Ex Celtic striker and now the pundit all Celtic fans love to hate, Charlie Nicholas has delivered a damning verdict on Celtic’s transfer business over the last few years.
Nicholas claims that Celtic have been lazy in their transfer dealings and the Hoops never really believed that Rangers would catch them.
It’s not often I agree with Nicholas but it is fair to say that while we all had a laugh at “The Banter Years”, we have fallen asleep at the wheel as The Green Brigade most famously warned.
Nicholas, speaking to Paddy Power’s podcast, From the Horses Mouth was scathing when he said, “Celtic have gone backwards, and that’s because the signings they’ve made have been poor.
“They were lazy about the signings. They have a certain element that the board control the budget. It’s been that way for a long time
“But what happened just over a year ago was Rangers lost to Celtic in a League Cup final. That was a warning sign of how Rangers would respond under Steven Gerrard and how Celtic would respond under Neil Lennon.
“The Celtic ownership thought that Rangers don’t really have that much money, so how are they going to make it that much better?
“They allowed £15m-£16m to be spent. People think that’s fine and fair, but then it’s down to the manager and his staff to do the job to make sure that the signings you’re bringing in are better or it’s making your squad stronger. That’s what Gerrard has done. He’s hardly spent any money on defenders, and yet they’ve only let in six league goals this season.
“They needed strong centre‑backs, they needed full-backs, and they didn’t get them in until late.
“They are brutal at the back, Rangers are not a fabulous footballing side. In fact, when they beat Celtic the last two times, their strikers haven’t even played well. Celtic should have won on January 2, but they couldn’t put the ball in the net because Rangers are so strong defensively.
“I hold Celtic guilty, because I thought they got lazy in the type of players that they’ve acquired.
“Of course, upfront they’ve been relying on keeping Odsonne Edouard happy, who’s a fabulous player, and then they’ll eventually sell him.”