ALEX’S ANGLE: CELTIC’S NANCY QUANDARY

CELTIC have a monumental decision to make concerning Wilfried Nancy.

Just to be clear, I am not talking about firing the Frenchman after a punishingly awful start to his managerial career at the champions.

It’s open season on Nancy following three defeats in three games, the worst-ever sequence of losses experienced by any previous new boss at the club.

I have a smidgen of sympathy for the recruit from Columbus Crew, but, at the same time, there is no argument he has brought a lot of this derision to his own doorstep by making changes to the formation of his line-up that look to be as puzzling and mystifying to his players as much as the fans.

Those instructions cannot possibly be getting through to Callum McGregor and Co otherwise there would be no requirement for incessant chit-chats on the touchline in the midst of action.

HAND’S UP…Wilfried Nancy looks concerned as he watches Celtic at Hampden. 

Surely, Nancy must realise it is not a bright idea to gatecrash a player’s concentration and focus every five minutes. If he doesn’t, I would suggest he’s in the wrong job. Or, at least, the wrong club.

Too many players have not looked comfortable since he took to tinkering. Left-footed Auston Trusty playing wide right in a back three? It didn’t work against Hearts, so Nancy went with it again against AS Roma four nights later.

It took until the interval for the penny to drop and Colby Donovan was introduced for Kieran Tierney and Trusty and Liam Scales shuffled over one place with the Scotland Under-21 international taking over from the American on the right.

By which time the Serie A side were three goals ahead and out of sight.

Was Sebastian Tounekti really asked to switch from wide left to play in a wing-back role in front of Anthony Ralston on the opposite flank against St Mirren?

Let me know if you’ve ever seen the twinkle-toed Tunisian win a 50-50 challenge since arriving in Scotland. In that adapted position, he would have been asked to cover and tackle.

The guy is not built for it. He looked shot to hell by the time he was put out of misery and replaced by James Forrest in the 73rd minute.

I did warn of square pegs in round holes last week.

Nancy must be able to see his preferred set-up is not working. I doubt for a moment he is naive, so he must be incredibly arrogant or worryingly pig-headed – or both – to continue with the ill-advised ploy.

He may well persevere with it against Dundee United at Tannadice in midweek. Jim Goodwin was a match analyst for Premier Sports yesterday. At full-time, the Tayside gaffer didn’t look over-concerned about the prospect of taking on the champions.

THE END IS IN SIGHT…Kelechi Iheanacho menaces the St Mirren defence before hirpling off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury.

You might have thought Nancy would have worked on Plan B if Kelechi Iheanacho suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that forced him out of the squad for ten consecutive games before his 45-minute appearance as a second-half substitute against AS Roma.

Sure enough, the experienced former Manchester City and Leicester City striker, who had looked impressive leading the line, limped off in the 34th minute and Johnny Kenny was introduced to the action.

That’s the same Johnny Kenny who did not get off the substitutes’ bench in any of Martin O’Neill’s last three games.

And there was the young Irishman getting catapulted into a Cup Final. Was that Nancy’s masterplan if Iheanacho was stricken again? Really?

With the best will in the world, I doubt if Kenny will become a first-team regular at the club. He’s 22 years old and, even taking into account his lengthy loan spells at Shamrock Rovers, has been around the place for a while.

I believe Bolton bid £500,000 for him in the summer and were told to double their offer. If that information is accurate, Celtic were willing to allow him to leave if the price had been right. The English Championship club looked elsewhere.

Yes, it would be nice if a young man from Sligo made the grade at Celtic.

Equally, it would be nice if Santa brought me a brand new Porsche in ten days’ time.

That’s not going to happen, either.

BEST FOOT FORWARD…Johnny Kenny in a tussle for possession. 

I’m not sure what Daizen Maeda was supposed to be doing yesterday. I’m not convinced he had an inkling, either.

You and I know the pacy Japanese raider is not an out-and-out attack leader, despite 33 goals last season.

On this occasion, though, he may well have been better served moving in one to replace Iheanacho with the possibility of Michel-Ange Balikwisha filling the gap in an advanced role.

The £4.2million summer recruit from Royal Antwerp had made a substitute appearance in the Europa League three evenings earlier while Kenny remained on the bench.

Conundrums are being presented all over the place since Nancy touched down in the country and first set foot in Lennoxtown.

Here’s another one, the one where the Hoops’ hierarchy will have to come up with a genuine and lasting solution.

The transfer window opens in a fortnight and Nancy will almost certainly possess a list of targets he wants to bring to Parkhead.

Do the club splash out sizeable fees for the players while the long-term future of the manager must be in doubt?

In a worst-case scenario, when does the situation become intolerable and there is the inevitable parting of the ways?

The manager leaves and the players he has introduced remain. They may not be the next manager’s cup of tea.

And Celtic are lumbered with unwanted recruits.

I am not inferring it is a ‘back him or sack him’ situation – it’s way too early to make those observations – but the possibility of Nancy not lasting the distance surely cannot be overlooked or dismissed.

If defeats continue to pile up and performances remain as bewildering as some of Nancy’s aftermatch comments, there will be no room to manoeuvre for the decision-makers.

Of course, everything could magically flip and the jigsaw could come together tout suite.

Alas, I have always left fairytales to Hans Christian Andersen and Walt Disney.

ALEX GORDON

 

 

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