Who was Celtic's last commanding centre half?

After watching Celtic’s dismal performance in Sunday’s derby game, I think it’s fair to say that none of the players involved would receive pass marks. They were outplayed and outfought in all areas of the pitch and one of the most disappointing things was the lack of fight shown by the team.

However, the two main scapegoats are once again the familiar faces of Georgios Samaras and Glenn Loovens. A lot has been made of Neil Lennon’s team selection and his insistence on picking Samaras in the bigger games is a subject that has been covered several times over by both the fans and the media.

For that reason I don’t really feel the need to start another discussion on the matter because it seems everything that can be said already has been. The issue for me is the lack of quality central defenders at the club, and that doesn’t just mean Loovens.

How many times have we heard managers and football pundits talk about how important it is to have a solid “spine” of the team? A good central defensive pairing can have a massively positive effect on the rest of the team and I’m struggling to think of even one Celtic centre-half who could be classed as quality over the past few years.

If I’m brutally honest I would say you have to go back as far as Balde, Mjallby and Valgaeren. Every central defender we have had since these three have been questionable to say the least. Obviously this is all subjective and other people will have their own opinions on what makes a good centre-half but can anyone honestly think of a centre back who has played consistently well for Celtic?

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From Stephen McManus and Gary Caldwell to Jos Hooiveld and Thomas Rogne, every name seems to conjure up memories of awful mistakes and games in which they have been dominated by opposition players. The only possible exception may be John Kennedy who certainly looked the part but seeing as he only made 28 appearances in ten years then it’s difficult to say with any certainty how good he may have been.

Celtic fans are often guilty of thinking that players are better than they are because they have NOT been playing. One particular example that comes to mind was a few years back when Caldwell and McManus were having a particularly bad run of games and a lot of people were calling for the return of Darren O’Dea, who was on loan at Reading at the time.

His absence had somehow transformed him from a player who was not good enough for Celtic to our “best central defender” and the answer to our defensive problems. However, the fact that he has been sent out on loan every year since shows that was obviously not the case.

Which begs the question why do Celtic find it so difficult to get a decent centre-half? Of the current crop, everyone seems to be in agreement that Loovens is not capable of doing a job. For me, Daniel Majstorovic is too slow, is poor in the air for a man of his size and far too often makes rash decisions, as evidenced by his sending off in Switzerland.

Rogne looked impressive in the New Year derby last season but hasn’t exactly been a stand-out in his other appearances and doesn’t appear to feature in Lennon’s plans. And then there’s Kelvin Wilson. Personally, I think Wilson was the biggest disappointment of Sunday’s game and has lead me and many others to question how good he really is.

Before the derby, he looked relatively composed and comfortable playing in the team and without looking like a world-beater, certainly seemed to be our best central defender and quite an astute signing by Lennon. And then came that game at Ibrox. I don’t know whether the atmosphere got the better of him but he had an absolute shocker and was at fault for at least two of the goals. Add into the equation the two dreadful pass backs to Fraser Forster and it made for a rather worrying display from the Englishman.

Charlie Mulgrew is many fans preferred choice at centre-half and he definitely seemed to be comfortable in that position when he played there last year but he only got a handful of games and Lennon would really need to give him a run in the team in order for him to make that position his own.

It’s not for me to decide who Lennon plays in the middle and whether or not he needs to sign more cover but the one thing that is apparent to every Celtic fan is that we can’t afford to let our two centre-halves be dominated in such commanding fashion as they were by Nikica Jelavic and Kyle Lafferty on Sunday.

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