Celtic’s new manager Wilfried Nancy provided a fresh page for players in the squad to impress him and prove that they have long-term futures at Parkhead.
On top of him being a new manager who did not know any of the players, bar Alistair Johnston, the Frenchman also came through the door with a 3-4-2-1 system that has created new roles for players.
One of the players who has already benefitted from the change in formation is Anthony Ralston, who has started the last three matches as a right-sided centre-back as part of the back three.
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The Scottish Premiership giants should still be looking to replace the Scotland international, though, despite his recent run of starts under the new manager, because he has been a liability at times.
Ralston was awarded a 4/10 player rating by Glasgow World in the 3-1 League Cup final defeat to St Mirren and a 4/10 player rating by 67HailHail in the 2-1 loss to Dundee United in two of the last three games, which shows that he has not impressed in his recent starts.
Prior to Nancy’s arrival at Parkhead, the Scottish full-back also struggled in his appearances for Martin O’Neill, particularly in the Europa League defeat to Midtjylland.
Ralston, as shown in the clip above, was not up to the level required defensively against Mikel Gogorza, who had already beaten him once to set up the opening goal in the game.
Despite his poor performances showing that Celtic need to replace him, the experienced defender is not the biggest liability in the current squad.
The flop who is Celtic's current biggest liability
Irish centre-forward Johnny Kenny made the step up to the first-team under Brendan Rodgers, who hailed his progression as “absolutely brilliant”, and he scored four goals in O’Neill’s first four matches in charge.
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After that burst of goals under the interim boss, the Irishman seemed primed to kick on and become a key player for the Scottish giants as their starting centre-forward.
Kelechi Iheanacho is the only other senior centre-forward, and he is currently out with his second injury, which has limited him to just four league appearances this season. That has provided Kenny with an opportunity to be the main man up front, but he has not taken it.
The 22-year-old marksman started the last two Premiership matches, against Dundee United and Aberdeen, and was an even bigger liability than Ralston, because his finishing was woeful.
Whilst Ralston, to his credit, won 11 of his 12 ground duels and five of his nine aerial battles, per Sofascore, Kenny did not do his job at the other end of the pitch, missing four ‘big chanches’ without scoring a single goal.
Celtic’s biggest xG underperformers
25/26 Premiership
xG
xG performance
Johnny Kenny
7.45
-3.45
Hyun-jun Yang
2.14
-2.14
Shin Yamada
1.47
-1.47
Kelechi Iheanacho
3.41
-1.41
Adam Idah
0.98
-0.98
Stats via WhoScored
As you can see in the table above, the Ireland international has been the most wasteful player in the squad in the Premiership this season, with just four goals from an xG of 7.45.
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This shows that Kenny has not been anywhere near good enough as a finisher to prove that he has what it takes to be the starting number nine for the Hoops, because he has not taken enough of his chances when they have come.
Kenny has become a huge liability for Celtic with his misses. For example, if the striker had scored the relatively simple chance in the clip above, the Hoops would have been 2-0 up against Dundee United and may have gone on to win, rather than lose 2-1.
Ralston has been an underwhelming performer who has had poor moments defensively, as aforementioned, but his success in duels in recent games shows that he can also be solid enough at times.
The Irish centre-forward, though, is in the team to score goals and be a difference-maker in the final third, and his performances show that he is just not doing that, making him a liability up front.
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