Leigh Griffiths

Plays like he actually gives a * which can't be said for some.

 

Griff needs to be played from the start. If he tires bring on, or even start him with me ofAjeti or Klimala.

Edouard for whatever reason just isn't interested. At one point thought he'd outshone Dembele but don't see the point in persevering. If there is good money on the table in January I'd sell him.

 

He must start on Wednesday and play most of the game, he's our true hope of getting something at ibrox so getting him games in his legs before then needs to happen. I'd also get bain back in the team bcoz he's played at ibrox and understands the fixture, hazard isn't ready to face them.

 

Get him in, if it means dropping Ed, then fine.

Tbh Ed seems like a charlatan now, as he's as useful as a chocolate watch in *.

Wee Griff will.give you his all at least.

Yeah would like to see both up front and see if it works, but not sure that big * can be arsed now.

 

It’s a no brainer, every time he comes on he scores or helps turn the game. Get him in the team Lenny ya blind mentalist.

 

Should be playing every week even a unfit griff still best finisher in the league plus week in week out were up against utter dug * teams. Wee man grabs goals galore play him ffs

 

Klimala is not in the same league as griff , but for Griff to be effective we need him fitter , lg is the best striker we have , most natural and instinctive, but its no good if he isn't showing the desire to stay at the top of his game by leading the way at training , if he does he starts games simple , klimala is very raw and may not make it here unless he gets used to the Scottish game .

 

Listen , griff is a good striker Lennon rates him highly , but the players fitness is monitored constantly , if lg is not playing regularly when Lennon needs results to save his job it says 2 things,he can't rely on griff and he is not in good enough shape to start games , reason he's on last 15 or 20 mins is players are tiring its an even playing field at that point , will it help him getting games ,yes but if your not showing the correct attitude at training its the only thing that should stop him playing as he is rated one of our best .

 

TO the outside observer, it is one of the great mysteries of 2020, up there with silver monoliths popping up in the middle of the desert. Just how is it that Leigh Griffiths, a professional footballer who trains almost every day, is still considered by his manager to be lacking sufficient fitness to start football matches?

The player himself is trapped in a classic Catch 22 situation. Griffiths argues that he can’t reach full match fitness without playing more games, while Neil Lennon argues he isn’t fit enough in any sense to be afforded that opportunity on a regular basis.


The Celtic manager rather charitably calls the impasse ‘a difference of opinion’, but in such matters where there is disagreement between a coach and his player, it is rarely the player who wins the argument.

When addressing Griffiths’ comments on his conditioning after his goalscoring cameo from the bench in the Scottish Cup Final on Sunday, Lennon was asked if he thinks his player is lacking basic fitness or simply match fitness, as he argues.


“Both,” came Lennon’s response. “General conditioning and match fitness.

“I don’t know if he’s fit enough to do a full 90 minutes yet. That’s where I stand on it. I think he’s fit enough to play a chunk of games.

“He’s training every day but I think he can maybe push himself a little more. Griff has tunnel vision, he can be quite belligerent and he has great belief in himself. This isn’t him and I falling out over anything. I think he can get fitter.

“Maybe he thinks he can get fitter by playing more of the games but I think in between games or if he’s not playing as much he can do a little bit more. He may disagree with that but it’s just a difference of opinion, probably.

“I was delighted with his contribution at Hampden. I’m not totally convinced that he’s fit but he’ll be fit enough to play and add something to the games as we go along.

“But I’m very pleased with him: he did what he always does – he sniffed out a good chance and his reaction to the second ball was brilliant. I’m delighted for him.


“He’s a huge asset. I want him fit and hungry, which he definitely is. He’s a natural born footballer and he’s a great personality to have around the place as well.

‘You could see what it meant to him on Sunday. He was *-a-hoop to have made a contribution and won a cup. He’s not done that for a while. Hopefully it gives him a huge shot in the arm going forward.”

Lennon’s anger towards Griffiths after turning up for summer training woefully out of shape has now dissipated into more of a mild concern, but even when he was spitting feathers at the striker, he says he never considered letting such a talent slip through Celtic’s grasp.

“No, I just wanted him to get fitter,” he said. “I was annoyed with him. He knew he had let himself down but he’s knuckled down and he is doing a lot better.


“He’s a goalscoring phenomenon and that’s why I kept him around. He will get the opportunity going forward, there’s no question of that.

“Leigh’s just a natural, a born goalscorer and he’s still a fantastic finisher. It would have been remiss of me to let him go or think of loaning him out because we still thought he could make a positive impact for the remainder of the season.

“Do I feel vindicated? I will maybe assess that at the end of the season. I want him to play. I want him to contribute more and score more goals and get consistency in his fitness and performance levels.”

One of the beneficial by-products of Griffiths roaring back to something approaching peak condition around this same time last year was the prolific partnership he sparked up in the Celtic attack with Odsonne Edouard.

Given the rampant run that Celtic then went on, and that a similar charge will be required if the champions are to have any hope of reeling in Rangers at the top of the Premiership, Lennon is understandably keen to have the option of reuniting the pair at the sharp end of the pitch.

“It was very good,” Lennon said.

“Even then, I felt there was more to come from him, and then the season was cut short. But he was in a good place then and I just want him to get back there now.

 

So he starts tonight then

With Hazard
Soro
Turnbull
Maybe MJ??

... Ross County are bang in trouble. Some team has been biding for a hiding and I think it’s today.

4-0 - Griffiths hat-trick, big Jullien from a corner

 

Lennons comments basically shows that he has no intentions on giving Griffiths serious game time

 

Come summer one of them will be gone,that is the only way this will be fixed.Lenny wants him match fit without games but will not drop golden balls eddy regardless of form or effort.And every month that passes with half arsed eddy his price drops.
Just another lenny * up i guess.

 

I see it differently - as long as Lennon convinces Celtic fans Griffiths is unfit he has a excuse if results doesn’t go the right way . If Griffiths comes of bench and gets a result great - if Griffiths is on the bench and Celtic doesn’t get a result he can say we it doesn’t help Griffiths isn’t fit which deflects some of the attention away from the result .

It’s also the reason we don’t play 2 up front - he wants to be able to play either brown or Christie . But with soro and Turnbull playing well makes it difficult . So he will continue to play a team of midfielders and one striker . Which leaves no space for Griffiths

 

It sad that one of the main reasons we will lose the ten is because lenny is stubborn,its taken till * Dec for lenny to see or admit \o/ cant play 3 games a week and is not the correct choice.Maybe by Feb we will see griff in the team. and next May eddy will be dropped.
Then there is duffy....arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

Lennon always has an excuse..a get out clause... Sunday regarding Brown/Soro was a perfect example .

 

Does show a slight lack of self confidence right now that he even has to explain his decisions. What he says goes. End of.

 

So Griff can still be doing more??

I kinda take Lennon's words with a pinch of salt these days. He's a contradictory machine and I don't have much time for the stuff that comes out his mouth.

I'd hope by now that Griff is doing his utmost but I'm thinking that he is at the stage of "what more can I do" tbh. Not sure what to believe anymore.

Fact is, he scores * goals, so play him.

 

So he doesn't start Griff because he doesn't know if he can handle 90 minutes yet, but he'll start Brown at every opportunity when it's clear to see every game that he can't handle 90 minutes anymore, have to wonder if he even believes the * he's coming out with these days.

We've got 5 subs, start him and if he runs out of gas in the second half take him off, it's not * rocket science, and he'll get up to full match fitness a lot quicker that way than throwing him on with 10 minutes to go when we need someone to pull our * out of the fire.

 

Of course he scores