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Some Celtic fans and those across town are stuck in transfer stories that won’t die.

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Image for Some Celtic fans and those across town are stuck in transfer stories that won’t die.

There’s a good reason why fans don’t get to pick the players for their clubs.

Today, two trending stories from both sides of Glasgow highlight exactly why. One is a tiresome tale from our side of the city, while the other is a long-running fantasy from across town. Neither of them is going to happen.

On our side, we have the never-ending Kieran Tierney saga, a rumour that just won’t die no matter how many times it’s been debunked.

The latest bout of hysteria stems from a picture of Brendan Rodgers and Tierney meeting in London. A photograph! A casual encounter, one that might have been entirely coincidental for all we know. Even if it wasn’t, what does it mean? Nothing.

But why won’t this rumour die?

Why does it linger, despite how long Tierney has been gone?

Yes, we haven’t properly replaced him yet, and that stings. But the reality is that Tierney was world-class when he left, and you don’t just replace world-class players, especially homegrown talents. The simple truth is, Kieran Tierney left with injury issues hanging over him, and those problems have never gone away. That’s why he’s not the player many thought he would become down south.

For all the talk that we almost signed him again this summer, thank God we didn’t. He’s now out injured for months, which is exactly why signing him would’ve been a monumental disaster. It’s the kind of signing some fans dream of, and it would have become a nightmare almost immediately.

And this is the frustration – even if these people got their wish, they’d soon regret it. Tierney is not the player who left us. He’s suffered through too many injuries, and there’s no way he could be our number one left-back. In fact, there’s no guarantee he’d be fit to play at all. Kieran himself knows this better than anyone. He’s said, on numerous occasions, that while he’d love to return to Celtic one day, he wouldn’t do it unless he felt he could give everything to the cause. The biggest obstacle to this fantasy isn’t the club – it’s Kieran himself.

This is never going to happen. People need to accept that.

It’s a fantasy, a pipe dream. Even if it did happen, it wouldn’t be the fairytale return that some think it would be. It would be a disaster for him, and a disaster for us. People need to leave the past where it belongs, instead of clinging to it out of sentimentality.

While we’re stuck in this Tierney loop, the Ibrox fans have their own delusion: the obsession with Kenny McLean. In many ways, it’s like the Tierney saga, except McLean isn’t even in Tierney’s league. McLean has always been a solid, hard-working midfielder, but he’s never been a standout. He’s made a career by maximising what he’s got, and fair play to him for that.

But he’s also aware of his own limitations. That’s why he’s turned down two opportunities to sign for the Ibrox club. There’s no great passion there when he talks about it. He’s happy down south, playing regularly and making a decent living. He also gets the chance to represent Scotland on occasion, so why would he want to come back up the road and throw himself into the pressure cooker that is playing for them?

Yet their fans are still salivating at the thought of signing him. He’s in his 30s, well past his best, but they seem to think he’s some kind of saviour. Even if they do offer him a deal out of desperation, McLean knows he has other options. He’s no fool. He’s not going to walk into a job where the expectations are wildly out of sync with his abilities or where he’s expected to carry a midfield that’s already struggling.

Neither McLean nor Tierney are going to make these moves.

Both players are too smart for that. Kieran would only come back if he was still at his peak, and McLean has no interest in coming back at all. The Ibrox fans are chasing a fantasy with McLean just as much as some of our own fans are with Tierney, but the reality is that neither of these stories is going to end the way people want.

Yet, for reasons beyond me, these transfer sagas persist.

The harsh reality of football, with its injury crises, inflated wage demands, and the unavoidable march of time, ensures that these moves don’t make any sense. Even if the Ibrox club tried again for McLean, he’s unlikely to bite.

What I find maddening about the Tierney situation is that we’ve come so close to signing him again, despite all the evidence that it would have been a bad idea. The fact that the deal supposedly fell through because of yet another injury should be all the warning anyone needs.

It’s a big red flashing light, a sign that says “Do not proceed.”

The truth is that signing Kieran now would be foolish beyond belief. When he left, he was one of the best players we’ve produced in years, but that was a long time ago, and he’s not that player anymore. The injuries have taken their toll, and although I understand the emotional attachment people feel towards him, it’s that very emotion that’s clouding their judgment. We’ve got to move on, and I believe Kieran knows that, even if some of our supporters don’t.

We need to let go of these fantasies. Football isn’t about living in the past or hoping for some romantic return. It’s about building for the future. That’s why both these stories, whether it’s Tierney for us or McLean for them, need to be put to bed once and for all.

The Ibrox club might try for McLean again, and some of our fans might keep hoping for Tierney’s return, but football is a brutal, unforgiving game, and the harsh truths always win out. For us, it’s time to leave the Tierney chapter in the past and move on to something new. And across the city, they’d be wise to do the same with their McLean obsession.

The bottom line? Neither Tierney nor McLean are coming to Glasgow. It’s time to accept it, move on, and focus on what lies ahead.

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9 comments

  • Johnny Green says:

    There is a difference, McLean is past his sell by date and Kieran isn’t. McLean puts me in mind a bit of Dorrans when he went to the huns to fulfill his dreams of playing for his boyhood heroes and to play out his final years at Ibrox. He was a bit of a let down and accomplished very little. Kieran though, certainly has that emotional pull to once again play for the hoops, and if he has said he wouldn’t do it unless he was fully able to give his all, then a nod from him would be good enough for me. I would welcome him back with open arms.

    • SFATHENADIROFCHIFTINESS says:

      What part of ‘ Injury prone ‘ did you miss.
      The years of unpunished assaults in Scottish Football has lowered his ability to bounce back.
      Minor niggles become full blown injuries. His body just can’t provide the lung bursting runs forward and back to defend.
      If he was up to it he would still be playing for Arsenal, Arteta aside, or another EPL Club or abroad.

      • Johnny Green says:

        If he was in a wheelchair he would still be better than Greg Taylor 🙂

      • Johnny Green says:

        Oh, and what part of ” if he has said he wouldn’t do it unless he was fully able to give his all” did you miss?

        For I trust Kieran to be honest with us.

  • Paul Docherty says:

    You stated “football isn’t about living in the past” well, it seems to me, that for one of the teams mentioned that is exactly all they’ve got.

  • Alex Ferrie says:

    KT is one of my all time favourite Celts, and while I’d love a fully fit KT back at Paradise, it’s just not going to happen. Even before his move he was showing signs of what was to come in terms of his injuries; since he moved it’s just gotten worse.
    Emotinally I would love him to come home, but the pragmatic part of me just can’t see how we could take the risk

  • Jimmy R says:

    Hear! Hear! James. Fantasy football is exactly that. Fantasy! And that’s what these two stories are. I have great memories of KT and for the same reason I didn’t want Henrik to return as our manager, I don’t want to see Kieran back in the hoops.

    Back in the day, I taught Kenny McLean and while he was upset to be let go from ibrox as a kid, the boy isn’t daft. He knows the score. He looks at the quality of life he has in Norwich and thinks. “Nah! ibrox is not for me. Not anymore.” He doesn’t want to be immersed, 24 hours a day in all of the nonsense involved with that club. It’s not even as though the likliehood of winning a couple of trophies would sway him to change his mind.

    Like all old teachers, I love to see youngsters mature into sensible adults.

  • DannyGal says:

    Whilst the meeting between Brendan and KT may have been by chance, I would find it hard to believe that the thought of KT returning home never crossed either of their minds, or perhaps was even spoken about.
    KT’s injury problems might be the only reason Celtic would be able to sign him, and I’m sure Brendan could find a way to manage his game time accordingly.

  • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

    Loved Kieran when he was at Celtic – But it’ done now, he served us very well, we got well compensated for him and good luck to him going forward with his injury crises that he’s faced for a good while now…

    But it’s a no no for me…

    We got our fingers badly burnt with That Dutch Derk (Bourregtor) and four years of full wages to a permanently injured crock…

    As for McLean – I think he’d have gone to Sevco in a heartbeat in a different era – But he’s smart enough to know that it’s a footballing Hell when Sevco are where they are and he can well do without the grief and hassle that’d inevitably come his way at Liebrox !

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