Football writer Mark Guidi has slammed critics of new Celtic striker Daizen Maeda for not allowing the player enough time to settle.
In the January transfer market, the Bhoys brought in the striker on loan from Yokohama F Marinos. Despite having only been at the club for a short while, he has already received some criticism.
Indeed, manager Ange Postecoglou had to come out in defence of his player in a recent interview. He was quoted in The Herald as saying: “People look for different things but I know what I get from Daizen and why I brought him to this club.
“A lot of people don’t see the work he does. The reason why St Mirren got nowhere near our penalty box was because Daizen was constantly pressuring their goalkeeper who is great with his feet.
“Every player has a role within the team. Sometimes you don’t get all the headlines but within the four walls at Celtic Park, he gets his due recognition.”
Now, while talking on the Go Radio Football Show, Guidi has backed up this sentiment after the forward scored in the club’s 3-1 win over Livingston.
He said (01:00:08): “He’s a striker. He’s on the pitch to try and score. He’s played his part in the hard-fought victory yesterday at a difficult venue for Celtic over the years. Three points are in the bag. He’s done his job.
“Just leave the guy alone. Let him get on with it. I mean, honestly, I cannot get my head around the criticism that starts so quickly for guys, particularly when they come from another country.”
TIF thoughts on Daizen Maeda and Celtic…
For all of his critics, Maeda has still managed to score five times in his first 12 appearances for Celtic. That’s not a bad record at all, especially when you consider he is still adjusting to a new league having come from a different country – just as Guidi points out.
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Of course, critics will often have high demands of certain players and with the Bhoys pushing in an intense battle for the league title, it’s easy to see why some want to see the best from every player regardless of their situation.
Even so, perhaps they would be best served in taking Guidi’s advice and allowing the striker to just ‘get on with it’ during his adaptation period.
In other news: Huge mistake: Celtic could’ve signed star more lethal than Kyogo – opinion