These should be Leigh’s peak years...not a gradual drift into obscurity
AT the age of 29, Henrik Larsson enjoyed his most prolific season at Celtic. By scoring an astonishing 53 goals in 50 games in all competitions, he fired Martin O’Neill’s side to a domestic Treble in 2000-01.
Larsson won the European Golden Boot at the end of that campaign as the continent’s deadliest striker. He was arguably the best player in Britain at that point, let alone Scotland.
Scott Brown was 31 when he captained Celtic to an Invincible season in 2016-17. A year later, at the age of 32, he was voted PFA Player of the Year in Scotland.
During my own career, I was 30 years old when I had my best season at Celtic, scoring 32 goals and winning the PFA Player of the Year award in 2014.
These are your best years as a footballer. From the age of 28 through until 31 or 32, you should be at the absolute peak of your powers. It represents the prime of your career.
Leigh Griffiths is 30 just now. But, rather than firing on all cylinders, it feels like his Celtic career is just being left to fizzle out.
He has scored five goals in 18 appearances in the Premiership this season. He has scored just once since Boxing Day, the opener in a 2-0 win over Hamilton Accies at the end of January.
By the time Celtic’s league campaign resumes against Aberdeen next Wednesday, it will be almost three months since Griffiths last found the net.
I take no pleasure whatsoever in saying this because regular readers of this column will know just how highly I rate Griffiths and how highly I regard him on a personal level.
But it has all gone stale for him at Celtic. It feels like he has become the forgotten man, which is a shame when you consider how much ability he has.
He is struggling to get a game for Celtic at the moment, being limited to cameo appearances for five or ten minutes by coming off the bench.
He got 15 minutes off the bench towards the end of Saturday’s 6-0 win over Livingston. The last time he started a league game for Celtic was in the 2-1 home defeat to St Mirren on January 30.
He started the victory over Falkirk in the Scottish Cup — but I don’t think there’s any chance of that being repeated when Celtic head to Ibrox to face Rangers next weekend.
‘I was born to play at Ibrox’. Those were the words of Griffiths in March last year as Celtic prepared to face their Old Firm rivals prior to the Covid shutdown.
At that point, it looked like a player reborn. He was banging in the goals once again after striking up a brilliant partnership with Odsonne Edouard.
Now, just over 12 months down the line, Griffiths doesn’t look like he’ll kick a ball next weekend. He’s just so far down the pecking order.
He has also lost his place in the Scotland squad. National boss Steve Clarke left him out for the World Cup qualifiers against Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands last month.
Che Adams has come into the national squad and been a revelation. Lyndon Dykes has been excellent since being called up by Clarke last year.
Kevin Nisbet was involved with the last squad and made his debut against the Faroes. He scored for Hibs at Ibrox yesterday and is the second-top scorer in this season’s Premiership. That’s three players who are clearly in front of Griffiths right now.
You could also add Lawrence Shankland’s name to that list, given his involvement in recent squads.
Right now, you would have to say it’s highly unlikely Griffiths will be part of the Scotland squad heading to the Euros this summer.
It’s a shame because, on his day, he’s the most natural finisher in the country. His two free-kicks against England in 2017 made Hampden erupt. I was there in the stadium that day and, I can promise you, it remains one of the most incredible noises I’ve ever witnessed. I’ve never heard anything like it.
The scenes of celebration were off the charts when that second free-kick flew past Joe Hart and into the net. That was Griffiths in his pomp.
He looks a shadow of that player just now, though, and it’s difficult to see a way back for him at Celtic looking beyond this summer.
Griffiths admitted that he was ‘a disgrace’ when he came back from the initial lockdown unfit and overweight last summer.
Any new manager coming in at Celtic, whether it’s Eddie Howe or someone else, will look at those comments and think: ‘No, not for me’.
Griffiths has never been able to catch up from that episode last summer. He was branded unprofessional, with Neil Lennon hammering him in the press.
It’s important to separate his personal problems when talking about Griffiths. I’ve got nothing but respect for the way he has fought his way back after suffering from some very serious off-field issues.
But that’s not what we’re talking about. We are talking about what ought to be the peak years of his career. At the moment, he is drifting into obscurity.
He needs a spark and a fresh start. Come the summer, he will only have 12 months left on his contract. A parting of the ways might be the best solution for all concerned.