It's Sam Gamble But Celts Must Drop Georgios

Sep 28 2008 Andy Walker

GEORGIOS SAMARAS is the man of the moment for Celtic but it might be best if Gordon Strachan drops him for the Euro clash with Villarreal on Tuesday.

The Greek has been on fire at times this season and exceptional goals against Kilmarnock and Motherwell have made him an automatic choice for domestic games.

But Strachan will probably go with just one recognised striker in El Madrigal stadium and the best man for that difficult job is Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Celtic aren't good enough to chase the game at this level so being secure at the back and in midfield is the most important thing.

Chances will come the Hoops way and Samaras can play his part. But to begin with it's best to stay tight and strong.

Vennegoor of Hesselink has a physical presence that's far more imposing and also plays higher up the pitch than the Greek.

When you don't have anyone with lightning pace, a big target man is the next best thing for the lone-striker role.

The Spaniards can dominate possession so Strachan's players will need an out ball.

But Samaras tends to drop deep to pick up passes and likes to run at defences.

If Celtic have five in midfield they don't need a striker clogging up that area and Strachan will need to think hard about his line-up. Samaras is the club's top scorer but that honour didn't save Scott McDonald from being benched for the Euro clash with Benfica last term.

Strachan took a gamble by picking Chris Killen as the sole striker and his move nearly paid off.

The Hoops played well and only a late Oscar Cardozo strike stopped them from claiming a battling point.

Celtic picked up nothing from their travels in the group stage last year but a 100-per-cent record at Parkhead took them through to the last 16.

They won't be able to repeat that this season after dropping two points at home to Aalborg in the opener.

Failing to beat the Danes has put a huge dent in Celtic's chances of getting through the group.

They must now get something on the road and defeat in Villarreal would leave the Hoops with a massive mountain to climb.

The Yellow Submarine don't have the history, tradition or appeal of Barcelona or Real Madrid. But it would be foolish to take them lightly.

Finishing 10 points ahead of a Barca side that passed Celtic off the park last season is a measure of how talented Villarreal are.

And what a challenge the Spanish side will pose for a Hoops team who haven't been able to pick up a single away point since Strachan took over three years ago.

Add that to Martin O'Neill's awful record on the Euro road and it's embarrassing for the club.

I don't think it's wise for Celtic to be as open and expansive as they have been away from home in the Champions League.

The statistics prove they haven't been good enough to attack teams as openly as they do.

And as the goalless draw with Aalborg has shown, it's a dangerous game to continually rely on an impressive home record.

Villarreal are just as capable in their own backyard and ground out a point at Old Trafford in their opener.

It's difficult to see either Strachan's men or Bruce Rioch's Aalborg getting anything from the Theatre of Dreams so Villarreal are ahead of the game.

The draw with United puts them in a great position and boss Manuel Pellegrini knows three home wins will be enough.

They will be desperate to claim the first of those against the Hoops and Villarreal head into the game with confidence flowing.

A midweek win over Santander kept them top of La Liga alongside Valencia and Celtic will need to hit peak form to stand any chance of getting a result.

Success on the night will depend heavily on which players Strachan decides to play wide.

I would select Aiden McGeady from the start after he was left out of the starting line-up against Aalborg a fortnight ago.

The Irish international has experience at this level and is capable of unlocking any defence so he should start ahead of either Shaun Maloney or Shunsuke Nakamura.

Celtic have struggled to keep the ball on their Euro travels so new boy Marc Crosas could be a key man.

He has already shown how good he is at keeping possession and that should land him a starting slot.

The young Spaniard's gift for simple passes offers a good balance to the energy of Scott Brown.

And Celtic will need all the quality they can muster to get a good result at El Madrigal.