Celtic’s collapse in the summer transfer window has everyone questioning how a club so dominant in recent years has ended up in such a mess, and Hoops hero Chris Sutton hasn’t held back in his assessment.
6 months ago, fans were probably the most positive they have been in recent history. The team showed that they can go toe to toe with the world’s elite in the Champions League, and miss out with the finest of margins.
After the Munich game, the feeling was that with Tierney returning, a few more players added to the squad, Celtic could give it another proper go this season – but that won’t be happening.
Fans who started the summer dreaming of Champions League nights at Celtic Park have instead been met with deflation and fury, after crashing out to Kairat Almaty and following it up with a dire showing at Ibrox. The Hoops didn’t replace Kuhn in the summer, and Jyogo still hasnt been replaced. The squad is undoubtedly weaker than it was last term.
Speaking on the Record Sport Celtic Podcast, Sutton pulled no punches in highlighting the long-term implications of a chaotic deadline day and a limp recruitment campaign.
“I can’t recall them having a worse transfer window, and it’s the knock on implications of it.
“First of all they have let Rangers – and if you want to include Hearts – well and truly into a title race. There’s no doubt about it. Then you have the Europa League.
“You could be back to the Ronny Delia situation where they closed the top tier. You can imagine Celtic fans being so deflated. There’s a lot of anger at the moment. Are they going to rock up at Parkhead for the 3pm kick-offs on a Sunday after Europe.
“At the start of the season there was the assumption and excitement about a Champions League campaign on the back of the progress made last season.
“But now you look at going out to Kairat Almaty and the performance against a bang-average Rangers team, on top of the performances all season in the final third, and you think, blimey, they are in a real mess. The question is why? How have Celtic got into this position?”
The last-gasp capture of Kelechi Iheanacho on Tuesday night ahead of the Europa League squad deadline may prove to be something, but to bluntly put it, Celtic should not be chasing free agents, who haven’t shown any sign of quality in years.
A disastrous summer has turned expectation into exasperation and left Brendan Rodgers facing a brutal uphill task.
