Let’s get physical /New Celtic signing Duffy can provide presence at the back
In a nutshell, Neil Lennon will look for Shane Duffy to be to his Celtic team what Bobo Balde was to mentor Martin O’neill’s Parkhead side, writes Andrew Smith.
Consider the descriptions of the 6ft 4in “absolute unit” since the champions’ interest in the Republic of Ireland centre-back became public: “uncompromising” “nononsense”, “aggressive”, “oldfashioned”, a “brick wall”.
Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer may be 6ft 5in – just like Balde – but such terms would never trip off the tongue when describing either of the current Celtic first-choices at the heart of the club’s backline.
For all their physical stature, this pair are urbane defenders, adept at playing out from the back, but considered susceptible to being roughed up by the battering ram, target-man type. Brighton loanee Duffy is the antithesis. He is an unabashed artisan. The 28-year-old’s distribution is not a strong suit – precisely why he dropped down the pecking order under Graham Potter at Brighton – but when it comes to putting his body on the line in order to protect his goal, he flies into tackles with a zeal and steel that isn’t really in keeping with the make-up of the current defensive options at Celtic.
Yet these are precisely
the sort of traits that made Balde such a menacing and valuable competitor.
In this respect, the tweet sent to Duffy by former Republic of Ireland teammate David Meyler as it became apparent the move to his boyhood club was going to become reality, can be considered telling. “Congrats @shaneduffy can’t wait to watch you head balls 70 yards for @Celticfc Green heart.”
There is another Duffy/ Balde parallel that might be considered instructive beyond their take-no-prisoners approach to heading the ball in both boxes. The success of the 3-5-2 formation that was O’neill’s default as the club reached the Uefa Cup final in 2003 owed much to the fearsome French-born Guinean being the bedrock of a backline trio in which he was flanked by Joos Valgaeren and
Johan Mjallby. Both were big men in height terms, but not true bruisers a la Balde.
The addition of 33-times capped Duffy should allow for Lennon to revert to that system, which proved so successful for him in the early months of 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
With the summer departure of Jozo Simunovic, the Celtic manager has seemed disinclined to play three at
the back this season. This option was limited too by a paucity of fit centre-forwards. Duffy, who captained his country last time, was described yesterday as a “warrior” by Lennon. It is a description that fits Balde like a glove. The Derry-born defender’s recruitment can surely then be considered a harbinger for the return of a land of the giants backline at Celtic as operated under O’neill.