Glimpses Of Gold In The Gloom For Griffiths
A season where football was not at the forefront of his mind ended with Griffiths completing a mere four 90-minute matches but still scoring a Griffiths-esque 6 goals. But it is a long time since the 40 goal season under Deila.
2018/19 Appearances
Griffiths missed a total of 41 matches due to injury and illness.
Whilst his issues this season may have been distinct, there is nevertheless a trend of unavailability over the last three seasons. He has appeared 37, 39 and 20 times over the last three campaigns but only 23 times lasted the full 90 minutes. 72 matches have been lost to injury and illness in three seasons. Apart from his recent travails, the injury gaps are short and frequent.
16/17 – 4 separate absences of 3-6 games each
17/18 – 6 separate absences of 1-10 games each
18/19 – 2 separate absences before a long sign off from work
Rodger’s commented previously on the need for him to improve physical conditioning. When his well-being improves such that he is able to come back to the first team, that will still need to be addressed.
2018/19 Goal Threat
As mentioned, he still managed 6 goals this season despite only 4 completed matches.
Numbers are per 90m
The frustration for Celtic and Griffiths is that in a season of such disruption, he still manages to achieve over a goal every other game with 0.52 goals per 90m. Of course, this is a decrease on the norm and an over achievement against xG, but still. Otherwise, within the Red Sea, shots are down. Strangely, shot selection seems to have undergone a huge uptick. More shots inside the box, less shots blocked and massively improved shot accuracy the consequence. An older, wiser Griffiths? He even had significantly more Big Chances, reflecting the ability to get into the Danger Zone. Overall Receive Packing was down though, indicating less movement and control of forward passes. Being optimistic, there are some encouraging signs of more effective striking!
2018/19 Ball Progression / Creativity
Griffith’s role as the primary set piece taker, especially corners, has allowed him to increase his creative numbers in some respects.
Numbers are per 90m
Griffiths couldn’t catch a break last season as regards chances created. Despite his xA being well up, he only managed 1 assist. He created a chance every 5th pass he completed – that’s………efficient. Creating 3.59 chances per 90m, 2.01 of them came from set plays. Celtic undoubtedly miss this element of his game. No one else in the squad comes close to creating that level of chance from set plays. He averages 0.261 xA just from set pieces per 90m. Dribbling and crossing from open play were both down on last season.
2018/19 Attacking Threat
Numbers are per 90m
No surprises that his overall Scoring Contribution rates were well down. And he was contributing from far more possessions and minutes played. Tellingly his xSC was down the least – funny how you don’t get what you deserve when you need it most!
Summary
Griffith’s numbers serve to highlight what Celtic are missing. His scoring rate was still impressive despite the limited minutes. His creativity from set plays in particular was badly missed. The challenge will be whether mind and body, one or other failing him over the last three seasons, can produce the goods over nearer the 51 appearances he managed under Deila. You sense this season is make or break for Griffiths at Celtic.