Celtic boss Neil Lennon is on the verge of starting Scott Brown for the fifth time in two-and-a-half weeks.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that’s a headline from 2012. If it were, it wouldn’t be a problem. Scott Brown has been a colossal contributor to Celtic since signing in 2007. His durability has been incredible, and his commitment beyond any doubt.
However, it’s 2021, and Scott Brown is 35. You could count his good performances this season on one hand. What is going on here? It’s a worrying decision if Lennon goes for it.
In our predicted XI for tomorrow night, we’re expecting Broony to get the nod once again. That’s based on evidence from our last few matches, injury news and the kind of battle Aberdeen will give us. At his imperious best, Broony is an excellent player, but to combat the Dons’ midfield, we need pace and energy; two things Soro has in abundance.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon keeping faith with Scott Brown
Brown, looking from the outside-in, seems like a manager’s dream. Despite his reputation, he’s a pretty uncontroversial figure in truth. In every press conference and with every display, good or bad, he puts 100% in for whoever is managing Celtic at the time.
There are a million things you can say about Broony, but a bad dressing room influence he is not.
Is his continued presence in our team a reward for his loyalty? You could reasonably argue that his influence is key to our latest winning run. But what kind of impact is he making individually?
Against St Mirren, he was second only to Callum McGregor in terms of touches and passes [WhoScored?]. While going forward, Celtic were stodgy and predictable for much of the match (despite winning 4-0), Broony by no means disgraced himself. He was solid.
Against Kilmarnock, Brown was at his best. With a goal and an assist, his passing numbers were outrageous and he seldom gave the ball away. That’s worlds away from his European performances, especially against AC Milan, where looked clumsy and laboured.
It’s no coincidence that time out of the team made him a better player for Celtic. Neil Lennon using him constantly is going to negate his impact. At 35, he can’t be the week-in, week-out all-action midfielder he once was.
Does Soro dredge up memories for Lennon?
This might verge onto fan-fiction, but stay with me here.
Does Soro’s emergence and Broony’s gradual decline remind Lennon of his final days as a Celtic player? Brown’s characteristics and style of play are reminiscent of the current Celtic manager, and the tail-end of his career is markedly similar.
By showing faith in Broony for every game we play, it feels a bit like Lennon is making a point about his usage in the latter part of his time in Glasgow.
Soro represents the new blood, and perhaps Lennon is holding on to a feeling of resentment vicariously through Scott Brown. It might seem far-fetched, but his loyalty to the number 8, especially around the time of the Scottish Cup Final [Herald], raised parallels.
Scott Brown is somewhat symbolic of the flux Celtic find themselves in. Supporters know that Soro is the future, but Brown, not through his own doing, represents the recent past, the glory of Celtic’s recent history. Saying goodbye will be incredibly hard.
Perhaps that’s why Lennon sees himself in what Brown is going through. Lennon was one of the last relics of the Martin O’Neill era, after all.
ELSEWHERE: another former Celtic captain is under immense pressure.
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