CELTIC fans are far from happy with their current squad.
The Hoops have let slip an eight-point lead over rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and tonight supporters were reminded of what they are missing.
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In January, Celtic had an underwhelming transfer window with just the two signings in Adam Idah and Nicolas Kühn.
Idah’s arrival was practically derided by the Hoops support but since then he’s started to win over the fan base (slightly).
But Kühn has been told he wouldn’t even get a game for Kilmarnock at this rate.
In the same window, Michael Johnston was allowed to leave on loan to West Bromwich Albion (sharing a surname with West Brom great Willie Johnston, who came from Rangers).
The 24-year-old was highly-regarded at Parkhead as he came through the youth ranks but a combination of injuries and inconsistent form saw him drop down the pecking order.
Tonight however he scored his second goal for the Albion, after making an instant impact with his first.
And what a stunning effort it was.
In the 75th minute of the Championship clash against Plymouth Argyle, Johnston picked up the ball midway inside the opposition half and drove forward before laying it off to teammate Jed Wallace.
He continued to occupy space at the edge of the box and received a pass a few moments later on the left-and touchline.
Johnston took the ball down on his chest and ran at his opposing defender before quickly jinking inside – promptly leaving Ashley Phillips on his backside in the process – and advancing towards the centre of the penalty area.
The winger came under pressure from a further two Plymouth defenders but pulled the trigger just in time to watch his right-footed shot fly in between them and into the top corner.
Incidentally, the man who scored past was none other than former Celtic backup goalkeeper Conor Hazard.
Although bizarrely, Johnston was noted on the official teamsheet as “Mickey Johnston”.
His superb solo effort sealed all three points for the Baggies in a 2-0 win.
Now Celtic fans have been left wondering if allowing the winger to leave was a grave error.
One fan stated: “Mistake? I think so.”
Echoing those thoughts, this supporter said: “Can you still recall players from loan? I’d have Mikey Johnston back (let Kühn go to WBA) and Adam Montgomery to start with.”
“I would seriously play him ahead of Kühn just now,” said another Hoops fan.
A third supporter remarked: “Better than any of our other wingers at the minute, hounded out completely undeservingly.”
“Our Bhoy is doing well. Who would have thought, eh? F****** me, that’s who!” said another fan.
“Sign that man!” came a further reply.
Another fan laughed: “Sums up this season hahahahahaha.”
Before a sixth supporter lamented: “We were told he wasn’t good enough.”
Others saw the goal as an indication that Brendan Rodgers’ style of play didn’t suit the Irish international.
A flippant comment read: “When you’re allowed to run at a defender and not told to cut inside and pass it backwards to keep possession.”
In a similar vein, this fan said: “I hate my life man, why the f*** is Mikey Johnston on loan scoring these kinds goals and I have to watch Luis Palma cut back every five f****** seconds.”
Another punter said: “Good to see him doing well. Great goal.”
However, several others fans remarked that they felt Johnston had more than enough chances to prove his worth to Celtic.
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Another noted: “Look at all the space he’s got, never getting that in a million years here.”
One West Brom fan joked: “Thanks Celtic for giving us a Messi regen.”
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