JAMES FORREST’S worth to Celtic has been dismissed in a two-word throwaway line by a scribe of my acquaintance.
‘Past it,’ was his summation of the most decorated player in the history of Celtic with a phenomenal haul of TWENTY-SIX honours.
Okay, Wee Jamesy won’t see thirty again – in fact, he celebrated his 34th birthday a month ago tomorrow – but I have never been a great believer in dragging off a player to football’s junkyard just because of a date on a piece of paper.
I reckon it’s all down to performance and not when the pension kicks in.
It would be ludicrous to expect 38 Premiership games from the legs of someone who made a goalscoring debut for the club as a second-half substitute for Aiden McGeady in a 4-0 win over Motherwell at Parkhead on May 1 2010.
IN THE OLD ROUTINE…Celtic’s most decorated player James Forrest holds the Premiership trophy – for the THIRTEENTH time.
Banned substances might help, but I’m fairly sure Wee Jamsey doesn’t want to take that route. So, we accept there will be days when he will be warming the bench, waiting patiently for the nod from his manager to get involved in the action.
And surely people now recognise the necessity of football being a squad game and that the members of the team that brings a match to a conclusion are every bit as important as the players who kick off.
That point was surely illustrated on Sunday against St Mirren in the league opener. Forrest, who was the first of Brendan Rodgers’ substitutes just before the hour mark when he replaced Yang Hyun-jun, played a pivotal role in the build-up to the only goal of the encounter in the 87th minute.
It was Luke McCowan, on the pitch for nine minutes after taking over from Reo Hatate, who hit the points-clincher to get the champions off to a winning start in their quest for their fifth successive title, their fourteenth flag in 15 years and 56th crown in their illustrious history.
James Forrest has played his role in many of those silverware successes.
Remember, please, this is a guy who has netted 109 goals for the team and has collected strikes in every season since popping that one beyond Motherwell keeper John Ruddy over 15 years ago. Not bad going for a winger.
POSTER BHOY…Celtic fans show there affection for James Forrest.
Forrest overtook the trophy haul of a Celtic legend when he got his hands on last season’s Premiership prize. He performed for half-an-hour as Rodgers’ men overpowered Dundee United 5-0 at Tannadice on April 26 to seal the deal.
On that afternoon, Wee Jamesy edged one honour ahead of Bobby Lennox, a player who bowed out at 36 in the aftermath of helping Billy McNeill’s side to a 1-0 Scottish Cup Final triumph over Rangers at Hampden on May 10 1980. Now that’s what I call class.
It’s sheer folly to write off James Forrest. He has a year to run on his current contract and I wouldn’t be surprised if a 12-month extension isn’t offered at some stage during the campaign.
Past it? I doubt if too many people at Parkhead agree with the judgement of the newspaperman.
ALEX GORDON
