Celtic Must Start Two Up Front Against Ferencváros – The Fans Are Crying Out for a Response

There is no point pretending Thursday night is just another Europa League fixture.

After the humiliation at Castle Greyskull, Celtic need a reaction.

And for me, that starts with Martin O’Neill being brave enough to change the shape.

Start two up front against Ferencváros.

We have enough attacking players to do it, and after watching Celtic look completely toothless in a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox, I don’t want to see another isolated striker fighting a losing battle against two or three defenders.

Camilo Durán and Kasper Høgh should be given the opportunity to play together.

Put Durán alongside Høgh and let them cause problems.

We have seen what Durán can do already. He has quickly established himself as one of Celtic’s key attacking player. 

Høgh, meanwhile, has already shown that he can be a handful when fit.

Why not put them together?

Especially when Celtic need to rediscover some aggression.

We need to attack Ferencváros from the first whistle.

Not sit back.

Not pass the ball sideways for 20 minutes.

Not wait for something to happen.

Make something happen.

And there is another interesting part to Thursday night.

The tickets.

Celtic originally put the Europa League four-match package on sale to season-ticket holders, with Ferencváros, Benfica, Celta Vigo and Beşiktaş making up the home fixtures. 

But just days before the Ferencváros game, reports indicated that around 3,500 tickets were still available on general sale, with supporters’ clubs also reporting plenty of spares circulating. 

That is significant.

Celtic Park should be a fortress for a European night.

Yet tickets being readily available this close to kick-off is another indication that something has changed in the relationship between the supporters and the football club.

I’m not saying Celtic fans don’t care about Europe league. 

Of course they do.

But supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated with what they are being served.

A Champions League collapse against LASK.

A summer transfer window that left obvious midfield concerns.

A 3-0 humiliation at Castle Greyskull.

Questionable team selections.

And now a Europa League campaign that, despite the glamour of the opposition, doesn’t appear to have generated the same excitement we would normally expect around a European night at Celtic Park.

That should worry the club.

Because Celtic supporters will turn up through thick and thin.

But there is a difference between supporting your club and blindly accepting everything the people running it give you.

The empty seats and available tickets aren’t necessarily proof that supporters have abandoned Celtic.

They can also be interpreted as a warning.

The fans are unhappy.

And the best way for Celtic to respond isn’t another statement.

It isn’t another interview.

It isn’t another one of Martin O’Neill’s old football sayings.

It’s on the pitch.

Start two strikers.

Play with intensity.

Get the ball forward.

Give the supporters something to get behind.

Ferencváros will come to Celtic Park knowing exactly what happened last Sunday.

So Celtic need to show them something completely different.

We need a reaction.

And I want that reaction to start with two up front.

Because if Celtic can’t attack Ferencváros at home, in front of our own supporters, after what happened on Sunday, then serious questions will continue to be asked about where this team is going.

Thursday night is about more than three Europa League points.

It’s about giving the supporters a reason to believe that this team is as Callum McGregor said – “not a team of individual players, but a good Celtic team”.