Monthly Award in Scotland Misses the Mark
The Full Scottish with Brian P. Dunleavy –
We haven’t been this shocked with an award-winner since 1993, when Jack Palance said, “And the Oscar goes to…”
No, Odsonne Edouard is hardly Scottish football’s answer to Marisa Tomei, of “My Cousin Vinny” fame. He is undoubtedly the most talented footballer currently plying his trade in the Prem.
However, saying the French striker was the top performer in the league last month is like giving the “best sailor” award to a crewmember on the Titanic. True, he scored seven goals for Celtic in seven matches through February, but the Hoops won only six of those fixtures, and a few of those in less-than-dominating fashion.
And the loss—at Ross County—led to manager Neil Lennon’s resignation and enabled Rangers to clinch the league title last Sunday, following Celtic’s 0-0 draw at Dundee United.
Seriously, who voted for Edouard here? A bunch of “Dundee Uniteds?”
Just because Edouard is the most talented player in Scotland doesn’t mean he has been the best, at least not this season. Whether it was an early-season bout with COVID-19 that derailed him, or the failure of a second striker to emerge and play effectively alongside him, the Frenchman has been a disinterested observer more often than not in 2020-21.
A year ago, he was given a £30 million valuation and linked with Arsenal. Now, with Celtic out of contention for the league, and any hopes of retaining the Scottish Cup faint at best (given the way they are playing), reports have him going for half that, and to Leicester, where he would join his former gaffer, Brendan Rodgers.
Leicester continues to do well in the EPL, but Leicester ain’t London—or Paris, where Edouard got his start. With due respect to Leicester natives, of course.
And £15 million ain’t £30 million, much to the chagrin of the accountants at Parkhead.
Numbers don’t lie is the old saying, but in Edouard’s case they do. He has scored 20 goals in 33 matches across all competitions in 2020-21, which on the surface looks about on par with 29 in 47 in 2019-20.
The “eye test,” though, tells a different story. Last season, Edouard was the point of the spear in Celtic’s “effervescent” attack (to use one of Lennon’s favorite words).
This season, he has been one of the hands on the knife the Hoops squad have used to puncture their dreams of winning 10 top-flight titles in a row—not solely to blame, for sure, but not blameless either.
Due to quirk in the schedule, Rangers played only four matches in February, including a 1-1 draw at Hamilton. Perhaps that performance disqualified members of the Ibrox side from contention for Player of the Month.
In addition, several of the other sides in the top six—Hibs, Aberdeen, Livingston—had up and down months in February.
But while Edouard’s seven goals are an impressive figure, recognizing him for that performance seems to miss the forest for the trees.
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