Not buying the blind defence of a nine‑million forward who has only nine goals by Easter is hardly radical. To be fair, goals get shared and I'm not saying the club should hang its hat on one man, but there is a difference between parity and true quality up front.

Where the concern comes from

You're paying a premium and hoping for a player who changes games. When the return is modest — however you slice it — fans start to ask questions. It isn't merely about bucketloads of goals; it's about match‑winning presence, consistency and influence. Plenty of successful sides have that one figure who drags a team over a line on a dozen occasions, and that kind of reliability matters.

Not just about the striker

Truth is, a striker won’t reach 20‑25 without service. The midfield, full‑backs and overall shape have to create chances. You can see why supporters get frustrated: the striker becomes an easy target when the supply is patchy, but you also have to call out whoever’s responsible for creating decent openings. It’s a team game, but teams that win things usually have at least one forward who consistently turns chances into goals.

Season context and the Old Firm

Hearts being up there says more about the state of the competition this season than it does about us being suddenly toothless. The Old Firm have had stop‑start patches and that magnifies the issue. If Celtic still had a lethal finisher in the side right now, that would look very different. We're comparing ourselves to teams who still have a dependable scorer and wondering why we aren’t matching them.

At the end of the day, I don’t care who gets the goals as long as they come. But there’s a reason fans crave that 20‑plus striker: not a magic wand, but a consistent edge. Until we either get more from our big money signings or build the supply lines better, it’s fair to keep asking the awkward questions.

Written by Jackboy55: 17 May 2026

Tags: transfers spfl tactics