IT took him approximately 90 minutes to be written off as a dud, and a week later it took him 90 seconds to be re-appointed as Celtic’s answer to Erling Haaland in Scottish Football.
That is the fickle nature of football fans, eh?
What do we know then, and what have we learned so far about Celtic in the new season after just two games.
For fear of getting carried away with myself by boasting about a terrific performance at Rugby Park, there is no doubt that there are still some key areas that if Celtic can address with more activity in the transfer market then we can kick on finally to a level that would satisfy nearly every supporter who claims Glasgow’s green and white as their own.
Sunday was a swashbuckling and emphatic attacking performance that left most Celtic fans, including myself, giddy and desperate for another hit of the proverbial substance that is Celtic playing attacking football.
Kasper Hogh began the game with the hope from every fan that he would maybe find the net to kick-start his Celtic career. 36 minutes later at Rugby Park and Celtic are three goals to the good and Kasper Hogh has the match day ball waiting for him in the tunnel with his celebratory dance and chats of “WHOOOOO” ringing throughout the stadium as Celtic fans found their newest idol.
The Dane is the definition of a penalty box striker. Last week I stressed the fact he had more touches in 45 minutes outside of the box than he did in his final three games for Bodo, but the big man prove me wrong.
His touch, power, presence and awareness are what set him apart from everyone else for me. Linking up the play and bringing the wide-men and midfielders into the game is something that the Celtic supporters have been starved of for 18 months.
Despite winning the league – and not forgetting Daizen Maeda’s contribution – having a natural all-round centre forward play the role with ease and with no fear was refreshing to watch.
Not only was he managing to find the net and having a massive influence on the game, a hat-trick was kind on the Killie boys on Sunday with Celtic recording their highest expected goals in half a decade, but Hogh was also bringing Benjamin Nygren into the game and linking up with his fellow Scandinavian.
Have we finally found a way to get Nygren involved outside of just finding the net, which he did so well last season? The Swede has hit the ground running with two-from-two in Scotland.
His overall impact is much clearer, and his creativity has not gone unnoticed with Hoops fans delighted to see him having a far bigger influence on proceedings than last season.
Sunday got even better when the Hibees managed to leave Ibrox with all three points, despite Derek McInnes’ side equalising late on and looking on track for their first win with the former Rangers man in the dug-out.
Thankfully, a late strike from Wright subdued the men from Govan. While Celtic fans cried ‘Hogh’ in celebration earlier that day, the Gers fans screamed ‘boo!’ whilst dressed in their brown brogues and blue suits.
Back to the men from Paradise. Before the over-gloating and celebrations begin too early (we are two games in, reminder), there is a lot of football still to be played. That being said it is fantastic to see what money does when you buy quality and don’t buy six £2million players hoping one might turn up trees.
Why have 20 signings and hope for two hits? Just pay the money that the 18 duds would cost for two marquee signings, and so far it has come up trumps with Hogh.
The Colombian Duran had a fine game also, and will be kicking himself that he did not find the net. But his excellent cross for the Dane’s hat-trick strike was inch-perfect, not to mention the importance of Arne Engels’ powerful game in the middle of the park which set the tone from the get-go.
If Celtic can keep Engels and Johnston and if the addition of Egyptian dynamo Haissem Hassan is completed then the Hoops have a serious team on their hands, especially if we think further ahead and hopefully we can see Jota fit and ready this side of Christmas.
The Hoops stood tall on Sunday, and did so even with the absence of Martin O’Neill who was still recovering from his mid-week surgery, and we wish him all the best in that recovery.
A quick word for Shaun Maloney.
It’s never easy stepping into the shoes of a club legend, but Maloney did so with an air of ease and his pre– and post-match interviews were fantastically professional and informative for the fans which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Next up for the Hoops is a tough cup clash away to Tannadice, a place which saw Celtic scalped on two occasions last season and was the place that last saw Celtic lose a game of domestic football. Let’s hope they can rectify their away record at Tannadice and get past the next stage of the Premier Sports Cup.
