Scott Brown. Our Captain and Leader. Apart from possibly Neil Lennon there aren’t many men at the club right now that are more influential than him. But do we possibly have a dilemma on our hands?
Scott Brown has been a massive player for Celtic so far this year and could be in the contenders for Player of the Season so far. So where is the dilemma?
Well, Brown is up there with playing some of the highest minutes of any Celtic player this season. With Brown turning 34-years old last summer this could be seen as a problem within the Celtic support. Of course he’s doing fantastic and looks as fit as he ever has been but can this be sustained. For many, its a no. Theres is simply no way that Brown should be playing pretty much every game so far this season.
The problem with this is, the influence that the Celtic captain has on the pitch is like no others, he dictates absolutely everything in terms of play and motivation within the squad. At times he simply cannot be dropped, in games such as Rangers or crucial European ties, that’s understandable. However, does he need to play in the homes games against the likes of St Mirren, where he might not have as much of an influence. Of course, Brown would tell you, yes, and I am sure he’ll want to play as many games as he can to increase his very impressive tally so far as a Celtic player/captain.
There may also be an argument as well that he gets more than enough breaks, with the amount of international breaks there has been recently. This is a good period for the Celtic number eight to recharge his batteries and be ready for another run of games for the champions comes along.
A problem that Celtic may also have to face in terms of either having to rest Brown or the captain picking up an injury is who would actually replace him in that position. With Celtics big squad, full of depth and quality this is possibly the only position they are missing back up in. Players such as Ntcham or Christie could step in to play along side McGregor but they just wouldn’t have the same impact and another position would be affected by such players coming out of their best positions. So this could be something that Celtic look at in the January window as Kouassi Eboue who was touted as the captains replacement just doesn’t look like Lennon will have faith he will be that man, so that Brown could be rested in certain periods after the winter break.
The Scott Brown dilemma is a big one for the champions in both this season and the up and coming years. With the captain being 35 at the beginning of next season it’s a possibility that his level may fall with older age, so a replacement may be needed soon. However on thee opposite side, he looks to be getting better and better each season he grows older. With age he looks fitter, this could be down to a few factors but Celtic need to be ready for the future and I believe they will be, for when Broony does pass the torch
Lewis Laird
