Thursday 15 December 2011

Returning from injury profile #2: Kelvin Wilson


The second of three potentially key players this season to return after a long absence is twenty-six year old Kelvin Wilson. 2011 has surely been one of the most frustrating years in the Englishman's playing career so far. In January he agreed terms with Celtic to sign for free in the Summer from Nottingham Forest but an effort from Celtic to land him earlier for a fee fell short of Forest's wants. The player ended up frozen out at the City Ground and after agreeing terms with Celtic never played another game for the Championship side. Despite not playing a competitive match for almost eight months by the time the season started he had managed to bring himself to the fitness level required to be a first choice centre back. Unfortunately only eight games into his Celtic stay Wilson suffered a tear of his achilles tendon in the League Cup fixture away to Ross County which has kept him out of the team for almost three months. With a possibility of featuring in Celtic's do or die clash away to Udinese tonight the big defender will be looking to make the position his own going into the new year. What have Celtic been missing?

Wilson had a fairly successful start to the season on the pitch. Of the eight matches which he started five of them resulted in clean sheets. Losses at Ibrox and Estadio Vicente Calderón were the only defeats and the other goal conceded was in the 5-1 mauling of Dundee United at Celtic Park. Sadly it's the derby at Ibrox which sticks in the mind of many when they think of the player. In a team of bad performances his was one of the worst even gifting a goalscoring oppurtunity to Steven Naismith which led to them opening the scoring. It's unfortunate that his injury occurred in the next game, the only reason this performance stays fresh in the mind is because Wilson has never had a chance to prove himself again in the wake of that agony while the rest of the team has.

It's fair to say the jury is out on Wilson as a Celtic player. The main reason being that it is unwise to judge a player's ability good or bad after only eight games. Therefore we have to look elsewhere for signs of his ability. At Forest the defender was well respected by the fans. A few individual errors aside Wilson impressed first at League One level and then in the Championship. In season 2007/08 he played a big role in setting an as yet unbeaten twenty-four clean sheet record in League One, playing forty-two league games. After Forest's promotion to the Championship he continued to impress although his best form didn't come until season 2009/10 when Forest reached third position and missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the playoffs. Retaining his place as a first choice defender for the third year in a row, Forest kept nineteen clean sheets while conceding only forty goals, the second best record in the league after Newcastle. He was noted at this level to have all the components the Celtic defence seem to lack currently... pace, composure and skill on the ball. It seems obvious why Celtic would seek the services of a defender who comes with this background, especially when no fee is involved. It's the form Wilson showed at Nottingham Forest that we're all hoping to see in the second half of the season.

When a player is out for a long time fan expectation rises by the day, especially when a team is struggling for form. Celtic have been fairly woeful at times defensively this season and so it's men on the sidelines, even out on loan, that we look to put all our hopes in. It's unlikely Wilson alone is an antidote to our defensive worries this season. However with Emilio Izaguirre close to full fitness and Mikael Lustig arriving on the right from Rosenborg he will likely be a key component of a strong defensive backline, on paper at least. It's important that Celtic have a much more settled back line after Christmas because consitency in defensive selection is directly linked consistent defensive performance, more than any other area of the ptich. Whether his partnership is with Daniel Majstorovic or Charlie Mulgrew is a decision for Neil Lennon but I think, of the three, the first pick will and should be Wilson every time when fit.

If his return is indeed away to Udinese then it would be harsh to judge his performance in the event of a defeat, barring heavy disaster. Of all our games this season, apart from the trip to Madrid, this is the hardest possible return he could have. Regardless of whether he starts tonight or not Wilson should have time to sow himself back into the starting eleven without performing miracles. However a very important game is on the horizon and there's little place for bedding in at this stage of the season. Wilson needs to cope with the expectation of performance and push himself further than his match fitness might allow in less pressurised circumstances. Celtic do not play in a league which has a reputation for quality football teams these days but it has always been a winning mentality that is the making of players in green and white, something that so far may have gone untested in his stints for clubs in the lower leagues of English football. His first key task will be to help the side keep a clean sheet on the 28th December against Rangers. Completing this task would certainly go a long way towards winning the hearts and minds of the fans going into 2012. A year which I hope is much more satisfying for Kelvin Wilson.