Bloated with inexperienced projects- McGowan slams Celtic’s transfer strategy
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Kilmarnock v Celtic - Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scotland, Britain - April 16, 2023 Celtic non-executive Chairman Peter Lawwell in the stands before the match REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Stephen McGowan has criticised Celtic’s recent transfer activities, claiming that the club has accumulated a squad bloated by inexperienced projects.
Until this summer there was a perception around that Celtic had a slick Recruitment operation that was uncovering players off the beaten track and converting them into highly effective players and assets.
With virtually a blank canvas to work with Ange Postecoglou and Dom McKay pulled together an incredible haul of signings in the summer of 2021 which was bolstered significantly in January 2022.
The former Yokohama F Marinos boss pinpointed talent from the J-League which complimented others such as Carl Starfelt, Josip Juranovic and Giorgos Giakoumakis who were in their mid-twenties, time-served and not in the project category.
Mark Lawwell came in to head up recruitment in July 2022 with the quality and success rate taking a hit with Alistair Johnston the only nailed down starter to come in over the last three windows.
Reflecting on the defeat from Feyenoord in the Daily Mail, McGowan writes:
Given time, it’s not impossible that Lagerbielke and Holm will prove themselves to be first-team players. Like so many of the summer signings, though, they fall short of the standard required to go straight into the killing fields of the Champions League and emerge unscathed.
Of the nine summer arrivals, Lagerbielke and Honduran winger Luis Palma were the only starters in a raucous De Kuip stadium. A squad bloated with inexperienced projects, the effective hit rate of Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge has been replaced by a scattergun approach.
From the last two transfer windows, only Johnston – Canada’s World Cup right-back – has demonstrably improved the team. A competition where only the best survive, the Champions League has never been noted for giving rookies an easy ride.
Brendan Rodgers has two matches and a full week of training to prepare his squad for the October 4 visit from Lazio.