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Celtic Hit The Ground Running – Here’s What We Expect From The Upcoming Season

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A Look Back At Last Season

Last season was very much a journey with Ange Postecoglou building a team and squad while knowing that bedding in time in Glasgow is extremely limited.

Taking 10 points from the first seven matches saw Celtic in the bottom half of the Premiership table but 6-0 home wins over Dundee and St Mirren with Kyogo Furuhashi on fire gave the fans plenty of hope even if points weren’t piling up. In fact, Celtic had their single worst start to a season in 23 years . A frantic Deadline Day that brought Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Giorgos Giakoumakis to the club proved pivotal.   

October looked awkward but a win at Aberdeen ended the seven month wait for three points on the road, following that up by winning away to Hibs and Motherwell sent out a message and installed momentum.

Bringing forward the winter break to start on December 27 proved beneficial, the year was ended on a high with the announcement of three more J-League signings in Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi.

On February 2 Celtic went to the top, winning the Glasgow derby in style with the atmosphere inside the stadium suggesting that something special was about to happen- three months later and taking the unbeaten run to 32 the SPFL trophy was lifted by Callum McGregor.

What Changed At Celtic In 2021

There were a few things that unsettled the team last year, leading to the rocky start. The turmoil left by Neil Lennon wasn’t going to be fixed overnight as loan players were returned, star names looked for transfers to England and a new manager adapted to life in a continent he had very little experience in. Supporters strapped themselves in for a rough ride.

The impact of Kyogo’s goals and attitude in the 6-0 win over Dundee can’t be overestimated, the team had already been knocked out the Champions League qualifiers and lost away to newly promoted Hearts on the opening day of the Premiership campaign but the goals and enthusiasm provided talking points.

Postecoglou got a tune out of Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie before they departed for Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. The attitude of the new manager and his style of play gave hope to the fans who had watched the previous season in despair. There were also signs of recovery with Tony Ralston and Tom Rogic rising to the challenge having been virtually written off by the previous management.

Who Did Celtic Welcome To The Team In 2021?

Ange made a lot of changes to the team, essential changes after the way the previous season had descended into farce. Luckily he took the challenge in his stride with some shrewd signings, almost all of them making a positive impact. Kyogo and Liel Abada brought a welcome freshness at the start of the season, on deadline day Jota added flair and excitement with Cameron Carter-Vickers quickly settling into a defence that was expertly guided by Joe Hart, defying all of those that had written off his career at the top level.

Most of all the manager brought personality, purpose and shape to the club and team, he had a style in mind that fitted with the DNA of the club and whatever the circumstances he was going to play it. Celtic were expansive and worth watching, there was no temptation to add a midfielder for tougher looking matches, Celtic attacked down the flanks and surged forward from the centre, the emphasis was always to push forward. 

Having such a strong team leading the charge made Celtic once again a great choice for those looking to place some quality bets for the biggest payouts at the lowest risks. It continues to be a great time to take advantage of some of the great welcome bonuses at online casinos and betting sites, especially when it comes to taking a punt on some of the newer additions.

What Do We Expect From Postecoglu?

It’s generally accepted that the second season for any manager is the most critical the early signs are promising.

The squad has depth, they have almost all experienced a full pre-season with the new manager while a guaranteed Champions League group place allowed midweeks to be spent on the training ground rather than preparing for UEFA qualifiers.

The big test is about to arrive with a Glasgow Derby on September 3 followed by six Champions League matches over a two month period. Making an impact in Europe while retaining domestic domination is a strong ask but since arriving last summer Postecoglou has taken on every challenge and made an impact.

The transfer window is coming to a close, three of last season’s loan signings have been kept on with five additions providing competition and quality in every position.  Of course, it’s unlikely we’re really going to see Ronaldo joining Celtic anytime soon, but it’s fun to speculate!

When the window closes the speculation ends with a two matches a week schedule all the way through to the World Cup break in November.

What Tactics Might We Expect And Who Will Shine?

We’ve recently heard talk from keeper Joe Hart that Postecoglu wants to get him to adapt the way that he plays, this has been met with positivity from the goal-keeper, who has said he welcomes the new challenge even at this advanced stage in his career. Last season, it was obvious that Hart was still getting used to playing further forward than he is used to, in pre-season, we saw him pushing up between the two central defenders to provide an extra option starting attacking moves.

It’s unlikely we’re going to see Hart playing too close to the halfway line but expect to see him coming out of the box regularly to provide that extra passing option as the central defenders take up more advanced positions.

The evolution of inverted full-backs will continue, after a season under Ange they know the expectations, it’s not all about charging down the flanks.

Inside there are multiple midfield options, if Aaron Mooy can reach previous career levels it allows Callum McGregor to step forward after almost three seasons almost exclusively playing as a holding midfielder.

With the Scottish Premiership kicking off at the end of July, Celtic found their feet pretty fast with a comfortable 2-0 win over Aberdeen. With a satisfying early goal in the third minute by none other than centre-back Stephen Welsh and then a screamer by the phenomenal Jota in the 74th minute, it’s clear to see what the reigning champions have in store for us this season. But while it’s easy for us to just confidently sit back and state that it’s another great year ahead for us with such a strong and talented team forging ahead, it’s worth taking a more in-depth look at what Celtic have on offer and even which areas we could do with strengthening as we move forward.

Photo by Unsplash

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