James Forrest’s absence due to injury in recent weeks has coincided with a further dip in Celtic’s form that almost derailed our campaign.
Forrest had to come off after 16 minutes against Livingston back in September and would subsequently go on to require ankle surgery. The winger is now likely to be out until 2021, with the Hoops seriously struggling for flair down the right flank.
Jeremie Frimpong has remained Celtic’s liveliest attacking threat in the position, whilst Ryan Christie has often teamed up with him in Forrest’s place in a 4-2-3-1. But even so, Celtic are reaping the same rewards, having won only four of the nine games we’ve played since his absence.
So far this season, Forrest’s stats haven’t impressed to any great degree. The Hoops winger has only managed two goals and one assist in 10 games for the club. We expect more from the Scotland international, even if at times it can come across as harsh.
Make no mistake, there is plenty of responsibility put on Forrest’s shoulders in this Celtic side, and rightly so. Given how often his teammates look for him to create, he needs to be able to deal with that weight of expectation.
However, when he plays, there is certainly an under-appreciation there. I’m one of those fans who always thinks Forrest can be doing better with the raw talent, pace, and technique he has in his arsenal.
Yet it’s only when he’s not in the team that you really miss what he brings to the table. Even when he has an off-day, opposition players are terrified of what Forrest can produce. He’s become such a well-known and reliable figure for the Hoops that the level of respect his opponents have for him is off the charts.
But despite the fact we’re missing all of that, the Celtic fans on Twitter can’t agree on just how much we’re missing him.
Sure, our main issue in recent weeks hasn’t come down the right flank. Most of our problems have been at the back thanks to some dreadful individual mistakes from Shane Duffy, Nir Bitton, and Scott Bain respectively.
Forrest’s absence doesn’t come into that equation, but there is definitely something in our sudden downturn since the winger was sidelined.
Here, we take a look at what some of the supporters are saying regarding the matter on social media, with Forrest’s importance to the team being widely discussed:
https://twitter.com/jt67_/status/1326216273295011841
https://twitter.com/WolfgangDikface/status/1326188202705686528
https://twitter.com/Liam98__/status/1326173468799492101
https://twitter.com/Liam2TLR/status/1326172659114192897
https://twitter.com/PaulMcG1994/status/1326154065542320129
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