Deforrestation - The end of a Celtic career

There are plenty of players who people thought would fall by the wayside in the Ronny revolution. The sort of player that would thrive would be a quick player who can press high, yet that is exactly the player whose Celtic career is surely over. James Forrest’s time is up and it’s time for him to move on.

That isn’t a sentiment one would have imagined anyone saying when Forrest broke through into the side. When that happened, he was lauded as the replacement for Aiden McGeady, but they are two very different players. Where McGeady had flicks and tricks to add to his pace, Forrest is the traditional one dimensional winger who beats players for pace then puts crosses in from the byline.

There is nothing wrong with that sort of player except, as his career has gone on, Celtic have evolved to be a very different animal. Where his career began with the more defensively minded Andreas Hinkel, each right back brought in afterwards (Cha Du-Ri, Adam Matthews and Mikael Lustig) have been able to do the same job as Forrest in terms of galloping a furrow down the wing but, crucially, with the extra dimension of being able to cross from deep and with a better level of final ball.

That is still no bad thing if Forrest had evolved from his prodigious starting point. Except he hasn’t. Injuries are to blame, but one also must take a look at attitude as well. Run-ins with the law don’t help but, more than that, a general lack of effort on the pitch and, presumably, on the training field as well suggest a player who has almost decided not to adapt and has certainly not bought into the Ronny Deila regime. It is fitting that the best example of his synchronicity with the Lennon regime and the best example of his lack of faith with the Deila regime both came against Italian clubs - Against Juventus at Celtic Park, Forrest was shifted into an unfamiliar central role where he pressed and harried the Juve defence ceaselessly, giving his all for the team in a thankless role. Against Inter last night, he was brought on to try to win the game against an Inter side weak against pace and he didn’t press, he didn’t harry and, to be blunt, he was shown up by players such as Stefan Johansen who put in ten times the effort and was regularly found ahead of Forrest. The same role and job asked of him - two different managers, two different levels of application.

The real shame about Forrest is that one could compare him to another Celtic prospect of a similar era in Niall McGinn. McGinn saw he had players ahead of him, took his bags to Aberdeen and has become a more rounded player and, ultimately, a better player than Forrest. That is something no-one would have predicted a couple of years ago but it shows not just the value of first team minutes, but also just how much Forrest has failed to take a step forward. Gone are the days where he was linked to bigger and better things such as Spurs or Everton. Gone are the days where he may have become a mainstay of the national side.

Instead, the future for Forrest is away from Celtic and is, regrettably for him, more likely to follow the trajectory of a Derek Riordan or a Garry O’Connor than an Aiden McGeady or even a Niall McGinn. Few sides require pure wingers in this day and age. Even fewer require the sort of winger whose final ball is iffy at best. Even fewer wish to have a winger whose injury record is fast exceeding the length of his CV.

There is a good career for Forrest away from Celtic and no reason why he will not flourish elsewhere. But this elsewhere is now likely to be in England in the Championship or League One where he may be able to get away with his one-dimensional play, following the same path as Gary Teale did before him. With Gary Mackay-Steven, Stefan Johansen and Stuart Armstrong at Celtic all far ahead of him in terms of performance and a clear lack of willing to adapt from Forrest, he must depart the club this summer before bench warming ends his career before it ever started.

None of this is to say Forrest is a bad player, but that given the natural talents he has that gave him a head start in his career, he must look at himself in the mirror and ask not just why Gary Mackay-Steven was needed at the club but also why a totally un-Deila player in Kris Commons has been able to adapt to fit the system at Celtic. Had Forrest become the player he should have, he would not have to do any soul searching.

As it is, he must be sent away and do that soul searching elsewhere because his Celtic career is dead.