GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 21: James Forrest of Celtic celebrate sscoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on December 21, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
So, the news today is that Celtic have given James Forrest a one-year extension, and you know, I am sort of indifferent now to the bizarre behaviour at this club.
Martin O’Neill says that Celtic is not giving Forrest a one-year extension out of sentimentality. Well, I completely disagree.
Martin O’Neill has talked about wanting to see James Forrest end his career at Celtic. I personally do not know what that has to do with him, since he will not be here at the end of the season. What he has done is saddle the next manager with a player without knowing whether the next manager will even want him.
I am going to write later today about another piece of contract information which I think is even more bizarre, but I genuinely do not know what to say about this. I genuinely do not know what to make of it. The next manager of this club should get the decision about whether Forrest gets a one-year extension.
Having said all this about the player, and having said that he offers us something no one else can, let’s see if O’Neill plays him for the remaining games. Because if he does not, then it is just sentimental nonsense and will have been proved to be.
This whole club is infused with stuff like this, and all it does is continue to push major, difficult decisions a little bit further down the road. We need to cull the squad of anyone who is not going to be playing every week next season, and then start again.
Offering contracts to players in their 30s who are going to feature once in a blue moon is a waste of resources. It is a waste of a squad place, and it is a waste of time that the player himself could be out there playing somewhere else.
It is different if you have a commitment from the next manager that Forrest is going to be a key member of the squad. But you do not, because you do not have a manager right now.
So, unless this guy is going to play from now until the end of the season in every game, and unless the next coach is already hired and has guaranteed that he is going to play the bulk of the games next season, which frankly would worry me an awful lot about what our plans are, this is an indulgence. That is all it is.
I do not understand it, and I will not pretend that I do.
I have nothing against James as a player.
He has given exemplary service to this club. But then I thought that Brendan Rodgers had given exemplary service to this club, and every single day I am online I see sniping at him. We are sentimental only up to a point, it seems.
James can be effective in this team, but the fact that we are still playing Yang, the fact that we keep throwing different bodies into the same role, means that he does not have a settled place in the squad and there is no real consensus that he is one of our best players. If this is a question of fitness because he’s 34 then we’re doing something wrong in coaching because European football is filled with top players that age and beyond who do play every week and at a much higher level than in the SPFL.
Players at his age are not necessarily past it. They do offer you something different. They do offer you a dimension that no other players in the squad do. You can lose a yard of pace, but experience, that eye for goal, that talent for the right pass and the right cross of the ball, that never leaves you.
James’s high degree of technical skill means that he is a useful first-team player.
Yet even after his heroics of a couple of years ago, when he was one of the reasons that we got over the line, he never sealed the deal as a first-team regular, and nobody ever expected that he would.
So to give him a contract when the next manager might not see it that way, when Martin O’Neill has not always seen it that way, when Brendan Rodgers did not always see it that way, makes absolutely no sense at all.
It is concerning because of what it says about the plan for the next campaign. Decisions are already being made well ahead of the next manager’s arrival. Decisions that will, to an extent, bind his hands and limit his options.
Because as long as James Forrest and the likes of Tony Ralston and others are in this squad, we have no incentive to go out and sign people for those positions. This is a problem that we return to over and over again.
Are we really going to improve this team?
Because right now, the next manager of this club faces being told Johnny Kenny is one of his striker options, so we do not need to go too far there. James Forrest is his back-up right-sided option. Tony Ralston is his back-up right-back.
And we are not progressing a step.
Honestly, this is the kind of stuff that drives me nuts. If this guy was playing every single week, making a contribution every single week, then it is a no-brainer to give him a one-year extension. Then nobody even has the thought in their heads that this might be based on sentimentality. Certainly no one worries that we are already seeing the shape of the next transfer window fiasco evolving in front of our eyes.
But he is not playing every week. He is not starting games. He is coming off the bench once in a while to try to change things when we are in dire straits.
So, it is sentimentality. It is an indulgence, and because we cannot afford to hand the next manager filler options when we need to start getting real, it is also an act of folly.
We have learned absolutely nothing.
This season has taught people at this club absolutely nothing.
On another thought is the coach already there waiting for his manager to take over after the world cup.SM and RM possibly
James, a modern team is made up of around 22 players, around 6 of those guys will very seldom be 1st picks. Those 6 will be made up of older club servants who have still a bit left in the tank, or younger promising prospects. You are so unrealistic about where Celtic play their football, of course we should be better than we are right now. Most of the problems we’ve had this season have been off the park. Your obsession with defending BR grates at times, from January until October last year the football was dire, it was obvious he had lost his hunger and was at odds with those upstairs at Celtic Park, he should have resigned last summer. Then the appointment of Nancy by DD,MN and C McK on the advice of Tisdale turned the season into a fiasco.
If these players had a half decent manager throughout this season, we would have walked the League and probably would have won another treble. For you to keep belittling Celtic players who have been good servants over the years, and who could still contribute to the group, is to my eyes very unfair, and taking aim at the wrong targets.
We’ve saddled ourselves with some highly paid foreign duds, that should worry you more than whether Forrest or Ralston get another contract or not.
MON, his backroom staff and the players have given us a squeak of a chance to win a double, let’s concentrate in backing them.
Hear hear micmac
You’re totally missing the point. By saying that we deserve better than a 34 year old is not belittling a player, it’s being realistic and shows ambition, something we’re lacking. Ralston is not good enough, never has been. He should’ve been gone 2 seasons ago. Highly paid foreign players should be nowhere near celtic. The same applies to homegrown duds.
It is possible to back celtic whilst also being critical of what is a badly run club.
Yep we deserve more than 34 year old guy who’s a wee bit past his best and at his best was a really good Celt. We also deserve a right back who’s better than Ralston, a guy who has come in and covered the R/B position when the 1st choice has been injured, and has very seldom let us down. Hopefully in the summer we’ll make a few good signings , I know we’ve said that in the past few transfer windows, and I think we all agree the recruitment has been terrible.
I just think that some fans are unrealistic in the level of player they think will sit on the Celtic bench within the SPL.
Those highly paid foreign duds will probably be earning three times the money Ralston earns, and I’m sure James Forrest with his one year contract, will not be earning as much money as he was a few years ago.
The next 6 games are a time for parking the criticism.
The obsession with Rodgers reminds me of the MSM succulent lamb
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Agree Micmac, sometimes I think this site should be called the “Brendan Blog”.
I agree with you again Micmac, Forrest is fit and can contribute, he’s got the experience that you can bring him on in big games and he’ll handle it. I think of guys like Navas who left Man City because he was too old but ended up playing another 200 odd games for Sevilla as well as get more caps for Spain. We still need to sign a first choice guy but Forrest is very welcome to stay.
Navas was 32 when he left City
Totally agree micmac.
Much as I admire James Forrest, I’m quite surprised that Celtic could make this decision before the new manager is in the door, unless he’s already signed the contract.
In January we were told that only loan signings could be made in case the new manager didn’t fancy the players. Surely that’s more or less an identical scenario as extending a veteran player’s contract before the new manager is in the door?
He’s not the worst and when he comes on he seems to create chances. Mon is talking about the shackles are off which is just bluster as I would put any money on CMG starting and it will be back to square one.
FFS Martin grow a pair and dump him.
Jamesy was given a one year contract, not a 4 year one with bells added on, so I don’t really see the what the problem is. A new manager will give him the respect he deserves and probably use him sparingly, but at the same time he will have someone he can rely on whenever he is called upon. Just having him around the place is an inspiration for the rest of them, his dedication being an example to all.
Johnny – this exactly in terms of influence on the training ground and inspiration for those coming through the academy. And being able to deliver 30 minutes from the bench when required. I think Forrest could be effective for 60 minutes but probably more dangerous for the final 30 minutes against tiring opponents. Yang to work them hard and hopefully get us a lead and then JF to help consolidate.
This is Mon’s modus operandi of his first period variety…saddled GS before he left with a 25k per week to Paul Lambert to do his UEFA coaching badge when he was past it; indulged Bobo Balde with same wage to develop his photography passion whilst refusing to play; amongst other acts of corporate vandalism with other players of that period. Moreover, he was antithesis to the model of buying cheap and selling high…name a player? Nada!!!
He bought high JH NL …inherited legends Henrick Lubo but not one player he bought cheap and sold à la VD, Matt….St Martin my arse