An Underrated Footballer, Serial Winner And Immense Leader: A Genuine Legend Is To Depart

The news that Scott Brown is departing Celtic at the end of the season brings sadness as the curtain is brought down on an incredible Celtic career. The Bhoys have had many great players and popular figures throughout the history of the club, but only a select few are legends. Scott Brown is absolutely in that category.

His 14 years at Celtic Park have brought 10 league titles, six Scottish Cups and six League Cups – the vast majority as club captain. Impressively, this translates as a trophy for every 28 games that Broony has played for the club, and those appearances total at just over 600!

There are memorable moments such as his wonderful goal at Ibrox when we needed an equaliser in the Scottish Cup, followed by the famous “Broony” celebration, perhaps the most iconic celebration since Henrik Larsson’s “tongue out” routine in the early 2000s. We also have fond recollections of his blistering strike against St Johnstone at Celtic Park in the same competition, his hilarious sarcastic reaction to being scythed down with a knee high challenge at Pittodrie, and the late winner against Hamilton to keep Celtic in pole position in the title race last season.

 

Beyond those special moments, and the many more that I have omitted, Broony has been an integral cog in the unstoppable Celtic machine over the last decade.

In his early days at the club he was full of youthful enthusiasm, covering every blade of grass and performing in important games such as Celtic’s 2-1 victory over a star-studded AC Milan side in 2007. A difficult spell followed when his sister passed away, but Brown lifted his first league title in 2008 and then played well in the 2009 League Cup Final triumph over Rangers.

In early 2010, Scott Brown was named Celtic captain and lifted the Scottish Cup a year later. Although, it would be fair to say that the league trophy should never have evaded his clutches during that campaign either. A mark of his talent and versatility in those days was that Broony was often deployed at right midfield to accommodate Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley and Victor Wanyama et al.

Having turned down an offer from Spurs and been heavily linked with Newcastle United, Brown began to play extremely well in his central midfield role. He lifted his first trophy as captain in 2012, when Celtic won the league by a much greater margin than the 10 points that were deducted from Rangers for entering administration.

Once Rangers were liquidated, Broony led the Celtic charge to domestic success and played a key part in the memorable 2012/13 Champions League campaign, when the Hoops reached the last 16 for a third time during his Celtic career. Holding his own against the likes of Pirlo, Xavi and Iniesta, whilst battling a long term hip problem, is a testament to his ability.

The arrival of Brendan Rodgers in 2016 saw Brown propel his performances to another level. In my opinion, his finest years in a Celtic shirt have been between 2016-2020. It was then that he adopted a deeper lying midfield role and began to boss matches, read the game perfectly and break up play, whilst his touch and passing were exquisite.

 

Broony will be derided by fans of other clubs because of his aggressive style and his penchant for a wind up. As Celtic fans we have come to love those moments because it gets inside the head of opposition players. Meanwhile, his leadership skills have lifted the team in a way that nobody else can; that is evident whenever he is out of the team. In that sense, his value to Celtic has been indescribable. However, he has been more than a leader, winner and wind-up extraordinaire. He has been an outrageously good footballer, particularly since 2016, and hasn’t always been given the credit he deserves for that.

It is perhaps similar to the tag that fans outside of Manchester United have labelled Roy Keane with. Keane was an aggressive player, a captain and leader. Therefore, many would say that he is simply a thug with no ability. Yet, anyone with knowledge of football and the central midfield position could see that Keane had a great touch, wonderful passing ability and a tremendous football brain. Broony is similar.

Perhaps it is most telling to point out that his passing accuracy was 94% in the second Champions League campaign under Brendan Rodgers. The group consisted of PSG, Bayern Munich and Anderlecht. Meanwhile, he had similar pass and tackle success stats in the previous campaign against teams such as Manchester City and Barcelona. He also starred in victories over top European outfits such as Lazio. Bad players don’t do that, nor do they win Player of the Year awards and take a place in the Team of the Year on multiple occasions.

I will conclude by embedding a tweet that shows the comments of Brendan Rodgers. He believes Broony was good enough to play at the top end of the English Premier League. One could certainly see a prime Scott Brown playing in Rodgers’ Leicester team which currently sits in the top four, whilst Rodgers once remarked that Brown would have been alongside Steven Gerrard in the Liverpool side he managed.

Regardless of the support’s desire for 10 in a row, Broony led us to nine league titles, an Invincible Treble and a Quadruple Treble. Those achievements are harder than winning the ten and should never be forgotten or downplayed.

Scott Brown is a legend of the Scottish game, a top footballer and an even better leader. Let’s hope he gets a proper send off in front of a full Celtic Park in the near future.

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

1 Comment

  1. SCOTT BROWN ONE OF THE GREATEST SERVANTS THE CLUB HAS EVER SEEN.
    JUST ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE HIM. LEGEND
    MUST END UP BACK AT CELTIC PARK. WHERE HE BELONGS