Strachan: The Case For The Defence

Gordon Strachan has been manager for more than 6 months now and he has been credited with reintroducing the "footballing way" to Celtic again. Revisionists have been quick to make Martin O'Neill the villian of the dark side of WGS's total football strategy.

Where MON built a team on the back of defensive negativities, so it goes, Strachan has made Celtic a free-flowing, football-first entity which has turned Celtic from scrappers into Scotland's equivalent of Barcelona.

So what does the evidence suggest? Not alot. Over the past handful of games, since beating Rangers, we've failed to play any of this alleged silky football and haven't kept a clean sheet against any of Scotland's diddy teams.

Worse still, of these diddy teams, Celtic had to come from behind against the Sheep and Hibs to claim the points and pathetic performances against Livingston, Inverness, and Dunfermline have totally shattered the myth of Strachan's footballing savvy.

MON's Celtic played better football than the evidence shows. What of the mighty victory over Rangers, who are nothing better than mid-table cannon fodder? Even then, they had their eye on progressing in Europe and their own managerial crisis to deal with - which has since been resolved.

Meanwhile Celtic are staggering into 2006 with a team which lacks a defence. How can we fear going to play against a team which has done as much to self-implode as Hearts yet they still manage to be on our tails?

I'll tell you why. It's because Strachan hasn't a clue how to build a defence. He got lucky with signing Boruc as goalie in a position that MON was never able to successfully fix, while letting Broto, who could have filled it, go in a gamble he lost.

Strachan's defensive record is woeful even by Rangers standards (if you consider the Greek dumplin who got sent off for a THIRD time in less than FOUR months last week).

McNamara - Strachan let him leave for nothing. Our most versatile defender and a player he said would be a first pick goes to Wolves.

Telfer - the wrong side of 34 who has no pace.

Camara - as bizarre a signing as you can get who amazingly started to come good. A Burnley reject who is woeful at crossing and can't defend but was learning. Then he's suddenly dropped without reason.

Agathe - Celtic's speedy right back under MON who had precision ability in the tackle but is an outcast under Strachan.

Balde - a dumplin of late.

Varga - Strachan turned a solid, albeit slow, performer into a donkey overnight. MON's ability to coach a player is a talent Strachan doesn't possess.

Du Wei - signed to fill out the reserves. Talked of as being an intelligent player but no evidence of this.

Virgo - another baffling signing by Strachan. One can't help but wonder if there is still the mirth of laughter in Brighton at this one.

McManus - our first choice central defender with most potential who can do the Bosman walk in a few hours.

It's stark. It's obvious. The guy has no clue in the defence. We are shocking at the back and vulnerable everywhere else because of this. We have no strategy in the make up of the backline in anything more than short term cover. But for Boruc we'd be slaughtered at the back, and this can't be allowed to fester when we are exposed to a resurgent Rangers.

Strachan has failed us. Let's hope Roy Keane can save us.