James Forrest

Think a wee rest is needed, but he's been brilliant for us this season.

Still think as a wingback he can do it, just think a wee rest is all that is required.

 

Yes, I agree...Eternal Rest!!

 

Was excellent yesterday, hope he turns up next week, he is due a good performance against that lot.

 

Be madness to leave him out next week and Neil Lennon won't thankfully!

The LB area is more a concern for sure.

 

Elhamed will play in the back 3, there's zero chance Forrest will be dropped but he'll need to work his * off.

 

He won't drop Forrest but in a 3-5-2 Frimpong would be the better option. Maybe start Jamesy on the left?

 

Elhamed probably won't start..

If he was ready for Sunday he'd have got 30 minutes at least you'd imagine..

Looked class when he came on though. So comfortable on the ball and strong. Rapid..

Won the penalty and almost scored in his cameo..

I'd give him an hour personally..

 

That's uncalled for.

 

He is long overdue a good performance against the scum .

 

Off the top of my head, can't think of any game where's been outstanding against Them and will probably go into hiding at the first sign of physical contact. Has only scored twice against them in total and has yet to find the net at Ibrox.

My preference if we play him would be to bring him on for the last 30 mins - might have more success as an impact player when their legs are gone.

 

True, and he seems to make his most telling contributions late on in games.

 

BEHIND club captain Scott Brown, James Forrest is the longest-serving Celtic player in the current squad. Handed his debut at 18 years of age by Neil Lennon on May 1, 2010, the 28-year-old midfielder is now closing in on 400 Hoops appearances, and his trophy haul boasts eight league titles, five Scottish Cups and four League Cups.

Of those domestic honours, which does he consider his favourites? That’s a good question – one which we put to the man himself, as he reflected on a successful decade at Paradise.

Here's Forrest on his favourite trophy triumphs in green and white over the last 10 years.

GAME: Celtic 1-0 Rangers
DATE: December 8, 2019
COMPETITION: League Cup final

‘This one definitely felt like a bigger deal to us all. With the previous trophies we’d won to that point, I wouldn’t say that we won them comfortably, but the matches were probably more straightforward from our perspective. I think there was more in this one as well, because it was against our rivals, it was the first time we’d played them in a final for a number of years, and, credit to them, they played well on the day.

‘We also didn’t play at our best. A lot happened in the game as well – we went down to 10 men, so we played a lot of the second half with a man down, they missed a penalty – with these things considered, as well as all of the emotions of the game, it was a different type of victory for us.

‘Big Fraser did so well throughout the whole game as well, and while it probably wasn’t our best performance by any means, the boys really turned up in the last half-an-hour or so and were unreal.

‘We had to dig deep, show good mental strength and get the game and final over the line. In the end, it was a massive win for all of the players, for the manager, the coaches, the backroom staff and, of course, the fans.’

GAME: Celtic 2-1 Hearts
DATE: May 25, 2019
COMPETITION: Scottish Cup final

‘Winning last year’s Scottish Cup final was a big one. To win the Treble Treble was one thing, but to go down 1-0 and fight our way back into it, and then go in front to win was an incredible feeling.

‘The previous few months before that game were difficult for everyone at the club. We had a change in management, but still managed to keep winning on the pitch and keep doing what we’d been doing up to that point.

‘The scenes afterwards, everyone out on the pitch with the trophy, the fans singing You’ll Never Walk Alone... It was quality!’




GAME: Celtic 5-0 Rangers
DATE: April 29, 2018
COMPETITION: League championship

‘Another great season, with so many big wins and great memories. Winning the league in front of your home fans is something that will always be special, and do that against your rivals makes it even more special again. I also scored my first ever derby goal, so I was naturally pleased with that as well.

‘With the league that year, we could have won it the week before. But, again, to bring it back in front of our home fans at Celtic Park, and to win the derby and the league with such a good, high-scoring performance, I think I’d say that was my favourite trophy win of that campaign.’

GAME: Celtic 2-0 Motherwell
DATE: May 19, 2018
COMPETITION: Scottish Cup final

‘That said, to win the Double Treble at Hampden was a great achievement as well. The Scottish Cup final that year was only a few weeks after we’d won the league title, and with two goals in the first half, we were comfortable going into the second.

‘Cal and Olly did the business that day, and the celebrations afterwards – the open top bus back at Celtic Park, the nice weather and the fans – that was all incredible as well.’

GAME: Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen
DATE: November 27, 2016
COMPETITION: League Cup final

‘What was my favourite trophy of the Invincibles season? I’ll maybe say the first cup final because I scored in it! No, joking aside, I still think I’d say that one even if I hadn’t scored.

‘Don’t get me wrong, scoring in that final makes it even more memorable for me, but it was also the first trophy of that incredible run, and the current run we’re still on now. That win set the Treble Treble in motion, even if we couldn’t have even guessed or dreamt that at the time.

‘It was a good one to get in the bag before Christmas that season as well, and that League Cup win kicked us on for the rest of that season, and for the next couple after that.’

 

12 more goals and he joins the 100 club.

 

IT was 10 years ago today, on Saturday, May 1, 2010, that James Forrest pulled on the green and white Hoops for the first time. That he has now gone on to do that 395 times is testament to his ability as a footballer.

He marked his debut as an 18-year-old with a goal, and his tally for the club currently stands at 88. Just 12 more goals will see him become only the 30th player in the club’s long and illustrious history to hit a century of goals for Celtic, which would represent another incredible achievement.

So, in marking the debut of a modern day Celtic great, the official club website looks back at the Forrest years, with a highlight for every year, starting with that day in May 2010.

2010
There were only nine minutes of the match against Motherwell at Celtic Park remaining when Youth Academy graduate, James Forrest, was given his first-team debut by Neil Lennon. The teenager replaced another Academy success story in Aiden McGeady, with the Hoops winning 2-0. Within six minutes of coming on, Forrest had scored his first Celtic goal, making an already special day even greater. A long clearance from Artur Boruc was headed on by Marc-Antoine Fortune and Forrest was quickest to pounce inside the box, sending a left-foot lob over the Motherwell goalkeeper and into the net




2011
Just over a year later and James Forrest had picked up his first winner’s medal as Celtic beat Motherwell 3-0 in the Scottish Cup final. Once again, Forrest came on in the 81st minute with the Hoops leading 2-0, and although he wouldn’t get on the scoresheet, he was still delighted to see Charlie Mulgrew fire home a goal in the 88th minute to set the seal on what was also Neil Lennon’s first piece of silverware as Celtic manager.

2012
A year after Celtic lifted the Scottish Cup, the Hoops clinched the first of eight league titles in a row, and James Forrest picked up his second winner’s medal as a Celtic. Over the course of the successful campaign, he played 29 of the league games, including 23 starts, while he also chipped in with seven goals, including a double against Motherwell in a 4-0 win. This wasn’t the end of league success for Celtic and James Forrest, however. This was only the beginning.

2013
As Champions League qualifiers go, there have been few as thrilling, nerve-wracking and, ultimately, joyful as the tie against Kazakhstani side, Shakhter Karagandy on August 28, 2013. Celtic trailed 2-0 from the first leg but goals either side of half-time from Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras levelled the aggregate scoreline. And just as the match was heading towards extra-time, James Forrest popped up with an injury-time winner, firing home from an Anthony Stokes cutback to set Paradise into raptures and the club into the group stages of the Champions League.


2014
James Forrest played in one of the strangest European games Celtic have had in recent years, when a 2-0 defeat at a rugby stadium turned into a 3-0 victory and a place in the next qualifying round of the Champions League. Having lost 4-1 in Poland to Legia Warsaw, the Hoops, now managed by Ronny Deila, faced a tough second leg, with the match being played at Murrayfield due to Celtic Park having been used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games. On the night, Celtic lost 2-0, apparently crashing out of the competition. However, it turned out that Legia has illegally played one of their substitutes, so the result was put aside, Celtic were awarded a 3-0 win and went through on the away goals rule!

2015
James Forrest likes scoring at Hampden, and he netted Celtic’s second goal in their 2-0 League Cup final victory over Dundee United at the national stadium. The Hoops were already leading through a first-half Kris Commons goal before Forrest, on as a substitute, struck with 11 minutes of the match remaining. It was fellow substitute, John Guidetti, who laid the ball back into the path of Forrest on the edge of the box, and he fired home a right-foot shot for what was his first triumph in the competition.

2016
James Forrest scored the first league goal of the 2016/17 season in what would prove to be a historic one for the club, with Brendan Rodgers now in charge, as they secured their first domestic treble in 16 years as invincibles, remaining unbeaten in all three domestic competitions. Forrest’s goal in the 2-1 opening day win against Hearts at Tynecastle came after just eight minutes, curling home an exquisite left-foot shot from the edge of the box after combining well with Callum McGregor down the right-hand side.

2017
James Forrest has scored 12 European goals for Celtic, and he hit a vital one in the Champions League qualifying campaign. The first leg had finished 0-0 at Celtic Park, so the Hoops faced a tough trip to Norway. The only goal of the game came in the 69th minute following good work from Scott Sinclair. When he fed the ball out to Forrest, he managed to jink past a Rosenborg defender and smashed an unstoppable shot off the bar and into the net



2018
It was on April 29, 2018 that Celtic sealed their seventh consecutive league title, and they did so in style, thrashing Rangers 5-0 at Paradise in what was a memorable day for the Hoops. Odsonne Edouard had already scored twice before James Forrest scored on the stroke of half-time for what was his first ever goal in the Glasgow derby. And while it was a memorable moment for the player, the goal will be forever remembered for Mikael Lustig’s famous celebration, where the Swedish defender ended up wearing a policeman’s hat.

2019
Just 24 hours after Neil Lennon returned to Celtic as manager following Brendan Rodgers’ departure, the Hoops faced a tough trip to Tynecastle, and James Forrest put Celtic on the way to a vital three points with a goal on 36 minutes. The goal was a class counter-attacking move. The ball broke to Ewan Henderson on the edge of the Celtic area, and the young midfielder played a great pass out to Scott Sinclair who raced down the left flank. He slotted the ball into the path of Ollie Burke inside the area who, in turn, knocked it across for Forrest to fire home.

2020
James Forrest has scored 16 goals in the 2019/20 season, including two in 2020 – against St Johnstone and Hamilton Accies. He was also in the Celtic side that beat St Mirren 5-0 at him in what was the last fixture before the current postponement, and that impressive win cemented the commanding 13-point lead that Neil Lennon’s side enjoy at the top of the Premiership with just eight matches remaining

 

Terrific professional for us. Has some faults but overall has made a telling contribution during his time here. Amount of goals and assists don't lie. He has also chipped with many important goals in big games. Sadly he is a bit of a hate figure that some fans always need to vent their ire at.

I have a standing joke with a friend that I go to the games with and can't stand Forrest... The joke is that nothing Forrest does is ever enough. Win or lose. Makes no odds.

A player that will go down in history for us, along with the often maligned Brown.

 

Some contribution, he badly needs competition though. When Roberts came in to challenge him that’s when James kicked on imo.

 

Yup someone to come in give him a wee rest now and then.


Well next season anyway