Mohamed Bangura has returned to Lennoxtown Training Centre following his 1 year loan trip at Elfsborg, and the man from Sierra Leone has quite a bit to answer for. I'll try not to criticise Mo too harshly, he plays for our green and white Hoops after all and we Celtic fans don't like to put our own players down. However, it's fair to say he's been one of our more controversial signings. Despite Lennon giving Bangura his full backing recently, are the fans going to welcome him back as easily? It's been just over 20 months since Bangura last played for Celtic (in a 1-0 win over St Johnstone, 3rd May 2012) due to his loan stints over in Sweden, but he has not exactly proven much of the hype that surrounded him as he became a Celtic player back in August 2011 . That hype saw figures within the media compare him to a young Henrik Larsson (mainly sparked by his agent), and he was even recommended to us by The King Of Kings himself. Unfortunately, the hype got the better of Bangura and before he'd kicked a ball for Celtic he had already started describing his dream to play in England or Italy, using Celtic as a stepping stone. (Wilson, 2011) The moment he started talking about these hopeful ambitions felt a bit sour. I remember thinking at the time - this man should be talking about his ambitions for Celtic; he hadn't even played for us yet. Who tries to engineer a move away from the club they have just signed for? That old cliche of 'do your talking on the pitch, not on camera' came back to haunt Bangura and the media hype turned cold quite quickly when the promised goals from the striker had not came. He has still not scored for Celtic. The loan moves have been okay for Bangura; he's rediscovered his eye for goal, albeit more of a blurred vision of the goal - he's scored 11 goals in 50 appearances collectively during his time away, not great but better than not scoring at all. That wasn't all that happened when he was away though, as many Celtic fans will remember he decided to play against us in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League this season. I actually felt sorry for Bangura, he was being put under monumental pressure from both teams to do opposing actions. Celtic warned him not to play, Elfsborg gave him the choice although highlighted the fact that he'd not be doing his duty for his loanee club if he chose to sit it out. Bangura made the right choice, if he wanted to prove himself as a player he had to play this game whether it was against Celtic or not. However, Bangura then made some less noble choices during the qualifying round, particularly at Celtic park. The fans had been booing him, harsh but expected, and he let this get the better of him. In the second half, under some pressure from Kelvin Wilson in Celtic's half of the pitch, Bangura decided to feign victim to assault by the Celtic defender. I was actually sat near where the incident occurred, and it was obvious not only to me but the whole stadium that he was acting unprofessionally, and Kelvin rightly gave him an earful while he had the opportunity. Before this happened, I gave Bangura the benefit of the doubt, but then I felt suddenly that all the boos he was receiving afterwards were somewhat justified to a degree. You can't play against your parent club and try to get one of their players sent off by feigning injury, that's my opinion anyway. It was a very bad judgement from the player, of which I'm sure he probably regrets. Since he's been a part of the Celtic family, Bangura has shown us a defining part of his personality: he is very vulnerable to external pressure. Lennon brought him to Celtic because he saw that Bangura had the potential to be a special player, and when the media decided raise the hype around him exponentially, he was captured by it and produced negative results. The same went for his games against Celtic, where the boos and jeers finally broke him and he retaliated in an unprofessional manner (and still didn't score). The good thing now that he has valuable forgiveness from Lennon following is return to Celtic Park. Of course he has, Bangura is working for him in training and he needs trust from his manager to be able to progress. I'm sure he and the players have put the negative moments behind them as well. What's bad for Mo though, is that he is not remotely close to being picked for a first-team slot, and Lennon wants to add even more strikers to the squad for him to compete with. Tough times lie ahead for the Sierra Leone international. Perhaps it is a blessing that there hasn't been a large media response to his return, as he may be more able to get his head down and work for the team instead of being distracted by headlines. If he can prove himself to Lennon in training and earn a place in the team again, then I see no reason why he shouldn't be accepted by the Celtic faithful, especially if can start scoring for us! To any Celtic fans reading: Would you give Bangura another chance to play for us and prove himself, or has he just completely blown it?
As a recent university graduate and a huge supporter of Celtic FC, what better way to use my inevitable free time to write about my favourite football team? I'll cover most things that the supporters are talking about at the moment, which includes things that directly and indirectly involve the club. At times I may also stray into matters concerning English clubs.
