After their disastrous attempt to capture 10IAR, it is finally time for Celtic to make some big changes which they have been putting off for years.
Undoubtedly, 2020/21 was billed as a season of epic proportions for everyone connected with Celtic Football Club. But the campaign has been nothing short of a disaster on and off the field.
With Celtic a whopping 21 points behind our arch-rivals across the city, attention should now turn towards an enormous rebuilding job going into next season.
Astoundingly, manager Neil Lennon still finds himself in a job despite averaging 2.2 points this season in the league so far.
This, alongside exiting the League Cup at home to Ross County in abysmal fashion in the second round itself, as well as being knocked out in the Champions League second qualifying round at the hands of Ferencváros, followed by a horrendous showing in the Europa League group stages as the Hoops finished bottom of the pile with just four points, has been a monumental embarrassment for the club which no manager or board member should survive.
Restructuring of the club shouldn’t start in the summer, it should start now.
Almost certainly, the Hoops are set for an immense turnover of players in the next few months. High profile players like Odsonne Edouard, Olivier Ntcham, Ryan Christie, Kristoffer Ajer and Leigh Griffiths contractually are only bound to the club until summer 2022.
Factor in the fact captain Scott Brown’s deal expires in the summer, whilst loanees Diego Laxalt, Shane Duffy and Mohamed Elyounoussi are also due to depart Glasgow in five months-time.
Making inroads towards accumulating potential transfer funds for the new campaign by offloading some of these players could prove vital to their prospective recovery on the pitch.
Loan to buy and pre-contract markets may provide an intelligent mechanism of recruiting top quality players to Parkhead for years to come.
One key culture change that needs to occur at Parkhead is the need for prioritization of Celtic making the Champions League group stages regularly, in order to recapture the profile of the club globally.
Domestic success has overshadowed the Hoops’ European failures across the last decade
Celtic are guaranteed to gain a Champions League qualifying spot provided they finish in second place domestically. Nevertheless, any route towards the group stages of Europe’s premier competition will require performances and recruitment of an efficient nature.
Failing to qualify for the group stages since 2017 has been a failure of duty when it comes to those who rule the roost at Celtic Park.
An absence of forward planning and lack of acquisitions of players before the qualifiers commence; has consequentially meant star players in the past such as Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney moving on to make up for the financial shortfall of missing out on the competition.
Perhaps the crucial reason Celtic need to pursue qualifying for the Champions League group stages heavily, is the fact that successfully achieving group stage football means better players come into the club as a result.
As seen by sides such as Red Bull Salzburg and Ajax in the last few seasons, giving especially young talent a platform against the best sides in the world increases their value and reputation. This puts the two respective clubs on a greater financial footing when these players eventually move on, which they can reinvest into similar prospects and youth development.
Both widely seen as the biggest clubs in their country domestically, Celtic share a similar profile to their European counterparts. If they can do it, why can’t the Hoops?
The last decade has represented a period of sheer dominance for Celtic in Scotland, which will be fondly remembered for a long time to come. Despite this, the time has come for systematic change in Glasgow’s East End and our collective approach as a club.
This approach should be centred around the younger players in the side. Exemplary talents such as David Turnbull and Ismaila Soro should be the face of the club going forward. Sentimentality within the higher ranks of the club’s operational functions has contributed to our downfall this campaign.
As far as this season is concerned, the only realistic hope for the Hoops to claim honours comes in the form of the Scottish Cup.
Here’s hoping that they can provide that small consolation and end the season with some silverware in what has been a catastrophic time for everyone associated with the club.