Celtic’s recent domination of Scottish football all kicked off around the time that Henrik Larsson terrorised defences in Scotland.
The Swedish legend was such a prolific striker that during his time at the club, Larsson reached a European final and won four league titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups which included Celtic’s first treble since the Jock Stein era.
Larsson suffered a horrific injury in 1999 when an accidental clash against Lyon’s Serge Blanc caused a double leg break which kept him on the Celtic sidelines for a whole season.
Celtic brought in former Arsenal hero Ian Wright as cover for the legendary striker but it could have been so different if the Parkhead club had chosen their other option after a former Rangers striker’s recent admission.
Former Rangers striker Billy Dodds says he ‘missed out’ on signing for Celtic
Billy Dodds signed for Rangers in 1999 for £1.3m but it seems that he could have worn the green and white Hoops had Celtic decided not to sign Wright.
Dodds told The Warm-Up, “My contract was up, Rennes were interested, never materialized too much.
“When I was playing for Dundee United, Celtic, John Blackley pulled me says, ‘Look you might be going, had the phone call last night, they’re in talks but it was myself and Ian Wright, at that point because Henrick Larsson was injured and they plumped for Ian Wright so there was no problem.
“But that was the one I kind of missed out on.”
Ian Wright’s Celtic record
Wright signed for Celtic in the twilight of his career but made just nine appearances for the club.
In that time, the former Arsenal man scored three goals in the green and whist Hoops but only one was at Celtic Park.
So here are the games that earned Wright a reputation of a goal every three games for Celtic:
- 10/30/99: Celtic 5 v 1 Kilmarnock
- 11/20/99: Hearts 1 v 2 Celtic
- 12/11/99: Aberdeen 0 v 6 Celtic
So whilst Wright wasn’t as prolific as he would liked to have been, he is still in the record books as a goalscoring Celtic striker.
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