Kyogo's Celtic exit 'baffles' Hoops diehard as alternative view of Jack Butland's Rangers howler raised – Hotline
Kyogo's pending Celtic exit has Hotline callers divided - with one punter questioning his ambition in moving to Rennes.
The Japan international is poised to seal a £10million move to the Ligue 1 side, bringing down the curtain on his trophy-laden three and a half years in Glasgow's East end. Brendan Rodgers has revealed that the 30-year-old had privately expressed his desire to move on months ago and that the club could not stand in his way in seeking a new challenge.
Portuguese star Jota is set to clinch a sensational return to Parkhead in the opposite direction but Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton can't help but feel disappointed in Kyogo's choice of club. He said: "I’m still baffled by Kyogo's exit and by his agents comment that he wanted a fresh challenge, and if joining a average French team is that then he’s not setting the bar very high. And I can only assume Celtic didn’t try harder to keep him because of his ongoing shoulder injury. My worry however is his fellow countryman (Reo) Hatate and (Daizen) Maeda will also now move on."
READ MORE: Jota to Celtic sends Brendan Rodgers into raptures as boss finally sees his ambition realised
Charles Maxwell has wished Kyogo all the best in France but reckons Celtichave already got their replacement for the hitman He wrote: "All the very best to Kyogo, he was fantastic for Celtic, but forget about a big money replacement. Johnny Kenny was brought back from Shamrock Rovers so Celtic could appraise him close up before they pulled the trigger on the Kyogo deal and they obviously like what they see." Robert McEwan, Mt Vernon, added: "It's a bit off a downer Kyogo leaving but it's obviously a last big pay day for him. Hope he is successful all the best and we move on."
Rangers were on the losing end of the Battle of Britain clash with Manchester United after a dramatic ending at Old Trafford, but the biggest talking point from the game was arguably Jack Butland's blunderous punch into his own net that had given the Red Devils a 1-0 lead early in the second half.
George McLeish has hit out at Clement's decision to recall Butland in place of Liam Kelly and even branded the former England stopper as "overrated." He said: "Why did Clement put Butland bank in goal when Kelly was playing well? Oh I forgot Kelly is Scottish and you cant have Scottish players players playing for Glasgow Rangers. Just as well Cooper, McCoist, Boyd , Brown, Gough etc didn't have Clement as their manager or they would never played in the 1st team.
"Butland is overrated and has made mistakes on numerous games, Motherwell is an example, you need a core of Scottish players at Rangers, and put an end to these rubbish foreign managers who don't have a clue about our game."
Peter Cooperwhite said: "What an enigma Butland is. Great vital saves when needed, then bang, crazy stuff. We were holding on pretty well at times. We all have a wee pop at Dessers and I never would say this, but I really felt sorry for him he thought he'd got us something out of the game. When the winner went in you could see him welling up. Clement was forced to field the young guys who held their heads high."
Neil Renton, Leith, saw the funny side, jesting: "That was some own goal from Rangers goalie Jack Butland. He should see if the Ibrox club are thinking of bringing back their basketball club cause he’d be perfect in that side."
Dr Robert S Pender took a different view and argued that the English keeper had been FOULED as he attempted to clear his lines. He wrote: "Yes Buland’s clanger was sore to watch. However I have noticed the increase in obstructing blocking of keepers. This is surely deemed a foul. As an outfield player, if you push and pull shirts to stop players movement, it is yellow card."
Rangers were down to the bare bones at Old Trafford, with Clement forced into bringing on 18-year-duo trio Bailey Rice and Findlay Curtis against their Premier League counterparts in like of his mounting injury problems. But the youngsters earned plaudits for how they handled the big occasion and John Davidson, Kirkintilloch, was delighted to see products of the youth academy given a chance to shine.
He said: "It was nice to see a few of Rangers youth players getting a chance to experience the Theatre of Dreams. I hope they grace plenty more European stadia in Rangers blue."
