Simunovic Comes Of Age

Simunovic was a big money signing by Celtic’s standards but four seasons in, he has never really been a nailed-on first choice. That changed as the Triple Treble was secured. Has Simunovic come of age?

2018/19 Appearances

Now 24, Simunovic is still a young defender. Each season he has been hampered by injury and has only appeared in over 50% of the matches once in 16/17 when he made 33 outings.

This season was no different. As per last, Simunovic appeared in 30 matches, completing 22. But tellingly he completed eight of the last nine under new manager Lennon. Despite Benkovic being, statistically, the top performing defender this season, Simunovic and Ajer formed the partnership that brought the Treble home. Lennon perhaps had an eye on the Champions League qualifiers in establishing this partnership. Centre back pairings have been a nightmare position for Celtic in these series of games over the last few years. With Boyata and Benkovic away, those two are the only reliable senior starters available.

2018/19 Defending

Whereas Boyata has a good scoring record and Ajer is famed for his deep dribbles, Simunovic is more a traditional defender with few additional embellishments.

Numbers are per 90m

And it is an encouraging report card. The key defensive metrics Defensive Action Success Rate and Possession Win % are both up a few points. Whilst Simunovic is nowhere near the Van Dijk bench mark of 81% DASR%, he is moving in the right direction. The increase in Possession Win % is significant. Simply, he is winning back possession with his defensive actions more often, and being dispossessed less often. A slight blip is the increase in Tackles Lost. But this data includes challenges in all parts of the field, and Simunovic has been in forward positions far more than in previous years. Any challenges lost in the opposition penalty area for example would count in this. As well as winning more challenges both aerial and ground based, he has reduced his error rate. I always use 0.5 per game as the bench mark for “too many”. He was on that threshold last season but has reduced it down this. And he is committing less fouls. Rashness does creep into Simunovic’s game on occasion. He tries to win the ball where it is not there to be won on occasion. A caution is that at 1.61 per 90m, Simunovic is Packed (bypassed by forward passes) more than any other central defender. The numbers are low but ideally you don’t want your centre backs taken out the game by forward passes. And in losing possession 1.1 time per 90m in his own defensive third, Simunovic is behind only Boyata and Ralston by that metric. But overall this is a report card of good progression.

2018/19 Distribution

As mentioned, 50-yard passes and rampaging runs are not a natural part of Simunovic’s game.

Numbers are per 90m

His distribution is mainly conservative. 95% pass completion tells you that. 6.81 passes per 90m are Pack Passes that take out opponents. This is actually behind only Benkovic of the centre backs. And it is something Lennon must have encouraged as he averaged 5 a game under Rodgers and that then leapt to 9 a match under the new manager. We may see a more expansive passing range in the new season. As noted above, Simunovic has been noticeably more active in an attacking sense than previously. Under Rodgers he managed 11 attempts at goal in 21 matches. Under Lennon it was 8 in 8 matches. Over the season he averaged 0.75 attempts at goal per 90m compared to 0.41 last. Most memorably, in the Billy McNeill tribute match versus Kilmarnock, the Number 5 headed the winner as the clock read 67 minutes. A more fitting memorial to the greatest Celtic captain would be difficult to imagine. Simunovic has therefore carved himself a piece of Celtic history with that magic moment.

Summary

Whilst injury proneness is still a concern, this may be the season Simunovic has established himself. A starting position is currently his going into the new season. Defensive performances are improving, and passing is becoming more forward looking. If he can stay fit, he may become integral to this Celtic side.