Opinion: Former Celtic great’s sudden decline is very sad to see
Rogic #Rogic
When the Australian World Cup squad was announced overnight, there was two items of interest for Celtic fans. Hoops midfielder Aaron Mooy made the squad, but former Hoops great Tom Rogic, who left the Hoops in the summer after an incredibly successful nine years at the club, didn’t make the squad.
It is hard to believe that a player as talented as Rogic, who was superb for the Hoops in his time at the club, will not be headed to the biggest tournament in football, but perhaps it is not a surprise when you consider how little football he has played this season.
It took Rogic a long time to find a new club after leaving Celtic in the summer, and he eventually signed for struggling English Championship side West Bromwich Albion.
Unfortunately, the 29-year-old has rarely featured for the Baggies after joining them under former manager Steve Bruce. He had made just five appearances with only one start, but he did contribute one assist in the recent win over Blackpool. However, he was an unused substitute in West Brom’s most recent game against QPR.
It is sad to see that Rogic’s career has seemed to go into decline since leaving Celtic, as he is still only 29, and surely has quite a lot to offer in the game.
Indeed, it could even be argued that he could do a job still for Celtic, especially in some of the games that the Hoops have struggled in this season, especially in Europe. But then when you consider how little football Rogic has played this season perhaps that is unrealistic.
One wonders what will happen next in Rogic’s career, maybe he will return to Australia at some stage, as many people thought he would after he originally left Celtic in the first place. That didn’t happen, but his choice of going to England can’t be seen as much of a success so far either, and now he is not going to the World Cup, which few would have predicted would happen around six months ago, just before he disclosed that he was going to leave the Hoops.
You can’t take away just how good a player Rogic was for the Hoops, even though his career now seems to be on a bit of a decline, on his day he was the best player in Scotland. Now it seems that day has gone, and that is unfortunate, as he has skills that few players have, and he won’t be showing them on the biggest stage in football.