WHERE’S YOUR ED AT? Kayalin move historic
French striker’s critics claim he’s downed tools amid ‘mysterious’ injuries but Ritchie reckons red-hot Edouard will come good again and will stay a Celt for rest of the season
ELEGANT and graceful when the magic feet are dancing, wantaway and lazy when they’re out of sync.
He’s the man who makes it all look simple but suddenly it’s not so easy being Odsonne Edouard.
Football is a fickle mistress and the rare, glacial quality which blesses the Celtic striker’s game can just as soon become a curse when the narrative suddenly shifts.
Remember, this is a guy who was once told he ought to smile more on the pitch.
Thus, the Frenchman’s stop-start opening to the season and the lingering spectre of Premier League suitors married as they always do while the transfer window remains wide open. He’s not interested. He’s off. A mysterious injury, a poor Europa League display in Riga and subsequent benching against Hibs certainly did nothing to calm the more alarmist observers.
But Andy Ritchie is definitely not one of those.
Maybe it’s because he too was cut from the same elegant cloth, or as a former Celtic scout, he has seen enough to know when a player has downed tools.
“You need to delve a bit deeper to figure out what’s happening,” he told Record Sport.
“The story of all this just now is just timing.
“For the supporters and the club, this would not be the right time for Odsonne Edouard to be leaving.
“In regards to what’s happening in the background with injuries, I couldn’t really tell you.
“He went to France and played a couple of games then he was unavailable.
“That could suggest, for lack of a better phrase, that he is working his ticket.
“But I don’t think you could honestly put your hand on your heart and say that’s what he’s doing.
“It must be difficult for foreign players during lockdown, away from their own families, a lot of stuff f happening abroad.
“I’d imagine the last six months of f Edouard’s life, like the rest of us, has felt like three years.”
That’s not to say all is rosy in camp Edouard, rather the explanation for his recent stutters may be misplaced.
Crystal Palace joined Arsenal as the latest in a long line of clubs casting admiring glances in his direction and,d, while it’s understood Celtic won’t let him go, it doesn’t stop the whole thing g taking a toll, especially aged just 22.
Ritchie was the man who brought Mark Viduka, Pier re van Hooijdonk and d Paul Lambert to Glasgow, so he knows a thing or two about what goes on inside the head of top players. He said: “It depends on the individual.
“If Edouard’s had some turmoil with speculation or something has rung his chime, financially or in football terms, he’s only a young fella and it’s difficult when that goes on.
“They’re led by their representatives and sometimes need help getting through the mire.”
The mire, as the Morton icon puts it, can do strange things to a player in the big time.
Despite all his experience, Ritchie admits he didn’t for a second foresee the contract wrangle that eventually ended Van Hooijdonk’s Parkhead career 23 years ago.
This, of course, is the era of agents and player power, where even the proudest clubs are humbled by the great beast they call modern football.
“Everybody works the situation differently,” Ritchie said.
“If you’d said to me 20 minutes after we brought Van Hooijdonk to Glasgow he’d later be suggesting his wages were going to be less than what they’d give to the homeless, I’d have been certain that situation would never appear.
“Players are now the CEO of their own company.
“They’re not just footballers employed by football clubs, those days are gone.
“When I started scouting that was paramount to the whole thing.
“Now,, they’lly onlyy be ppart of the club as long as they want to be, especially if they’re a big asset.”
But does that mean Ritchie thinks Edouard’s situation will head the same way?
“No,” he replied. “I think he’ll stay. I’m quite prepared to give Edouard the benefit of the doubt.
“Form is temporary, you can’t work when injured and he will be there for the season.”
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