It is hard to remember the last time there was this level of dissatisfaction amongst the Celtic fans. And the fact that we are in this position on the back of four consecutive league titles just goes on to show how badly things were handled in the summer transfer window. There were plenty of decisions that were made that made little to no sense.
A major one was not bringing in a replacement for Nicolas Kuhn for weeks after he left. That position was left vacant for the Champions League qualifiers against Kairat. And yet, somehow, they spent around £10 million on new wingers in the last week of the window, but it was too late by then.
Then there was the decision to sanction Adam Idah's move to Swansea City without having a replacement in place first. It felt like transfer profits were prioritised over sporting performances at that point.
The hope was that they would be able to get a deal for Kasper Dolberg over the line but that move collapsed as Ajax swooped in late and the striker chose to return to his former club. Surprisingly, it looks like the Dutch club's interest was an open secret and not something that cropped up out of nowhere.
'Open secret' - Journalist makes bold Celtic transfer claim
As reported by CeltsAreHere, journalist David Friel told Go Ballistic:
"Kasper Dolberg is a prime example. Speaking to people in Belgium, it was an open secret that Ajax were going to come in for him."
Friel decided to give Celtic a reality check about their shortcomings in the summer transfer window as he said:
"For Celtic to put all their eggs in one basket with Kasper Dolberg and not get it over the line was embarrassing in the end.
“And listen, the player can only come if he wants to, right? I get that and players [deals] fall down. But you don’t have a plan B, you don’t have a plan C, and you end up scrambling about trying to get free agents the day after.
“But then you put out statement saying ‘Oh, it’s not really our fault’; it’s just excuses. You can understand why fans are thinking, ‘What is happening with the recruitment? What is going on with the process?’"
Of course, failing to sign Dolberg was a major blow for Celtic. It felt like the Hoops had allowed things to drag on for too long again and missed out on another target. Unfortunately, that has been pretty common in recent times.
This summer, on more than one occasion, we saw them make multiple bids for players without meeting the transfer valuation and failing to get a deal done as a result. And that approach to things needs to change as soon as possible if the Hoops want to move forward in modern football.
There needs to be a change in the structure of the club as well as the thought process. And then, may be things will get better soon.