I could not believe what I was reading this week on social media after the Anderlecht and Hibs games about Olivier Ntcham.

The player who struggled through the first half of the Anderlecht game before making a killer pass and then having a below par performance against Hibs has a certain part of our fanbase absolutely savaging him.

Before the last two games the same fans who are now crying he is a ‘waste of money’ were praising him to the rafters. The binary nature of some fans to adjudge a player either good or bad in a few games is really beyond parody in many ways.

But should we be worried about this? Presumably, if he plays the next two games and gets man of the match twice the people berating him will be shouting he’s worth 20million.

In the first two Champions League games alone the player has completed 112 passes
with an overall pass accuracy of 90% and that’s more impressive when 61% of those are forward passed. Overall he has been a positive player in our side and shown enough quality that a couple of bad games shouldn’t have anyone reaching for the panic button.

As the manager said himself, the Olivier is only 21 and will have his good days and bad days. The Hibernian game was a bad day at the office for the Frenchman but there were many who weren’t at the races, squad rotation and the shape of the team changing played their own factors.

Can we say for certain that Ntcham is going to be an absolute success? Of course we can’t, but nor can fans honestly say he’s a flop after this short amount of time but some are willing to do this – it boggles the mind.

I look forward to Olivier growing into the team more and more as the season progresses and Brendan Rodgers puts his own stamp on the player.

 

23 COMMENTS

    • Outstanding against Lyon, thistle, linfield, Rosenberg away, Astana home and away and second half in anderlecht so that’s my argument for him in team and being excellent prospect. That’s more good games than bad. The usual knee jerk reactions thank god some of u never watched us in the lou macari times. Flickr, knee jerk, over the top, impatient reactions as usual and we still haven’t lost in 58 games domestically. Probably same people who up until mid September were saying Dembele was crap, get a grip panic merchants HH

  1. Dont care what people are trying to say about him because hes one of ours and if he has the next month of poor form i garentee he will make that up over the rest of the season because his class has already been on display this season and if we look back over the years our greats even had dips in form but they showed over the season that WHEN YOU HAVE IT YOU HAVE IT so just leave of as he HAS GOT IT AND BUCKET LOADS STILL TO COME lets just do what we do best and thats STICK BY OUR BHOYS AND THEY WILL DELIVER HH

  2. I watched the boy against that mob we pumped 5.0 in final home qualifier n he was top banana .sure was shit in Belgium but wanyama was the same . So was brown when he came in ….give the boy till January. …think he will make us proud

  3. The boy has excellent technical ability and his forward passes especially his long range are exceptional and like most players of similar ability and vision with the ambition to think out the box and pushing the boundaries will always result in some of his passes going wayward!!! But as he matures so will his choices of pass and he has the heart and bravery in the tackle to boot…We have a good one and I’m sure of it…

  4. I agree with Tambhoy he’s a class act but needs nurtured and support from the fans and be patient Rome wasn’t built in a day hail hail!!

  5. People need to get off the bhoys back and start supporting him not ripping him to pieces. He’s young and only been here a few months and needs time to settle in then we’ll see the best of him. He needs our help so come on bhoys n ghirls get behind him and the rest of the team HH

  6. I’m a Celtic supporter and I never criticize my team or my players. NEVER. That’s what being a Celtic supporter means. Win Lose or Draw We are Are Celtic Supporters. Faithful through and through. Over and Over we will follow you.

  7. Olivier has it in him.You,d need to be blind or lack knowledge in playing the game,The Bhoy has a killer pass in him.Give him time to grow into our team.Remember Henrik!!!!!I recall he had a few utter whoppers in the beginning,Look how he turned Out.Get behind Ntcham,He is one of Our Own.Yes he has had a few games were its not been there for him but if he is to succeed at our Great Club,He needs Our Backing.Like the saying goes,Rome Wasnt Built In A Day.Some of our fans should be ashamed of themselves for knocking our recent signing.Kouassi now wtf is happening with this Guy.Been with us how long???Seen one or two glimpses.Is he just on holiday at Celtic????HH GGAW

  8. Your site is beyond parody to be honest. Anyone who does not follow the groupthink at celtic Park at the moment gets hammered by the sevco-esque ‘In Brendan we trust, the board are brilliant’ mob. No one is criticising the boy for two bad performances, he has been rank rotten in more than half the games he has played. And to point this out has you writing this garbage. Football is about opinions as they say but I have not met a Celtic supporter who has said that Ntcham’s recent performances have been anyhing other than garbage. Just because you play one decent ball in one half of football, when the entire defence went missing does not excuse you for not being able to find one of your own players for practically. You can tell how bad he was as the praise given to him was for not hiding. He was just as bad against Dundee. Based on performances, he should be dropped for a while. He has as much chance of being the next Efe Ambrose and a whipping boy as he has of being a top grade player. I hope I am wrong. Against PSG he stood out as being completely lost, even more so than the others, and was mocked by the French media. I hope he gets backed and I hope he turns in a few good performances but he is nowhere near the player the supporters think he is. Brendan will stick with him as he sanctioned the 4.5 million. But it might do the guy more harm than good. Or do you agree with playing him every week when other guys in the squad deserve a chance? a

  9. People keep saying he has already shown enough to tell us he is class? When? Name the game he demonstrated that he will be a class player? I have seen every game this season and I cannot recall a stand-out performance. He has been competent in some games and completely incompetent in others. The thing about being at Celtic, very few players who have bad starts recover completely. I would say that the pressure is already on this lad and a failure to turn in a few good performances in his next 5 or 6 games will result in him falling out of favour. He is only in the team as we already think the league is won. He will get a little more time but make some of the basic howlers he has made against poor (Dundee) or poorly performing (Anderlecht) teams and he will cost us goals and be dropped. Hopefully Armstrong is fit for Bayern.

    • Lyon, thistle, Rosenberg home, Astana home and away, 2nd half in anderlecht, linfield home there’s games not just good in but excellent in john is that ok for u?

  10. John:: Armstrong has been below average every game this season I can remember off the top of my head. I’m totally with Tambhoy19. And another thing if I hear one more stupid negative comment about Jonny Hayes I will literally knock 40 shades of green out of them. Man gives 110%, was great for the Dons and is is probably trying too hard right now and he has Paddy Roberts and James Forrest ahead of him. He still deserves the odd game. Yet we get children on Twitter savaging their own. That’s not Celtic to me! Although I did hear people boo Neil Lennon when he was playing and I was near sick then too!

    • Thats right WE ARE CELTIC so stop slating our players and just support who ever pulls the hoops on as BR has the team playing great football at the moment all players that play are at one time going to drop their average ability at times but i would rather watch players give everything they have during the match they are in or would you rather be over at ipox watching the dross thats on show there every time they play because there is not one of theirs or most other teams in Scotland that have the player we have and when ours have a bad game or 2 they are still miles ahead of what is put out against us dont expect everyone to be at the top of their game in every game just enjoy what is on the park at the moment as i remember when we had a full team out there giving everything in games and it still wasn’t enough to be pulling a jersey on but you know what WE STILL WENT AND SUPPORTED THEM as thats what being a hoops fan is all about so lay of the lads that have been off their game and do what we do best and support them all when at the top of their game or when they are off it because they will show the doubters that they are wrong HH

  11. What utter rubbish.. This young man has come to the club and has become a blinding addition.. His passing has been superb and seems not to be fazed by the occasion.. Very impressive.. OK hbs game was not his best.. We don’t boo these guys we support them.. Was told at the game that some fans were booing totally amazed… We are still on this unbeaten run which will never be match… Be thankful to the players and manager… Coybig…

  12. I’d rather he attempted that killer pass than to be scared to take it on and play the safe pass, it won’t always come off but that’s what makes a brave playerand where his quality will be seen, remember too he is only 21

  13. HH to Ntcham,Im confident we have yet to see what this Bhoy can really achieve in Football.And being at our great Club is providing him that ooportunity.We need to get behing our Bhoys.Thru Thick n Thin.Its All About The Team.This Bhoy has talent and if we dont get behind him.That could have an Adverse Effect Too.COYBIG!!!Intae Them….

  14. Debatable but not Negotiable John.Armstrong is a Wage Player.He is following the Wage Packet Down South or Abroad.Thats why he only signed a Two Year contract.Just like a 12 Month Extension.Since he has had a decent run in the team,He is letting his head Run riot,Him and his Agent trying to hold our Club to ransom.Tom Rogic is better than Armstrong,i reckon….HH..We have a great selection of talent at Our Great Club…Spoilt for Choice M8.Opinions are Healthy and We Arent Deludead Like the Circus Act Over at the Crumble Dome.Its more the Pity Scotlands Premier hasnt got Better Clubs to Test Celtic,Europe is Our Goal,Long May We Remain Undefeated in Our League.To be Honest,I hope Hibernian Have a Decent Season aswell.Mon The HooPs,HH

  15. Listen to all the doubters.
    The young man is 21 ffs. Adapting to a new life and language. You muppets are acting like brother Pedros.
    He’s got balls. Courage. Determination, a will to win and HUGE potential. Those attributes make him more than worthy of the shirt.
    Yes he’s had a couple of poor games but in the anderlect game he showed his mettle. He didn’t hide and disappear into anonymity in the game and his first half pass to set tierney on his way and tackle then deft flick to set Scotty on his way created TWO of the three goals to leave us in a very commanding position in our aim of European football after Christmas.
    We are ALL Celtic, to a man. And when one of us is having a bad game we don’t reach for the revolver and shoot him. Leave that type of behaviour to the greyskullers.
    My money is on Olivier turning out a better player than big Vic.

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