No Basis in Reality; Critics of Celtic Star Wide of the Mark

There has been discussion for much of the season around Edouard’s commitment to the club or whether he’s trying or not. I want to put these boring arguments to bed by using data to show he has performed well.

All data used is Celtic only, no internationals or friendlies. Comparing xG [Expected goals] from 19/20 & 20/21. We can see that Edouard is on similar goal-scoring form to last season. In fact, the 20/21 trendline suggests he has improved!

This improvement is emphasised when looking at Edouard’s rolling xG. It shows that he has improved on last season and only recently has that improvement became more drastic. This more drastic improvement is a result of the change to the 4-4-2 diamond where he has more support.

It is clear that creatively is where Edouard has declined.

This is of course down to factors external to himself. Such as incoherent team selection, lack of support from midfield and poor coaching instructions. Even when paired up top his strike partner is ever-changing.

Last season we saw large creative improvement in Edouard when Leigh Griffith partnered him up top. Even with the change to the diamond and paired back with Griffiths again, his numbers have not recovered creatively. Perhaps coaching or Griffiths not being sharp enough is to blame.

Final Thoughts

I think Edouard has been Celtic’s star this season, if he had an injury similar to Jullien, we would be toiling and in danger of losing second place. Criticism of Edouard has no basis in reality and is likely spawned from garbage reporting. His output has remained high and irreplaceable, and let’s not forget the stuttering starts he’s had due to injury and Covid.