Rodgers must now bench Idah and release the Celtic Celtic “Difference Manufacturer”

Brendan Rodgers had the chance to win the triple servants this afternoon when his Celtic team went on the field to face Aberdeen during the SFA Cup final in Hampden Park.

The Hoops have already won the title of Scottish Premiership and the League Cup, which they won for penalties against the Rangers, and they can win a third domestic trophy with a victory today.

Rodgers failed to win the triples in his first season in the Pirkhead canoe, winning the Premièrehip and the SFA Cup in the 2023/24 campaign, but now has the opportunity to make five trophies in six in terms of internal level since the summer of 2023.

The team of the northern Ireland coach was held in a 1-1 draw at home against St. Mirren on the last day of the Première campaign, while James Forrest marked an equalizer of downtime.

Rodgers can seek to make some changes to the departure XI who took the ground against St. Mirren in Parkhead for this final confrontation of the Cup, and Adam Idah is a player who could be ruthlessly abandoned by the former manager of Liverpool.

Why Adam Idah should be abandoned

International Ireland aligned itself against St. Mirren as a departure center and was removed from the action after 54 minutes without a single shot.

His disappointing performance the last time, which included only six successful passes, could cost him a place in the departure XI for the Cup final, in particular given his record for the hoops.

Idah has only started 21 of its 42 domestic appearances in all competitions for Scottish giants so far this season, which shows that he has not managed to nail a place as a regular starter under Rodgers, despite the move from Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes for a permanent agreement in the January transfer window.

The former sniper of Norwich City, who signed for Celtic for a permanent agreement last summer after a first loan in Parkhead, had more joy on the bench in the Prime Minister of Bhoys this quarter.

As you can see in the table above, the Idah scored more goals and delivered more aid in just under 1,000 minutes less on the ground in the high flight of the bench compared to a starter.

These statistics suggest that the Irishman is more effective as Super Sub for the Scottish Giants, who is also supported by his role in the SFA Cup last year, when he left the bench to score the winning goal against the Rangers in the 90th minute at the end of his loan.

Consequently, the data suggests that Rodgers could increase the chances of his team to leave with victory and triple by ruthlessly abandoning the Idah on the bench, as it could make it more efficient as an option this afternoon.

This would provide Daizen Maeda, who scored 14 goals in ten matches as an attacker this season, with the opportunity to play in the middle as a main attacker.

The Japanese international starting with the Idah in the center-forward position would open a place on the wing so that another player joins him and Nicolas Kuhn in the three before. This position should be held by the legend of the James Forrest club.

Why James Forrest should start against Aberdeen

In order for the Idah to fulfill its role as a super substitute, Rodgers will have to bring another winger in the side and its options are currently limited because Jota is missing with a knee injury, which he suffered during the victory over Dundee United last month.

Forrest could be the ideal option to come to start this match because it comes from a goal of confidence against St. Mirren on the last day of the first season, a goal which means that he scored in 16 different seasons for the first team.

As you can see in the clip above, the Scottish striker blew up the Parkhead’s roof with his last strike, which was roughly the last touch he had during the Premierhip season to avoid putting an end to his sequence of seasons with at least one goal.

Forrest should now be rewarded with a departure against Aberdeen, against which he marked in the semi-finals of the SFA Cup last season, on the left side, with Kuhn on the right and Maeda in the middle like the new number.

This would then allow the Idah to come for Forrest in the second half as a super sub-option, which would release Maeda to move away, and this gives Rodgers a tactical flexibility of the bench in the second period if things are not happening this afternoon.

It would be unfair, however, to suggest that the Scottish veteran would only start for tactical reasons or because of the impact of Idah on the bench, because he is a full -fledged player who could have a big impact at the top of the field.

As you can see in the table above, the 33-year-old striker has a particularly impressive record in the SFA Cup in his career, with 22 goals and assists combined in 41 appearances.

Forrest has been described once as a “difference manufacturer” by Rodgers and this is supported by his statistics in this competition, because he regularly gave birth to objectives and aid.

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He should now have the opportunity to add to this record during the confrontation of Hampden Park against Aberdeen this afternoon, being appointed to the XI of departure in front of the Idah.

This could therefore win the triple for Rodgers by giving Forrest a chance to have an impact in the last third, while drawing the best party of the Irish striker out of the bench.