Efrain Juarez, Neil Lennon’s most expensive signing to date, looked good when he played in the early part of last season and from reports he seemed to have a pretty decent tournament for Mexico in the ‘Gold Cup’.
There’s reported interested from Spain and other clubs are interested in taking him away from Parkhead so I guess he must have done something right at some point.
So where did it all go wrong? That is something I would love to know the answer to and I’m sure Neil Lennon would like to know that too. So what’s your opinions on him? Should we let him rot on the bench, give him another chance in whatever his preferred position is or just get rid of by any means possible.
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I recently wrote about loan players and how us sending players out on loan wasn’t something I am a fan of, however, a few readers made the point that it’s better to get them off the wage bill if we are unable to sell a player. With that point in mind, I am now more in favour of players going out on loan.
I think that, at £3million, he might just be worth taking a second gamble on. It’s a gamble that may not pay off but if we sold him, I doubt we would get anywhere near that back.
I do also know a price tag doesn’t always mean a player will do well for you – does anyone remember Tore awfully slow, sorry Tore Andre Flo at Rangers?
Last season when Juarez did come on as a substitute, I don’t think he looked particularly interested in playing for us or at the very least, he looked slow, did not look comfortable on the ball and his passing did not look like that of a professional player.
On that basis, I think it’s just a mental thing – or a lack of confidence some may prefer to call it. Maybe he doesn’t like Scotland, which is fair enough, not everyone will.
I am not really in much a position to comment on Juarez early performances as I missed the early European ties from being on holiday but I feel the player that I heard about then is worth keeping.
Shortly after we were knocked out of European football, I heard that Juarez fell out with Neil Lennon and was unhappy at the prospect of a season without European football.
That was a rumour that I read online so I have no ideas how accurate the rumour was and now, I can’t even remember where I read it but it would make explain things to some extent.
Now, if that rumour is true, then he’s clearly an unprofessional and moody guy who never deserves to even walk through the front door of Celtic park, far less play for us again.
A more likely reason that he never played is perhaps because of the change of country. The guy is quite young and I imagine it cannot be easy for a player coming to Scotland and trying to settle in.
More so when the club in Scotland is Celtic, where this is almost constant media spotlight on you and a massive amount of people who want to know what you are doing and when you are doing it.
With the success of Neil Lennon’s signings so far, I feel that Juarez should be given until January to prove himself. We’ve had players in the past who have come in and had a great first season and not been very good thereafter so maybe, just maybe, Juarez can do the opposite?
Some readers may be wondering why I have this opinion and the truth is that I don’t know myself. I just have a feeling that he can turn things round. Most gut feelings are irrational and not based any or much fact or logic and this is one of mine.
Only time will tell if I am correct or not, but, for the sake of our team, I hope he can turn things round. The next question for Juarez is where would he play for us?
He can play at right back but so can Mark Wilson and as long as he is able to maintain his fitness, I think he is going to be first choice.The second choice for right back is Cha so I doubt Juarez would play very often at right back.
His other position is middle of the pitch. Will he start before Scott Brown? I doubt it very much given that Broonie is the captain. No player should be a guaranteed starter but the captain is more likely than anyone to be a guaranteed starter.
Of the other midfielders that we have, I listed one or two of them below and where I think they are in relation to Juarez. Ki – he’s about a year younger than Juarez, not always a starter but last season he was more likely to start.
Even having a look round the squad, I fail to see where Juarez will fit in (if you look at last seasons performances alone). If you look at guys like McCourt, Maloney, Wanyama and of course Joe Ledley, it shows how much of an improvement is required from Juarez but I still believer that he does have the ability, I just hope that he has the mental strength required to be a successful hoops player.
I think most football managers will agree that most players are a gamble and it may well be that case that this particular gamble has been one that has been wrong but it’s time to give the wee man our support and if it doesn’t work then let him go but, like I said earlier, I just have a gut feeling that he can do a job for us.
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I think it’s about time we give this lad a chance because he’s young, he’s focused and he has played a great Gold Cup and since he’s Lenny’s most expensive signing I think he deserves a shot with the starting 11.
Loan him and when Kayal is sold (Which is gonna be sooner rather than later) we will have a perfect replacement.
Oh and this is just my opinion but….This lad is twice the player Broonie is and should be starting ahead of him. Just because he is the captain doesn’t mean he is the best
I can only think it’s his attitude, i was really excited by the way he played the 1st few times for us and remember fellow Tims were the same, hopefully he looks at Kayal and Izzy an example of hard work paying dividends. Lennon hasn’t played him pre season games though has he? so might be that Lennon has already made up his mind.
He defo deserves a 2nd season. Case in point being what if we got rid of larsson after not a great 1st season. Not saying he’s gona become a larsson for us but you need to take a lot of things into consideration, his age, moving to a new country and not to mention its been our most competative midflield since martin o’neil era. Its no disgrace to be ousted from team from team that played last season. Plus to suggest that he looks uninterested and unfit when he comes on is a tad unfair. If you play football you know coming on 15 mins from the end its hard to make an impact plus without proper match time he’s obviously going to be a bit rusty. He might not make it in scotland but defo deserves a second chance.
First of all I was at the Braga home game last year and Juarez scored then he scored against Utrecht and everything was going well for him and I along with most other fans thought so too but for whatever reason unknown to us ALL he didn’t feature much after we got kicked out of Europe.
Now I distinctly remember during the Utrecht away game that we have all tried to forget Kayal was going mental that night as he does sometimes but in particular with Juarez and this stuck in my mind, in my opinion that was the night Lennon decided he would have to think about his team and make sacrifices and Juarez was definitely one of them along with Cha who if it wasn’t for him going to the Asia cup then got injured would have been dropped anyway but that’s another story and just my personal opinion.
I really liked the look of Juarez way back last summer in the world cup, he plays for a country who like to play football in the right way (anyone who saw the Gold Cup final will agree I’m sure) and then when he came to us and started off well I thought brilliant a quality player but whether it’s been the stuff with Mexico national team or he can’t settle or whatever it has perplexed us all at so little chances he got last season.
Ultimately I think we should give him a sustained opertunity to show us what he can do for Glasgow Celtic and I think he could a great player for us and would love if proved all the sceptics wrong…..BUT that is just my wish, unfortunately my head says he just won’t get that chance because of the form of Kayal, Ledley and Ki in the middle and the fact that our Captain who had by far his best season plays in his position on the right of midfield.
If I was to make a major sacrifice I would sell Scott Brown and give Juarez a chance but that is just not feesable so I’m afraid I think if we hold onto him we’re just being greedy so either let the boy go out on loan or get our money back.
Who knows though he may get run in the team for Europe.
Here’s a thought for our front 6:
Lm – Ledley
Cm – Ki
Cm – Kayal
Rm – Juarez
Ss – Commons
St – Hooper
I think it is worth giving him another chance, last season was a strange season for overseas players to come to Scotland I’m sure at times he must have thought he had stepped of the planet and landed in the land that time forgot with all the carry on on the sidelines this could have caused him to look like a rabbit caught in the headlights .
I also don’t think he appreciated just how much pressure there is on you as a celtic player to deliver a winning performance every week i think we should see a different player this season if he has enough belief in himself
I have a question, Do you guys who call players sh*t think this is necessary? Celtic are a massive family and the players are invited guests, would you say to your sisters new boyfriend that he was sh*t at the dinning table because he didn’t think to offer the salt after he was finnished with it?
Player read these forums and who knows what it could do to their confidence if they feel the fans are not behind them. If a player like Wayne Biggins etc… were here then fair game but we have a squad of honest professional who only want great things for them and the fans so can we just think a little before we polish up the daggers. Lets leave all the small minded stuff to the minging blue from the minging Govan
We should keep him, but make sure we play him.
He started well, has great ability and despite what some are saying he has a great engine.
I share the opinion of some others when they say something happened to his confidence after the mexican incidents occurred equally we didnt get to see much of him after that either.
I thought at one point Celtic dropped him because of the controversy and that in turn caused him to crash. Good player, give him a chance ! Hail Hail