With Brendan Rodgers returning to Celtic, just Callum McGregor and James Forrest remain as players that were a big part of the 9IAR run which saw Celtic match their own record from 1974. It is worth looking at some of the players that were easily forgotten during the 9IAR run. The 2011/12 entry is Mo Bangura.
In August 2011, Celtic paid £2.2m for the Sierra Leonean striker from Swedish side AIK amidst rumours that Henrik Larsson had tipped the club to sign him.
Bangura arrived saying he wanted to ‘follow in Larsson’s footsteps’ and see where the move would take him, mentioning moves to England and Italy before he’d kicked a ball for Celtic.
Neil Lennon looked to the young striker to break into the team and compete with the formidable trio of Stokes, Hooper and Samaras. However, Bangura never got near them.
In his handful of appearances, Bangura appeared to struggle with 16 appearances and just one assist to show for it. Not the efforts of a star striker destined for the top.
Bangura’s season was ended abruptly by a knee injury but he was part of the squad that won the first title of Celtic’s 9IAR.
Despite having his contract terminated in 2014, Bangura was at the centre of a public defiance against Celtic when he decided to play against Celtic for loan club Elfsborg in the Champions League qualifiers. Bangura was booed by the support as he actively tried to knock the club out of the Champions League.
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