ADAM IDAH: CELTIC STRIKER STRUGGLES HAVE FANS WONDERING “WHAT NOW?”
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
It can’t be easy, going about your job as a professional footballer, whilst every day, the media, the fans, podcasts and everyone else seems to talk about nothing but who they want to replace you with.
Such has been the reality, sadly, for Adam Idah during this pre-season. A bad miss and a half-time withdrawal, during Celtic’s impressive 2-0 win over Portuguese Champions Sporting Lisbon last night, certainly hasn’t helped the case for the defense.
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Johnny Kenny was, ahead of last night’s game heavily touted for a move away from Celtic Park on loan next season, with first team opportunities seemingly limited.
However, new signing Callum Osmand has yet to prove he is ready for the first team, and Adam Idah, Celtic number 9 though he may be, isn’t looking like he’s ready to have a 30-goal season either.
Last night, Johnny Kenny seized his chance. After winning the penalty for Reo Hatate’s opening strike, he also set-up the second. His absolutely sublime pass to Luke McCowan, who did his own first team hopes no harm with an excellent bit of control and finishing, was the standout moment of a match where Celtic excelled.
Much of the post-match chatter online now seems to be: Is Kenny a better option than Idah up front, at least, for the time being?
Much as I’m not about to say we don’t need another left-back based on three solid appearances from Hayato Inamura, I’m also not about to say we should ditch Adam Idah and go with Johnny Kenny just based on a few pre-season games.
There is clearly an issue with Idah, though I’m not sure what it is. At times, he looks brilliant, unplayable, an utter powerhouse. At others, you find yourself wondering how on Earth he ever got a game for Norwich, let alone Celtic.
As I mentioned in my piece on Shin Yamada earlier today, sometimes, especially at Celtic, success depends as much on strength of character as it does on ability.
Is the Celtic number 9 shirt just too much responsibility, mentally and emotionally, for Adam Idah, a self-confessed Celtic fan since childhood?
I honestly don't know. Only Idah himself can answer that question.
The truth is though, Celtic have always had players like this, particularly in attacking areas. These are players who frustrate us no end. We know they have the ability and in the brief flashes where they showed it, players like Giorgios Samaras can attain hero status.
Perhaps that’s the issue with Idah. We know he can do it, but aside from the 2024 Scottish Cup Final winner, which if we’re being brutally honest was as much down to goalkeeping ineptitude than anything else, Idah hasn’t had that big, iconic goalscoring moment to earn the fans goodwill, and take the pressure off.
We remember Samaras ripping Rangers (Requiescat in Pace) to pieces back in 2011, we also remember his crucial goals in big European games. His last-minute winner in Moscow back in 2012 stands out for me.
Even Odsonne Edouard faced questions about whether he was good enough for Celtic, until a moment of individual brilliance saw him bag the winning goal as ten men beat the Deadites 3-2 at Ibrox.
More recently, and feel free to go back and check this, I said ahead of the Glasgow Derby at the end of 2023, that a struggling Paulo Bernardo was just “one great goal against the rotten mob” away from becoming a Celtic hero. His goal in Celtic’s eventual 2-1 win sparked a run of form that was, ultimately, probably the deciding factor in Celtic signing him permanently.
Maybe that’s all Adam Idah needs: that big moment. That vital goal that wins us a crucial match be it in Europe or against the Govan Dodgers.
Unfortunately, time is not on his side. On his current run of form, there are doubts whether he’ll even start the first game of the season, let alone our trip to Ibrox at the end of August.
I really, really want to see Adam Idah step up and prove me wrong, but he needs to do it now. Fans and coaches alike can’t wait much longer.
