We could be heroes.....

I took my son to the Celtic shop in Belfast recently to purchase the latest hoops. In the days leading up to the launch he was contemplating ‘Who do I get on my strip?’ From memory his first hoops had Larsson on  the back, He had one set with Balde and subsequent to that every  home , away or international jersey has had McGeady 46 (with the exception of the keeper jerseys which have had Boruc or last year Zaluska).

So with the imminent rumoured departure of McGeady to the EPL and Boruc settling in Florence a new hero worthy of the extra £10 cost to adorn his shoulder blades was sought. New Jersey, socks and shorts in hand, the conversation went something as follows -:

Son –  Who should I get on the back of it Dad? -Samaras?

Me – Are you for real?

Son – OK then Fortuné

Me – He’ll be gone.

Son – N’Guemo? I like him

Me – He’s away back to France

Son – Kamara Dad he’s class and scored some great goals

Me – Sure he’s away back to Fulham

Son – Maloney then, he’s quite good

Me – When was the last time you seen him?

Son – Hinkel? He’s great going forward and a great crosser.

Me – (Shaking Head) Looks like Stuttgart son.

Son – Well who can I get?

Me – Well what about Brown – He’s still there?

Son – Nah he’s rubbish

Me – Well what about some of the new guys like Ledley ?

Son – Who?

Me – Mulgrew? Juarez? Do Ri?

Son – (Puzzled look)  – I know!  what about the big guy that scored the goals at the end of last season?  the one with the lady Ga Ga song – Ra Ra Rasmusson – Thats who I’ll get.

Me – Sorry son, rumour is Lenny doesn’t fancy him and he’ll be off too.

Son – Oh for God sake – Just get my own name and number 7 on the back.

Although not verba-tim this is a fair enough account of the conversation between us in the shop.

Whilst there has been speculation surrounding a possible marquee signing it appears more and more likely that that is all it is -  speculation.

Lawwell and Lenny at the recent roadshow in Lochee basically ended any forlorn hopes on the Bellamy / Keane issue by saying categorically  that their huge wage demands means there is no hope of them pulling on the hoops ( Am I being cynical by questioning why he was not so forthcoming with this info weeks ago when we were pondering renewals?)

It appears increasingly likely that our efforts in trying to secure Bullard,  James and Campbell have bitten the dust as they all seem to have opted to top up their pensions in the self proclaimed greatest league in the world rather than come North with a view to securing a few medals to marvel at in their retirement.

So we enter the season with no real heroes for our young fans to idolise.

Someone (or I may have imagined it) once said ‘Celtic don’t buy heroes – they make them’ If this indeed is the case then the time is ripe for a hero or two to emerge from Lenny’s team. So who is it going to be?

There is a deep yearning among the young (and not so young) within our support for a player to emerge that will become the next in a long line of Celtic heroes. Who is ready to follow in the footsteps of Larsson, McStay, Moravcik, Nicholas, McGarvey, Aitken,  Jinky, McClair, Dalglish,  Lennox , Gemmell, McGrain,Di Canio,  Burns etc etc? Every one of the aforementioned became heroes in the east end of Glasgow, and to this day they are revered wherever they go in Timdom. Who from the current squad will emerge as a hero for the current generation?

Only time will tell.

HH catch you next week.

NB – Since I wrote this Lennon’s Celtic lost 3-0 to Braga. I will look back on my blog last week and remind myself that I had written Europe off and the SPL title is the priority. So lets keep that in mind folks and give the new guys time.Lets be realistic and reserve judgement until the league campaign is under way. Keep in mind the euphoria with Mowbray’s start last year ?