Kyogo, icon who made Scotland a better place

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This impact Kyogo made on Celtic is difficult to overestimate.  He cost three times more than any of our other recent players from Japan and established his credentials a week after touching down in Scotland.  In August 2021, Celtic were trophyless and at their lowest point this century.

Kyogo was the spark that ignited the club.  His perpetual motion, enthusiasm, selflessness and his goals, mostly his goals, gave us cause to hope for the future.  He also gave us 8 out of 10 trophies contested during his time in Glasgow.

His first virtuoso performance delivered a hattrick against Dundee.  We thought we were onto something special, but dare not dream of the levels he delivered.  Kyogo enjoys a big game and took special delight in scoring against Newco.  Including an incredible seven goals in 2023.  He terrorised them at Celtic Park, Hampden and Ibrox.

With him on the field, you could be playing badly, but knew something special could happen at any moment.  His hattrick of disallowed goals against Young Boys on Wednesday apparently bookends his time as an active Celtic icon.  His inactive icon status will last decades, though.

Without doubt, he is the best since Henrik Larsson – the only appropriate reference point.  We waited 20 years between the departure of Kenny Dalglish and Larsson’s arrival.  The 17 years between Henrik and Kyogo were filled with some great Celtic strikers, but none possessed the sheer magic of Kyogo.

It wasn’t just his play.  The man picked up litter, comforted injured opponents and wherever he went, made Scotland a better place.  I cannot see someone throw litter away without contrasting them to our hero.  He was an example of how to work hard and live your life.  And there was that smile.

I have been preaching Asset Management here for decades.  ‘Manage your assets or fail to manage your assets’.  Fans like you and I have sporting heroes, but Michael Nicholson’s job (as well as being a fan) is to manage our assets.  A reported fee of £10m for a player who turned 30 this month and had a significantly less effective 2024 than 2023 is Tier One asset management.

I only hope we do not backfill with one of Brendan’s agent pals’ players, or someone he watched a while back but is now out of favour in the English Championship.

Best of luck to Kyogo in France.  Despite his horrendous performance last night Jack Butland will be a happy man today.

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  1. Afternoon all.

     

     

    A message from SeS (SENTINELCELTS)

     

     

    Folks just a quick update on planned Jim ‘Pres’ Kennedy Tribute next Thursday 30th January.

     

     

    We have to postpone the event due to unforeseen circumstances and all the relevant folk have been advised now.

     

     

    I’ll try to get this going before end of Season ..maybe in time for our trip to ECL Final 😁

     

     

    Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

  2. I only hope we do not backfill with one of Brendan’s agent pals

     

     

     

    Or God forbid, one of the Lawwells pals…..a good article ruined by your hatred of the manager, because your pal was circumvented in getting Brendan in the door, as petty as it gets

  3. BR said expects Kyogo and Jota moves to happen in next 24 hours, Kyogo said he wanted to leave a couple of months ago

  4. Look up Maeda’s 2021 goals reel on YouTube, mainly him playing through the middle. He can play that role, as his performances for Japan have demonstrated. We all want a shiny new centre forward but maybe The Guy is already in the building. Jota, Kuhn and Maeda?

  5. bournesouprecipe on

    I only hope we do not backfill with one of Brendan’s agent pals’ players, or someone he watched a while back but is now out of favour in the English Championship.

     

     

    What larks – Paul what larks

  6. Kyogo will leave with lots of great memories at Celtic to reminisce on in old age.

     

     

    Which is what it’s all about, really.

     

     

    Don’t think we’ll hear too much more of him from a football perspective, unfortunately.

  7. P67

     

     

    Well said – though the backfill comment seems ill timed to me – might have been fitting in the spirit of the man himself to give Kyogo an article to himself without the dig.

     

     

    The wee man will be missed – not only for his goals but as a great role model for our kids unlike so many footballers today.

     

     

    For me, if Jota signs and is fit to play we may have enough in Idah, Maeda and Kenny for the season. I’d take a striker on a loan with option to buy if there are any options that can enhance that – regardless of the source of the player that would always be my preference wherever possible.

     

     

    QB

  8. Come on Celtic,your quick enough when it comes to selling players,but it’s a different matter when it comes to signing new players.

  9. Pals you say, unlike the inadequate bunch of speculative but expensive failures under the Lawwell’s, I would really like to see the breakdown of who we buy now compared to the Chairman’s and his son’s selections, it wont be close in the value and success it brings to the club, get over it, BR is our Manager has a major say in who is signed and i want him to sign as our Manager for longer.

  10. lets all do the huddle on

    hopefully with kyogo gone that will be the end of the “Doo-Doo-Doo Doo-Doo” being done at the end of games when we have just scraped a win against ross county or st johnstone, its a bit cringy.

     

     

    kyogo was the only one who done it after those games and even he looked reluctant.

     

     

    leave it for big games if it has to be done at all

  11. For me, Kyogo and his fellow Japanese, have brought respect. For themselves. the club, the support and any opposition. A rare cultural experience in Scotland.

     

     

    Mind you, doesnt mean they dont want to hurt you – in the right way of course!

  12. What is the Starz on

    Ridiculous barb at Brendan..Ludicrous really,absolutely no self awareness.

     

    Brendan Rodgers has and will continue to make mistakes (and successes) in the transfer market but his mistakes pale into insignificance compared to what Lawwell has done..

     

    Bloody hell …and I’m one of Big Petes acolytes on here 😃

  13. Paul67,

     

     

    Bordering on hun like hatred towards the manager.

     

     

    Mark Lawwell cost the club 20 mil and we still haven’t got rid of all his mistakes — yet he didn’t walk , insisted on gardening leave.

     

     

    Lawwell senior bust the model when it suited him with (failed) loanees. You can’t have it both ways.

     

     

    The meeting in Dublin a few weeks back aligned on the way ahead (without a Lawwell) in the room.

     

     

    Dermot and Ross know what they are doing and it’s time for Lawwell senior to exit in the summer.

     

     

    Not a ripple from Brendan……

  14. glendalystonsils on

    GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING on 24TH JANUARY 2025 12:23 PM

     

    The bhoy from UNCLE

     

    All the paper shops have been blown away.

     

    =========================================

     

     

    To say nothing of the paper boys .

     

     

    =================================

     

     

    Paul 67

     

    Bada got it spot on . Superb words on Kyogo , but why use his departure as an excuse to denigrate Brendan?

  15. Paul 67,

     

     

    Great summary.

     

    Superb player and so respectful. ( Society in general will be poorer for his leaving )

     

     

    But for us, he has definitely lost a bit and reluctantly its a good deal for us considering his age.

     

     

    Surely you must have heard the noise last transfer window. It was loud and the eventual surprise was that he stayed.

     

     

    Still, all is not lost. In a few years time the posts on here will be championing his return.

     

     

    HH. IBWT.

  16. Today’s buzz phrase is “Asset management ” yet in the summer when it was rumored that Manchester City were interested “every player had their price, except Kyogo”.

     

    Regardless if Kyogo wanted to leave, and apparently he told the club months ago, he should not have been allowed to leave until a replacement had been sourced and signed.

     

    While Kenny looked bright against Ross County when he came on, if another striker is not bought, there is a lot of pressure on him and Idah for the second half of the season.

     

    Sure we could play Maeda through the middle however it is doubtful whether the team is better.

  17. The Battered Bunnet on

    Interesting transfers mooted.

     

     

    Certainly, it’s unusual for a club competing for the league and the Champions League to offload their talismanic striker in the January window. Kyogo’s form has been a little dimmed under Brendan Rodgers but he was still the best we’ve seen here in that position since Henrik.

     

     

    Replacing him immediately with a similar talent of course gives 5 months to settle in before the next season’s challenges arrive.

     

     

    ‘Replacing him immediately with a similar talent’ is an altogether different trick.

     

     

    The return of Jota after a couple of years of oblivion (25 appearances in two years,) may see him blossom again. Let’s hope so. Clearly he’s a talented footballer but is he coming back with the same enthusiasm for the game that he left with? Or is this a rekindling project? Ditto Kieran Tierney.

     

     

    Meanwhile…

     

     

    We still need someone who can use a dead ball.

     

     

    We still need a centre half of the same calibre as big Cammy.

     

     

    All very interesting.

  18. Oh, and its entirely feasible that it was Brendan who persuaded Kyogo to stay on last summer.

     

     

    HH.

  19. Great article Paul67. Spot on in every aspect. Huge respect to the wee guy. What a guy to arrive when he did. What a privilege to have him and all he gave us at CP.

  20. Yes, Kyogo certainly brought a genuine positive vibe and sublime talent.

     

     

    He will be well missed, my Kyogo

     

     

    A true bodhisattva…

     

     

    My anime Kyogo “T” shirt will continue to take pride of place in my wardrobe.

     

     

    Good Luck in France Kyogo.

     

     

    “I only hope we do not backfill with one of Brendan’s agent pals’ players, or someone he watched a while back but is now out of favour in the English Championship.

     

     

    It seems to me Celtic have a rather complex yet rigorous method of player recruitment these days.

     

     

    The above seems to be a dig at Adam Idah.

     

     

    You have to remember he backfilled Oh.

     

     

    To me an upgrade, also has the physicality, skill and desire to be a top modern striker, it was these assets that pushed the ball over the line on Wednesday evening, while utilising other methods we were caught short.

     

     

    If Adam was the worst we did in 2024, I’m very much looking forward to our 2025 recruitment.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  21. I agree with so much of your article Paul, but losing a first eleven player in January is usually detrimental. If it is time for him to leave it’s a shame he couldn’t stay until the summer – but maybe this is the opportunity now.

     

     

    It’s unfortunate you have to have a dig at BR but that’s how you work. I think the only manager you never have had a go at at was Gordon Strachan. Was that because the wee man would have taken any player given to him and had any sold without any question?

     

     

    Once a player is gone we need to look at how we move on. Even if we do buy a previously scouted player the chances of them settling immediately are against us. It happens but not often. Especially if they are in their early twenties.

     

     

    I do agree that we need to be careful about who we bring in. Clearly Idah looks well off it (and Kenny will not be tried) so I’d rather see Maeda given a shot until a new man comes in. It is sad that we have a play off in a few weeks and are losing the only CL level striker we have. I would say that his figures in the CL are not great with 3 goals in 19 games (1 ASSIST) but he is still a loss. Stats don’t tell everything.

     

     

    It doesn’t feel that sad for me, which maybe tells a story. Jota coming in will help with creativity (hopefully) and KT would be very welcome. A striker is the top position though.

  22. I’m not convinced that the sale of Kyogo is entirely justified even in terms of asset management. Given his phyysique and application he surely would be able to maintain his lethal form for a further two years at least. The potential acquisition of Jota is not a cast iron guarantee of success. His style is quite different from Kyogo’s. Certainly if Jota returns and if he recovers his previous form he will be a menace to opposition defences. But easily the most precious asset in football is a proven striker. Kyogo is a proven striker. So, that begs the question: why are we letting him go?

  23. the long wait is over on

    Really sorry to see the wee man go.

     

     

    Just a natural elite level footballer.

     

     

    There’s something magical about watching a player like him , or Naka or Henrik , score a goal that you know no-one else in the country , and few anywhere, can score.

     

     

    Most of the time when a player leaves I take the view that we just move on but in Kyogo’s case, again like Henrik , I will keep a look out for his performances and games.

     

     

    It’s been a privilege to have him wear the Hoops.

  24. TEUCHTER ÁR LÁ @ 12:29 PM,

     

     

    Yes, a Kenny Dalglish moment for most of them….

     

     

    Hail Hail

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