EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 07: Ex-Celtic player Chris Sutton during a cinch Premiership match between Hibernian and Celtic at Easter Road Stadium, on February 07, 2024, in Edinbugrh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Chris Sutton expected 10 players to leave Celtic this summer.
The former Celtic striker doesn’t name the 10 that will be leaving but it seems safe to assume that none of the loan players will be staying on.
That clears Marcello Saracchi, Julian Araujo, Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu. Joel Mvuka and Ben Arthur from the equation.
With Kasper Schmeichel now retired Celtic are already down one player. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Kelechi Iheanacho are out of contract.
Those sort of numbers make a big dent in the squad even allowing for the return of Maik Nawrocki, Luis Palma and Stephen Welsh.
A week after winning the Scottish Cup there has been no word coming out of Celtic on a range of issues that need addressed.
Top of that list is appointing a manager. A vacancy that has been in place since January 5.
Sutton warned last summer that Celtic looked disorganised. Despite lifting two trophies that remains the case.
Celtic were knocked out of a Champions League Play Off by Kairat Almaty and lost eight times in the SPFL. Four of those defeats came with Wilfried Nancy in charge.
A year later it seems that none of the issues have been corrected.
SUTTON SPELLS OUT THE MASSIVE CELTIC REBUILD JOB
Appointing a permanent manager is essential but Sutton believes that the new boss will be working without several of the players that secured the double.
In the Daily Record Sutton claims:
I can count at least 10 of the current squad who are not going to be there from the end of last season and some of them are key men.
We all know that Daizen Maeda is going to be leaving, Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston are going to attract interest, Reo Hatate will likely go.
These are not squad men. These are vital cogs in the Celtic wheel, and have been for a long time.
Kyogo Furuhashi hasn’t been replaced in 18 months. Now Maeda is going out of the door and we still don’t see any clear evidence of a Celtic plan.
Celtic’s Champions League run in season 24/25 was built around the goals of Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda.
Without those four navigating a Play Off in August will be a tall order.
It appears that there is no sign of urgency inside Celtic to prepare for next season.
With each lost week the scale of the rebuild grows.
Going on recent evidence fans are right to fear the worst if replacements for Johnston, Engels and Maeda are needed.
Don’t forget that the massive rebuild required for the first team squad will have even less time to complete than normal this Summer because of the World Cup and all of the dealings which accompany it ? We don’t even have a permanent top manager recruited yet never mind the desperately needed new playing recruits ! I was always under the impression that all good teams have their head coach well sorted first then he can pick his team he wants with his board and not the other way round ? What would the chaos be like if the board spent say £15 or £20 million sovs( I know ..I know ), on decent players first and then the new head coach arrives and says nah ..I can’t work with these guys …I don’t rate them ! It does feel a tad like the lunatics are running the asylum with this situation ….
20 mill wont even touch the sides mate
Chris i agree we need to let many players go however on my list it looks around 18-20 players in
total many of them are already on loan..
What a fu**in tragedy it is that there isn’t gonna be a fu**in Board ‘Rebuild’ !
I have just watched the VAR review there with Gordon Duncan and oor Wullie.
The so called Motherwell fanny sorry fan,has gone through a number of games with Wullie like Columbo investigating a murder.
At every point Wullie explains the reasons for the decisions giving out,this doughball stands there and tries to trip Collum up,thinking or as if the decisions cam be changed and Celtic denied the title.
For a James Hunt that’s not a got a dug in the race he is making plenty of noise about it.
A Motherwell fan my arse Frank…
There’s more fu**in chance of me and you running about in red white and blue than that C*nt being a Motherwell supporter !
That they are all fulsome of his praise on Wallow Wallow tells you all you need to know !
Off topic…dunno if anyone is listening to Scotland game on BBC radio but Tom English is passing comment on the red card.
“ it was an elbow to the head, a definite red card, he deserved what he got”.
Bit like the Motherwell red Tam?
YOU COULDN’T MARK THAT KENTS NECK WI A BLOW TORCH.
No need to rush out and buy players now when we sell our major assets for tens of millions, wait until the end of window once we’ve been dumped out of the CL and then pay far too much for utter garbage that will never make the grade. That’s our business model. Don’t despair, we’ll have an enormous bank balance to gaze lovingly at. I for one will raise a cheer for HM Revenue when we send them another giant cheque in the coming financial year.
I’m also happy to “raise a cheer” for the taxman but instead of it being for taking money we should and need to spend on ubiquitous improvements it’ll be, perennially, for killing the original huns by refusing a CVA in June 2012. Liquidation, ya beauty!
CHEERS, HECTOR!
“That clears Marcello Saracchi, Julian Araujo, Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu. Joel Mvuka and Ben Arthur from the equation.”
I think all of us would have Julian Araujo and Marcello Saracchi back in a heart-beat. I really don’t know with Ben Arthur but worth another look/loan to assess. The other 3 wouldn’t make one top player if you merged all their skills together but Adamu and Cvancara did at least score 2 important goals for us so I wish them well in their new occupations because it won’t be in fitba.
Mvuka may want to wear some of them big long shoes that clowns wear permanently cos it looked like he had them on when trying to control the ball.
Daizen, imho, is irreplaceable and AJ would be a massive loss too. I still have a feeling that Engels will shine somewhere and hopefully that’s at CP. WE NEED A TOP STRIKER and then some. TBH, unless and until we hunt the board we’re clawing at fresh air and we’ve no clue what them clots on the board will fuck up next.
For now I just console myself by discussing how we won a DOUBLE from a dire position at xmas and thank Martin O’Neill for saving our bacon and bringing good cheer in the final days.
I still have to nip myself to believe it…………
It’s Groundhog Day at Celtic.
Same twats in charge, same sh!t – just a different close season.
…whilst ‘Continuous Improvement’ remains an alien concept to our ‘world class’ CEO! 🙁
Just renewed my season book, just to keep my name on it,but just like the covid season they won’t see my ass on it unless there’s MAJOR changes in the offing.
I have a waiting list,longer than the fantasy one our useless board claim to have,for my ticket !
Fuck these parasites off to hell or “Celtic fans get used to life in the slow lane !”(famous Martin O’Neil quote when he left the building, circa 2005 !