Scott Brown made his final competitive bow wearing green and white at Celtic Park on Wednesday evening. In what has been a tough season to watch, Celtic fans everywhere have spent months pondering the future of the club – however it is the past that many of us have been considering since the captain announced he would be leaving for Aberdeen at the end of March.
For 14 years, Scott Brown has been the centre piece of many a successful Celtic side. Since taking the armband for the first time in a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in 2010, squad members young and old have looked to Broony for leadership, guidance and guts.
As a player, he has given everything to Celtic: dynamism, motivation, creativity, fight and desire. Clichés perhaps, but if such hyperboles can’t be used for, in this writer’s opinion, Celtic’s second greatest ever captain then when can they?
As a leader, the former Hibee has epitomised everything that has led Celtic to such incredible success throughout his tenure:
10 league titles
6 Scottish Cups
6 League Cups
2 Champions League last 16 qualifications.
4 consecutive trebles including one invincible.
Truly, those of us lucky enough to have been through it with him will never see his like again.
You would struggle to find one Celtic player since 2007 who had a bad word to say about him (excluding his dress sense and music taste).
They do not make captains like Scott Brown anymore which is why in that respect, he is irreplaceable.
However, as a player, Celtic have to look at how they move forward looking at Broony’s position on the park. Brown would be the first to admit that his age has caught up with him this season, as he has struggled to keep up with modern day pressing.
Whoever takes up his position will, hopefully, be partnered by Callum McGregor who one would like to think will get a new lease of life out of Celtic’s new management team.
So, do Celtic have to go out and find what is essentially a new no6 to cover that role?
In my opinion, the talent is already there:
1) The obvious man to take up this role is Ismaila Soro. The Ivorian has had limited opportunities since January despite impressing over the winter months. Having been compared to Chelsea superstar N’Golo Kante, Soro represents a popular style of midfielder in the modern game: small, highly energetic and annoying. The former Bnei Yehuda midfielder always plays positively with his head up. At the age of 22, he is only going to get better. It has however been pointed out that Soro is often slack positionally and that he draws too many fouls. The latter is of course an occupational hazard of the role, however early bookings in important games have often left him fairly redundant. If Celtic’s incoming management team can teach him some discipline, there is no reason Soro can’t take up the role.
2) Ryan Christie is easily one of the biggest disappointments for Celtic this season. There is no doubting his talent. His two previous seasons of regular football at Celtic had fans in awe of the former Inverness man. Since the disaster of Ferencvaros, Christie has been touted as one player causing problems in the dressing room, hoping to force a move. His performances since then have done nothing to quash those rumours. Christie has previously stated that his favoured position is that no10 role behind the lone striker. However, one step back could be the making of the Scottish International hero. During Wednesday’s game against St Johnstone, it was noted that Christie played one of his best games of the season sitting in the middle of the park next to Broony himself. This is not the first time we’ve seen Christie in this position. Many will recall that during Brendan Rodger’s last season at the club when Scott Brown was injured, Rodgers deployed a midfield 3 of Christie, McGregor and Rogic, the latter of which playing as the no10. Celtic’s best football that season came from that midfield, which included a 2-1 victory against RB Leipzig in an outstanding performance by Christie. Now admittedly, Christie is a very different type of player to Brown. However, maybe his style in that position would be more relevant to modern football and could be a massive step forward in his career. Christie is still expected to leave the club this summer, however if Celtic’s incoming manager can convince him to stay then this could be an excellent option.
3) Olivier Ntcham. I know, hear me out. Most of us have assumed that the Frenchman will be nowhere near the club this summer. He’s been desperate for a move since 2019, frankly. That move finally materialised in January after suffering a first half of the season as dismal as the rest of the squad. However, no one could have predicated the car crash of a move that would have unfolded for the former Man City youngster. Ntcham returned to his native France to play with Marseille – a great move all things being equal. Alas, Ntcham’s signing set off a chain reaction resulting in the almost immediate departure of Andre Villas-Boas as manager. Since then, Ntcham has barely featured for Marseille and when he has, the French fans and media have not been impressed. Clearly the hero of the Estadio Olimpico will not be at Marseille next season.
Although his departure from Celtic seemed inevitable, it’s hard to imagine where he will end up. There have been whispers of English Championship clubs sniffing around, but surely Ntcham would prefer another crack at Europe with Celtic. With regard to taking up Brown’s position, there are major similarities in their games. What Ntcham perhaps lacks in consistency, he often makes up for in technical brilliance. His attitude during adverse moments has to be questioned. However, if we could see the performances that we got in his first season at the club then he would be a perfect option for the role.
4) David Turnbull has been a bright spark in an otherwise awful season for Celtic. Coming onto the scene properly in December, the former Steelman’s goals and assists have guaranteed his name in the starting XI going forward. Turnbull has always been deployed as a no10 for the Hoops, however his technical ability, strength and speed could allow him to take on more responsibility in the midfield. A major factor in this is that if Celtic’s new manager likes to play two up front, then it questions Turnbull’s role. It has long been believed that Eddie Howe is the man who will eventually replace Neil Lennon has Celtic manager. Howe’s over-achieving Bournemouth side always worked brilliantly with two strikers and two tricky wingers. There is no doubt that Turnbull should play a major part in Celtic’s team going forward, and playing one role back, perhaps a classic box-to-box role alongside Callum McGregor could be ideal for the youngster.
5) Luca Connell would admittedly be a bold suggestion (wait until you see the last one). However, the suggestion that he should be much more involved next season is nowhere near is mad as the prospect of letting him go. Thanks to Celtic’s loan man in-the-know, Lewis Laird, Celtic fans have had plenty of chances to catch up on how Celtic’s youth and loan players have been getting over the last few months. Having signed a short-term loan with Queen’s Park in March until the end of the season, the former Bolton kid has frankly strolled the Scottish League 2. That’s not surprising, considering Bolton had him playing in the English championship two years ago. Celtic fans haven’t had much of a chance to see the Republic of Ireland u21 international in hoops. However, the odd friendly, youth game and clips of his loan courtesy of Lewis Laird have demonstrated that Celtic have a real player on their hands. Like Soro, Connell plays confidently with his head up, displaying plenty of energy and creativity. Should he be starting week in week out in Scott Brown’s position? Of course not yet. However, Connell could be the very man to follow a similar journey to Brown and play the role of a modern day, dynamic holding midfielder.
6) If you’re still reading, well done. Similarly to Connell, the suggestion that Scott Robertson should be taking up Broony’s position is a little farfetched. The dynamic midfielder has shown plenty of potential in his few appearances, while also exceling on loan spells with Gillingham and Doncaster. Again, Robertson does not seem like a traditional holding player. In both his style and career path, there are many similarities that could be drawn to Callum McGregor, who impressed in the lower leagues down south before making his mark at Celtic. Robertson will of course have a long way to go before becoming a Celtic regular, but it would be great if we could see him in the first year from time to time next season with the added factor of potential upcoming departures alongside Scott Brown.
So there you have it. Six players already at Celtic who could well take up that no6/8 role. Some are more realistic than others. Some will leave the club. Some don’t have the experience to make the leap yet. But this article has demonstrated that, when you consider the massive rebuild that Celtic will have to go through this summer, it is a position that may not be a priority in terms of transfers.
Some have touted the likes of Ali McCann, Lewis Ferguson and Allan Campbell from the SPFL to come in and take up the role – following a similar path to Brown.
What do you think? From a playing perspective, could Scott Brown’s successor already be at the club?
Daniel Hayes
