As the dust finally settles on another European campaign for Celtic, the air can finally be cleared and conclusions can be drawn on what appears to be a complete failure for the Scottish champions. From being knocked out of the Champions League at the last hurdle to Malmö FF, to being eliminated in the Europa League group stage, this only heightens the worry that The Bhoys are not the force they once were.

Celtic manager, Ronny Deila, said after last year’s Champions League disappointment to judge him on next year. The fans certainly have after their recent European campaign - failing to win a match in Group A of the Europa League. The premier competition was the main aim for the fans, but again they had to make do with the secondary competition.

The Champions League Qualifiers

Following the departure of Jason Denayer, who was on-loan last season from Manchester City, Celtic looked to The Citizens to provide another form of defensive cover. They delivered Belgian centre-back, Dedryck Boyata, a 24-year-old reserve player who came with the same background as his fellow countryman before him. The Celtic fans thought they were onto a sure thing when Boyata got his first Celtic goal in a tightly contested Champions League tie against Azerbaijani champions, Qarabağ FK. An important goal it was as his late header was the only goal of the fixtures between the two.

Boyata celebrates goal

The Parkhead club had set aside Icelandic champions, Stjarnan, in the previous qualifying round without too much trouble but Qarabağ provided a tougher test for Deila’s men. Still uncomfortable with an unpredictable backline, the Celtic fans looked at their opponent’s top scorer Reynaldo as the man who could end their Champions League dreams early. Fortunately for The Bhoys, the Brazilian hit-man was kept quiet as Celtic’s defence put in an amicable performance, especially in the away tie.

The main game had come and the one that everyone had been waiting for, the final round of qualifying, a play-off against Swedish champions Malmö FF. Some fans of The Celts wrote off Åge Hareide’s outfit, as they believed that Deila’s Scandinavian knowledge as well as Mikael Lustig’s experience of his country’s champions would see them through. Furthermore, up front for the Swedes was ex-Celtic attacker, Jo Inge Berget, who had only departed the club in January. The Norway international didn’t have the best spell in Glasgow, with most fans labelling him as a 'dud' during his period on-loan from Cardiff City.

Some would say it was predictable that Berget made his critics eat their words when he played an influential part on the elimination of Celtic from the Champions League. The striker notched two goals in the first leg at Parkhead in a 3-2 defeat. Berget’s last minute goal was a shot in the arm for the Swedes who comfortably beat Celtic 2-0 at the Swedbank Stadion. A disjointed performance from the visitors, coupled with a perfectly good goal chalked off, meant that the hosts had done enough to progress to the Champions League proper. The misery was piled on for Celtic when it was discovered that Virgil van Dijk had played his last European match for them.

ex-Celt Berget scores for Malmo

A second season in a row in the Europa League

Another campaign in Europe’s secondary competition had to do for Celtic. However, when the draw was complete, the group arguably looked more like a Champions League one. The Glasgow club was paired with Turkish runners up, Fenerbahçe, Norwegian champions, Molde and old foes, Ajax. Arguably the toughest group in this year’s competition, some had already written Celtic off including the fans. The general consensus was a third place finish with Ajax and Fenerbahçe both taking the qualifying spots. Little did they know that it would be Molde that would be the surprise package of the tournament.

A two all draw with Ajax put some confidence in those of a Celtic faithful. However a suspension to Emilio Izaguirre meant that 18-year-old, Kieran Tierney would get the nod for another two each draw at home to Fenerbahçe. Continuing their early group form, Molde beat Celtic in the back-to-back matches. The group finally came to a close with Ajax getting a last gasp winner at Parkhead to keep their European dream alive, but this was tarnished in the last match, with Fenerbahçe managing an all-important draw at home to Celtic to see them through.

Was the system to blame?

Celtic’s dismal European campaign can be categorised and explained in various ways.

One reason was their inability to defend at set-pieces. Although the players may be tall in stature and did manage to score from them, their defending of them was poor. Countless times, not just in Europe but also domestically, Celtic lost silly and needless goals from set-pieces. Coach, John Kennedy, who was in charge of this aspect, set up the team to use the ‘zonal marking’ system. The weaknesses of it were laid out for everyone to see due to the amount of goals they conceded from it. Yet Kennedy, Deila and Celtic stuck to their guns and were duly punished for it. Concurrently, having every man back for a corner or crossed free kick also irked some fans, as it left them open to the ‘second ball’ and failed to produce any counter-attacks.

Deila, Collins and Kennedy

Another popular criticism of the season thus far is the formation that has been played, near enough since Deila took the reins at Celtic last summer. The Norwegian reverted from his familiar 4-3-3 to implement a rigid 4-2-3-1 system which has also been blasted by some fans. The stubbornness from Deila not to change to suit a particular match or period in it has been said to be one of the major points of failure in Europe this season. Not playing two up front, especially when chasing the game, is one regular point that has been brought up. Nadir Çiftçi, a summer buy from Dundee United, started ahead of top scorer, Leigh Griffiths in the early European matches. Some say it was to get the Dutch born striker up to scratch while others say it was, again, stubbornness from Deila not to play Griffiths.

Was it a team downfall or individual errors?

Deila’s relationship with other players including Kris Commons has brought up the notion that there is some unrest among the players towards the managerial staff. During the away tie at Molde, Commons’ substitution when Celtic were behind provoked a visible reaction from the former Scotland international which got considerable support from the fans. The attacking midfielder was The Celts’ most influential player in the Europa League this season with four goals and two assists. His ability to score from nothing and take the game by the scruff of the neck has been said to be what has kept him at Celtic for so long.

Kris Commons' infamous outburst

Commons’ former Scotland teammate and current club goalkeeper Craig Gordon has also been said to be partly to blame for this season’s European exploits. The ex-Sunderland and Hearts stopper has been influential since his free transfer last summer, however his performances of late have not been to the standard that we have grown to know from him. Coming into the game after a two year absence, it was Gordon who practically kept his new side in the Europa League last season, qualifying for the last 32.

Unfortunately for the 32-year-old his blunders against Inter Milan in the home tie were arguably what saw Celtic depart the competition. This season, Gordon was debatably to blame for some of the goals conceded with some going in at his near post. In his defence, the backline in front of him wouldn’t have filled him with much hope.

The current crop of players have been collectively pointed out as a reason for not going further in European competition. After going behind at home to Molde, the players seemed to give up in the last 10 minutes of a match, something which hasn’t been seen before. The board have been condemned for not dishing out the funds to the manager to get players that would do the business outside of the Scottish Premiership.

Deila and Lawwell take their seats at AGM

Chief Executive, Peter Lawwell, has come under immense pressure but has said that being in the one to two million pound market for players will be sometimes a success and others a failure. He also said at the recent AGM that the players right now are of the same value as the ones that got to the UEFA Cup final in Seville in 2003. Jozo Šimunović, a centre-back from Dinamo Zagreb, cost over £3 million yet injuries restricted his Europa League appearances. Çiftçi was bought for £1 million from Dundee United, yet didn’t manage a goal in Europe this season and only has four to his name in the Premiership. The two other buys from United in January were Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven, for a collective sum of £1.5 million, but have not lived up to their early hype.

From desperation came hope?

One shining light for Celtic this season has been young Tierney who became more prominent in this season’s Europa League. Although only 18, the Isle of Man born left-back has played like someone 10 years his elder. He is quickly becoming a fan favourite for his mature defensive abilities as well as the attacking threat which he possess. His competitor for his position, Izaguirre, has been highlighted as a player who is not the player he once was and his defensive attributes have also been stressed as not being adequate in Europe. The suspension of the Honduran international has allowed Tierney to fill in and show the manager what he can do, and has been awarded with the spot in the following domestic matches. Although his stamina seems to be holding him back from getting a straight run of games, Tierney is still young and can grow into be a formidable player for club and country. 

Fan Opinion

Celtic fan, Martin Brien, 28, gave his perspective on his team's European campaign this season:

"Celtic's European campaign this season was founded from various public proclamations from leading club sources that UEFA's premier Champions League competition is where the club belongs.

"However, various abject and crippling deficiencies reared their ugly heads time and again throughout the entire campaign. Celtic's failure to qualify for this competition against a side in Malmö, whom did not possess any genuine star quality, nor superior financial resources was the standard set. In almost every game, Celtic generally acquitted themselves reasonably well against decent opposition and didn't seem outmatched from open play. The obvious exceptions being the matches against Molde, who played us off the park, particularly so in Glasgow.

Molde score the winner at Parkhead

"We continuously heard about 'individual mistakes' costing Celtic. Game costing mistakes are a common thing in football, they happen to individuals and are generally accepted as being rare anomalies. However, if a team continues to make the same errors, time after time then questions must be raised to challenge how and why these blunders happened with such alarming consistency? That takes the responsibility beyond the players exclusively, trends do not happen by luck or poor fortune. They happen because fundamental aspects of the game are clearly not within the full team's comprehension.

"Mid-way through the campaign, Celtic had already conceded numerous goals from set plays as the team played with a zonal system, where players are accountable for attacking the ball within their designated area. The system changed to a man marking variant which indicates that the coaching staff got things horribly wrong with their prior choices. If all problems were tackled through variation like this, then there wouldn't be too much of a problem as there is a visual demonstration that deficiencies are being challenged in a productive manner. But, Celtic's coaching staff typically did not do this throughout the campaign. The basics of playing home - away in European football seemed to be completely neglected.

"Deila baffled supporters by refusing to box clever when trying to hold a lead and with his tactical decisions. Such as his refusal to deviate from the 4-2-3-1 system which he has had a mixture of success with. Celtic, and more importantly Deila, simply need to wisen up and realise that a long term vision is absolutely fine, it's admirable if anything. But in the short term, during those 90 minutes on the pitch, Celtic need to do anything and everything possible to win the game. Becoming more defensive when under pressure, holding players accountable for their mistakes is paramount if we are to progress. That being said, there have been positives.

Young prospect, Kieran Tierney

"The one which shines so bright in comparison to everything else is the meteoric rise of Kieran Tierney. An 18-year-old Scottish left-back who was thrust into the limelight against Fenerbahçe and excelled in the role. So much so that it is now common belief that he is the number one left-back at the club, dislodging Izaguirre.

"Unearthing such a talent is an example of Deila's assets as a coach. By playing him in such high profile matches shows that Deila is willing to give youth a chance at Celtic, not only that but he is clearly capable of improving players with potential. Which makes a lot of sense considering Celtic's current policy of signing talented but less than complete players, developing their skill sets and moving them on for a higher price. The resurgence of Leigh Griffiths, who looks capable of scoring regularly at Europa League level, is another plus point.

"Sadly for this season at least, the good most certainly is dwarfed in comparison with the frailties displayed by Celtic, conceding 2 goals in every game they played."

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About the author
Connor Gordon
Hi, I am from Glasgow, Scotland and at university studying Multimedia Journalism. I have a fondness for French club, Stade Rennais. I try to convey the way I see the game of football into my articles. I hope you enjoy! Contact me on Twitter: @ConnorGordonnn Email: [email protected]