Tonight’s line up is fascinating. As Celtic face up to PSG in Paris you can safely assume the absence of Scott Brown as captain would not have been in the gameplan when planning for European football in the season ahead.
Yet it is worth remembering Scott Brown is far more in the dying embers of his Celtic career rather than its infancy. As such, as with anything in life, a negative experience can produce positive outcomes, however scary they may appear at the time. It doesn’t get much more frightening than facing the French champions in their own back yard, especially given previous experience could account for some negative thoughts.
Tonight Callum McGregor will pick up the armband and undoubtedly play the sitting role in midfield. While further forward Olivier Ntcham and Ryan Christie will support a floating Moi Elyounossi behind Odsonne Edouard. As such Celtic will get a little understanding as to life post Scott Brown and a chance to see whether the captain does need replacing going forward, or whether within the ranks not only do we have a captain in waiting but also have an heir incumbent to his position.
Scott Brown from a domestic perspective has shown no signs of his talent diminishing and in European football he has been rarely tested, due in the main to Celtic’s early exits, to know if his abilities are waning at that level either. Yet age is the barrier to his ongoing progression, as not only captain, but also at some stage in the next couple of seasons as to whether the energy in the legs will match the sharpness of the brain and respond accordingly.
Tonight Callum McGregor takes on a role that Ismaila Soro is clearly not yet entrusted to. Is that a sign of Neil Lennon’s thought process ahead of the new season? Tried and trusted makes sense in such a momentous season after all.
Yet Lennon himself has indicated McGregor’s ideal position would be further up the field. We’ve already witnessed in domestic football, when McGregor, Christie and Rogic played free flowing football, yet you will see tonight whether the domestic challenge comes anywhere close to what the French champions offer by way of a challenge.
Even the Barcelona side so successful for so long had the height, guile and enforcement of a Busquets in its midfield spine, does McGregor offer enough to match what his captain leaves behind, or does he have an alternative approach to the position that means Celtic need not look beyond the boot room for a replacement.
Tonight was always going to be a massive task for Celtic, it was going to be the chance to show the post Rodgers toe to toe approach was long since binned and the pragmatic approach of Neil Lennon against the European big guns could be matched by denying space and countering at pace.
Do we still need the muscle and devilment of Brown or has the game move on and Callum McGregor can fulfil that role?
Tonight, we may not receive a definitive answer but we’re about to see a glimpse into the Celtic plans for the future, by accident or by design.
Niall J
