Midfielder problems about to get worse.

Last game: Celtic 2 – 0 Falkirk

Celtic form after 5 games:  WDWLW

By Séan Walsh

Whilst  Celtic fans and the media the collectively worry, argue and debate the current ‘problems’ at Parkhead this month, a much larger problem is growing evident as the season comes to a close. Mowbrays team has tried to encompass a philosophy that adopts fast and attractive football, its not always attacking, and its not always defensive, but he tries to make it attractive. Whether or not he has suceeded is up to you. But, for this to happen, surely the epicentre or foundations to build such a philosophy lie with the passing style of the team – the tempo, the distance or the height, and where are these factors decided? In the centre of midfield.

Under Strachan, we saw as many changes as Stalin’s cabinet, Gravesen, Sno, Lennon, Jarosik, Hartley, Robson, Crosas, Flood, Sutton, Caldwell and ofcourse, Scott Brown. Similarily, Mowbrays pairing has alternated though on a less extreme scale. The midfield trio of Nguemo, Crosas and captain Brown have been at the heart of many half time debates infront of the pie stall at Paradise.

Take arguably Celtic ‘golden bhoy’ this season – Landry NGuemo, the loanee is undoubtedly a powerhouse midfielder that snaps with such tenacity and the forever spoken about ‘dig’ that for a short player he is very much one who players may fear. But then his real quality is in that he possesses a keen eye of a pass, commands the midfield and can always use quick feet to waltz his way out of a tight spot into space.

Catalan coolhead Marc Crosas is another midfield maestro, yet he heavily divides the fans. Some state that the former Barcelona player lacks the ‘dig’ of a center midfielder, that he is easily scared out of tackles – yet, another look at the last game against the blue side of Glasgow and you’ll notice how much tracking back and clearances in the box the little midfielder actually made. Crosas is the stereotype selfless player – everything he does is for his team, and as such can easily go unnoticed or mistaken for being “pure anonymous”. Crosas dictates tempo, thats for certain, he can conjure up space from nowhere to give his teammates a passing option. Just as quickly, he can close down the options to the opposition without having to put in a tackle. His vision to play the throughball is undoubtedly his best asset and probably the only player with the ability to do so from midfield. He gives the Celtic midfield an anchor to keep their shape, tempo and ensure that the passing style remains the same.

Finally, the Celtic captain himself, Scott Brown. If ever there was an enigma, it would be him. Touted as tenacious, fierce, rapid and an eye for goal – Brown was Scotlands hottest property when he signed from Hibs for a record 4.4 million. But very much like Paul Hartley before him, we bought a fierce and goalscoring midfielder who always performed against us, and got an actually quiet dumbed down version. Many of the Celtic support hold Brown up on high for giving Celtic the ‘dig’ factor, but in reality, Brown wins very little balls during possession, and actually gives a fair few away himself. His scoring ability is a falsehood and his well deserved reputation of being a a ‘fierce player’ whilst at Hibs has transformed into a player ‘who stares a lot and makes stupid decisions’. Yet, the young player with so much potential finds himself Captain, even though he shows no sign of vocals on the pitch and has done very little in his performances to even warrant a midfield start.

Yet, I’m sure no Celtic fan would want to see any of these players go unless the price was right ofcourse. The reality is though, NGuemo is only on loan and fans are growing nervous about the lack of any noise about a permanent deal for the Cameroon international – the loss of Champions League football as well will acts as a deterrrent for a player who could realistically play in the Premiership. Marc Crosas doesnt seem to be favoured by Mowbray at all, barely making the bench for games unless either NGuemo or Brown is out injured, he surely must be looking to keep his career free from stagnation. Whilst, Scott Brown, well lets face it has been given a free ride by the manager now he is captain – just like Stephen McManus, we can guarantee his name will be on the sheet first irregardless of merit.

Basically, what I want to say his this. There are very clear signs that come the summer we will be without our only two midfielders who have actually proved they work together, and instead left with the over inflated ego of a pointless player. Losing either Crosas or NGuemo scares me quite frankly, as we are already dangerously thin with talent in the middle. Zheng Zhi seems to be entirely a non-entity and ‘Dave’ Ki, still very much too young and different to the Scottish game to be able to adapt enough to be our main man in midfield.