Irredeemable? What will it take for fans to forgive Boyata
By Will Luckett
It was a strange sunday afternoon for Dedryck Boyata. The Belgian has made an enemy of himself this summer by making his desire to leave the club known to all, but after a potential deal with Premier League new-boys Fulham FC failed to materialise, so did the defenders chances of moving away from Paradise.
And the fans made their distain for the player clear as day when they unfurled a banner reading “Dedryck Boyata – not fit to wear the jersey”. However football is eternaly steeped in irony, so of course dear old Dedryck was bound to score the only goal in the Bhoys’ 1-0 win over The Accies.
Plenty of fans in Celtic Park continued to boo the player, regardless of his game-winning goal. But even then, he played on, defending fairly well and maintaining a clean sheet alongside his teammates at the back.
Captain Scott Brown has backed Boyata, saying to the BBC that he “showed his character.”
“He’s come in and trained well and he showed his qualities today. He was outstanding. We win together as a team. We get beat together as a team. Everyone is together.”
Brendan Rodgers obviously has some faith in Boyata, but as always in these situations, it’s difficult to tell how much of his decision to play Boyata is influenced by the requirements of the side weighed against his own beliefs about the defenders loyalty.
Boyata’s attempts to flee Scotland weren’t the worst case of a player forcing a move that modern football has seen, with Peter Odemwingie famously driving himself to QPR from West Brom for a transfer that was never anything more than a myth that the Nigerian had chosen to believe. Or more recently, Riyad Mahrez’s attempts to join Manchester City for 3 consecutive summer transfer windows, until finally getting the move he desired. The Algerian was able to keep himself in Leicester fans’ good books whilst at the King Power Stadium (winning them that Premier League title probably helped there) despite his protests against staying, whereas Odemwingie was not so successful with the Albion faithful on or off the pitch.
With the Old Firm coming up next weekend it is unlikely that Rodgers will drop Boyata after a stron performance, but for Boyata to truly start redeeming himself to the Celtic lifelongs, another goal and a clean sheet against the Bhoys’ most bitter rivals would be a good place to start.