Leigh Griffiths is the second best striker in Scottish football. Not just the second best striker at Celtic Park, but in the game here. Period. And the only people who would even attempt to argue it are the same bug eyed ravers who claim Morelos is better than Edouard.
This is a bad time for Leigh right now. Injuries and little minor issues continue to beset him.
He needs an extended run of games in the team in order to show us what he can do and get back to challenging for his place both at Parkhead and for Scotland.
But his absence provides opportunities for others, and foremost amongst them, of course, is Vakoun Bayo.
He has impressed lately. This is his big chance.
He was initially written off by a lot of people, but that’s simply the Scottish media at its finest, in seeking to put the boy under pressure. They were at it from the moment he arrived. It’s not his fault that Edouard has been on such excellent form, or that Griffiths is a fan favourite.
Bayo needed time to adjust to Scottish football and to get his fitness up.
Now that those things have happened, we will see him playing more of a role.
Bayo came to Celtic highly recommend; it was Lubo himself who suggested him to the Celtic scouts.
He was playing in Slovenia’s top flight and had notched an impressive 18 goals in only 23 games … that is a scoring record, alright.
He had scored three in the Europa League as well. He had already been capped by the Ivory Coast.
At just 21 he was ready for the move.
As usual, in a demonstration of sheer pig ignorance, the media had all but written him off.
You had “experts” like Walker and Nicholas saying he was a waste of money and that he’d never impressed them. When had they actually watched him? Were these clowns – who barely understand the games they do watch – big Slovenian football fans?
Their writing him off was predictable, and entirely in keeping with the standard of their work. Our media, comprised of people who are colossally and unforgivably stupid, always write off players they’ve never heard of … unless those players are at Ibrox of course.
And so I’m delighted to see that the big man is getting a go at showing off his skills. But for the theft of two goals he should have had credited to him he’d be sitting on three right now … not bad since that’s the total number of games he has featured in.
We’ll be seeing more of him; of that there is no doubt. It will put Leigh under additional pressure, but maybe Leigh needs that. If Bayo grabs his chance, then our Scottish star will have to up his own game. That can only be good for the club.
The CelticBlog is your site, and it thrives with your support. Please share our articles on social media, and subscribe to receive updates whenever we post a new piece. Remember, we have a Facebook page for all the articles and a Facebook Group for discussions about the pieces and other issues, and you can follow us on Twitter and on Celtic News Now.