da heads bet： In Celtic’s 128 year history there have been 30 men who have had the honour of representing the Bhoys as club captain. Only one other has won more trophies than Scott Brown in the role. While a long way from being the legendary leader Billy McNeill, who won 23 major trophies as Celtic captain, was, there’s no denying that Brown’s impact on Celtic’s recent history has been momentous.
da esoccer bet： The eight trophies lifted by Brown since Tony Mowbray gave him the armband in 2010 represent the dominance Celtic have had on the game in Scotland over the last half decade. No-one at the club has typified the desire to win, swagger, confidence and success more than the midfielder.
Yet there are often doubters. Accused by some supporters of lacking the technical ability required to play in midfield for Celtic and with injuries taking their toll on him over the years, some have questioned whether he’ll be in Brendan Rodgers’ plans in the coming season.
Most of those doubts come from the very start of Brown’s Celtic career. After a much hyped transfer from Hibernian in 2007, thought to be worth £4.4m, many Celtic fans expected fireworks from him. For years the thinking was: “He’s alright, but is he worth the money?”
Despite being a mainstay in the starting XI for years, it wasn’t until Neil Lennon took charge of Celtic that supporters began to understand Brown’s true value to the team. When it was going poorly on the pitch, Scott Brown sorted things out, often dragging his team forward at their lowest ebb – the physical embodiment of the drive, determination and thunder that Lennon brought back to Celtic Park.
A goal at Ibrox and a famous celebration in the face of El Hadji Diouf cemented him as a fans’ favourite after four years of trying. After that ‘Broony’ was the main man at Celtic. It’s since that moment that all eight of the trophies he’s lifted as captain have come.
He’s only become more and more important to the performance of his team-mates. When he’s injured the lack of spirit in Celtic performances is notable. He missed key qualifiers in Ronny Deila’s first season that resulted in a Champions League exit and this season he missed three crucial group games in the Europa League resulting in an another misfiring campaign.
Those injury problems have been a worry for Celtic supporters for years. This season he missed 21 Celtic games, five other midfielders making more appearances than him over the campaign. Even when available he’s often not 100%, recently revealing he’s been playing through the pain barrier and suffering from tendonitis in his hamstrings.
Can he still be the main man under Brendan Rodgers? If anyone thinks the answer to that question is no then they’ve failed to tell Rodgers himself. Confirming that Scott Brown would be a key member of his squad Rodgers said, “Scott is a real warrior and he will stay captain here, 150 per cent.”
The benefits he brings the new manager are obvious.
Rodgers has a pedigree of getting the best out of established players at a club, Steven Gerrard gave some vintage performances for Liverpool at the highest level well into his thirties. With a period of prolonged rest, Brown is well placed to finally put injury worries behind him and recapture the best of his Celtic form.
Off the pitch there are benefits too. He’s now played under four Celtic managers and will offer valuable experience in how to tackle transition a Celtic dressing room. The transition has to be as smooth as butter if the Bhoys are going to have any chance of qualifying for the Champions League this summer.
His knowledge of Celtic’s young players is also unparalleled. He’s been helping out with the coaching of Celtic’s Development Squad for over eighteen months and can give fantastic insight to Rodgers on how they can potentially fit into the first team set-up.
Critics are quick to weigh in on Scott Brown but his record at Celtic speaks for itself. Not only will he continue to be the main man, he’ll become an even more integral part of the Hoops. Even if performances on the pitch do begin to slip, his coaching ambition and pride in representing Celtic will come to the fore and take him to new heights.
When once linked with a move away from Celtic Park, he famously said, “I’m captain of Celtic Football Club, why would I even think about going anywhere else?”
It’s the kind of attitude that separates your average club captain from a captain that achieves historic success.
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