Nakamura the weakest link for fragile Celtic

Celtic did have the better of the second half, but without carving Hearts open. The visitors were by far the better side in the first period and the opening goal was a lucky break for Celtic, three or four Hearts bodies diving in front of Beattie’s shot which was deflected past Steve Banks, the stand-in goalkeeper who otherwise would have had it covered. It was a hammer blow for Hearts and you might have expected Celtic to push on from there. But they are not capable of dominating as they have done in recent years. Teams are going to Celtic Park and Ibrox to have a go, and Hearts were positive. Celtic lacked a cutting edge and have lost the aura they had under Martin O’Neill. The confidence has gone, they let the league slip from their grasp last season, some players are getting older, some question marks remain over Gordon Strachan’s signings, Hearts have had a good start, Hibs had a good season last time — the whole thing is changing. Players see that Celtic and Rangers are not beating teams by three or four goals and are beginning to believe in themselves.

A contributory factor is that the Old Firm have not signed the calibre of players that scare other teams. Hearts midfielder Samuel Camazzola is a player that manager George Burley apparently doesn’t fancy, but Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura had less impact on yesterday’s game than the Brazilian. I watched Nakamura make his debut against Dundee United, a performance that had Strachan calling it the best debut he had ever seen. I wouldn’t push it that far, he did well but United lacked belief. He has lorded it over smaller sides who haven’t got the quality and sit off the game, like United, Falkirk and Inverness. But he was non-existent in the Old Firm game and, in recent matches that I’ve seen, he has been a peripheral figure.

He was deployed on the right side of midfield yesterday from where he could come inside and create, but he created very little. When Celtic fans think of Lubomir Moravcik, their last playmaker of note, they remember a guy who could make something happen even when he was not having a great game. I am yet to see that from Nakamura. He is not the new Juninho, but if Hearts keep getting results and Celtic struggle, it will pose a conundrum for Strachan. The manager is looking for a formation that most suits Nakamura but he hasn’t found it yet. How long can he try and accommodate a player who is becoming a luxury? There are signs of recovery from Celtic if you consider the appalling start made under Strachan. There has been a gradual improvement, although admittedly it could not have got much worse than losing 5-0 against Artmedia Bratislava. He is beginning to get his point across. He seems to have a balance at the back with Bobo Balde and Stephen McManus as centre-halves but there are question marks over both full-backs, namely Paul Telfer’s age and Mo Camara’s ability. In midfield Neil Lennon, Stilian Petrov and Alan Thompson don’t seem to have the legs that they had under O’Neill. I thought Hearts’ pair of Julien Brellier and Paul Hartley were as good in the centre of midfield as Celtic were. Up front, Strachan’s biggest problem is finding the right pairing out of Maciej Zurawski, John Hartson, Chris Sutton, Shaun Maloney and Craig Beattie.

However, in comparison with his counterparts at Tynecastle and Ibrox, Strachan is in a reasonably healthy position as he has got a good spread of competence and quality at his disposal. Rangers manager Alex McLeish is still searching for a settled XI because his squad are performing so unpredictably. Burley has bemoaned the lack of depth to his squad, a point emphasised when young Calum Elliot substituted a half-fit Michal Pospisil yesterday.

And this is where the other teams in the Premierleague come in. I think points can be dropped by everybody against everybody, outwith perhaps Livingston and Dunfermline. Aberdeen have beaten Rangers, Hearts and Rangers have both dropped points at Falkirk while Celtic drew at Motherwell, and I think that shows lesser teams are capable of producing on any given day. It’s been a few years since that has been the case. I don’t think the title race will come down to head-to-heads such as yesterday’s or the Old Firm encounters. Games such as Rangers at Tannadice today are equally important because the big guns are not firing as they once did.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk