Football News: Craig Gordon, is it worth it?

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I don't rate Craig Gordon as a goalkeeper, I never knew what the fuss was all about when he was at Heart of Midlothian and to say I was amazed when Sunderland paid a record £9 million for him in 2007 is a massive understatement, I said the Wearside club would regret it over time and although they probably do it won't be in the way I meant at the time.

I would never wish any injury on a player let alone what Craig Gordon has had to deal with in recent years. He has had horrific injury problems, in fact horrific probably isn't a strong enough word for what he has went through, every physical and mental battle he has faced is something I can say with all honesty I completely understand through my own personal experiences.

I can recall days I would have happily let the surgeons amputate my leg below the knee just to have a point in the future where there was an end to it all, there was no bright light on the horizon, it was a cycle of operation, rehabilitation then another operation for me, it went on for around 36 months and it gets you down, very down. Five years on from my first operation I still can't walk without using crutches.

For the life of me I can't understand why Craig Gordon is risking that, why he's risking crippling himself every time he takes to the pitch, one awkward fall or heavy collision and it could be a career ender or worse. That's up to him though and I am in no position to judge him for it, perhaps he has a need to prove to himself, perhaps he would be delighted to play for a season and then retire knowing he fought back, in his position all sorts of things can drive you on, you find inspiration in some strange places but you do find it.

That's the sentimental part done, but we all know that in football sentiment doesn't win trophies and although I am delighted Gordon has managed to resurrect his career I am not happy that he is doing it with Celtic.

On paper it looks like a great piece of business by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell, selling Fraser Forster for £10 million and replacing him with a free agent certainly helped balance the books but the fact the free agent had only played one single game in the previous three seasons and had spent the past two years trying to regain a fitness level that would allow him to play, did not sit well with me. I questioned why a club the size of Celtic, with Champions League participation and a domestic treble the normal expectations, were taking such a risk, especially in a position as important as goalkeeper.

Craig Gordon had been using the facilities at Rangers' Murray Park and after their liquidation and re-entry into the lower divisions of Scottish football it looked likely he would sign for the Ibrox Club, that didn't materialise and during the summer of this year Gordon was looking to move to the Irish League, then out of nowhere Peter Lawwell pounced - signing Gordon even before finding a new manager to replace the departing Neil Lennon.

Some fans felt Gordon would be replacing Celtic's No.2 'keeper Lukasz Zaluska and that the club would sign a new No.1 before the transfer window closed, I wasn't so confident and as time has now shown my fears that an injury ravaged Craig Gordon was Celtic's new goalkeeper were proven to be correct.

There are still a lot of supporters out there that think Peter Lawwell has pulled off some sort of master-stroke by signing Gordon but Celtic are a team who are struggling to keep a clean sheet, and the goalkeeper has to shoulder some of that responsibility. As a shot-stopper Gordon was quality in his younger days but otherwise he was a poor goalkeeper, maybe the injuries held him back and hindered his progress but even now he is still no more than good shot-stopper and with him turning 32 at the end of December I can't see his overall game improving much.

His training and fitness are closely monitored and Ronny Deila has admitted that the club need to listen to Gordon about his body, he's already missed one game with 'a twinge in his knee' and one with stiff neck which I just found very odd. Only last week Gordon himself was in the press talking about how he was hoping not to be chosen for the Europa League tie in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb as it would allow him to rest and "build his knee up", hardly inspiring that your 'keeper needs a rest the first week in December is it? And why do Celtic have a goalkeeper whose knee needs built up?

Celtic were drawn to play Inter Milan in the Round of 32 in the Europa League earlier today, we need to hope that Craig Gordon's knee will stand up to games being played on Scotland's frozen pitches in December and January, we're one awkward fall, or one hard knock away from a goalkeeping crisis at Celtic Park.

Yes the same can be said about any team's keeper but the odds of it happening to Gordon are greatly increased when you take into account his history and still ongoing fitness problems.

The thought of playing Inter Milan with Lukasz Zaluska in goal fills me with dread, let's hope Peter Lawwell's gamble doesn't backfire on him and more importantly let's hope Craig Gordon's own gamble doesn't backfire.

At 40 years old it's no fun needing crutches to go to the bathroom or even take your dog out into the garden, trust me.

Written by Mark B Jamieson December 15 2014 17:38:40