There are a lot of confusing reports out there today about Fraser Forster and the goalkeeper option.
Some have suggested he’s on the way back whilst others have said that he isn’t.
Some have said that he wants the move, whilst others think he’d prefer another club in England.
Some say this is about money, that he wants more than we’ll pay, or that it’s Southampton’s demands that are making it less likely that we’ll get him.
There’s a lot of it out there.
Yesterday, Craig Gordon signed for Hearts.
Coincidentally, I had just written about him after Kris Commons cried the blues on his behalf and attacked Celtic in a quite ridiculous article for his column in The Daily Mail.
I said in that piece that one of the most nonsensical suggestions being put about is that it’s somehow vital to the quest for Ten In A Row that we get Forster … this is simply not the case.
It is important merely that we bring in a half decent goalkeeper. If we do that then his name doesn’t have to be Fraser Forster at all. And we’re fortunate that there are a number of good options out there and also that we’d have time to ponder this and make a target list.
There are names being put about; one of them is David Marshall. It makes a certain kind of sense. But he wouldn’t be at the top of my Wanted list; I’d far rather we brought in someone entirely new as go back to that kind of option. That’s more than true with Artur Boruc.
I loved The Holy Goalie. He was a fantastic goalkeeper for Celtic.
He performed brilliantly between the sticks and was much loved by the fans.
That was ten years ago though. Boruc is 40. That’s a Sevco style signing. I said that other day that Gordon was probably too old at 37 … goalies do have more longevity than outfield players, because they don’t depend on their pace, but honestly, there are other physical attributes which are no longer as sharp as you head into that age-group. The oldest player ever to play in the EPL was a goalkeeper, John Burridge, who appeared for Manchester City at 43.
And yes, Edwin Van Der Sar is the oldest player ever to win an EPL title … he was 40 at the time. But I think we know these are exceptions to the rule.
Let me put it this way, David Marshall is five years younger than Boruc is. He has a few more years in the game in him, and I’d sooner see us do that than go for a guy in the Sevco age group. I’d much rather see us go out and sign some young comer instead.
Time gets away from every player eventually, in whatever position.
This isn’t a reflection on Big Artur, who will always have a place in our hearts, I’m sure, and absolutely gets what being a Celtic player is all about. The media hated him with a passion, and so did the Ibrox crowd, both big pluses when it comes to getting him on the side of our fans.
No, this is about simple practicality. Boruc is past his best, and we need someone in his peak if we’re going to get through the enormous, and complex, fixture list we’re looking at, where four games in a eight days isn’t an unrealistic prospect.
Once upon a time, this would have been a good move … but it was a while ago.
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