It was the line that sent a shudder up the spines of Celtic fans and should have removed some of the element of surprise that followed a few weeks later.
Brendan Rodgers' infamous quote, “We’ve got a million wingers, we don’t need another one” had jaws on the floor in the Parkhead press room back in January 2019 after youngster Marian Shved checked in. Little over a fortnight later chins were hitting the deck again when Rodgers departed for Leicester City, but let’s not go over that old ground for the millionth time. That’s all water under the bridge now Rodgers is back. But it is pretty funny that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The returning gaffer had a look under the bonnet before he came back last week and he liked what he saw when it came to the set up behind the scenes at Celtic. He’s far more comfortable with the recruitment side of things than he was towards the end of his first reign and content to give the green light on some of the signings that were already in the pipeline.
Norwegian Odin Thiago Holm looks a top prospect and the Hoops seem to have done well to nab him. But – just like the winter of 2019 – it also appears Rodgers has about a million wingers again. Aussie kid Marco Tilio is set to be the next in the door and he’s another one who has been tipped to have a big future.
With five caps for the Socceroos in his hipper, he shouldn’t be too far off now. It doesn’t dodge the fact though that the manager has a fair chunk of wide men to choose from. Back in the first spell, the problem wasn’t the number of wingers actually. It was too many of them just didn’t cut it.
Scott Sinclair and James Forrest were the main men, Jonny Hayes always did the business while Lewis Morgan flitted around the edges. Danny Arzani – another Aussie wonder kid – was stuck by injury while Oli Burke and Timo Weah were also drafted in around the time Shved pitched up.
Rodgers had a point. He’s also got another whack of them again though – but this time it’s different. This time he’s got a million wingers and they are all top notch. This time he going to have a job on his hands working out who to play. Jota leads the way but then there is Daizen Maeda, Leil Abada and Sead Haksabanovic.
Don’t forget Forrest either, as Rodgers arguably got him playing the best football of his career last time. There’s another forgotten man to remember too. Mikey Johnston is back from his loan spell in Portugal, and he is a different player to the fringe man who was always injured when he left.
Johnston has returned after a more than decent campaign over on the continent and one of the key men in the Republic of Ireland squad. If he’d come through elsewhere and Celtic were signing him fresh, punters would be hailing it as a top bit of business.
Add young Tilio to the mix and that’s seven wingers to pick from and most of them would be hoping – or expecting – to get a regular game. It will depend on how Rodgers sets his side up, as they might all be needed. He might like how Ange Postecoglou sent out his team and go with continuity.
Under the former boss, the wingers had to work like Trojans. Postecoglou liked to pummel them for an hour and then send in replacements, often switching the roles week to week.
It wasn’t until the second half of the season, when Europe was done and Celts went to one game a week, that he tended to opt for Maeda and Jota on a more regular basis. You’d think Jota will be the first pick again under the new management, but after that it could be up for debate on the other side.
Mind you, another wide man coming in will fuel fears some of the current crop could be for the off. It’s only natural. It would be stranger to think there were not clubs looking at the likes of Jota and the Portuguese star is clearly ambitions.
He’s already on the fringes of his national team and will want to keep banging on the door. There’s no reason he can’t do it at Celtic though. The Champions League will be the best possible platform for him and he could not have asked for a better gaffer coming in to help get him to where he wants to go.
Celtic could demand silly money for his services if push came to a shove, but Jota would be best staying put for now. Rodgers could make him a main man and continue his development. Sure, he could double his dough and head to England, but there are no guarantees he’ll be the main attraction for a while, like he would be in Glasgow.
Rodgers has a million wingers again but this time it’s nothing to worry about and the wide men all have a million reasons to stay and fight for their places.
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