WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THIS GUY?
Time Lee started earning his dough by coming up with list of star strikers
I SPENT a few days in Lapland this week but Santa wouldn’t tell me if he’s received Lee Congerton’s letter this Christmas.
It’s not Father Christmas the Celtic head of recruitment should be handing a list to though, it’s Brendan Rodgers.
This is crunch time for Congerton as he needs to deliver a dossier of top-quality strikers in January for his manager to pick from or Celtic run the risk of throwing away the league.
I have been critical of him in the past but this really is the time for him to step up and earn his money at Parkhead.
Celtic fans might scoff at the notion Rangers are in title contention but they better start to face facts.
Rangers are in the race and unless there’s serious work done at Parkhead during this transfer window they are in big danger of getting pipped at the line.
Odsonne Edouard might be back for the Aberdeen and Old Firm games but the reliance on the Frenchman only highlights what a mess was made of the last window.
Moussa Dembele might have left on deadline day but it was hardly a bolt from the blue.
Congerton should have had a list of half a dozen strikers for Rodgers to pick from and it should have been a simple case of just hitting the button.
Half the clubs in the country lost and signed players on deadline day.
It was always going to be a gamble going with just two strikers, especially with Leigh Griffiths struggling at times last season and Edouard needing to find his feet.
I have some sympathy for the former PSG youngster. There’s a lot on his shoulders.
But don’t give me this stuff about him playing too many games for someone his age. He’ll be 21 in a few weeks and is only six months younger than Kieran Tierney who has played more than 150 games for Celtic.
Edouard has only shown in flashes and still has a lot to learn about playing up front.
He also needs help with Griffiths out indefinitely. It’s actually incredible Celtic only have two frontmen on the books.
I hate harping back but in my time there was myself, Henrik Larsson and John Hartson.
But there was also Mark Burchill, Craig Beattie and Tommy Johnston, plus various others over the years, players who could come in and grab you a goal when it mattered. What the heck is happening in the Celtic youth team? Do they not play with strikers?
In the meantime they might need to go with James Forrest up top but then you lose his threat out wide.
Scott Sinclair would be the one for me to slot in as he’s not really made enough of an impact on the flank anyway. But then it leaves the side short wide left.
It’s tricky for Rodgers this week but there’s no doubt he needs two strikers in the window – and at least one of them has to be top quality. We’ve seen Celtic over the years going out and getting a Robbie Keane or a Craig Bellamy.
The finances of the game make that tough now but they still need to push the boat out for a top-drawer hitman.
The title is the gateway to the Champions League and they simply cannot afford to chuck it away.
Never mind this week’s big games, the Premiership could be won and lost in January.
If Rangers find the cash to bring in someone like Dominic Solanke and Celtic dither again, they will pay the ultimate price.
The challenge from Ibrox is real, although I had to laugh when I caught up on the game from Easter Road in midweek.
James Tavernier talked about teams desperate to knock you off when you are top of the league. Come off it James, you were up there for six days this year, not six months.
Fair play to Rangers for getting to the summit but the reality is they have been fortunate Celtic have been so
inconsistent this season and have carried so many passengers.
It’s been down to Forrest, Ryan Christie and Callum McGregor to make sure this team are even out in front at this stage.
McGregor’s new deal at Parkhead is good business. He’s a manager’s dream given his versatility.
I know some fans love him in the Scott Brown role because he speeds up the game but I still think he’s more effective further forward and Brown is stronger defensively.
But there is no doubt McGregor has made himself one of the first names on Rodgers’s teamsheet because he performs to such a high level wherever role he takes on.
Playing up front might be a stretch even for him – but it’s Congerton’s job to make sure he won’t have to.
Unless there is serious work done Celtic are in danger of being pipped at the line