One of the notable aspects of Celtic’s style of play under Ange Postecoglou has been the way in which his strikers are, or in some ways are not, utilised.

The current iteration of Celtic is performing at an elite level domestically. In fact, StatsBomb shared the following tweet recently:

One of the reasons for this elite performance may be a combination of how Postecoglou’s style of play utilises its strikers and the alignment with the skillsets of Celtic’s players. 

Two common aspects of striker play where current Celtic strikers have far less involvement are build-up and final-third attacks. For example, we do not see Kyogo Furuhashi spending much time securing aerial passes as an out-ball or dropping into the midfield to turn and attack defences in the final third.

Giorgos Giakoumakis has been a bit more involved in the former, but that introduces a question: is that a good thing or not? Are strikers generally asked to do too much by some teams, particularly when considering an individual player's strengths versus weaknesses?

Celtic Way:

This first radar compares Kyogo’s current league campaign with Giakoumakis’s entire Celtic sample for all league games (i.e. pure samples for both playing the striker position).

This is not an exercise in trying to label either as better or worse but rather all of the following comparisons are intended to explore the questions stated above. We can see from the radar that the shot touch percentage metric, which is a gauge of the percentage of time the player shoots out of all touches, is extremely high for both.

This means that both shoot a very large percentage of the time they are directly involved in play, as their first percentile rankings reflect.

This next radar compares the same two sample periods, but focuses upon the on-ball value metric:

Celtic Way:

Here we see the disparity in relative positive versus negative outcomes when on the ball between the two players, as Kyogo’s rates for losing possession are much lower. For example, Giakoumakis’s tendency to drop deeper to get more involved in play is reflected in his higher volume of passes from open play, as well as carries.

However, we can see that neither is reflected in the pass or carry OBV metrics as his elevated levels of turning over possession and being dispossessed result in opportunities for opponents. Kyogo’s related metrics are not positive either - but less of a negative can be a positive.

Celtic Way:

What we can also see from the radar is that Kyogo’s -0.03 pass OBV metric benchmarks in the 56th percentile amongst all strikers within StatsBomb’s coverage universe for the men's game. This suggests that strikers, on average, are not producing more positive value versus negative when passing the ball.  

Let us rewind the clock to the 2019-20 league season, in which Odsonne Edouard played a more traditional striker's role and did so at a relatively high level.

Celtic Way:

We can see that Edouard’s xG was a little lower than Kyogo’s so far this season but his passing-related metrics are, relatively speaking, off the charts.

He averaged about five times as much xG assisted from open play than Kyogo and over three times as many passes in the final third. 

Celtic Way:

Here we see the on-ball value radar comparing the two, in which we can see that, despite all of that attack-related passing, his pass OBV was still -0.01.

His much higher involvement and creative passing comes with a significant byproduct - 6.55 turnovers, which ranks in the first percentile amongst his peer group - while the -0.01 pass OBV ranks in the 73rd. Edouard’s major differentiator was his ability to carry the ball with reasonable proficiency, though his volume of carries percentile is below that of his related OBV metric.

We can compare strikers in different systems and leagues to try to gain additional perspective. For example, here is Nicolas Fullkrug so far this season at Werder Breman in the Bundesliga compared to Kyogo:

Celtic Way:

Celtic Way:

Obviously the two players are competing in very different circumstances but, given the context of his side's level within the Bundesliga, Fullkrug has played a role that has him on the ball far more than Kyogo. That is reflected in various metrics in the attacking radar.

The on-ball value radar offers additional context for whether that is likely a good thing overall. We can see that his pass and dribble and carry OBV metrics are far lower than the volume of involvement he has.

In contrast, his finishing has been quite good, which brings us back to the questions above. With the caveat that this is not a large sample and may not be fully reflective of his true talent and skill levels (but assuming it is) would he better utilised in a role that limits his involvement to focus upon his strengths over his weaknesses? 

In contrast, here are radars comparing Kyogo with Sheraldo Becker of Union Berlin, Josip Juranovic's new home:

Celtic Way:

Celtic Way:

In the attacking radar, we can see that Becker’s goal scoring has been pretty remarkable given the amount of xG this season and that level of overperformance is generally unsustainable.

With an xG per shot of just 0.05, my guess is he has scored some real 'worldies' from distance. As we look at the on-ball value radar, we can see that he has offered considerable net value per his pass and dribble and carry OBV metrics, with volumes that run about double that of Kyogo. 

Through the prism of the questions asked at the start of this column, Becker is an interesting case study.

His goalscoring is likely unsustainable given the very low xG and the low quality of average chances, so is he suited to being a striker? Union Berlin have been playing a more traditional big guy/little guy striker tandem in a 3-5-2 system. If so, then surely the other striker is being limited in their role to focus upon being on the end of and finishing chances?

Celtic Way:

Celtic Way:

While Becker appears to be on the ball to a greater degree, we still see involvement from Jorand Siebatcheu at a level which is materially higher than Celtic strikers under Postecoglou. We can see how poorly that is working out for Siebatcheu, as reflected in his poor OBV metrics across the board.

This exercise is another example suggesting the relative impact of Postecoglou’s style of play is still underappreciated.

Often read and heard among the fanbase is a lament over the lack of striker involvement. Simultaneously, the 'trust in Ange' mantra is repeated constantly.

In this instance, the latter is good guidance. Postecoglou appears to know how to get the most out of his strikers... by asking for less.