Can a season peter out in early October? Well it very much feels that way for Scottish champions Celtic, with 2025/26 already looking set to be a forgettable one for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
In many ways, this demise has been self-inflicted, with the Parkhead hierarchy selling off the family silver, with little in the way of replacement.
Kyogo. Nicolas Kuhn. Matt O’Riley. Adam Idah. All sold in recent times without a truly adequate succession plan.
Yes, the Hoops remain well poised to retain their Scottish Premiership title, but the gamble on leaving it late in the transfer window has not paid off, having been burned by not investing prior to the Champions League qualifying.
That Almaty disaster has been followed by a draw and defeat in the early knockings of the Europa League, with all the signs pointing to another continental adventure that simply doesn’t take off.
Rightly, supporters will look to the new additions as reason to blame, albeit with Rodgers hardly getting the best out of those who were already at his disposal, be it Daizen Maeda, or even the typically flawless Callum McGregor.
McGregor’s start to the season in numbers
Few teams across Europe appear to be so reliant, so influenced by one player, with the long-serving McGregor almost falling into that Rodri or Bruno Fernandes category. A midfield lynchpin through which everything runs.
Brendan Rodgers
260
37 (38)
Neil Lennon
102
17 (23)
Ange Postecoglou
94
9 (8)
Ronny Deila
64
11 (11)
John Kennedy
8
0 (0)
Gavin Strachan
2
0 (0)
Total
530
74 (80)
A tempo setter and a standard setter in Glasgow, the 32-year-old has for so long been the central figure behind Celtic’s repeated success. 74 goals and 80 assists in 530 games, alongside countless domestic honours, says it all.
And yet, even the best can have their moments, with the Scotsman perhaps having failed to recover from his costly shoot-out miss in the Scottish Cup final back in May.
Indeed, the academy graduate has failed to score or assist in 12 games in all competitions this season, with the sight of him driving from range yet to be seen in 2025/26.
For context, the 63-cap international had begun last term by netting four times in just his first six league outings, while ending the season with ten goals in total across all fronts.
Against Braga in midweek, the midfielder was particularly disappointing, providing just one key pass and winning just a solitary duel, as per Sofascore.
As McGregor himself stated on Thursday, perhaps the Parkhead side are simply still “trying to find the best combination” – notably in midfield – with those alongside him not exactly flourishing either.
That being said, despite once looking simply undroppable and “irreplaceable” – in the words of Ange Postecoglou – the time might have come to finally see what this team looks like without the struggling skipper.
How Rodgers can replace Callum McGregor
Thankfully for Rodgers, as was evident with the return of Paulo Bernardo to the starting lineup against the Portuguese side, there is real depth in the midfield ranks.
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With Benjamin Nygren and Luke McCowan battling out for that creative, advanced midfield berth on the right, it would then leave Bernardo, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate to claim the remaining two spots, should McGregor drop to the bench.
Engels would be an option, although, as pointed out by club legend Chris Sutton, the Belgian appears better suited in a more advanced berth:
“I also don’t think the McGregor role is his best position on the pitch. Speaking to people who watched him in Germany, the general feeling is he is much more effective further up the pitch.”
If the ex-Leicester City boss is to find a successor to his captain in that specialised, deep-lying role, perhaps turning to Hatate might be the best solution, having previously described the Japanese playmaker as a “big talent” last year.
Of course, the 27-year-old has endured his own rocky start to the campaign himself, looking particularly off the pace after toiling away in Belgrade last week.
No longer looking like the energetic, all-action midfielder who memorably announced himself with that brace against Rangers in February 2022, Hatate might actually benefit from dropping into a deeper berth where he can control proceedings.
“How he protects the ball, how he’s prepared to play the risk pass. He’s got goals, he can take the ball.”
As Rodgers stated above, he has all the attributes needed to flourish in that role, with his penchant for a long-range stunner – like against Aberdeen back in August – ensuring he could take on the McGregor role of arriving late on the edge of the box.
A player who created 14 big chances and averaged 1.4 key passes per game in the Premiership last season, Hatate also boasts that forward-thinking, creative quality in order to fill the shoes of McGregor in that sense.
While typically deployed alongside McGregor – or even in a makeshift right-back berth on occasion under Postecoglou – the switch to something of a new role in place of the captain is certainly worth experimenting with ahead of Sunday’s clash with Motherwell.
At a time when all is not well both on and off the pitch, Rodgers arguably has nothing to lose from shaking things up a bit.
Let’s face it, the current plan simply isn’t working.