Gordon glad Rodgers dropped him
Celtic No 1 Gordon reveals how the sudden jolt of being dropped turned into a blessing in disguise as the merits of his manager’s footballing philosophy have given the goalkeeper a whole new lease of life
CRAIG GORDON has admitted Brendan Rodgers was right to drop him from the Celtic team — and has thanked his manager for making him a better goalkeeper in the process. Gordon is set to face Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night, having regained not only his club place but also being named Scotland keeper for the recent World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley. It all represents a significant turnaround for the 33-year-old, who was removed from the Celtic team in favour of Dorus de Vries for five matches earlier in the season.
‘I think it had been coming for a while, so perhaps a step back was what I needed,’ he admitted. ‘You don’t see that at the time. It was disappointing not to be in the team but it gave me the time to really focus on what was needed to play in this team.
‘The manager has been great the whole time. He dealt with the situation really well. There has never been a problem there. And now that I look back at it, he has probably helped me not only in the short term but the long term too.’
Rodgers wanted Gordon (left) to improve on one specific area of his game.
‘The game has changed and there is undoubtedly much more emphasis on a goalkeeper using his feet,’ added Gordon. ‘Whatever the system, the goalkeeper is now a focal point.
‘I’m thoroughly enjoying the way we are playing. It’s exciting and, mentally, it’s a new challenge too. I’ve enjoyed getting to grips with it and, hopefully, I can continue to improve.’
IF Celtic are to conjure another unlikely win over Barcelona then they’ll have to find a new way to do it. Tony Watt earned himself a glorious place in Parkhead history with his 2012 winner against the Catalans but the assist, a long punt forward from goalkeeper Fraser Forster, is exactly the kind of manoeuvre that has been placed strictly off limits by Brendan Rodgers.
Craig Gordon has learned that the hard way. Fourteen years on from the day he began his career under instruction to launch high balls towards a targetman named de Vries, he’s been forced to abandon his agricultural habit after being dropped in favour of a goalkeeper of the same name.
Gordon debuted for Hearts as a teenager in 2002 but it was what he did with his hands that mattered to manager Craig Levein and his feet became blunt instruments for propelling the ball upfield.
The long-ball tactics were also the house style at Sunderland, to where he was transferred for £9million in 2007. Even after he battled back from serious injury to earn a contract at Celtic a couple of years ago, there were no special instructions for distribution under Ronny Deila.
The arrival of Rodgers therefore came as a shock to the system. Like so many modern coaches, the Northern Irishman favours a style of play in which the goalkeeper operates as a surrogate sweeper, a starting point for building play.
Gordon’s discomfort with the fresh approach was evident during the Champions League qualifiers and from the moment Rodgers signed Dorus de Vries, a former disciple from their time together at Swansea, a change between the sticks was inevitable.
At first, Gordon didn’t react well, and cracks appeared in his normally unflappable demeanour in the face of what he viewed as unfair newspaper coverage.
Yet after being withdrawn from the front line, the 33-year-old resolved to improve. Now back in situ for both club and country following his Scotland recall at Wembley, he is now preparing for a huge European night on Wednesday and is clearly in a much happier place.
‘I think it had been coming for a while so perhaps a step back was what I needed,’ he admitted. ‘You don’t see that at the time — it was disappointing not to be in the team for four or five games but it gave me the time to really focus on what was needed to play in this team.
‘Since I’ve come back in it has been an awful lot better. Since he took me out of team, the manager has been great the whole time. He dealt with the situation really well — there has never been a problem there.
‘And now that I look back at it, he has probably helped me not only in the short term but the long term, too.’
Just as Celtic free-wheeled through the two years spent under Deila, so Gordon appeared to be coasting as the club’s undisputed No 1 with neither Lukasz Zaluska or Logan Bailly looking inclined, far less capable, of mounting a challenge.
Although the easy ride was possibly no bad thing for a player still readjusting after more than two years out of the game, there was little in his performances to suggest he had recovered the same level of performance that made him an English Premier League regular in his twenties.
Given time to clear his head and adjust his feet, Gordon admits he has benefited from his unsolicited timeout. He re-emerged in time for the Champions League visit of Manchester City, and his late save to tip over Ilkay Gundogan’s power-packed shot was crucial to Celtic picking up a first point of the campaign.
It’s also been evident that the crossfield pass is now as much a part of his armoury as catching crosses.
He continued: ‘The game has changed for goalkeepers. There is undoubtedly much more emphasis on a goalkeeper using his feet.
‘Whatever the system, the goalkeeper is now a focal point. Before, you
would put the ball down, play it into an area, everybody would crowd that area and you would play for a second ball. It wasn’t difficult.
‘The teams I played for had been fairly direct. At Hearts we had Mark de Vries up front as our targetman and at Sunderland it was Kenwyne Jones.
‘That was what was asked of me. I had never been asked to play any other way. Now I have, I realise the core skills were there for me to do it.
‘I’m thoroughly enjoying the way we are playing at the moment, it’s exciting and mentally it’s a new challenge, too. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with it and hopefully I can continue to improve.’ Gordon’s relatively swift restoration to the Celtic team was aided by some particularly poor performances by the man signed to challenge him. An obvious low point was the team’s 7-0 drubbing on the opening night of the Champions League. Faced with a front three which have set new fantastical standards for attacking play, De Vries was always bound to be in for a busy night in Barcelona. Less than three minutes into the game, Lionel Messi beat him from a tight angle and he was on a hiding to nothing. De Vries publicly thanked Gordon for his support after the game and the sentiment endures. ‘You don’t want the team to take a beating like that,’ said Gordon. ‘I wished I was out there to help. Dorus was in that night and there were some good goals going past him but, at the same time, you wish it was you out there with the opportunity to try to stop them. ‘I spoke to Dorus in the dressing room that night but there’s not a great deal you can say. I’ve lost seven myself when I was at Sunderland in a game against Everton, so I know that it doesn’t feel good. We all support each other here.’ Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez bring their three-pronged threat to Glasgow this week and they’re likely to be hungry for more goals as they seek to pip City to top spot in Group C. Gordon expects to be busy but, having acquitted himself well against
‘PERHAPS A STEP BACK WAS WHAT I NEEDED. THE MANAGER HAS HELPED ME NOT ONLY IN THE SHORT TERM BUT THE LONG TERM, TOO'
both City and Borussia Monchengladbach, he will bring an enhanced measure of confidence to Wednesday’s game.
‘These games are different, they’re played at a different tempo,’ he acknowledged. ‘The ball will be in our half a lot so I’ll have to keep readjusting my position and be ready for shots. A lot of Barca’s goals come from close range so we’ll be training towards that.
‘They had 14 shots on target here last time. I’ve probably never faced that many in a game. That’s obviously the keeper’s domain, so I better keep them out.
‘There’s not a great deal expected of us so we can play with a freedom and see if we can get something.
‘As a keeper, you just hope you have one of those nights where everything hits off you, rebounds bounce your way and you get a bit of luck.’
For Gordon, personal glory isn’t so much the issue as the simple act of taking part.
Around the time Forster was denying Messi and Co, Gordon was in limbo and considering a tentative foray into coaching that led to a brief stint helping out at Dumbarton.
‘I always wanted to resurrect my career,’ he insisted. ‘So to get back playing, probably better than I was before, I’m very happy with that.
‘I take everything in now. I won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in the first part of my career and I probably didn’t savour that as much as the success later on.’
If Gordon needs any inspiration for Barca he can always tune in to footage of the clubs’ meeting at Celtic Park four years ago when Forster enjoyed the game of his life and was bestowed the nickname ‘La Gran Muralla’ (The Great Wall) by the Catalan press.
‘Fraser did very well in that match and was excellent in the whole Champions League campaign,’ noted Gordon. ‘I got to work with him here for a month before he left for Southampton so I got to see his qualities first-hand.
‘Hopefully we can repeat the feat. It was an iconic goal from Tony Watt to win the game. That goal has been played back many times and is probably his career highlight. Hopefully someone else can be a hero this time.’
Although Gordon admits he hasn’t quite had a game to match Forster’s night of defiance, he will forever be associated with Scotland’s famous victory over France in Paris nine years ago.
‘We were under pressure for a long period of time in that game, but although it was a hard night and we defended really well, I don’t think I had too many saves to make,’ he recalled.
‘I am, though, claiming an assist for Faddy’s goal. I haven’t shown that to the gaffer. I don’t think he’d be too pleased with the hoof up the park...’
It was an iconic goal from Tony att to win that game. Hopefully meone else can be a hero this time