Celtic have enjoyed renowned success in the SPL era with eight titles since 1998 but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a fair share of duds come through the Parkhead gates. I have chosen the ones which jump out at me as being monumentally rubbish for no reason other than that’s how I remember them. I’m sure others will disagree due to numerous reasons but here goes. Writes Paul Fisher.
Goalkeeper
Dmitiri Kharine
Russian, USSR and CIS National goalkeeper, Kharine came to Parkhead back in 1999 which was towards the end of his career. He was signed by the revolution under John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish and only played 11 times for the Hoops. Of all the goalkeepers in the era, he was the most forgettable and disappointing.
Defence
Adam Virgo
He signed for the Bhoys back in 2005 and started off brightly with a Man of the Match performance in his second game. That’s pretty much where his fairy tale in Glasgow ended. The Scotland ‘B’ International spent much of his time at Celtic out on loan and didn’t do much to cement a place in defence.
Du Wei
The loanee who came to Glasgow with high expectations failed to do anything of note for Celtic except a solitary start against Clyde in the Scottish Cup where he played dreadfully and was substituted at half-time. He was subsequently sent back to China where, believe it or not, he remains the national team captain.
Stephane Henchoz
Henchoz joined Celtic on 2005 on a six month contract and I distinctly remember being pretty optimistic about him. He did absolutely nothing of note, despite his pretty good CV and 72 caps for Switzerland and didn’t last any longer than the contract.
Rafael Schiedt
I couldn’t miss him out, could I? Signing for the Hoops back in 1999 the Brazilian made a total of one start and three appearances for Celtic. With a name like that he was destined for failure and it scares me that he received three caps for the Brazilian National side, that pretty much gives us all hope.
Midfield
Zheng Zhi
Another Chinese player signed by Celtic who didn’t really do much at all. He won a penalty against Rangers and that was pretty much it in the way of success for his stint in Glasgow, the fact that he was signed by Tony Mowbray should have alluded to the fact that he wasn’t very good. He has 62 caps for China. Which asks the question, with so many people, why can’t China produce half decent players?
Marc Crosas
I know he had a good first season but he is included into this team because of his presence amongst some of the #CelticFamily on Twitter meant I just had to put him in. He joined Celtic from Barcelona which could have meant two things, he was very good and would eventually go back to Barcelona and be a massive star or that he wasn’t as good as Barca first thought and he wouldn’t be up to much. He couldn’t get a start in the Celtic XI because of Massimo Donati and is now playing in Mexico. The Celtic fans online treat him like some sort of God which really annoys me, he was a bit crap.
Jeremie Aliadiere
Remember him? He joined Celtic in 2005 (Are you seeing a pattern here? It doesn’t bode well for Scotland under wee Gordon…) Anyway, the young Frenchman was highly rated at Arsenal and sent out to Celtic on loan to get first team experience. He got experience of a monumental horsing at the hand of European Giants, erm, Artmedia Bratislava, and didn’t play again.
Strikers
Chris Killen
I remember Killen at Hibs and actually rated the big Kiwi. He came to Celtic and did not a whole lot. He didn’t really get a chance under Strachan and was pretty much a benchwarmer for most of his tenure. When Mowbray took over, he thought he was quids in because he had worked with him at Hibs alas, it wasn’t to be, and strangely enough he went to Middlesbrough and joined up with Gordon Strachan who hardly gave him a game. I don’t know why either.
Daryl Murphy
Hugely uninspiring signing from someone who apparently promised so much for Celtic, he made a few league appearances and grabbed a couple of goals but never did anything of note in terms of making a claim for a regular first team place. He is still on our books but I doubt he will be for much longer.
Pawel Brozek
Another player with promise coming to Celtic and doing pretty much nothing! The Polish International was on loan for a period last year and seemed to lack a certain quality to impress Neil Lennon and has since moved onto play in Spain’s second division.
Manager
Tony Mowbray
There were a few candidates for this job, I even considered Strachan for his seemingly terrible judgement but I’ll let him off for getting us through to the last 16 for the first time. Mowbray’s time in charge was, in short, a shambles. He lost the faith of the fans and players pretty easily and although he apparently had a plan to build a team over a number of years, the results spoke true and he is, in my opinion, and on paper, the worst manager Celtic have ever had.
If you’d like to read more from Paul then make sure to check out The Write Club, an entertainment website ran by the Celtic fanatic. Be sure to also follow him on twitter.
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