John Hartson has called out some of the Celtic players for their uninspired display in a 1-1 draw vs Kilmarnock away at Rugby Park.
Dropping points this early in the season is the last thing that Celtic would have hoped for or even expected but that is exactly what happened away at Rugby Park as Neil Lennon’s side put in a lifeless display to draw against a resolute Kilmarnock side.
Nobody looked in the mood for a fight as the Celtic players seemed to lack imagination and quality on the ball required to break through the solid Killie defence on the day. And that means they already find themselves chasing the Rangers with only two match days gone. Thankfully there is a long time to catch up and overtake them, but signs on Sunday were worrying.
Some of Celtic’s most reliable players put in disappointing displays and this is a performance fans would like to forget as soon as possible. And John Hartson did not seem to impressed either, calling out three Celtic players on Sky Sports Football‘s live coverage of the game and as cited by 67 Hail Hail:
"“I don’t think (Danny) Rogers (Kilmarnock goalkeeper) will have an easier game. Just two shots on target for Celtic, one of them was the goal. Uncharacteristically for Celtic one area where they were really under par for me was through the middle.“I thought Edouard was a little bit off today – no attempts on target. As we know Kilmarnock were very well organised, sat deep and condensed the space. I thought James Forrest on this right hand side lacked that little bit of quality we know that he has. A few of the crosses he put in was behind the goal.“Elyounoussi, I don’t know where he was today. He was almost invisible at times – we never saw him. You’ve got to give Kilmarnock a lot of credit today for the way they set up. But it was a really really poor day for Celtic.”"
To be very honest, there was nobody who put in a good performance on the day and he could have called out all the players. Forrest has not been at his best for quite some time now and Celtic should start looking for a back up. Mikey Johnston’s return also could not come soon enough as Elyounoussi has no competition on the left wing at the moment either.
The defence is starting to become a worry as well as they seem to be dominated by strikers far too often for two men of that size. Probably a return to three at the back would not be a terrible idea. The Hoops did look better with that formation in the second half of last season and after that lifeless display today, it might be time for Lennon to roll that dice one more time.