Giving It A Rest

The early manifestations of how the Tierney Butterfly Effect will impact team shape are risky.

Note: this article was written prior to the League Cup tie versus Falkirk.

We spent a good chunk of time during the summer discussing the Kieran Tierney “butterfly effect”. That is, with the return of the athletic, marauding left full-back, what impact will this have on the shape and roles within the team?

The starting point was the notion that under Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers, Celtic generally attacked in a 4-6 split.

Meaning, the two centre-backs, Callum McGregor and one of the full-backs inverting, would form a four-man rest defence. That is, they are not sitting in their deck chairs smoking tabs; they are positioned as the rest of the team outside those attacking.

These are general guidelines, by the way, not precise configurations to be evidenced during every Celtic attack. Football is fluid, and despite the proliferation of positional play, there remains freedom for players to find spaces within tactical frameworks.

In the last four seasons, that inverted full-back would normally have been Greg Taylor.

Hence the discussion on the pod.

Leaving 32-year-old McGregor to patrol midfield spaces on his own seems unwise.

Would one of the attacking full-backs – Alistair Johnston or Tierney – be asked to curb their attacking instincts to fill in when Celtic pour forwards? Unlikely.

Would one of Paolo Bernardo, Arne Engels or Reo Hatate be more of a double midfield pivot with McGregor and hold back in possession? Seemed more likely.

As I pointed out in the inaugural Tictical Breakdown, against Aberdeen in particular, Celtic seemed exposed to the counterattack on numerous occasions in the first half when the Dons set up in a midblock but with four players always ready to spring forward. Poor execution and/or decision-making resulted in numerous opportunities being squandered. That will not happen at the Champions League level.

So, how did Celtic set up in reality?