Every club tends to have that one player that the fans will turn against at the slightest sign of a bad performance, and James Forrest is Celtic’s version of that just now.
He’s been outstanding for years and the improvement under the management of Brendan Rodgers was incredible, so there may be a feeling that this is a down year for him.
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The biggest criticisms tend to revolve around him going missing in the biggest games, but it’s incredibly harsh to pin some poor results entirely on him.
The draw with Livi last night doesn’t look so bad when you look at the league table, but there’s still plenty of criticism from some fans on Twitter after last night:
Another masterclass performance of hide and seek from James Forrest tonight 👏🏻
— JamieR (@_JamieReilly) March 4, 2020
Easy to get between them if the movement is right. James Forrest should be nowhere near the wings, as nobody knows what position to take up when he’s got the ball and he’s clueless when he hasn’t. HH
— Wozny Dewurst (@9Cornflakes) March 4, 2020
Ok we extended our advantage at the top but let’s not be blinded by the fact James Forrest is still getting a game
— Uncle Gary (@BigUncleGary) March 4, 2020
James Forrest is a man doon
— Higg (@TommyHigg) March 4, 2020
You could certainly argue that he’s been inconsistent this season, but he’s also suffering from having more defensive duties when forced to play as a wing back. It looks like he’s doing more to make sure he’s not a liability in a defensive sense, but that takes away from his attacking instincts.
You can also find stats to prove anything you want, but a look at his numbers this season still shows he’s making an incredible contribution.
In 27 league games he’s got 10 goals and 13 assists. For context his best goal scoring return in the league is 11, so it looks like he should break that this year.
Yes he might have some bad games, but a lot of the criticism seems overly harsh when you take everything into account.
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