As the fallout over Celtic’s devastating win over Dundee continues, every single player in that game deserves all the praise coming their way.
To a man (am I allowed to say that now???) the full Celtic team was superb against the Dens Park side.
However, there was one player who was singled out for some special praise and it is one player who is under constant scrutiny at the club.
Daizen Maeda is one of the Celtic squad who frustrates the fans. On his day, the Japanese winger can beat any defender for pace and, at times, skill.
However, as we all know, his final ball and his finishing can let him down a lot and that is one of his game that needs to be polished up.
However, Maeda has now been told that he should be in the Celtic starting eleven every as the countdown to the title hots up. That’s the view of Paul John Dykes at A Celtic State of Mind.
Daizen Maeda Celtic cult hero?
The award-winning podcaster was singing the praises of Maeda and reckons he will go down as a Celtic cult hero after his time at Paradise is up.
Dykes said, “He’s a menace and I love that about him. And I said on Twitter I think a week or two ago he’d be in my starting XI every single week.
“And you put up with the bits he’s not so great at. And you know for every cross that ends up in row Z right, you’ve got that cross where he puts the ball right on Jota’s head against Rangers, where he reacts when nobody else does.
“And for every time a shot hits the Green Brigade, you’ve got that bit of skill yesterday or the goal he scores at Easter Road. He does have it in his locker. He really does.
“He’s one of the guys I just think if he works on instinct, he does alright. If he’s got a second to think about it, he fluffs it his lines.
“And even if he fluffs his lines, he puts in that work that no one else can. It doesn’t faze him. He gives them no time at the back. Forcing them to maybe play it longer when they didn’t want to.
“Losing the ball and creating space. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. He’s always going to divide opinion.
“He is probably, of all the guys we’ve got in the team at the moment, we’re going to look back on his time and think he’s the one that you’ll think was a bit of a cult hero. You know, the one that divides opinion.” (A Celtic State of Mind)
Cards on the table? I am a huge fan of Maeda. Always have been. His work rate alone is like having an extra man on the pitch.
Yes, at times he frustrates but put it this way. At this stage of the season, who would you rather have bombing up and down the left-flank as the title race draws to a close…
