Yesterday’s decision to let Anthony Stokes leave Celtic Park is one that, I think, took a lot of us by surprise.
I think it’s apparent that although Stokesy isn’t a top class striker that he would score goals week in, week out, in the SPFL and I thought Brendan would certainly want a look at him as he went forward. But the Irishman seems to know what he wants.
Stokes’ departure comes on the heels of that of the baffling Kazim-Richards and the lamentable Cole. Stefan Scepovic isn’t expected to return from Spain.
This leaves Celtic with a single front man in Leigh Griffiths, and is the surest sign you’ll see that at least two of the new boss’s signings will be strikers.
It’s long overdue.
Leigh has been a tremendous signing, but It’s crazy to expect this guy to carry the torch on his own. If he gets injured we’ll be in terrible trouble. Every top club needs at least three decent front men; we haven’t had that at Celtic Park since Larsson, Sutton and Hartson were all together.
That’s something the new boss needs to rectify.
Unlike some, I’m not terribly concerned with the pace of the rebuilding job so far. Brendan has already made important decisions regarding the squad, namely who he doesn’t want. There’s already talk that Charlie Mulgrew will not be offered a new deal and his decision to release the strikers he already has is welcome. These guys have had their chance, and even a great coach isn’t going to be able to turn them into the kind of players we need.
There are decisions to be made about the midfield too. When I asked some weeks ago whether readers thought Stefan Johansen deserved another chance I wasn’t entirely surprised to find that the response was overwhelmingly negative.
With Fulham reputedly interested, and willing to put money on the table, that seems like a no-brainer.
Defence appears to be a key priority.
The Andre Wisdom story isn’t going away; indeed it’s in the media again today and that deal appears to be nearing completion.
But until we sign at least one forward people are going to continue to worry, and that’s perfectly understandable with Champions League qualifiers hurtling towards us. I really did think Stokes would be retained as an SPFL squad player; his performance in the Scottish Cup final against Sevco was absolutely first rate and shows what he brings to the domestic scene when he’s on form.
Sadly for him, Brendan appears to be looking beyond that.
I think this is the right decision even if it took us all a bit by surprise.
It shows that we’re definitely going to strengthen that area of the pitch and mere squad players aren’t what the manager is looking for at all.
It’ll be very interesting to see what happens next.