Celtic News: ‘He’s a better defender’: Peter Grant says Celtic have a player who is superior to Nathan Patterson
After the international break, Celtic supporters can once again see Brendan Rodgers carry on where he left off as they attempt to defeat Livingston this Sunday.
Prior to the half, Rodgers’ team was playing with confidence and vigour. He will be hoping for a repeat of that performance against David Martindale’s team at St Johnstone.
Although Steve Clarke, the manager of Scotland, did not make the best use of Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston, the Celtic boss will be happy that all of his players returned without any injuries.
While Ralston had a small role to play after Nathan Patterson was the favoured pick in that right wingback post, Taylor was not utilised as a substitute in either of the games against the Netherlands or Northern Ireland.
Peter Grant was highly displeased about that.
Anthony Ralston is better than Everton defender
After witnessing Patterson struggle against the Irish, the former Celtic hero said that it was the Everton defender’s error that ultimately cost Clarke dearly.
“I think Tony Ralston is a better defender than Patterson,” Grant stated on The Go Radio Football Show. “You need competitors, you need people to go and run, people who can defend,” Grant added.
Better defender, but Patterson is most likely more effective in the opposite direction. And the only doubt I would have about the two is whether or not Hickey would attend the Euros as well, or if he would attend both.
Grant is entirely accurate in this regard.
Although Ralston is a far superior defender, in my opinion, he is equally as talented as Patterson on the attacking end.
This season, the Celtic fullback has an amazing attacking rating of 7.2 from Fotmob.
Ralston has generated 19 opportunities with an estimated assist rate of 2.36 per game. Considering his paucity of first-team playing time, they are among the finest in the league, which is a fantastic accomplishment.
Additionally, Ralston has a long ball accuracy of 61.5% and a passing accuracy of above 88%. His crossing accuracy of 22.2% places him among the league’s lowest performers, hence this is an area where he does need to improve.
Under Ange Postecoglou, Ralston has been a rampaging attacking fullback; under Rodgers, he would have been the same player if Alistair Johnston hadn’t happened.
In order for Steve Clarke and his team to advance past the group stages of the Euro 2024, Ralston can provide something, thus the Hoops defender needs to be given a chance to demonstrate his abilities during the upcoming international break.
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