KASPER SCHMEICHEL will celebrate his 39th birthday in three weeks’ time – and the clock is ticking on his Celtic contract.
The legendary Danish keeper is still No.1 for his country and could be the man who stands between Scotland and a World Cup Finals place when the nations lock horns in the crucial qualifier at Hampden next month.
Schmeichel is out of contract in June next year and, if Brendan Rodgers believes he still has a future at the champions, this would be the time to get around to negotiations about an extension.
The experienced netminder, who joined the Hoops in the summer of 2024 after leaving Anderlecht as a free agent, has conceded only six goals in 11 appearances this season, but, astonishingly, has come under fire from some sections of the support.
ON THE BAWL…Kasper Schmeichel cries out in anguish as he misjudges Ricardo Horta’s long-range shot that presents Sporting Braga with the lead at Parkhead.
Admittedly, Schmeichel should have done better with the 30-yard drive from Ricardo Horta that presented Sporting Braga with a 20th-minute lead as the Portuguese outfit went on to win 2-0 in the controversial Europa League encounter at Parkhead earlier this month.
In fact, the former Manchester City and Leicester City shotstopper looked far from convincing in the opening 45 minutes that evening and some incredibly sloppy distribution gifted possession to the grateful opponents on three separate occasions.
To be fair, he got his act together after the interval and, if the defenders in front of him hadn’t gone to sleep, would not have conceded a second goal after an excellent save in the lead-up to the killer strike.
Rumbles of “over the hill” were heard from those critics who believe a professional’s career trajectory is in sharp decline as soon as they blow out 30 candles on their birthday cake.
Inevitable tales have already been coming to the surface of replacements for Schmeichel while overlooking the qualities of understudies Viljami Sinisalo and Ross Doohan.
ON THE BAWL…Kasper Schmeichel shouts out instructions to his team-mates.
The Finn made a handful of appearances in his debut campaign after arriving in a £1million switch from Aston Villa the previous summer and has played in the Premier Sports League Cup wins over Falkirk and Partick Thistle this time out.
Sinisalo does not possess the commanding presence of the giant Dane, but, from what we have witnessed so far, looks a competent back-up. We have yet to see how he performs during a lengthy and strenuous sequence of first-team outings.
Doohan, who returned to Parkhead in the summer after his deal at Aberdeen expired, can be viewed in a similar light to the Finnish ace.
But there is little doubt that Schmeichel is viewed by Rodgers as his best bet between the sticks at the moment.
And those who do not agree with the Celtic boss should be careful what they wish for.
The iconic Ronnie Simpson, the Lisbon Lion who was voted the club’s Greatest-Ever Keeper by the supporters in the millennium poll, played his final game in October 1969 before being forced to retire at the age of 39 with a persistent shoulder injury.
ON THE BAWL…the legendary Ronnie Simpson makes himself heard.
He became a very difficult act to follow. John Fallon, Evan Williams, Denis Connaghan and Ally Hunter were all first-class goalkeepers and provided some superb displays among them.
But it wasn’t until the arrival of Peter Latchford from West Brom in 1975 and the breakthrough by Pat Bonner three years later that Celtic had a consistent and settled No.1.
Personally, I don’t think Schmeichel is quite ready for the soccer scrapheap – and I think he will be the first to go along with that summation.
Brendan Rodgers shouldn’t hesitate in offering the Dane a 12-month extension.
History has proved that replacing a legend can be a lengthy and painful one.
ALEX GORDON
