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The controversial decision to rule out Kelechi Iheanacho’s Europa League ‘goal’ against Braga on Thursday night and the ongoing feud between the supporters and the board have dominated the headlines at Celtic in recent times.
But is the focus on those issues serving to cover up much deeper on-field problems?
In a ‘Sliding Doors’ style alternative universe, Brendan Rodgers would have pitched up for his post-match press conference on Thursday night beaming about a much-needed, morale-boosting European victory.
Rodgers would have been purring about Iheanacho’s perfectly-taken equaliser in the second half that imbued Celtic with the confidence to go on and pummel Braga into submission to claim the win.
Unbeaten after two Europa League games and with the supporters finally suspending their campaign against the board, this could have been hailed as a pivotal evening in Celtic finally getting back on track.
None of that happened, of course. In the real world, Celtic were instead left to bemoan the incompetence of the match officials and their VAR colleague who decided between them that Iheanacho had used an arm before scoring and chalked off the goal.
Brendan Rodgers has no shortage of problems to solve in this early part of the new season
Kelechi Iheanacho couldn't believe his second-half strike against Braga was chopped off
Keeper Kasper Schmeichel was badly at fault as Ricardo Horta fired the visitors in front
Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek then made two spectacular saves to deny Kieran Tierney and Sebastian Tounekti before Celtic shipped a soft second goal towards the end to gift-wrap the win for Braga. The return of the chants against the board put the tin lid on a dismal night.
Rodgers and his players, understandably, chose to focus afterwards on the disallowed goal. It was a baffling decision after all. The manager described it as a ‘huge moment’ in the game.
Tounekti went as far to say that Celtic would have ‘100 per cent’ won the match had Iheanacho not been penalised. Maybe. We will never know for sure.
Blaming everything on the goal that wasn’t, however, would be to ignore the bigger picture at Celtic. And there can be no denying that there are issues right throughout their team that are far more troubling than the incompetent actions of one set of bungling match officials.
Back to front, Celtic are not the slick, resourceful machine they once were. Some of the blame for that can be placed at the door of the directors who failed to furnish the manager with the players he needed — and repeatedly asked for — to improve the squad.
A further four or five signings in key areas might have seen Celtic land safely in the Champions League.
It certainly would have helped them put in a much more polished performance against Braga, one of Portuguese football’s lesser lights, currently languishing in seventh spot in their domestic league.
Celtic’s faults, though, run much deeper than simply shoddy recruitment. A side that used to cut opponents apart with lightning-fast attacks and clinical finishing looks sluggish and pedestrian, not the great entertainers they once were.
Sebastian Tounekti looks to be a shrewd acquisition and was Celtic's star performer midweek
Previously reliable and experienced operators are now making unfathomable, basic and at times costly errors.
Other players look disinterested while overseeing it all is a manager who knows that, as things stand, he will be out of the door in seven months’ time — if not before. It all has the feel of a perfect storm and it is currently blowing Celtic off course.
Defensively, they no longer look assured. Granted, the departure of Greg Taylor and Alistair Johnston’s long-term injury have removed two of the key totems of last season’s backline.
That hasn’t helped. Teenager Colby Donovan on the right and the platoon arrangement of Tierney and Marcelo Saracchi on the left are yet to find their groove.
The newcomers have not been helped by some shaky performances from Kasper Schmeichel in goal and even the previously dependable Cameron Carter-Vickers in the centre of defence.
The spotlight was always going to fall on Schmeichel after he allowed Braga to score past him from 35 yards but it was his failure to do basics like accurately recycling play that was most alarming.
One attempted pass zipped straight out for a throw-in. It is another sign of a defensive unit seemingly bereft of confidence and struggling to communicate coherently.
Question marks remain over the midfield, too. You only need to think back to the trio of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley from a few seasons ago and how they dictated the tempo of every match to appreciate how far Celtic have fallen in this area.
Questions are being asked of captain Callum McGregor's place in the starting lineup
Whereas before the aim was to work the ball forward or wide as quickly as possible, now every pass tends to go backwards first, killing momentum and allowing opposition defences to regroup.
It would be a big call for Rodgers to drop McGregor but you suspect it is a move that would find favour with a large section of an increasingly disgruntled Celtic support.
Those who had rejoiced in Paulo Bernardo’s return to the starting line-up the other night were quickly revising their opinion after an ineffective outing against his countrymen.
It is in attack, though, where Celtic look a shadow of their past selves. Even Rodgers seems mystified by how quickly the goals have dried up, his team having failed to score in five of their first 12 matches.
Even Livingston down in tenth have scored more league goals than the eight Celtic have accumulated in their six Premiership games so far.
Jota’s long-term injury and Nicolas Kuhn’s exit haven’t helped matters but there is an imbalance to the forward line that is proving hugely detrimental to their prospects.
Tounekti looks a stellar signing but his arrival has meant last season’s top scorer Daizen Maeda switching to the right where he hasn’t been as effective.
Iheanacho has also started well at the apex of the attack but is still to convince he is the long-term successor to Kyogo Furuhashi when it comes to prodigious goal grabbing.
Wantaway forward Daizen Maeda has yet to find his best form and looks out of sorts
New £5million man Michel-Ange Balikwisha — another left winger when Celtic really needed someone to fill the Kuhn void on the right — hasn’t made any kind of impact so far.
It is a long wait until the January transfer window opens and Rodgers is aware he has to ‘find the solution’ with the tools at his disposal.
Traditional title rivals Rangers might be in an even more parlous state but a derby win for Hearts would see Derek McInnes’ side move five points clear of Celtic ahead of their meeting with Motherwell on Sunday.
Should Rodgers and co not win that one then the quiet grumblings of discontent that have been building over recent weeks will only grow louder and louder.
