Carl Starfelt

I definitely think we miss when he isn't in the team

 

When you see the trouble we’ve had in this area of the pitch last few years it makes you appreciate CCV and Starfelt much more. Europe next year will be a proper test of how good they are.

 

Its not CL that lack of height is an issue, must CL teams will come at you on the deck. Its the SPL hammer throwers that can only get at us from the air.

 

Starfelt is one of those areas we should look to upgrade, due to his brainfarts and his current contract situation. If he did not have those brain farts, we would be looking for him to extend his contract. But with both those situations, would be good business to punt, if we get a decent offer.

 

Probably try and him punt him due his contract and age. Reckon we will do the same with Kyogo as he's ina similar situation

 

Kyogo is the one player we cannot loose and won't.

 

Dunno I've got a feeling we might try and cash in due to his age

 

I always remember hearing an Ange interview from his time at Yokohama F Marinos talking about where it went wrong for them the season after winning the league and he was talking about injuries and squad rotation to cope with volume of games with them being in the Asian Champions League. Ange was quick to point out he liked to rotate but not at centre back and having had injuries to his centre backs at different times had caused a lack of continuity in his teams defending.

I think Ange sees CCV and Starfelt as a solid base for which the rest of his team to build from. However I do think when you look across our squad and the financial position as well as the position we are in terms of home grown players, if the right offer came in we wouldn’t be against selling him. It sounded like from Starfelt’s interview that he is in a similar frame of mind.

Both parties are happy with each other but should Celtic get an offer that makes financial sense or Starfelt gets an offer from say a Fulham or Everton type level club where they will double his money or better then he may want to go.

He is one player that I do feel if we are serious about trying to push on in Europe could be upgraded on but it will be a gamble doing so.

 

Well what Ive noticed in the Champions League is teams will single out a position where you might be vulnerable and hit you there. I remember a game (well I dont remember it that well cause I cant mind who it was against), when they singled out Kieran Tierney who was just young at the time. Put two men on him the whole game. Hit us with high balls to our left back area knowing that if he challenged for the ball in the air they had a second man free waiting for the ball to drop. When I think about it, it was either Borousia Munchengladback or Zenit St Petersburg. They knew he was young and no very tall, and they played that same long ball tactic all game, and it worked cause we were beat.

Even the top teams (who should be able to beat you without such tactics) do it. I remember Barcelona singling out Tony Ralston who I think was 17/18 at the time and doing the same to him, without the long balls, they just put Neymar up against him who absolutely destroyed Ralston in that game. I am actually surprised Tony came back from that to the point where he's at now, cause Neymar roasted him the entire game

 

It’s scary how important he is to the style and tactics

 

Above all I just think he's a good defender mate.

Admittedly his diddy moments make me put my head in my hands but i'm far happier when he plays than when he doesn't.

 

See the Real at Parkhead this season? After half time they done that in a different way, and it was to press Jura at RB and exploit no outball, it was a great tactical move, which isn’t surpising from Carlo Ancelotti. But go back and watch what they done it was unreal, because Jura was playing brilliant and they exploited how calm he was at playing it out from the back, they shut the ball off to the left with marking, ball went right, they pressed like * and shut the option down between him and Calmac. And it destroyed us.

One of those things at that level you look at thinking it’s one thing to exploit weaknesses we have, they exploited a * strength.

 

He’s a bit scatty, and a lot of things you’d want in a possession based CB he’s average to poor. At Covering, positioning and defending running towards his own goal he’s nearly world class and that’s not hyperbole. He has a myriad of things that bring his game down to not being at that level obviously, but if you take those three qualities, I’ve never seen anything like it in a Celtic strip.

 

On the bench against Belgium tonight

 

Good. Hopefully stays there

 

Probably jinxed it now

 

I'd sell him for £10m.

 

I wouldn’t unless we had a replacement in already showing the same value as him, which may be Kobayashi to be fair but don’t think so quite yet. Honestly all round as a defender I think Jenz was better and more promising, and he seems to be doing it in the Bundesliga as well but for the system and the team, nobody matches what Starfelt brings. It’s bizarre and impressive from Ange.

 

Didn’t get on tonight