John Hartson has lamented Celtic’s failure to add Champions League quality to their squad.
Seven permanent moves and two loan deals were completed but none of them have looked like an upgrade on last season’s preferred squad of around 16 players.
There is no obvious replacement for Jota or Aaron Mooy, coupled with injuries to Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liel Abada there was a clear downgrade from last season on the team that faced Feyenoord.
Self inflicted wounds cost the team dearly with Hartson on co-commentary duty watching the action in Rotterdam.
Picking up on his appearance on Go Radio, the Daily Record reports the Welshman saying:
The one thing that would maybe disgruntle the supporters, in terms of Celtic and the way they are playing, lost their first game (in the Champions League), a marquee signing, a shirt seller if you like. I know they have brought in a lot of players, these type of players are very young, projects and ones for the future.
If Celtic could have found one, if Brendan Rodgers had his eye on one particular person, very difficult as the market is so very inflated. With the money they have made, back in the Champions League, everything else and the profits they have, I just feel they could have gone out and bought somebody to play when Kyogo… like (Giorgos) Giakoumakis did.
That type of role, that’s the one thing I think supporters would have liked as well. When you see the money is there and if they got that one quality player, £7, £8, £9 million, strikers take you up the leagues, they are the ones that will win you football matches.
Celtic have just two matches now to prepare for their Champions League tie against Lazio.
Trips to Livingston and Motherwell are unlikely to bear much relevance to a Champions League date with an Italian side but a week of training at Lennoxtown can be put to use as players such as Liam Scales, Alistair Johnston and Luis Palma prepare for their second taste of Champions League action.
Hartson stating what a lot of us were waiting for after BR started:
a marquee signing as a statement of intent, a change in Board mindset,
a player to get everybody buzzing…
And all we got was BR saying that ‘he will work with the players he’s given’! 🙁
And then nobody was at all surprised at the lack of such a signing.
The net transfer surplus achieved this summer should come back to bite the
Board on the @rse.
Sorry John but that the way it is. We dont play champions league teams every week. Its Scotland ffs. Let me know who they should’ve went for that would come here for big bucks. Get a fckn reality check.
Same again a squad full of player’s at the same level and that level is way below that needed for the Champions league