The Kaspar Schmeichel revelation exposes more failings in a season of failings at Celtic

When Celtic keeper Kaspar Schmeichel revealed on American TV that he had been playing with a shoulder injury for quite some time, it didn’t come as much of a shock.

The evidence that he had been carrying an injury was there for all to see.

You can go as far back as the Scottish Cup final to see how long its been going on for.

What is more concerning is counting the cost for Celtic this season.

Firstly, Viljami Sinisalo has shown that he is a more than able replacement for Schmeichel.

The way he commands his box is far superior to the way the Danish keeper did in recent months.

So, when Schmeichel’s deficiencies became more and more apparent, the Celtic coaching staff should have made a call on this much earlier than they did.

The question here is why they didn’t?

Stevie Woods had to have noticed that something was wrong, simply because Schmeichel was consistently making the same errors for Celtic over, and over again.

It seemed to stand out more in European games.

Especially when you consider the two goals he conceded against Stuttgart.

They were really soft.

And the way he conceded those goals looked like the catalyst to Martin O’Neill making his mind up that he’d seen enough.

But the big question here is how Brendan Rodgers, and Wilfried Nancy before O’Neill didn’t see anything wrong?

A lot of people are saying that its not Schmeichel’s fault the manager kept picking him.

Chris Sutton spoke about it this morning in the Record.

And then the other side of it is that the manager and medical team could only go on what he told them.

Somewhere in between that lies the truth in all of this.

Its clear Schmeichel wanted to play at the upcoming World Cup.

That would appear to be the motivation for playing through the pain barrier with Celtic.

My guess is that Schmeichel wasn’t 100% honest about the physical shape he was in.

Because if he was, he wouldn’t have been allowed to make the same consistent mistakes he made again, and again.

People can say that the some of the blame lies at Martin O’Neill’s door.

Was O’Neill’s biggest mistake trusting what a senior player was telling him?

The other side of this is that Martin O’Neill was the manager who made a call on this.

O’Neill dropped Kaspar Schmeichel after the 2-1 loss at home to Hibernian.

He hasn’t played since, and now we know why.

Whether you like it or not, Martin O’Neill was the manager who made the call to drop him.

He’d clearly seen enough, and knew that Schmeichel was struggling.

Its also clear that Viljami Sinisalo knew it too because as soon as the Finnish keeper was given his chance, he showed everyone what he was capable of.

His ability to command his box and deal with high balls into the area has been a breath of fresh air.

We discussed this in depth last night on the The Trinity Tims podcast.

Sinisalo has no fear of running into a crowded area and claiming the ball.

Schmeichel always had a tendency to punch it away rather than claiming it.

Which, to a degree, shows a reluctance to do what Sinisalo is willing to do, and that could stem from fear of further damaging his shoulder.

In a season of failings, the Kaspar Schmeichel story in just another in a litany of failures.

Nobody expects an explanation for this.

I said on the podcast last night that I doubt we’ll see Kaspar Schemichel between the sticks again for Celtic.

We’ll get an official announcement that he’s retired due to injury, he’ll be thanked for his service to the club, and that will be that.

There will be no explanation as to why it was allowed to get as far as it did.

Then again, that should come as no surprise.

This club explains nothing to the fans.

That isn’t going to change any time soon.

Key Takeaways

• Kaspar Schmeichel played through a shoulder injury, affecting his performance for Celtic.
• Viljami Sinisalo proved to be a capable replacement, showcasing superior goalkeeping skills.
• Brendan Rodgers and earlier managers failed to address Schmeichel’s ongoing issues despite visible mistakes.
• The club may not provide a clear explanation for Schmeichel’s situation, leading to uncertainty for fans.
• The likelihood of Schmeichel not returning to play due to injury seems high.

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