Celtic’s 13% Warning Sign Exposes a Martin O’Neill Problem That Can’t Be Ignored
Fresh Celtic data shows possession dropping sharply as opponents get more opportunities – and it raises a major question about the direction of Martin O’Neill’s team.
Phillip Cooney 
There is one Celtic statistic that should immediately grab Martin O’Neill’s attention before domestic football returns.
Possession has reportedly fallen from around 73 per cent to just 60 per cent.
On its own, possession wins absolutely nothing. Celtic could have 80 per cent of the ball and still lose a football match.
But put that dramatic 13-point fall alongside the other numbers emerging from Celtic’s performances and suddenly it becomes much harder to dismiss.
Celtic are losing control
The latest analysis from The Huddle Breakdown paints a worrying picture.
Celtic’s possession is down, opponents are getting more shots and set pieces have reportedly become a net negative.
Even Celtic’s pressing numbers can disguise the underlying problem.
This isn’t simply about demanding pretty football or endless sideways passing.
It is about control.
For years Celtic squads have been assembled to dominate the ball, pin domestic opponents back and force teams to spend huge periods defending.
The current side increasingly looks caught between two identities.
The Rangers numbers were brutal
Nothing demonstrated that better than the recent 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Celtic Park.
The Huddle Breakdown’s analysis described it as Celtic’s worst home derby performance of the Wyscout era.
Celtic managed only three shots compared with Rangers’ 14, while their long-ball rate was reportedly around three times the club’s historical norm.
That is an extraordinary departure.
It also raises a serious question about recruitment.
What is the point of spending millions assembling technically capable footballers for a possession-based system if the team is then asked to play football that doesn’t suit them?
O’Neill has a huge decision
This isn’t an argument that possession statistics are everything.
They aren’t.
But Celtic cannot ignore the direction of travel.
A fall from roughly 73 per cent possession to 60 per cent, combined with more shots being conceded, suggests something fundamental has changed.
O’Neill now has time to address it.
Celtic don’t simply need victories when domestic football resumes.
They need their identity back.
Because right now the numbers suggest Celtic aren’t merely playing badly.
They are losing control of the very thing that once made them so dominant.
Possession good word ,but the Possession we should be worried about is the Possession by Desmond, brick by brick this malignant example of slimy snake is the growth that needs removing and removed now , stop giving them your money or you are complicit in the destruction of our club
Think this just mirrors the decline in McGregor over the past couple of seasons,at least since Bayern anyway,his value to our team over many seasons should not be underestimated. Neither should his progressive decline over the past few. One person should not have such a huge effect on the whole squad, but that only underlines how important he has been.
Last season Martin and the coaches, by their own admission did very little tactical wise, and instead added motivation. This season they haven’t managed to imprint any discernible tactics to speak of, and having the midfield gutted, along with McGregors decline has not helped, and are related I think.
I hope I’m wrong but in the absence of reinforcements I doubt they can turn it around. We’ll still beat the vast majority of the also rans, as the coaching team has already shown they are capable of this season, Dundee Utd luck aside.
I also think this whole Martins team or Malonies team is a complete red herring, put about by people looking for scapegoats.
“Rangers” did fu**in NOT have 14 shots Cos “Rangers” are dead !