The Ryan Christie transfer saga was one that we all loved to hate watching.
And by that I mean that the transformation we all saw of the Scotland midfielder under Ange Postecoglou was very reminiscent of how we saw Christie play under Brendan Rodgers.
With that transformation came hope. Hope that now it seemed that he was enjoying his football again, there was a chance that Christie could sign a contract extension at Paradise and spearhead the rebuild with Callum McGregor.
That hope quickly turned to disappointment, and then derision, as Christie opted to sign for Bournemouth in the second tier of English football.
As the former Celtic midfielder tried to convince us all that he has had a soft spot for The Cherries for years in an attempt to endear himself to his new fanbase, cries of ‘lack of ambition’ and ‘moved for money’ became common place in Celtic circles and his critics jumped all over it.
None moreso than former Celtic players Davie Provan and Frank McAvennie.
Both ex players, now pundits, were scathing at Christie’s choice of destination and were very vocal in voicing their opinion on the matter.
And that criticism has brought a stinging reaction from Charlie Christie, Ryan’s father, where he revealed his disappointment at two guys he regarded as close friends.
Speaking to Football Scotland, Charlie said, “The pundit thing was really disappointing, especially two guys I hold in very high esteem.
“Davie Provan, I get on really well with him, to have played with him was huge. But it was hugely disappointing from him because I don’t know if he’s ever met Ryan or talked to him.
“The other person was a guy that I was lucky enough to play with in Frank McAvennie. But he’s had several digs at Ryan.
“Frank in 2018 at the League Cup final he was the first one to come up to me in hospitality at Hampden with a beer to congratulate me.
“I spoke to two really senior people at Celtic before Ryan left, just to gauge the opinion. And the third person I actually thought about speaking to was Davie Provan, but I didn’t have his number at the time.
“I was actually then at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow waiting on my wife and that’s when I read his article. I managed to get his number from someone so I text him and said, ‘Look, Davie, what you’ve said there is not right’.
“He was very fair when he came back to me about how he should’ve got a bigger move.”
Time will tell if Christie has made the right move and clearly he sees Bournemouth as a stepping stone to the EPL, but what if he can’t get the club there? What then for the former Celtic man?