‘I couldn’t believe it’: Barry Ferguson says he was stunned when Celtic let ‘top-class’ player leave for free

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The Celtic goalkeeping position is the one position at the club that has been most talked about and debated for as long as I can remember.

From the disaster that was Vasilis Barkas to arguing over whether or not Joe Hart should be offered a new contract, the discussion surrounding this has been a hot topic for many seasons now.

And who is to blame for it? Hearts goalie, Craig Gordon. Let me explain. Ever since he left in the summer of 2020, Celtic struggled to find his replacement.

In came Barkas and the rest, as they say, is history. We now have Hart in between the sticks and I don’t care what anyone says, he has been tremendous for Celtic.

But former Rangers hero, Barry Ferguson, says he was shocked when Celtic allowed Gordon to leave the club for free.

Ferguson said [The Go Radio Football Show], “I’ve seen Craig Gordon is back training so that tells me he is on the road back to get playing games.

“And at the age of 41, I believe, I played with him a number of times and he’s a top-class goalkeeper.

“I was very, very surprised when Celtic let him go. I was. I couldn’t believe it.”

At the time he left Celtic, Gordon said that playing time was a major factor in him leaving the club. In an interview with the Guardian, the former Hoops keeper said, “I had that motivation at Celtic. I just wasn’t playing.

“That wasn’t my choice, there wasn’t much I could do about it beyond working as hard as I could. I did everything to make sure my fitness was as good as possible so that whenever I got an opportunity I could prove to people I could still play at the top level.”

When Gordon wasn’t playing for Celtic, the main reason for that was down to the form of Fraser Forster. The then manager, Neil Lennon, brought the big Englishman back for another loan spell and, to be fair to Lennon, it paid off.

Forster’s performance in the 2019 League Cup Final was just incredible. Described as ‘not human‘ by Lionel Messi, Forster won that cup on his own for Celtic and kept them on course for the Quadruple Treble.

Gordon was fantastic for Celtic, but in the same token, Celtic were fantastic for him. The club took a gamble signing him in 2014 and that gamble paid off for both parties.

Whilst I understand Ferguson’s surprise, in truth, Gordon’s time at Celtic was up. He was making far too many mistakes and at a club like Celtic, that can’t be allowed.

A goalkeeper must be tuned in at all times. For the majority of games, a Celtic ‘keeper will be a passenger but there will be moments that he will be called upon and when those moments came for Gordon, he was found lacking towards the end of his Hoops career.

However, Gordon has returned from the horror injury he picked up last season and seems on the verge of making his Hearts comeback. Could he be pitched in on Sunday against Celtic? We will have to wait and see.

In other news, Celtic now linked with shock move to sign 24-year-old in January, Postecoglou says he’s ‘incredible’