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Celtic Fan View: Brendan Rodgers has mismanaged Celtic's strikers and now needs Dembele to step up
It’s not been said very often since Brendan Rodgers arrived in Scotland but he’s got a problem on his hands and he hasn’t been able to solve it yet.
For 11 of the Scottish Premiership clubs, having three strikers of a good level would be considered a blessing. For Celtic, however, it’s proving to be quite disruptive.
Cast your mind back to last term. What stands out is the consistency of so many players at the same time. It made Rodgers’ men unplayable as they deservedly rampaged their way to an invincible treble. The key to keeping players in form for a sustained period of time was simply to keep playing them to build further confidence.
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It’s been different this season, though. There’s been a greater emphasis on squad rotation particularly from middle to front. As a result, a number of players have found it difficult not just to return to the level they displayed last season but build any sort of momentum at all.
The ones suffering most are the strikers. Last term’s hierarchy was known; Moussa Dembele was first choice and Leigh Griffiths was the reliable back-up. But Rodgers threw a spanner in the works with the signing of Odsonne Edouard last August. Add injuries to the equation and what you find is a Celtic side lacking an in-form, up to speed no.9 who will play a number of games in a row to provide a true reference up front.
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Dembele’s trouble with niggling injuries have disrupted his season and the same can be said for Griffiths. Even though the manager may not admit it, there still seems to be a lack of trust at times between him and Griffiths as well. Edouard, meanwhile, is only 20, raw and still adapting to first team football outside his native France. In a physical league against experienced and grizzly defenders, it’s no surprise that Edouard has often struggled to make an impression.
Rodgers’ insistence on continually chopping and changing between the trio has backfired. He may have been unlucky with injuries but Rodgers has also mismanaged the forwards. We’re now facing a situation where none could potentially be in form heading into the Europa League tie with Zenit St. Petersburg.
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If all three players were fit, Rodgers would undoubtedly turn to Dembele as his first choice just like he did in the Champions League. The Northern Irishman has kept Dembele out of the XI of late due to transfer speculation affecting his mental state. But he needs the Frenchman to urgently find some rhythm now that Griffiths faces another spell on the sidelines.
Griffiths has been Celtic’s hero in the last two games, scoring winning goals against Partick Thistle and Hibs respectively. But he frustratingly hobbled off with another calf strain on Saturday. Dembele took his place but looked way off the pace. He’ll have to step it up in training and on the pitch if he wants to reproduce the form of last term. If there was ever a time to get the Dembele of last season back, it’s now.
