So Southampton want Daizen Maeda. Well, wasn’t that coming? From the moment he put the ball in the net against the Ibrox club on Monday I wondered from which direction the speculation would come. England. Obviously. And a club we’ve sold to before.
It was kind of obvious, wasn’t it? I feel like a fool for not having guessed it.
These stories come out of nowhere anytime a Celtic player makes headlines, but this one has the stench of laziness and desperation about it. Maeda was being written off by some in the media not that long ago, and suddenly now he’s got EPL attention.
The thing is, I’m fairly sure that clubs are interested in Maeda, but I don’t think the media has the slightest clue who those clubs are and I very much doubt that the interest is new. I think the World Cup performances might have had a lot to do with this, but of course Maeda’s sudden explosion into the public consciousness here worries some folk.
That’s why these stories have emerged now. Forget the World Cup, this was all about that early goal he scored earlier in the week, when he seized onto Mad Dog’s mistake. He’d been threatening it since coming back from Qatar and I thought he was a good bet to score in that match. I should have trusted my gut and actually stuck money on it.
From the moment he did it was an equally good bet that a story like this was going to pop up and try to unsettle him. It’s as regular as clockwork, so much so that we take it in our stride and I’m sure that people at Parkhead have been waiting on it too.
But nothing the media has written in the last 18 months has made the slightest difference to the positive direction of this club. We endure in spite of all the nonsense and all the speculation. Celtic Park is a good place for footballers right now, and I am sure that Maeda, who must feel as at home as he ever has, has no interest in any of this.
And that’s how much attention we should pay it.
It’s so funny watching / listening to them when Daizen comes up for discussion. They don’t really rate him. They struggle to understand why he was at the world cup. They just don’t see his qualities. Thankfully Ange does and we benefit. Not everything good on the pitch has to be flash and glitzy. Industrious, workmanlike and accurate makes a huge contribution. The same could be said of Adam Carter-Vickers. Many were / are slow to appreciate what a fine player he is.
I’ll tell you some of his qualities! 1Hes as honest as they come .2 What a brilliant grafter,covering every blade of grass in a shift . 3Hes as fit as a butchers dog ! Combine all three with his World Cup performances and experience and you have a very valuable asset on the books …
Adam??????
Carter Vickers is next, the list gets longer every week, even our manager, it will be our world class ball boys next.
Can´t see them interrested in Daizen as they have just signed a left wing/forward yesterday … Croatian teammate of Josip … Mislav Orsic … They are however crying out for a No9 .. so IF they were scouting us .. would more likely be Giakoumakis that they would be looking at ??
And here is a question .. what with “his hair is fine” struggling for game time down there … would he fit into Ange´s system ? Would anyone want him back ??