Cameron Carter Vicker is Celtic’ s most important player.
I’m not saying he’s the most skilful or the most talented in terms of ability. That’s a label reserved for a Callum McGregor or a Jota. But, in terms of importance to the side and being missed when he isn’t there, Carter-Vickers has long been in the irreplaceable category.
That’s why shelling out £6 million in the summer to get him permanently was a key priority. If they were to lose him for the upcoming double-header against RB Leipzig, it would be a brutal blow for the team in terms of Celtic’s Champions League qualification ambitions. You only had to look at events in Paisley last weekend to see what happens when he’s not around. One goal lost in the Premiership in six games up to that point with the American international at the heart of the backline. Take him out for just 90 minutes, two are lost and so is the game. I don’t want to be hammering Stephen Welsh, but, quite frankly, Celtic don’t lose that second goal against St Mirren if Carter-Vickers is there.
He deals with that ball on his six-yard line. Postecoglou needs him back and he needs him back urgently. Any extended absence would be a nightmare for the manager.
The Celtic boss has been back in his homeland this week to promote the Sydney Sports Cup and I’m sure he’ll have spent a lot of time on the lengthy flights there and back thinking about planning about how he approaches the next batch of fixtures.
It’s going to be hectic before the World Cup and, of course, he is going to have to utilise his squad. Having options is good. Having two players for every position is an ideal situation. It means changes can be made without too much disruption. Or it should.
Perhaps it is the sheer volume of changes for a single game that he will look at in the future. Listen, last Sunday was always a day that could happen. Teams have to lose at some point. Not even Manchester City can win every week.
Postecoglou and his team did a magnificent job to go 38 games in the top-flight without defeat, so an off-day was inevitable. There have been games during that run where Celtic didn’t perform as they could and got over the line either with a single goal or they managed to dig out a draw from a below-par show. St Mirren away last season, for example, was a perfect example on the same ground where it went wrong for them six days ago.
Carter-Vickers and Jota could both have started and they might still have lost. However, when I look at this Celtic team, I see certain players who must be in there if at all possible.
Of course, many will disagree with me and point to the fact that Postecoglou made nine changes for a cup-tie against Ross County earlier in the season and got the game won 4-1. That’s fair enough. It’s just my opinion that some need to play for the team to really fire.
Carter-Vickers is one, obviously, for the reasons I have stated. Jota is another. He’s a match winner and he has the ability to take guys out of the game in one-on-one situations.
Everyone knew St Mirren were going to sit compact. There was no room for runners in behind. It was going to take something special, a trick. And I’m not sure if that is Daizen Maeda’s game.
McGregor is another who I now feel has to be in that midfield pivot position. He does things quickly. He’s always on the half turn and the speed of the pass is crisp. It gets Celtic going through the lines.
Aaron Mooy is neat and tidy. It’s not that he’s a poor replacement. It’s just that McGregor is so good at what he does and the pace in which he does it.
That’s not having a go at Mooy, it’s simply that anyone other than the captain in that specific role is a step down. You saw it midweek for Scotland. He was magnificent against Ukraine. Moving it with purpose at just the right times.
McGregor can play anywhere, but it’s to the detriment of Celtic’s team speed of play if he’s not the one getting things moving. Reo Hatate is another I don’t think they can do without now. This boy has real talent. You can argue that he doesn’t last full games, but he’s got that thrust.
I really like those little darting runs he makes into the left channel of the box. Like the one he made in Warsaw to get the goal against Shakhtar Donetsk. A midfielder making that move in behind defenders getting them on the turn and allowing the wide guys like Liel Abada, or Jota, Maeda and the striker to have a chance to meet a cutback.
Hatate did it when he came on against Saints. Before that, the game was being played in front of Stephen Robinson’s team. They barely turned once.
I have to say, I felt a bit sorry for Giorgis Giakoumakis not to get a start. With so many alterations, the Greek must have thought he’d get the nod. The game was already getting away from Celtic by the time he appeared.
Celtic can’t cope with just 12 or 13 players through a gruelling season. It’s why having that strong squad of theirs is an obvious positive. Having Anthony Ralston, for example, to come in for Josip Jyranovic, O’Riley or Turnbull, Abada or Meada, Kyogo or Giakoumakis. These are brilliant options to have.
You would have to hope the players were angry at themselves. Not for losing. But for the manner of the loss. The performance was not a hallmark of the Aussie.
But maybe Postecoglou will look at that going forward and wonder if it is wise to make too many at the one time. That’s for him to decide. He’s not got much wrong in his tenure, that’s for sure.
He can certainly be excused for a misstep, a poor performance and be trusted to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again. But I just think certain guys have to be in there if at all possible. And Carter-Vickers is most certainly one of them. The quicker he’s back, the better for Celtic.
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