James Forrest

Yeah Lambert is a good comparison with a guy turned 30.

After all this time you think people still have the baws to do anything behind Ange’s back? I’ve got a bridge to sell you mate.

 

It’s not sentimentality. It’s a coach understanding that Monday to Friday on the training pitch is just as important as match day. That includes keeping players around who fit into Ange’s good guy list. If Forrest is happy being a bit part player and passing on his experience onto the next generation then great. I’m all for it.

Seems Ange is too.

 

Do you think Desmond and his pals have handed over the purse strings to Ange? They've driven out bigger managers than him.

Dunno why you're bringing up Forrest's age when you just said he's not expected to contribute and has been signed purely on trophies won in the past?

 

I feel whatever Forrest will provide behind the scenes would be far outweighed by bringing in a younger winger who will have a bigger impact on the field. Hopefully the two aren't mutually exclusive and we still bring someone in regardless.

 

First point. Yes I truly believe that. If Ange doesn’t get what he thinks is needed I think he will be off and not shy about telling us why. That’s why the contract of James Forrest isn’t the hill he would even dream of dying on.

2. I never said he won’t contribute. I said he will be happy being a bit part player and spreading his positivity and experience around the training field. Ange, on more than occasion, has said the mood within his 30 players is as important as the chemistry of the 11 on the park.

That’s why I trust Ange knows what he is going with this.

 

We will see. The start of the season should clear it up. The way Ange is snapping up first team ready players though I wouldn’t be surprised if Jota found himself on the bench next season, if he signs,

 

Well, yes. I don’t know how anyone can think otherwise.

At the height of his powers, which far exceeded where Ange is now, they started working behind Rodgers’ back.

While I don’t necessarily think that’s what’s happening here, don’t for one second think that kind of * can’t happen to Ange. We have very short memories when things start going well.

 

For all Rodgers had power. He was always a company man. I don’t get that vibe with Ange. The board love their NDAs. I can’t see Ange agreeing to that.

Call me romantic or naive but I think Ange gets it and the board might be thinking they’ve created a monster. An unstoppable * * of a monster at that. With a whole * * of an army behind him as well.

Try telling us all that we don’t have 2 million for that lad from Bodo because we extended Forrests contract.

 

What I will say is we still need a winger signed, and that’s assuming Jota signs.

 

Sign Jota. Buy the lad from Bodo and keep everyone else.

That is a team determined to make a dent in Europe next season.

 

Pretty sure Solbakken can play up top as well? So that would be us sorted if Giak or Kyogo gets a bad injury. Would be a tough sell to try and bring in a third striker when the aforementioned pair are so good.

 

Yep.

Would like another winger cut from the same cloth as Jota. Not expecting a player as good as him obviously, but someone with a bit of flair and ability to go past players.

 

I'd be surprised if Ange had any say in this signing, purely because it follows a pattern that has existed at Celtic long before he joined.

Forrest has been given a contract purely so that Desmond and his wee transfer committee don't need to read any scout reports, negotiate a transfer fee, or deal with another club. He's been given a contract purely because he was already there, and it was the easiest thing to do.

It's similar to the Neil Lennon offer in the showers. Why bother trying to find someone better when they can just give the job to whoever's there already. And similar to the Lennon situation they tried to sneak it in while the feelgood factor was high because they knew it would be unpopular.

I'm sure Ange will say he's happy to have Forrest here. The same way he's said he's happy to have McCarthy here, or that he's happy to have Michael Nicholson as his sporting director. Ange won't rock the boat and he'll work with whatever the board throw at him.

The problem will come if Abada gets injured and we're playing CL/league games with the ghost of James Forrest as our only RM. That's assuming Forrest even manages to stay fit. We could be right back to playing folk out of position and our squad looking a bit thin again.

We should be strengthening our squad and aiming to be even better. Not settling for players who haven't contributed for years with very little hope of changing that.

 

Appreciate what you’re saying here mate, I really do, but it is on the romantic side.

To an extent you are right, they will be far more careful with Ange and wont as readily take the * as they would with someone like Deila or Lennon. Indeed they might not do it at all, I’m not arguing that they definitely will.

I’m just saying it’s very far from an impossibility. If they want to do something they wont be overly worried about Ange coming out and saying something.

It’s a circular logic. Rodgers basically did come out and say something and here we are 3.5 years later and we’re already saying they wouldn’t do it again.. because the manager might say something on his way out? The reality is if it comes to that they wont give a *.

 

Solbakken, LB, DM and a CB.

Sign the loanees and a couple more additions to go straight into the first team and we will have a frightening squad, one capable of Angeball for 10 months straight. Yassss

 

Has to be a left footed right winger for me..

Would give us that balance and something different on the other side.....allowing Juranovic to really overlap in to space..

 

There's a world class left footed right winger playing in Belgium. Think he's Ukrainian.

 

Aye I'd hope this wouldn't stop us getting another winger.

Jota is the only one currently who is 100% first choice, and he might not even be here next season. Maeda and Abada are class but Abada still has a lot of learning to do and Maeda, as fantastic as he is, is more of a rotational player rather than nailed on first choice, so he needs somebody to properly compete with.

Forrest can still contribute, I thought he was decent against Dundee United, and he was excellent against Livingston, problem is he's majorly lost that yard of pace he used to have.