Did last night signal the end for Michel-Ange Balikwisha at Celtic?
It's time Celtic cut their losses on Michel-Ange Balikwisha, he isn't going to make it at this club.
Eric Knott Last night, in the sweltering heat of the Algarve in Portugal, Celtic were taught a footballing lesson by Sporting Lisbon.
Aye, it was only a friendly, and in the broader scheme of things, it doesn’t really mean anything.
Whether it does, or it doesn’t, it still told us quite a lot about the current state of our squad.
Nobody covered themselves in glory last night.
But one player, who has struggled to make any impact, in any game since he signed – once again stood out for all the wrong reasons last night.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
It’s clear that Martin O’Neill is assessing what he’s got at the moment.
Hence the reason he has given Balikwisha starts in both of our opening pre-season friendlies.
I don’t know what the Celtic boss is seeing in training from Balikwisha, but it certainly isn’t being reflected in his on-field performances thus far.
If we’re expecting a Lazarus-like resurrection from the dead on this one – similar to Bobby Petta in O’Neills first season – we can think again.
Balikwisha just does not seem to have what it takes.
The £5m misfit started just once under O’Neill last season in the Cup against Auchinleck Talbot.
But O’Neill has now given him the nod back-to-back in these friendlies.
He’s also been deployed in his favoured No. 10 position too, floating just behind lone striker Callum Osmand.
You would think he would be more comfortable is his favoured role?
Nope, yet again, he flattered to deceive.
Balikwisha looked lost as he struggled to link up play and was far too ineffective.
He was subbed at the break, and you would now think he appears to be surplus to requirements.
It seems that Martin has given him every chance to prove what he can do for Celtic, but Balikwisha hasn’t grasped any of them.
In an article last week, I discussed the fact that we paid over £5 million for Balikwisha, while Kieron Bowie was available for the same price from Hibs.
As is always the case at Celtic, we baulked at the price because we feel Scottish clubs don’t have the right to the asking price they set for their players.
Imagine a club doing that?
And standing firm until they get exactly what they want for their player?
The audacity of it!
Funnily enough, there always seems to be other clubs out there willing to pay these ridiculous prices.
Go figure.
Celtic decided to pay a ridiculous sum of money for Michel-Ange Balikwisha, and look where that got us?
After last night, it would appear unlikely that Balikwisha will feature in Martin O’Neill’s plans.
He’s not going to be one those players who was already in the building, but could be like a new signing for O’Neill.
That’s one the eternal optimists are going to have to forget about.
Celtic certainly won’t re-coup what they paid for Balikwisha.
They’re just going to have to write this one off.
It doesn’t reflect well on our scouting department either.
We were apparently tracking Balikwisha since the summer of 2024.
Watching him for a year.
I shit you not.
And look what all of that scouting and 5 million quid landed us?
Then, lo and behold, Martin O’Neill tells us after the game that Silent Mike is, and I quote, ‘busting a gut’ to get players in the door.
The very same Silent Mike who negotiated the fantastic signing of Michel-Ange Balikwisha in conjunction with the ‘Football Doctor’.
Nothing to worry about here.
Nothing at all.
Moving on swiftly before my PTSD from the last two windows hits.
Personally, I feel that last night signaled the end for Balikwisha at Celtic.
I don’t see a way back for him after that.
The manager has given him enough chances in low profile games, and he hasn’t managed to show him anything.
If he can’t do it in friendlies and against opposition six divisions below us, then we just have to cut our losses.
I’m afraid Michel-Ange Balikwisha will be joining the ranks of Scheidt, Berkovic, Gravesen, Barkas, and Ajeti et al.
That’s just over £27 million worth of garbage listed there.
With inflation, I’m sure it’s probably a lot more.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha is the perfect example of the level of people we have negotiating transfers at our club.
Oh, wait a minute, we don’t have anybody in charge of that area.
He left the building last January, and hasn’t been replaced since.
I suppose the board can blame Paul Tisdale for Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
Over to you Michael!
No laughing down the back there!
I can picture it now.
Agents all over the world seeing Michael Nicholson’s name come up on their phone.
You know what happens after that, don’t you?
We all do by now.
Key Takeaways
- Celtic faced a tough lesson from Sporting Lisbon in a friendly match, highlighting their current squad issues.
- Michel-Ange Balikwisha struggled once again, failing to impress despite being granted starts in both friendlies.
- His performance was ineffective, raising doubts about his future with Celtic under Martin O’Neill.
- The £5 million investment in Balikwisha seems wasted, especially when potential alternatives were available for the same price.
- Celtic may need to cut their losses and move on from Balikwisha, as he doesn’t appear to fit into the team’s plans.
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Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
Bhoycie 
Site Staff 
Picked out a guy and slaughtered him when he had 10 mediocre players around him.
Maybe instead of playing him with the clubs dross they sign some better players and see if that helps him.
He may well be as bad as we all think he is but dont single him out when CCV and Scales are just as poor but the fans are being conditioned to accept mediocre players with a constant downsizing year after year.
The problem is the the odious Desmond and his malignant cabal of corporate greed and austerity fc this is their modus operandi take all the money and keep it for their own benefit, it’s just like animal farm they will never change and keep abusing our faith love and blindness. Stop giving them your money or you are complicit in the destruction of our club