IT WASN’T the Celtic players who were selected in the PFA Scotland Premiership Team of the Year who caught my attention – it was the ones who missed out.
Seven got the nod from their fellow-professionals while their colleagues were ignored.
Okay, it’s not an exact science if you are not appreciated by the guys you face on the field of battle on match day.
However, it may be utilised as some sort of barometer of how highly – or lowly – you are rated by the opposition.
First up, let’s applaud Kasper Schmeichel, Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda who got the green light. No argument with any of those selections, all have performed with a fair degree of distinction for most of the season.
However, closer inspection of the line-up highlights some intriguing exclusions.
No Arne Engels. No Auston Trusty. No Liam Scales. No Greg Taylor. No Adam Idah.
THE MISSING LINK…£11million man Arne Engels.
Rivals are telling us they have not been captivated by the skills of the most expensive player in Celtic history, £11million midfielder Engels.
Nor have they been knocked out by the club’s second highest purchase, £9.5million striker Idah.
Plus £6million defender Trusty doesn’t rate a mention. You don’t need a calculator to inform you opponents aren’t quite in sync with Brendan Rodgers’ thinking when he sanctioned £26.5million worth of transfers in the summer.
I don’t think for a heartbeat that news will incur sleepless nights for the Celtic manager.
But it may act as a pointer to the positions in his side which require strengthening.
No one gets a prize for identifying left-back as a problem position. Do not include your humble scribe as an arch critic of Taylor who rarely gets the headlines.
I have to admit, though, I was more than just a tad mystified that observers were applauding a Man of the Match display against Kilmarnock last weekend. Really? If he was better than Hatate against the Ayrshire side then I must confess my knowledge of the beautiful game can be filed between zilch and zero.
Yes, Taylor played well in the inverted full-back role and he looks more comfortable in that position than Jeffrey Schlupp. No surprise when you learn Taylor started out as a midfielder before being converted to full-back.
ON THE BALL…Greg Taylor enjoys life as a Celtic insider.
Whether he stays or goes in the summer is still being discussed, but, at least, we know Kieran Tierney is on his way. No one expects him to play in every single game, but, if can dodge wear and tear, the 27-year-old Scotland international – the same age as Taylor – should be available for the occasions that matter.
The PFA Scotland members voted James Penrice as No.3 in their selection and I have to say I like the look of the Hearts defender. He had three seasons at Livingston before stepping up to the Edinburgh club at the start of this season.
Penrice performs with a lot of energy, can get up and down the pitch and possesses quality in his left peg that sees him entrusted with a fair percentage of the Tynecastle side’s set-plays.
The inverted full-back position is not for the Hearts lad, though. From what I have seen, he is an out-and-out old-fashioned left-sided operator.
Trusty and Scales are overlooked, too, in the middle of the rearguard. To be fair, neither has been overly convincing in this campaign and it’s still a position that may perturb Rodgers.
It looks as though there is no future for Maik Nawrocki at the champions and the solution in a summer transfer. Likewise Gustaf Lagerbielke, who has spent the season on loan at Eredivisie outfit Twente.
John Souttar, at Ibrox, gets the nod to partner Carter-Vickers which may tell you all you need to know.
Similarly, his club team-mate Nicolas Raskin gets the midfield berth beside McGregor and Hatate. The PFA boys obviously preferred the grinding gears of a sixties Ford Cortina than the purring qualities of a Rolls-Royce when they chose the Govan performer ahead of his fellow-Belgian Engels.
Naturally, there is no comparison in the styles of the players. Raskin is a pit bull operator who bites and snarls his way through a game.
Engels, on the other hand, prefers to perform with a certain grace and elan as he swishes across the surface. You pays your money and you takes your choice, dear reader.
PICK IT OUT…Adam Idah strikes for Celtic’s third goal in the 5-0 romp against St Johnstone.
However, I would be more than a tad concerned if I was big-budget hitman Idah, who is already in danger of being classed as over-priced as he prepares to complete his full season at the champions.
Sam Dalby is the preferred choice of his fellow-pros as main striker. He is currently on loan at Dundee United from Wrexham and, according to the PFA Scotland members, has eclipsed anything the Republic of Ireland international has offered.
To be fair to Idah, he played principally as back-up to Kyogo Furuhashi until the turn of the year and that reflects on his goal tally of 15 goals in all competitions, just one more than that amassed by Dalby.
However, he was handed the ideal opportunity to excel in leading the attack after the Japanese ace moved to Rennes in January and there can be no question Idah has fluffed his lines.
He has claimed a mere seven strikes – including his double in the team’s 4-2 loss at Aston Villa – in two and a half months and was perplexingly anonymous in last weekend’s 5-1 win over Kilmarnock at Parkhead.
It’s well nigh impossible to recall a significant contribution before he was withdrawn just after the half-hour mark, but you have to hope his close-range strike in the 5-0 win over St Johnstone yesterday will give his confidence a considerable boost.
Maeda, on the other hand, has responded admirably to the exit of his compatriot and has ventured into the middle from his more accustomed left-wing beat to provide 18 goals over the same period.
Seven Celtic players’ contributions this season have been rightly recognised by their fellow-competitors in Scotland’s top flight.
Questions are being asked of others.
ALEX GORDON
RAMPANT HOOPS SET UP GRAND FINALE
