There was mutiny in the air last night as Celtic fluffed their lines and laboured to a goalless draw against Kairat Almaty in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier at Parkhead.
It was a huge missed opportunity for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they failed to secure any kind of advantage ahead of the return leg in Kazakhstan next week.
Furious supporters turned their anger on the board over a lack of transfer activity over the summer, with the squad short of quality in key areas.
Here, Daily Mail Sport takes a look at some of the main issues to emerge on a night when the chickens came home to roost for the Celtic hierarchy.
Regression since Munich
When Celtic came within seconds of winning away at Bayern Munich back in February, it felt like club had positive momentum in Europe. They gave a terrific account of themselves at the Allianz Arena, going toe to toe with a proper European heavyweight and playing superbly well on the night.
They were set to take the Bavarian giants all the way to extra-time in a Champions League knockout tie and it was so nearly one of their finest ever results in Europe until a last-gasp goal from Alphonso Davies broke their hearts and knocked them out.
Yet, even still, it felt like the start of something.
How can things have gone so badly wrong in the space of six months? Not only have Celtic failed to build on that performance against Bayern, they have actually gone backwards. They have regressed.
Brendan Rodgers did his best to be diplomatic about it in his post-match media conference last night, but it was still clear that he’s not happy.
There was mutiny in the stands, with chants of ‘Sack the Board’ echoing around the stadium. Michael Nicholson and Peter Lawwell were copping it big time from fans and stood motionless in the main stand at full-time.
By failing to invest in a new striker and a couple of new wide players, the Celtic hierarchy sent Rodgers into this Champions League qualifier under-manned and ill-equipped.
Kyogo Furuhashi left the club in January and Celtic still haven’t replaced him. Nicolas Kuhn, scorer that night in Munich, was working his ticket for months before leaving this summer.
Celtic’s effort to bring new talent into the club have been glacial. It’s been a £40million gamble which is now in serious danger of backfiring.
Johnston injury a huge concern
One of Celtic’s most consistent performers since he arrived a couple of years ago, Alistair Johnston has been excellent at right-back. But he went down under no pressure in the first half last night and was clutching his hamstring before being stretchered off.
It was a sorry sight and Rodgers will be sweating on the fitness of the Canadian international. An update is expected over the next couple of days but it looks almost certain that Johnston will face a period on the sidelines. Exactly how long we don’t know, but it may well force Celtic back into the transfer market for more cover at right-back.
If it is confirmed that Johnston will be out for an extended period of time, there’s no way that Celtic can continue with Anthony Ralston as their only option on the right side of defence.
Adam Idah's woes continue
To say that Adam Idah has had a fairly tame and uninspiring start to the new season would be putting it mildly.
After a 2-0 win at Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago, Brendan Rodgers was quick to defend the striker despite another ineffectual performance and insisted that the Irishman needed more competition up front in order to rediscover his spark. But that was just piffle. The reality is that Idah has failed to grasp the opportunity he had when Kyogo Furuhashi left the club back in January.
There was no hiding place last night, with Rodgers remonstrating with Idah on the touchline at one point midway through the first half and gesturing about a lack of movement. With no obvious improvement, Idah was hooked at half-time.
Rodgers later said that he ‘couldn’t wait’ on Idah, hence why he made the change. He was replaced by Yang Hyun-jun and the winger immediately made more of an impact, with Daizen Maeda moving through the middle as the central striker.
Auston Trusty's future in doubt?
Towards the end of last season, Auston Trusty lost his place in Celtic’s first-choice starting XI. That much was clear when he was benched for the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen at Hampden, with Liam Scales starting in central defence alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers.
At the start of the new campaign, Trusty again finds himself on the periphery. He has started only one of Celtic’s four matches so far, against Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup, with Scales and Carter-Vickers the preferred partnership once again last night.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has been signed on loan from Manchester City and is clearly going to be given a decent amount of game time, otherwise City wouldn’t have agreed to the move.
Trusty must look at Scales and wonder how on earth he can’t get into the team ahead of him. Scales struggled badly against Almaty’s powerful striker Edmilson last night.
Granted, Trusty did make some mistakes last season, but the fact remains he’s a better player than Scales. He arrived at Celtic for £6m last season and is an international with America. With a World Cup to look forward to on home soil next summer, spending a season on Celtic’s bench just won’t cut it. He needs to play football. Otherwise, he could well ask to leave the club before the end of the transfer window.
Dastan Satpayev... The next star at Stamford Bridge?
It was announced earlier this year that Almaty teenager Dastan Satpayev will join Chelsea for a fee of around £3.3m. Satpayev is still only 17 years old and will join the Blues when he turns 18 next summer.
He is viewed as the great hope of Kazakh football and some people may well sniff at that. It’s the sort of compliment that could well be viewed in the same light as being dubbed the best-dressed man in Albania.
But there is undoubtedly a talent in Satpayev. He was at the forefront of much of their best moments in attack at Celtic Park. He’s a very nimble player with quick feet, good pace, and an ability to play across the forward line.
Breaking into the Chelsea first-team setup is no easy task given the cast of thousands available to Enzo Maresca. The Italian has at his disposal the most expensively assembled squad in Europe. But if Satpayev can get a full season of Champions League development under his belt before he heads to Stamford Bridge, it would do him the world of good.