Celtic need to rebuild at several level of the club. A reshape was going to be required regardless of this season, as the ten in a row era came to an end and we look to advance in Europe again. It’s the only step forward after this period of domination. As it happens, just about everything has gone wrong this campaign and most fans would be quite content to just end the season right now.
New management, new strategies, new ambitions and visions are required to push for the latter stages of the Europa League, as a club our size should be aiming to do.
One dimension of the rebuild should focus on bringing through good young talents. Soro, Turnbull, Frimpong, Johnston and Henderson should all be part of this. Meanwhile, Hazard can be developed whilst a back up goalkeeper. That’s the nucleus of a good young team, who can be complemented by the likes of Leigh Griffiths, Albian Ajeti, Christopher Jullien, James Forrest and Callum McGregor.
No doubt, we should blend that youthful energy with some proven quality in the transfer market. However, those few players don’t necessarily complete the list of young talent at the club. Indeed, we didn’t know much of Soro until he was given a chance.
Four young Celtic players didn’t travel to Dubai. Tonight they could be called up and to be honest, I hope we get to see what they can do. If given the chance, they may well be up to it, just as Soro, Turnbull and Henderson were against Lille. These four players are – Karamoko Dembele, Armstrong Oko-Flex, Cameron Harper and Barry Coffey. All four have made waves in the Development team. Perhaps we could see them tonight, and see if they have what it takes to be part of an exciting rebuild.
Aside from that, this season is utterly forgettable.
They deserve all they get, everybody else in the country has to stay at home, with this new virus getting worse all over.