I am reviewing and selecting my team of the decade in celebration of Celtic’s Decade of Dominance and will select my XI that I feel have been the club’s best in the last ten years.
Essentially it is a toss up between Craig Gordon and Fraser Forster for the role of Celtic’s goalkeeper of the decade and it is actually quite a tough call when you look at what both have achieved in the last ten years.
Artur Boruc was the goalkeeper of the last decade and the man that replaced the big Pole was a youngster from Newcastle in 2010. Goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods was convinced that Forster didn’t have it in him to become a Celtic player from clips that he had seen – until he met the player himself.
Through the tireless work of Woods and the Celtic coaching staff, Forster worked to become a £10m player, representing England and breaking records in Scotland between the sticks. Forster spent two seasons on loan at Celtic before a permanent switch to the Scottish Champions after Alan Pardew saw him as surplus to requirements. Forster progressed from a lanky youngster who’s kicking was poor to a dominating, physical Internationalist that was one of the standout goalkeepers in English football for a couple of seasons.
Despite heartache in the title race in 2011, Forster won the Scottish Cup and the year after got his hands on the League, the first of our 8 in a row.
In 2012 he was the man that foiled Barcelona as the Catalan side left Glasgow empty-handed. He set a new Scottish record for the amount of time without conceding a goal and was a colossus in Celtic’s goal. His performances were that good that the Premier League move was inevitable – in 2014, Southampton paid up to sign Forster.
Before Forster left for Southampton, Celtic turned to the ex-Hearts goalkeeper, Craig Gordon. Goalkeeping Stevie Woods sought to rectify the career of the former multi-million goalkeeper Gordon and replace Forster with the Scotsman. Gordon’s career looked over in 2014 after nearly two years out of the game due to injuries incurred at Sunderland; however, Woods spied on him while he regained fitness at Murray Park with League 1 side Rangers.
Gordon was invited to train in secret and it was decided by goalie coach Stevie Woods knew that he was good enough to sign for Celtic. The club haven’t looked back since. Gordon went from the doorstep of retirement to becoming an Invincible, a Treble Treble winner and 50-cap internationalist. This was testament to the dedication of Woods and Gordon to restore the ex-Hearts keeper to his former glory. They did just that, Gordon has been mightly impressive in his time at Celtic, amassing 236 appearances. His performances in the 2014-15 were truly remarkable and throughout the years that followed he made some terrific saves as Celtic’s dominance was enforced domestically.
Gordon has achieved 13 major honours in his five and a half seasons at Celtic – 5 Leagues, 5 League Cups and 3 Scottish Cups. His achievements dwarf that of Forster who has won 3 League titles, 2 Scottish Cups and 1 League Cup. Both offer an incredible option in goals; however, due to the iconic performances of Forster in Europe – such as that night versus Barcelona and versus Rangers in the League Cup Final, the gloves need to be given to him. Although it is almost too tight to call.
Lubo98’s Goalkeeper of the Decade – Fraser Forster
I have already selected Fraser Forster as my number one goalkeeper; however, now I need to select my fullbacks. Essentially on the left, it is a straight choice between Kieran Tierney and Emilio Izaguirre; whilst on the right, it can only be Mikael Lustig.
The Swede, who has made 82 appearances for his national team to date, was Celtic’s right back for over 8 years. Having signed on a free transfer from Rosenborg in 2012, Lustig represents some of Peter Lawwell’s best business. Notable mention to Adam Mathews, who was impressive down the right in times of Lustig’s absence but Lustig you’re the one. Lustig left Glasgow in the summer with 16 major honours, an outstanding achievement for an incredible servant of the club.
Not only was Lustig a tidy operator on the park, he got what Celtic was all about and you could see that by the way he behaved on the pitch as well as with his family. When he told his wife they were leaving Glasgow, she claims to have cried for days and despite Lustig appearing to be ‘finished’ in his last season – he still played his part in the Treble Treble. Lustig made 273 appearances for Celtic and scored 21 goals, including one at Pittodrie in May that sealed the League title. His header was the assist for Odsonne Edouard’s winner at Hampden in May, too. A winner and a modern day Celtic great.
Right Back – Mikael Lustig
As I mentioned before, there is only really two candidates for Celtic’s left back of the decade – Izaguirre or Tierney. Izaguirre was signed in 2010 as Neil Lennon began rebuilding from the Tony Mowbray era and the Honduran was signed for 650k. 271 appearances over two spells later, Izzy represented incredible value. In the 2010/11 season, he was a tormentor with his bombing runs and fine crossing, effectively working as a winger at times.
Again, Izaguirre is an incredibly decorated Celtic and his achievements – 7 Leagues, 3 Scottish Cups and 2 League Cups are impressive as well as a clean sweep of POTY awards in 2011; it would have normally been a straightforward decision to include Izzy in the team of the decade; however, it is due to the performance of the man that replaced him at Celtic Park this decision is more difficult.
In 2014, Kieran Tierney replaced Izaguirre to make his debut against Dundee. It was symbolic as the season after that, the previously first pick was demoted in the place of the homegrown 18-year-old. Tierney quickly gained respect for his hard tackling, gut-busting runs and modesty – he wore black boots and still stayed at home with his parents.
Tierney went from strength to strength and Izaguirre became a distant memory for the fans as their favourite made the left back berth his own. Along with his various personal accolades, Tierney was an integral part of the Treble Treble that the club completed over the last 3 seasons and his performances earned him a record £25m move.
Left Back – Kieran Tierney
I have already selected Fraser Forster as my number one goalkeeper along with Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney as my fullbacks; however, the question remains as to who I will include as my central defenders.
Before I begin, there are a few notable mentions – Kelvin Wilson was impressive in his short time at Celtic Park, Kris Ajer has been incredible in recent seasons as well as Dedryck Boyata. However, the two players that I have selected as my preferred defensive pairing are Charlie Mulgrew and Virgil Van Dijk.
Mulgrew was released by Celtic in 2005 and after spells at Dundee Utd, Wolves and Aberdeen, he returned to Celtic Park as Neil Lennon’s first signing in 2010. Mulgrew was called upon to play a number of positions, left back, left mid, central midfield and the position that he excelled in – central defence. Mulgrew was released in 2016 but in his 6 years at Celtic Park he was a leader and a member of a successful period for the club.
His reliability and versatility were amongst his talents, especially in the 2011/12 season when he earned player of the year. In that season, Mulgrew opened the scoring in a 3-0 thrashing of Rangers and you saw how much it meant to the boyhood Celtic fan.
Beside Mulgrew is that Dutch fella that plays for Liverpool these days. Virgil Van Dijk is one of the greatest defenders in the world and it is partially due to that – as well as his contribution to Celtic in his time here that he earns his place in my Team of the Decade. Van Dijk arrived as an unknown quantity and I remember someone on Facebook slagging him after his debut, the Dutch colossus has gone from strength to strength. In his time in Glasgow, he gave Celtic a ball-playing defender that’s physical presence would belittle strikers as he strolled through games.
His one match versus Rangers exemplified that he was on another level, he strolled through the midfield and sent the challenging player flying with a brush of the shoulder. A move to Southampton and a £75m move to Anfield later has Van Dijk pinned as one of my players of the decade, 2019 saw him a Champion of Europe – maybe 2020 holds the a Premier League medal.
CB – Virgil Van Dijk and Charlie Mulgrew
However, the question remains who will play the two holding midfielder roles and the attacking role in front of them.
There are honourable mentions to Joe Ledley, Victor Wanyama, Stefan Johansen and Kris Commons; however, my team of the decade consists of three players that are still at Celtic.
Captain Scott Brown needs no introduction. He has been an omnipresent anchorman in the centre of Celtic’s midfield since 2008. Since then he has won an astonishing amount of trophies and even as a 34-year-old, Brown has been continuing to defy the doubters and push on to new heights. The captain and driving force behind the Treble Treble is one of the easiest selections in this team.
Beside Brown is a man that has matured into an incredible operator for Celtic. Someone that has proven to be versatile and resilient, that man is Callum McGregor. McGregor broke through under Neil Lennon and a loan spell to learn his trade at Notts County later, McGregor made his mark under Ronny Deila. Deila’s departure saw McGregor transformed under Brendan Rodgers and now, we have a complete midfielder in the form of McGregor. An engine like no one else, McGregor played more football than anyone in Europe last year. There’s no one better.
In the attacking role, we have Tom Rogic. This was one of the more difficult decisions but since Ronny Deila’s second season, Rogic proved his worth in abundance. Goals from all over the pitch, an eye for a pass and close control like no-one else at the club proved that Rogic was a class act. A miss in the 2016 Cup semi might’ve set him back but the Aussie went from strength to strength under Brendan Rodgers – culminating in the 2017 Scottish Cup Final. Rogic started from the bench but when called upon, he proved his worth picking the ball up and finishing as Celtic sealed the Invincible Treble. Not only that, Rogic loves a goal against the city rivals – including that brilliant one at Ibrox in the 3-2 game.
CM – Brown (C)
CM -McGregor
CAM – Rogic
On the right, James Forrest has to be included. He has been a stalwart throughout this decade, scoring goals and winning trophies. His fitness and pace remain present, despite ten years at the club, he still seems hungry to achieve more. Forrest was handed his debut versus Motherwell in 2010 and since then, he has gone from strength to strength and in Brendan Rodgers’ tenure, appeared to be a complete attacker. This season, he has been quiet – due to the amount of games but overall, he is a vital part of the team of the decade.
On the left, Scott Sinclair. A potentially controversial call due to the players that could have potentially played there; however, the Invincible season was an unbelievable journey with Sinclair as one of the standouts. Pace, skill and the ability to score goals was a phenomenal attribute to the ex-Man City man. He recaptured his form from Swansea and won a clean sweep as Celtic did likewise. From his first goal at Tynecastle to the Scottish Cup Final in 2019, Sinclair has been a standout and takes his place in the Team of the Decade.
Odsonne Edouard takes his place as my striker of the decade. Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths are honourable mentions but French Eddy has become an integral part of what Celtic is. He has proven that he can do it domestically and in Europe and has scored some vital goals. A double in the Scottish Cup final and an incredible record versus Rangers put him as my striker of the decade. It’s a difficult choice as Griffiths has been a constant presence throughout the decade as did Dembele before he moved to Lyon but the ex-PSG man takes the role.
LM – Scott Sinclair
RM – James Forrest
ST – Odsonne Edouard
There is my Team of the Decade – what’s yours?
