IN SHIN YAMADA CELTIC DON’T HAVE THE NEW KYOGO, WE MAY HAVE SOMETHING EVEN BETTER
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 4
With UEFA bureaucracy finally cast aside, Shin Yamada made his long-awaited debut for Celtic last night, and the talk online this morning suggests most fans liked what they saw.
They may also have been more than a little surprised by the player's physical attributes.
Shin Yamada: Celtic Target Man?
Ok, so the above statement is probably a bit of an exaggeration. Although, I think it was clear to see yesterday that Yamada does offer a lot more in terms of physicality than Kyogo ever did.
That’s not a slight on Kyogo. The loss of his class, his skill and his goals left a gaping hole in the Celtic squad that, more than 6 months later we are still struggling to fill.
However, I think many Celtic fans will have been pleasantly surprised at how strong Yamada’s hold up play was last night. I did say in one of my previous articles that he was less like Kyogo and more like John Hartson in his style of play.
If Celtic can get a couple of decent wingers in this week, as I think we all agree is essential, then you’ll see another unexpectedly strong side to Yamada’s game: his aerial threat. I would not be surprised if about half of next season's Shin Yamada Celtic goals came from headers.
I’m maybe being a bit harsh here, but we all know Marco Tilio doesn’t have a future at Celtic, and in all honesty last night showed why. If we’d had a stronger presence on our left flank, and Yamada got some better service me may well have scored a couple last night.
As it stands, he had to settle for bagging the winning spot-kick and what will probably be the most meaningless penalty shoot-out Celtic will ever win.
Nonetheless, scoring the winning goal, even if it was from 12 yards in a penalty shootout is still a morale-boosting and confidence building way to finish your first game for Celtic. Yamada certainly seemed pleased with it in his post-match interview.
It was a far cry from ten days ago when he said his tearful goodbyes just after his previous club Kawasaki Frontale had been eliminated from the Emperor’s Cup by lower league Sagamihara in a penalty shootout.
Then, Yamada spoke with humility and gratitude. He spoke about the need to up his game to make it in Europe and to make more appearances for the Japan national team.
It’s still far too early to call how things will go on those fronts. However, like many of you, I feel very positive after what I saw last night.
