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Guidetti: To Sign Or Not To Sign?

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When I heard the news that Celtic were trying to bring John Guidetti here on a loan deal I was sceptical because I didn’t think we had a prayer of getting him.

I was under no illusions about the man as a footballer.

I was delighted when the deal was completed, and I couldn’t believe our good fortune.

Guidetti quickly proved himself worthy of a Celtic shirt, with a number of outstanding performances and an early flurry of goals which had the fans on the edge of their seats every time he took the pitch. He showed a particular flare for the dead-ball situation, rocketing in a number of free kicks from Nakamura distances and angles.

“Signing this guy up on a long term deal has got to be a priority,” I thought, quite early on, and I suspect I wasn’t alone.

I was encouraged, initially, when he talked about how much he enjoyed the fans, and the thrill of playing at Celtic Park.

I think we were all looking forward to the Europa League knockout phase to see what this guy could do on the bigger stage, and, of course, we were not disappointed.

His goal in the thrilling match at home against Milan was beautiful, right out of the top drawer, a piece of audacity and imagination that could only have come from a gifted footballer.

But in between his wonderful start and that moment of individual brilliance there had been signs of trouble in Paradise.

Guidetti hadn’t scored in weeks. Not only was he badly off form, but he was openly discussing “other options” when asked about his future.

If you believe Ronny Deila, and I do, of course, Guidetti has had a draft contract sitting in front of him for months now.

It’s become clear that he has absolutely no intention of signing it, at least at the current terms, and perhaps not at all.

The question I find myself asking more and more is this;

Do we really want to sign him now?

Guidetti definitely has something, but the lapse in his form was shocking.

Had he already signed a big money deal it would have been a worrying development.

He is clearly a “confidence player”, and we recently had one of those up front, in the much maligned (unfairly in my view) Georgios Samaras.

Celtic, under Ronny Deila, depends much more on teamwork than previous sides and that system breaks down when a vital piece of the jigsaw goes missing. We carried him in some of those games, playing him it seemed more in the hope he would score than in expectation.

You couldn’t help but be aware, watching Guidetti during his barren spell, that every game that passed sapped his self-belief a little bit more, and made him look less likely to snap out of it.

You knew it would come, certainly, but you couldn’t see it coming.

When it did, it was spectacular … but could we afford to wait next time?

More worrying to me is his general demeanour recently, which we saw in spades on cup final day, when he ran straight up the tunnel at the end of the game and had to be fetched out to do the lap of honour with the rest of the side.

I understand his frustration at the penalty kick, but to not want to celebrate the winning of our first trophy in what might be an historic season?

I’m afraid I can’t understand that at all.

Of course, it is impossible not to sympathise with him, and want to see him supported, in light of the scandalous SFA decision to discipline him for an off-field event which happened miles from a football pitch, the singing of a now notorious song.

This is an almost mind-numbingly ridiculous piece of pandering to a lunatic section of the Sevco support who are way too easily offended for their, and everyone else in Scotland’s, own good. I was stunned when I heard about it, and I am not easily surprised by the stupidity and arrogance of our governing bodies.

I hope Celtic fight it with everything they have.

Guidetti himself must know that if he stays, jumps back into the Celtic Family and gets back to his goal scoring best that he will be worshiped by the fans of this club in a way he will never experience anywhere else in his career.

He’s also picked up a winners medal and there’s much more to come, including, we hope and expect, a treble.

Then there’s the Champions League campaign next season … Will he really turn his back on that possibility?

If he does turns that down for money (and what other reason would there be?) then he’ll certainly get what he wants, but like others who look back on careers spent without glory, without medals, without the thrill of playing in front of passionate fans every week, as opposed to taking the field in front of silent stands and soulless day-trip supporters, he may well come to regret his choice.

I now wonder how much we should push the boat out to get him to change his mind.

He is a fine footballer, but he’s not the only one.

Playing for Celtic is a privilege.

Playing in front of our magical fans is an honour.

If he doesn’t realise that, and want it, well … there are plenty of talented players out there who will.

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  • Weeminger says:

    He’s by far the most productive player in the team. Even when he wasn’t scoring he was still grabbing assists.

    He’s got 25 goals and assists in 30 appearances – 1 every 70 minutes on average. Leigh Griffiths has 14 goals or assists in 31 appearance – 1 every 114 minutes (all based on stats from transfermarkt.co.uk).

    I wouldn’t necessarily break the bank for him, but he’s definitely worth signing, and if he’s within budget I think history suggests players of his quality normally aren’t.

    • Shay says:

      Even if this is no doubt an absolute World Class striker in the making, merely accounting his apearances is however gravely deceptive (as he’s been as gravely miss-used as sub) 25 Goals/assists in 21 Starts is a much more valid stat that is hugely impresive in any competition. And st 22 n on the bounceback, ge’som just getting warmed up… Sign him whtever it takes He’s on a free: should we sell him after signing & actually playing him as starter, we’ll make a shitload of money

  • feyenoord says:

    I think Celtic is a great club.
    But Feyenoord and me is in xtc of his flirt. Everbody in holland loves him.
    We shared larsson in the past, so now i hope we can have Guidetti back for a while.
    It’s probaly since the 70’s that bigger players wan’t to go to the eredivisie without having played there in their youth (like Dirk Kuijt), this means alot to us, and seems to be true love on both sides.
    Please come back and make us win some prices! it’s been to long!

    • Kmack says:

      I think by going back to feyenoord he will have the opportunity to win trophies and get the adulation he craves, great fans. I wish he’d stay at beginning but always thought this had a feeling of a brief fling ala Di canio, cadette, Bellamy etc. Good player with big confidence n arrogance but maybe not the type the clubs ethos connects with and I could only see the relationship deteriorate. There’s better out there with the right attitude

  • Jamesq says:

    Guidetti is a great talent but obviously feels he would prefer to be somewhere else.It is crystal clear with his body language that this is the case.
    He doesn’t realise that he would be a hero at Celtic ,if money is his goal then he can GO.If winning trophies and being treated like a god then he should stay.
    I think greed will win the day and he will move on.
    I think fairly soon he will realise what a huge mistake he has made,however he will be a very very wealthy man instead of a very wealthy man if he stays with Celtic.However he may look back on his career and the only things he has won will be in his short time at Celtic.
    The penny might drop then but it will be too late.
    Hail Hail,YNWA

  • JohnK says:

    I wouldn’t sign him.Walking straight down the tunnel after the League Cup Final…not celebrating after scoring an important goal last week….his regular pronouncements about the clubs he is “flattered” to be linked with.Let him leave at the end of his loan…let’s see where he ends up.He is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is and doesn’t seem to have any respect for Celtic.We do need a target man but I am sure there are good young players out there ,with something to prove,that would love to sign for Celtic.

  • Matty says:

    As previously mentioned he scores goals and assists others to score goals, everyone should be behind him as long as he is a celt. If he leaves at least we saw a great player in the making. People should leave him alone, no one is slating Jason Deniar even though he has said he will go back to Man City, give all the guys a break and let them do what they do best, give their all for Celtic when they are here.

  • Bill Miller says:

    Makes Andy Ritchie look nimble. No doubt there is some ability, but he lacks pace terribly for someone so young and his general demeanour when not being give the ball is a concern. Not a team player and that’s the biggest negative. 3 million pound transfer fee. Get it off the table, add 4 million and sign Jordan Rhodes on a 5 year deal. And to think we could have had him for a lot less. In Ronny I trust!

  • vino says:

    He is a very good player but he will have to make up his mind as soon as possible. Celtic can’t wait forever.

  • Martin says:

    i think he has shown a desire to play for feyenoord, a club he claims to love. Surely we can identify with players falling in love with a club when they are worshiped there. We have had players who before playing for our club, ended up loving our club. So I can see where he is coming from there. What I won’t stand for is him treating our club with contempt. His aparent lack of achievement when wining the league cup was both disrepectfull to celtic and Scottish football. He shld remember we gave him a chance when others wouldn’t

  • john says:

    Dont sign him, his form doesnt warrant a big contract. We dont need another forward not doing the business for us. Money has to be spent wisely, and unfortunately he is too big a chance.

  • John says:

    A think hes already made his mind up were ges going in its definetly not celtic a blind man cud tell u that the instance in the sunsee unt game ahowed me what a already knew he never cwlebrated his goal n thats not like him usually he has something set up qen he scores a goal so me my own opinion a wud bench him till his contract expires hes not that great a player yes a wud love him to stay but hes not going to in fact if a had ma way a would send him bak to the wilderness at man city n let him feel wat its like not having the greatest support shouting and singing your name the guy is a clown as far as am concerned and he just made ma ppint clear with his non celebration after scoring so go on home john

  • Carntyne says:

    Not impressed with Guidetti in either ability or attitude.

    Bugger off John!..

  • G Mullen says:

    I remember thinking the same way over much much better players di canto .nicholas . McClair Macavenie
    Dalgliesh . Dare I say mo Johnstone us older guys if your truthful we wanted him but we kept the best Larsson he is not in the same class as these guy happy with Griffins

  • Gezza1967 says:

    Too much of a glory hunter for my liking. Needs to learn how to be a team player first and foremost, then allow his undoubted talent to materialise on the pitch. He has to work on his temperament and his mouth could get him into bother, both on and off the park. He only needs to look at the new bhoys, Mackay-Steven and Armstrong, now that is what you would call a class act. Time waits for no man; maybe Celtic have waited long enough for an answer and should look elsewhere for next season.

  • deesco says:

    take a hike big wean , so sad too bad nevr mind,

  • Stevie Mac says:

    Despite looking evert bit the player we were looking for, I’m afraid Guidetti has tarnished his reputation. It would be difficult to forget the fact he’s been flaunting himself to other clubs.

    His League Cup Final antics were disgraceful and pretty much the final nail in the coffin. I take these things as a warning sign for what lies ahead.

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