I truly didn’t think that any of the punditry or remarks that followed Celtic’s victory against Aberdeen at Hampden yesterday would center on Callum McGregor.
Even though the Celtic captain wasn’t playing at his best, it’s important to remember that this was only his first start following his injury recovery, so pardon his lackluster effort.
It is more noticeable than it would be if it were any other player because Callum McGregor’s issue is that he is so consistently excellent when he doesn’t play to the standard that the Celtic supporters are accustomed to.
Since taking up Scott Brown’s armband three years ago, McGregor has played a significant role in Celtic’s victories, which makes BBC pundit Alasdair Lamont’s remarks extremely odd.
When Lamont was making comments during the semi-final, Pat Bonner was analyzing the Celtic captain’s attempt that went over the crossbar in the first half of their match against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. This led Lamont to doubt McGregor’s goal scoring record for the season.
“You can’t give him that room especially coming in on that left foot from the right-hand side and the space was there but he struck just about a yard over the crossbar,” Bonner remarked on BBC Radio Scotland.
Lamont: “If you’re trying to find any flaws in his game, Callum McGregor probably doesn’t score enough.”
Bonner: “I’m not sure that’s fair on him. I think he’s come up with some big goals at times and maybe because he plays in that deeper position he’s not getting as many chances as others.”
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