I MUST confess I was more than just a tad befuddled when Brendan Rodgers withdrew Daizen Maeda from the frontline during Celtic’s stupefying performance in Perth on Sunday.
Admittedly, the lightning-swift Japanese raider had not been enjoying his finest game for the champions, but can you name anyone in a green-and-white shirt who looked impressive in the mystifyingly drab 1-0 loss to a St Johnstone team anchored at the foot of the Premiership?
There was a lot of huffing and puffing, but precious little ingenuity and composure on show during the team’s fourth league loss of 2025.
In itself, that is puzzling, too. Rodgers’ men practically sauntered through all 12 months of 2024 with just one domestic reverse – a highly contentious 2-0 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle in March – and we have now witnessed a quartet of misery clocked up with April barely upon us.
Perplexing times in Paradise, dear reader.
BY THE LEFT…Daizen Maeda nets one of his 30 goals this season with a slick finish in the 5-2 win over St Mirren in Paisley last month.
The removal of the club’s 30-goal top scorer against Saints had me pondering the wisdom of such a decision.
Remember, please, this is Daizen Maeda we are discussing. He’s the player blessed with the Duracell battery who looks as fit and eager to go in the fading moments as he had been at kick-off.
There were 61 minutes on the clock – over half an hour to play including the inevitable stoppage-time – and the manager had chosen to chase the game without our most potent threat.
By all means add firepower to a powderpuff attack and Adam Idah was certainly worth the risk. He has previous in such situations and if you are searching for quick example just cast your mind back to last season’s Scottish Cup Final when the powerhouse frontman replaced Kyogo Furuhashi – coincidentally also in the 61st minute – and netted the late winner against Ibrox opposition.
That was goal that earned the Republic of Ireland international a £9.5million permanent move from Norwich City to the Hoops a couple of months later.
So, with the team toiling and in dire need of a jolt, it was certainly worthwhile introducing Idah to proceedings.
However, I have to ask: At the exclusion of Maeda?
X-CERTIFICATE VIEWING…Brendan Rodgers looks anxious as he watches Celtic struggle in Perth.
Even if the team’s marathon man is apparently wearing his boots on wrong feet and shots are flying hither and yon, he is still a constant menace to the opposition.
Breathers are in short supply when this guy is in your face from first kick to last.
Unless Maeda had taken a knock – and it certainly didn’t look like it – it may have been wise to leave him on, switch him to left to make way for Idah through the middle and sacrifice Filipe Jota who had been performing in fits and starts.
The Portuguese maverick, who had been fairly anonymous in the first half-hour in Perth, eventually did make way in the 75th minute as evergreen James Forrest made an appearance.
I’m convinced I detected a sigh of relief from a few of the home defenders at the withdrawal of Maeda and my mind was cast back to a chat I had with Celtic legend Davie Hay as I had the honour of co-authoring his best-selling autobiography, ‘The Quiet Assassin‘, which was published in 2009.
We were discussing the monumental Scottish Cup Final victory over Dundee United on May 18 1985 when the Parkhead side found themselves staring at defeat after Stuart Beedie had netted for Jim McLean’s stubborn Tannadice team shortly after the turnaround.
Hay recollected: “That’s the way it stood with around 15 minutes to go. Managers are paid good money to think on their feet and I made two momentous decisions that could have backfired spectacularly.
“I took off Paul McStay and Tommy Burns and put on Pierce O’Leary and Brian McClair.
“The tension was beginning to tell. It was all or nothing. I put O’Leary into the middle of the defence alongside Tom McAdam and freed Aitken to get forward on the right. I thought his running power might unsettle the United back-lot.
“The switches worked a treat, I am happy – and relieved – to recall.
“Davie Provan curled an exquisite 25-yard free-kick high past Hamish McAlpine for the equaliser. Game on! We wouldn’t be denied and we weren’t about to play out time to take the game into an extra half-hour.
“We could sense victory was ours and six minutes remained when Aitken went on a lung-bursting run down the right before thumping over a ferocious cross to the near post. Frank McGarvey made contact with his head and powered the blurred object beyond a helpless McAlpine and the trophy was ours.”
PICK IT OUT…Frank McGarvey prepares to race away in triumph as Dundee United keeper Hamish McAlpine and his defenders get that sinking feeling.
A few years later, Davie and I were discussing subsequent events after a memorable and classic Hampden tussle and Hay said: “I read in the newspapers not that long ago that Frank revealed that his goal had saved me from the sack. I saved myself from getting a P45, Frank.
“Actually, I think he should have thanked me for allowing him to stay on the Hampden pitch that afternoon. I made HIM a hero.
“While I was mulling over my substitutions, I admit I did think of taking off McGarvey. Even he might admit he wasn’t playing particularly well against United.
“But something popped into my head that my old Motherwell gaffer Ally MacLeod used to say. ‘Don’t take off a goalscorer,’ Ally would repeat over and over. ‘When you need a goal, keep on your goalscorer.’
“That stuck with me and, boy, did we need a goal that day. Thankfully, Frank delivered.”
It’s easy to be wise after the event and the scoreline emphasises the substitutions did not work at McDiarmid Park.
I have to say, though, I have to agree with Davie Hay and his former mentor Ally MacLeod.
‘When you need a goal, keep on your goalscorer.’
Makes a lot of sense to me.
ALEX GORDON
