On Celtic’s Twitter account on Wednesday, the club wished happy birthday to a player who was unfortunate to play for the club when the team was a low ebb, but who made a great impression in his time – Paul Elliott.
Elliott joined the Hoops in 1989 from Italian side Pisa, and was an immediate favourite with the fans for his tough tackling, and heading ability.
Unfortunately for Elliott, the Hoops finished fifth in the league that season, and lost the Scottish Cup Final on penalties to Aberdeen.
It was a similar story the following season, as Elliott once more played excellently for the Hoops, but the team performed badly.
He gave Celtic the lead in the 1990 League Cup Final, but the team were unable to hold on and lost 2-1 to Rangers after extra time.
Named as player of the year
The Hoops finished third in the league that season, but so good were Elliott’s performances that he was named as Scotland’s player of the year, as reported by BBC Sport.
That summer he left Celtic to join Chelsea. Celtic’s mention of Elliott prompted a reaction from some Hoops fans on social media.
More than one fan compared him to Liverpool star
More than one fan compared him to Virgil Van Dijk, which is high praise indeed. Another fan praised Elliott’s heading abilities.
It says a lot about how good Elliott was in a poor Celtic side that 3o years after joining the Hoops he is still fondly remembered by a section of the Hoops support.
Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter to Celtic’s Tweet about the great Paul Elliott.
What are your memories of Paul Elliott? Just how good a player was he for Celtic? Share your thoughts below with a comment in our new discussion forum…
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