IT’S NOT often your humble scribe would deem to disagree with a club icon such as Stiliyan Petrov, but I will make an exception on this rare occasion.
I note the Bulgarian, a player I would rate as one of our most influential midfielders at Celtic this century, is urging Brendan Rodgers to start with Greg Taylor in his line-up against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena this evening.
Sorry, Stan, I just can’t go along with that line of thinking.
In a win-or-bust situation, the manager has to be brave and bold and take a risk.
I would not hesitate in playing Jeffrey Schlupp, the possessor of the No.15 jersey, in the left-back position in Bavaria in an encounter where the visitors kick off already 2-1 down on the tie.
NUMBER 15 IN PARADISE…Jeffrey Schlupp during the 3-0 win over Dundee United at Parkhead.
I advocated in CQN for the 32-year-old Ghanian international, who arrived on a short-term loan from Crystal Palace on deadline day, to get a starting place against Dundee United at Parkhead at the weekend with a view to the tussle tonight.
The left-sided performer played for 71 minutes in the 3-0 saunter against the Tannadice outfit before being replaced by Taylor. A goal would have been nice to mark the occasion, but the versatile operator was denied by the woodwork in the first-half.
To my admittedly untrained eye, Schlupp looked fit and good to go, but I accept Petrov, with far superior knowledge of the subject, insists the player “needs to get up to speed with his fitness”.
Lord only knows how exceptional Schlupp will be when he is firing on all cylinders.
I would get him tied up on a permanent contract right now before he is spirited back across the border to London.
Kieran Tierney, of course, is making an emotional summer return to his spiritual home after a six-year hiatus, but be under no illusions, dear reader.
This version of a much-loved son is not the one you or I witnessed at the beginning of his career in the east end of Glasgow. Wear and tear has taken its toll on those 25-year-old muscles and I wouldn’t expect him to ease through an entire campaign without a breather or two along the way.
That being the likely scenario, Rodgers will require a solid back-up and it looks increasingly as though that will not be provided by Taylor, who, in the good old days of reporting, would have been termed “a pay rebel”.
Fair enough. The 27-year-old Scotland squad regular believes he is worth more than the club’s hierarchy are prepared to pay and it appears he will be heading for pastures new as soon as the final peep of the referee’s whistle blows some time in May, hopefully at Hampden on May 24 when the Scottish Cup is presented to Callum McGregor.
The way I see it, there is more chance of Schlupp being at Celtic next season than Taylor.
Therefore, I don’t think Rodgers should hesitate in playing the Hamburg-born operator behind Daizen Maeda at the start in Bavaria.
I’ve already pointed out his crucial knowledge of how best to handle Michael Olise, who terrorised the left flank in Glasgow for 65 minutes, culminating in the breakthrough goal on the stroke of half-time after tricking his way past Taylor and lashing an unstoppable drive into the roof of Kasper Schmeichel’s net.
Schlupp was a team-mate of the electric and elusive winger at Palace for three years before the Londoner’s £50million switch to the Bundesliga club in the summer.
That must be seen as an advantage on an evening where the Celtic manager must seek the upper hand wherever he can find it.
I could be 100 per cent wrong, of course – alas, not an unknown phenomenon – but, despite the endorsement of no less a knowledgeable individual such as Stiliyan Petrov, I would be telling Jeffrey Schlupp to prepare himself for an appearance at 8pm at the Allianz Arena.
And may Dame Fortune smile upon the performers from Glasgow, a team who have had FOUR goals disallowed in their past two Champions League outings.
It’s surely time Celtic got a rub of the green.
ALEX GORDON
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Bayern Munich v Celtic this evening – only in your champion CQN.
