Paul Elliott was only at Celtic for two years, but made a lasting impression.
The English defender joined the Hoops from Italian side Pisa in 1989, and as a centre back, he couldn’t have asked for a more suitable manager than Billy McNeill.
However, after the club’s iconic centenary season, things were about to go downhill for Celtic. Elliott was a great player, as were some of his teammates – but the 1990s were not an enjoyable period for the Hoops.
Elliott moved on to Chelsea, where he would suffer a career-ending injury. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only good English player playing in Glasgow at the time – Rangers were throwing money around like nobody’s business.
And they could well have thrown it at Elliott, he has now revealed.
Paul Elliott on Celtic and Rangers
A key moment in Elliott’s Celtic career was his goal against Rangers in the League Cup Final in 1990.
Despite losing the game 2-1, he ended up being spotted partying with Rangers players that night.
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But at least he didn’t play for them. Elliott was a guest on the Warm-Up Podcast this week, with Chris Sutton, Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith.
Conversation inevitably moved on to that day, and amid discussion of the rivalry, the hosts tried to push him on what happened, and Elliott was an open book.
Asked if he ever got an offer from Rangers, Elliott said: “Not directly, but Mark [Walters] told me and stitched me up.
“There was a lot of rumour, especially when I left. But my stop at Chelsea was only going to be temporary.”
Boyd interjected, saying: “So you were maybe coming back to Rangers?” and mentioning the rumours that Elliott would party with Rangers players whilst in Glasgow.
Elliot replied: “Well I don’t know. The thing is, I was a bit naughty, but it was after the cup final, I scored and was man-of-the-match and we got beat 2-1.
“I remember Billy [McNeill] saying, ‘he’s looking at all of us, but he’s looking at me. He said ‘big man, I don’t want you anywhere near Glasgow City Centre.’
“I said, ‘gaffer, I will not be out.’ I went home and waited, Dziekanowski phoned me, I waited another hour and I went downtown.
“The thing was, I knew all of the [Rangers players]. Mark, Coisty, Terry Hurlock, Trevor Steven, Gary Stevens. To be honest, they were my mates. I just thought, ‘I’ll get hammered with them.'”
The greatest English Celtic players
Elliott is one of the best English Celtic players of all-time – certainly of his era. Who are the other contenders we’ve seen since?
Sutton is in with a claim too, having made almost 200 appearances in the 2000s. Alan Thompson is also in with a shout.
Since then, we’ve had the natural goalscoring of Gary Hooper, the incredible output of Scott Sinclair and the record-breaking clean sheets of Fraser Forster.
Alan Stubbs and Joe Hart also deserve mentions.
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