of goals, too – with 30 league goals between the pair.
Meanwhile, Forster is yet to make an appearance for Southampton in any competition this term – and replacement Vasilis Barkas has come under fire in recent weeks.
It therefore seems that Celtic have been unable to maintain the rhythm that saw them secure a ninth consecutive league title last season and Jackson’s concerns over the Bhoys missing ‘big players’ such as Forster appear to carry some weight.