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Feb 8 2011 Exclusive by Keith Jackson
SCOTT BROWN last night lifted the lid on his on-field war of words with El Hadji Diouf during Sunday’s explosive Old Firm derby.
And the Celtic skipper admitted the yellow card he picked up for celebrating in the face of the Rangers new boy was the best booking of his career.
Brown spoke out exclusively to Record Sport yesterday to shoot down Diouf’s claims he had deliberately set out to get the Senegalese striker sent off by ref Calum Murray.
Instead, the Celtic captain has given his own blow-by-blow account of the trash talking that escalated into a full-scale feud between the pair – culminating in Brown’s provocative reaction to his stunning late equaliser.
Diouf has infuriated Brown by suggesting the Scotland man was “out to make a name for himself ” by getting the bad boy into bother in his first Old Firm derby.
But Brown insists it was Diouf who started hurling insults in the Ibrox cauldron and claims the former African Player of the Year is now a jealous spent force.
Brown – speaking yesterday at Craig Levein’s international HQ in Bishopton – said: “He has said I was trying to make a name for myself. How ridiculous is that?
“Did he not see the armband I was wearing? I am captain of Celtic, I play for Scotland. I think I have made my name by now.
“I think it’s more about him trying to make a name for himself again. Let’s face it, he only came to this league because he couldn’t get a game in England. No one would touch him with a bargepole.
“So he’s come up to Scotland to try to make the most of what is left of his career, which isn’t much. Good luck to the lad. I look forward to seeing how it all works out for him.”
Brown’s account of the flare-ups begins in the opening minutes of the Ibrox clash when Diouf appealed in vain for a free-kick after the pair had clashed in front of the main stand.
He said: “It started early in the game when Diouf didn’t get a free kick for a challenge I made on him near the corner flag.
“He started moaning about that and trying to be the big man. He started trying to trash talk me – saying how much money he has and how I’m skint.
“To be fair I couldn’t really grumble too much – the lad does have a bit of cash!
“So I didn’t mind it too much but when I gave him a wee bit back he didn’t like it. If you’re going to start giving it out you have to expect to get a bit back but he just couldn’t take it.
“I said something about his diamond tooth and he didn’t seem to appreciate it very much. He said I couldn’t afford one of my own and maybe he’s right.
“Fair play to the guy but if he wants to learn about scoring goals he should nip over to watch us train at Lennoxtown one afternoon and I’ll show him a thing or two about finishing.
“What has he scored? Three goals in three seasons in the Premiership? That’s decent eh?
“Look, I know I’m hardly the most prolific goalscorer in the world but I’d fancy myself to get more than that down there.”
Brown admits the exchanges became more and more vile as the match thundered on.
He said: “It became very personal between us very quickly. I was actually quite surprised by just how personal he got and the kind of things he was saying about my family.
“But I’m a big boy. If he wants to go down that road then I’m happy enough to go there too. I’ll always give as good as I get.
“He wanted to drag me into a battle and I was quite happy to oblige him. I think I came out of it on top and he knows it.
“I don’t want to go into detail about what he said about my family. It was crude and it was vulgar but that’s up to him. Yes, I did respond to him but what did he expect?
“He just picked on the wrong guy.”
Brown insists he landed the knockout blow when he rifled home the stunning second-half goal that took the fifth-round tie to a replay – and guaranteed this pair must go head to head another FOUR times before the season ends.
A beaming Brown was cautioned by ref Murray for turning to gloat at Diouf after the ball had hit the back of Allan McGregor’s net.
Brown said: “The celebration was brilliant and I don’t regret it in the slightest. It was the best booking I’ve had in my life.
“If I’m honest I’m not sure why I was booked because I didn’t move and didn’t say a word. I just turned round and there he was right by my side.
“I’m not sure what I was thinking at the time. I was probably in a bit of shock at scoring with my left peg!
“I was delighted with the goal – maybe I just wanted to share the moment with him!
“I wasn’t trying to make him snap or get him sent off. I didn’t think he would spit in my face either because he’s been in enough trouble over stuff like that in the past.
“It was all just a bit of banter as far as I was concerned. I’ve been wound up by loads of people on the park and I’ve done it to more than my fair share of opponents as well. It’s part of the game.”
Now the hot-headed rivals are set to slug it out in four more Old Firm matches this term and Brown insists he can’t wait.
He said: “I enjoyed the battle. And I’m looking forward to more.
“But I’m surprised he went running to a newspaper as soon as he was off the park to complain about me. What’s that all about?
“What happens on the pitch should stay on the pitch but I’m not going to stand quietly back and let him say these things about me without challenging it. If he wants to make this personal then I’m good with that too.”
Scott Brown’s blast: Celtic ‘nobody’ fires back at Rangers’ El-Hadji Diouf
By Peter Jardine and Mark Wilson
Last updated at 11:52 PM on 7th February 2011
Celtic skipper Scott Brown last night hit back at El-Hadji Diouf after the controversial
Rangers star labelled him a ‘nobody’ who was only interested in getting him a red
card.
The pair spent much of Sunday’s 2-2 Scottish Cup thriller at Ibrox locked in a personal battle, but Diouf would not buckle under the Celtic captain’s taunting or his confrontational goal celebration after Brown brought his team level.
‘I refused to react,’ said Diouf yesterday. ‘Why should I? Nobody knows him. I am too big and strong for him.’
But last night, Brown responded with a sarcastic verbal volley for the Senegalese striker.
‘Away with the Scotland team to Dublin the now and I hear Diouf has been praising me in the papers — nice guy that he is,’ Brown posted on TalentNation.com as the pair’s spat continued more than 24 hours after the final whistle.
Celtic delighted as Scott Brown signs new contract
By: Paul Cuddihy on 03 Dec, 2011 09:37
Celtic Football Clubis delighted to announce that captain Scott Brown has signed a new extended contract with the Club until the summer of 2015, with Celtic having the option of a further year.
Scott Brown, who returned to action last Wednesday against Atletico Madrid after being out injured, told the official Celtic website:”I am absolutely delighted to sign this new contract with Celtic and commit my future to the Club.
“I´m pleased that this is now all sorted and now I just want to get on with the job in hand.”
And the Celtic captain added: “I´m happy to be back from injury and I now want to just concentrate on the challenges which face us this season domestically and in Europe as we try to bring our fans some success.
“I would like to thank our supporters for the great backing they have given the Club during the course of the season already. Asalways, they have been magnificent and I know the manager and all the players are totally focused on doing everything we can to achieve as much as we possibly can this season for our fans.”
Celtic manager Neil Lennon was just as pleased that his captain has signed a new extended contract. He told the official Celtic website:”We are delighted Scott has committed himself to the Club.
“Scott is a crucial member of our squad and someone we felt it was very important to keep at the Club.He is a special player and his commitment, drive and all-round ability is something we feel is very important to us.
“I´m pleased we´ve been able to finalise this and I would like to thank Scott´s representatives for their assistance in bringing these negotiations to a successful conclusion.”
A-Z of Scott Brown (The Sun) 2011
ARGY BARGY. What’s the best punch-up you’ve seen? When I was 12 or 13 I played for a youth team in Fife called Fulford Royals. During one game something happened and all the parents and coaching staff started fighting in the middle of the pitch. It was mental. I can’t remember what happened to kick it all off, but there were punches thrown all over the place.
BENDER. What’s the biggest drinking session you’ve been on? There have been a few. The biggest was probably Paddy McCourt’s stag-do at the end of last season. There was a big crowd of us who went to the Algarve for a week and it was pretty much non-stop boozing.
CLINGFILM OVER THE TOILET SEAT. What is the best wind-up you’ve seen? I’ve seen loads of good pranks. I’ve covered people’s cars in clingfilm, smashed eggs and flour over people’s cars. At Hibs, Kevin Thomson destroyed Gary Caldwell’s clothes and trainers by cutting them up with scissors. The best laugh, though, was the day we tied Darren O’Dea to a physio chair and pushed him down the big hill at Lennoxtown. He couldn’t move his feet or arms and was totally helpless as we gave him a shove at the top and watched him career down to the bottom before landing in a heap. The best of it was that Gordon Strachan walked past us when we were doing it and just said ‘I’ll leave you to it’.
DUNCE. What were you like at school? I really was a dunce at school. I went to Cowdenbeath High and hated every minute of it. I couldn’t get out of there quickly enough. I did standard grades and my best mark was a 3 for maths and PE. You don’t want to know the rest.
EL HADJI DIOUF. What about your run-in with him? I wish he was still at Rangers. I enjoyed playing against him — it was quite easy. The way I look back on what happened between us is that it was a big waste of money on their behalf signing him in the first place. He wasn’t the best player but caused chaos for them and that’s about it.
FIZZY JUICE. Do you really go hyper when you drink some? Not any more. I’ve chilled out now. The story came out when I was with Scotland Under-21s and Maurice Malpas used to make sure I didn’t eat any chocolate or drink fizzy juice. I’d ask him for some and he’d just refuse. The other boys would slaughter me about it but he was probably right.
GIE’S PEACE. Which Celtic player never shuts up? None of the lads are too bad. The worst boy I’ve known for constantly talking is Ivan Sproule at Hibs. He’s the most non-stop, hyperactive person I’ve ever come across. From the moment he arrived in the morning, until the moment he walked out the door again, he’d just never shut up.
HELL ON EARTH. Where’s the worst place you’ve ever been? Belarus, without a doubt. I was there with Scotland and the place is a s****hole. I hardly slept because the bed was so small my legs dangled out the end. The facilities were shocking — and we were in a five-star hotel as well!
IDOL. Who was your hero growing up? Roy Keane was someone I loved watching. He drove the team on with a sheer will to win. He was a brilliant player, but I also thought it was great the way he was always in people’s faces.
JINGLE BELLS. What was your best Christmas present ever? I got a table tennis table a couple of years ago and I love that. It was my mum and dad who bought me it and it’s set up in my garage. I wouldn’t say I’m great, but I am getting better.
KARAOKE. What do you sing? No chance, I’m the worst singer in the world. I can’t hold a tune at all. Honestly, when we’re lining up for Scotland I don’t sing the words because my voice is so bad.
LENNON. What is your manager like before Celtic and huns games? He’s quite calm. He just goes round all the lads and has a quiet word. He then gets us going before we run out. People might think he goes mental, but he’s not like that. It’s the same with me. I’m usually quite relaxed and focused. I try and stay as chilled out as I’d be for any other game. If I was to get motivated too much I don’t think it would help anyone. It’s obviously different when we get out on the pitch because of the noise the supporters make. As captain I always say a few words in the huddle, but I’m pretty much wasting my breath because it’s maybe only the guys standing right beside me who can hear a word.
MENTAL What’s the most stupid thing you’ve done? That’s a difficult question because it’s quite a long list. Probably the daftest thing was when we were away with Scotland Under-21s and were allowed to have a night out after a game. I got so drunk I ended up crawling into the room, waking up Mark Wilson and being sick all over the bed. I’d been drinking tequila and was steaming. Thankfully Willo looked after me that night and made sure I was okay.
NAPPIES. How are you finding it being a dad? Great, I love it. My son Shay was born about six months ago and he’s brilliant. It’s obviously hard work getting up in the middle of the night and changing nappies, but I think I’m doing all right.
Celtic and RANGERS . What do you think of Rangers? They are a strong team, but I think they’re just going to try and play the long ball against us and try to bully us again. This time, though, it’s not going to work. They played the second half of the last game like that and it came good for them, but we’ve learned our lesson.
POPCORN. Who would play you in a film? Jim Carrey. I love that guy, he’s the funniest man ever. Films like Liar Liar and Dumb and Dumber are top class.
QUICK FIX. What are you addicted to? Coffee. We were in Australia in the summer and Gary Hooper converted me into a coffee drinker. Now, every morning on my way to training, I stop at my local garage and get one for the journey.
ROOM-MATE. Who do you share with? I used to share with Chris Killen, but now I’m in with Jamesy Forrest. The wee man sleeps far too much and also leaves the room in a total mess.
SCOTLAND. What do you remember about your debut? It was against USA at Hampden and we drew 1-1, but I had a goal disallowed for offside when I was a yard on. That still gets to me. I was only 18. It was amazing just to be picked, but it would have been even better to score.
TAT. You have a tattoo dedicated to your sister Fiona, who sadly passed away. Is she a big inspiration? Yeah, her memory helps me get through life. I now live every day as though it’s my last. Losing her is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.
UNBELIEVABLE. Tell us something we don’t know about you? I have unbelievable tekkers. Apart from that, I own a 21-foot boat. My wee brother Stewart and I go fishing on the Forth. We usually just catch shopping trolleys, but we love it.
VECTRA. What was your first car and what do you drive now? My first car was a Fiat Punto which I had until just before I left Hibs. I now have an Audi Q7.
WELDER. If you weren’t a footballer what would you be? I have no idea. It would need to be something to do with fitness.
XBOX. Are you into console games? Yeah, I play Call of Duty online. A few of the lads play each other, but Daryl Murphy is so good at it it’s ridiculous.
YOU’RE ON A DESERT ISLAND AND CAN TAKE THREE THINGS WITH YOU… I’d need a coffee machine, my golf clubs — and my boat.
ZZZZ. What bores you? Cricket. It’s not even a proper sport. They’ve a cheek to have a World Cup. What a complete waste of time.
Leadership gives Scott Brown a special glow
The Scotsman
Published on Wednesday 11 April 2012 00:00
SCOTT Brown has the handprint of his son tattooed on his arm. Now there is another indelible stamp to go with it – the mark of a championship skipper.
Brown never doubted he would know how it feels to walk in the footsteps of the likes of Paul Lambert and Tom Boyd sooner or later. He won the title under then captain Stephen McManus four years ago. But, like manager Neil Lennon, he has acknowledged that leading the side to glory adds an extra special dimension.
It doesn’t feel like vindication, he insists, since he knew he made the right decision to sign for Celtic rather than Rangers in 2007. But there was an undeniable sweetness in being the skipper when the side finally wrested the title back from their Ibrox rivals. “I would not have signed for Celtic if I did not think it was the right club for me,” he said. “In my first season we had so many highs – we won the league and it was brilliant. After that it has not been quite as good, but this season has topped everything.”
Even the minor let-down of being denied the opportunity to parade around Rugby Park with the trophy was brushed off by Brown yesterday, as he reflected on the achievement. “Another five weeks is all right after four years,” he shrugged, with reference to how long Celtic have had to endure being left in Rangers’ slipstream. “I am not really sure why this is either,” he wondered, when asked why the formal presentation is being delayed so long. “It would have been great to have the trophy – but we will get that in time,” he added.
Brown thoroughly enjoyed the occasion even in the absence of the trophy, which will be presented to the players at the final home game against Hearts. He had the best of both worlds – he played in the first half as Celtic racked up a four-goal lead, and then sat back and relaxed on the sidelines as the visitors continued their canter towards victory.
He was replaced a minute into the second-half after feeling a “niggle” in his groin. “Better to be safe than sorry,” he said, ahead of this weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final clash with Hearts at Hampden Park.
Although he is the type who wants to play every minute of each game, Brown enjoyed watching his side, who, he revealed, had been told to “express yourselves” by Lennon.
“I was on the bench and Charlie [Mulgrew] came off as well. At the time we were four or 5-0 up and we knew it was going to be one of those good days,” he said. “We were talking to each other and thinking how good this could be.” It was a very different experience to watching from his sofa as Celtic slipped three goals behind Kilmarnock in the first half of that pivotal meeting back in October. Brown was injured and tuned in as his side exhibited every sign that they were missing their inspirational skipper.
“I had faith in the lads to go out and make a point,” he said. “They definitely made a point. That’s when our season changed, because it put pressure on Rangers as well. I think they also dropped points that day.
“It was hard to take,” he added, when asked how he felt at half-time, knowing he could not affect the situation. “But we came back from 3-0 down to 3-3. There’s not a lot of clubs who can do that. It showed how good the team spirit is and what the lads can do, no matter if we are one or two down. We know we have done it before.”
They could not quite overcome the three-goal lead Rangers established against Celtic in the last Old Firm fixture, and Brown is relishing the opportunity to square the series of four league games this season against their oldest rivals. “We were favourites at Ibrox – and that’s the first time that has happened in as many years as I can think of,” he said. “Whatever happened happened, but we can now bring them back to our place and we definitely want revenge.”
Although the league is wrapped up, other challenges await Celtic, including a significant one on Sunday. “This season is definitely not over,” he said. “We have a semi-final and hopefully a final, and five big games left in the league as well.”
Brown knows he will be a target for the Hearts supporters on Sunday after his association with Hibs. The all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup semi-final of 2006 is another game he missed due to injury, perhaps fortunately. “I love an injury!” he smiled, looking back at a game which Hibs lost 4-0. “I was in the stand – me and Derek Riordan. I think I had broken my foot or my ankle. That was a hard one to take.”
He elected to keep under wraps what the team did to celebrate on Saturday night, following the triumphant return to Parkhead. But he was happy to reveal his choice as Celtic’s player of the year, with Charlie Mulgrew edging ahead of James Forrest. The team, he said, is “perfect” as it is. Brown believes they are well equipped to deal with the challenge of the Champions League qualifiers, which begin in July. “Winning the league by 18 points shows we don’t need older, experienced pros. The lads are mature enough to understand that it is a big club,” he said. “There is lot of pressure on us to win every week and they want to be here and enjoy it. They want to win trophies.”
Celtic captain Scott Brown may only feature in Champions League because of degenerative hip problem
By ANDREW SMITH
Published on Sunday 2 September 2012 01:32
SCOTT Brown’s degenerative hip problem may result in the Celtic captain being considered only for Champions League matches, his manager Neil Lennon has revealed.
Brown, who will miss Scotland’s World Cup qualifying double header because of the condition, needed an injection to play as Celtic beat Helsingborgs on Wednesday to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
The player might not be seen again until Celtic host Benfica on 19 September. And Lennon is concerned the 27-year-old could be lost to the club even for European games such is the extent of the hip problem.
“I don’t want him to miss Scotland games and he doesn’t either,” said Lennon. “But it might even come to the point where he has to miss European games if he has a reaction, is in too much pain to play, or we have to shut him down for a concerted period of time. The fact it is degenerative means he will eventually need a prolonged rest but we don’t want to do that so early in the season. So, if we can just nurse him along, rest him here and there, he might just cope with that.”
MEMORIES of Benfica’s last Champions League visit to Celtic Park are sure to remain vivid for Scott Brown. The Portuguese side, who will provide the opposition when Celtic open up their group stage campaign at home in little over a fortnight, left the field in November 2007 to a cacophony of boos. Brown, for his part, was simply relieved to be able to depart on two feet.
The midfielder, who had joined in a £4.4 million deal from Hibernian that summer, was the victim of an appalling assault five minutes from time. His halving brought a red-card for perpetrator Gilles Binya, who was subsequently banned for six matches. After a hush replaced celebrations of the impending 1-0 victory, Brown hauled himself up and continued to buzz around as manically as he had before. The then 22-year-old seemed indestructable. Five years on, the now Celtic captain appears vulnerable. So much so that his manager Neil Lennon has confessed the club will need to “nurse” an increasingly influential performer through a degenerative hip problem to have any hope of deploying him in the Group G fixtures against Barcelona, Spartak Moscow and the Lisbon side.
Brown’s presence in these encounters won’t be craved by supporters in the same way they will be desperate for latest arrivals, in the form of Nigerian defender Efe Ambrose and Venezuelan striker Miku, to be accommodated. Neither is the midfielder a matchwinner in the mould of James Forrest, Kris Commons, Gary Hooper or Georgios Samaras. Yet, there is a growing appreciation of his importance to his team and his re-invention as a seasoned campaigner and sensible performer. That is evidenced in no small part by the club’s willingness to go to extreme measures in order to ensure his chronic hip problem does not count him out.
The player has been, and will be it seems, patched up only for European encounters this season. Celtic have proved far more adept on the continent than domestically for reasons beyond that. Yet the considered and composed contributions of Brown, once dismissed as no more than bulldog terrier on speed, must be a factor. Lennon is in no doubt about Brown’s worth. The Irishman watched the midfelder assume the mantle demanded by the armband he sports as Helsingborgs were removed from Celtic’s path to the Champions League in convincing fashion on Wednesday night. Brown’s efforts were all the more commendable because he is suffering acutely with his hip complaint.
“He saw a specialist and, although the problem hasn’t deteriorated, he was in a lot of pain [on] Monday and Tuesday,” said the manager. “Under the circumstances he had a great game. He was a real driving force for the team. He’s really matured. A lot of the earlier stuff, the gallussness, has gone, and you have to say with his discipline on the field he’s really blossomed into his role of captain.”
Yet, it might mean too much to Brown to be the leader on the field. It was put to Lennon that he might be facing a Ledley King situation with the 27-year-old Scot. King, famously, practically never trained in his final years at Tottenham Hotspur because of a wrecked knee, and his game-time was rationed as a result. The Celtic manager said he didn’t think the Brown situation is “as serious as that scenario” but cautioned that it is up to his captain to prevent it becoming so.
“We have to manage him, maybe train him once or twice a week,” Lennon said. “He has to be honest with us, though. He has to say ‘I’m a bit stiff today’ or ‘I’m a bit sore’. He felt a bit sore on Tuesday after training on Monday, but he trained anyway when he should have been saying ‘Can I leave it today?’
“That makes it worse sometimes. But he likes to train and be out there burning off energy so we’re going to have to temper that now. You just hope this situation settles down eventually. The fact it’s degenerative means eventually he’ll need a prolonged rest, but we don’t want to do that so early in the season. So if we can just manage him along and nurse him, rest him here and there, he might cope with that.”
Brown’s participation in the Champions League may represent a risk for Celtic. The club were not prepared to take the risk of contesting the group stages without their most saleable midfield asset, however. It is believed that Victor Wanyama may have been amenable to a switch to the English Premier League before the window closed. The Kenyan midfielder is understood to have been the subject of a near £6m bid by Queens Park Rangers. His late goal in the 2-0 victory over Helsingborgs helped make certain that offer would not be entertained by the Scottish champions. The 21-year-old maintains his focus is only on what lies ahead for Celtic in Group G.
“I came here for one reason and the reason was to play in the Champions League,” Wanyama said. “I am looking forward to the Champions League and I don’t think about leaving just now. We are playing in the Champions League against the big clubs of Europe.”
The player said he just heard “from other people” about QPR’s interest and denied he was disappointed it was rebuffed, as has been reported in certain press outlets. “No, no. I am just happy and looking forward to the Champions League,” he stated in response to this suggestion. Lennon is believed to have let him know in no uncertain terms he would be retained for the duration of the season. “The manager is happy and I am happy here,” Wanyama said of reports he took him aside to tell him to forget about a transfer. “He has been talking to me but I was not even thinking of leaving. The only chance I wanted was to play in the Champions League.” Achieving that objective is something his captain Brown will require to take a chance
Training hard, Scott? BOOZY CELT BROWN’S STRIP CLUB CRAWL..& PRIVATE DANCE
By KEVIN DUGUID THOMAS BROWN and SAM WHYTE
CELTIC star Scott Brown blows Hoops gaffer Ronny Deila’s healthy eating regime — as he sits slumped on the pavement scoffing greasy pizza and chips after a strip club bender.
The Hoops skipper got the munchies at the end of a night on the tiles that saw him guzzling vodkas and stumbling around lapdancing bars in Edinburgh with his pals.
Deila has banned fries and fizzy pop from Celtic’s training ground to get his squad in top shape to tackle Europe’s elite.
But midfield ace Brown was having a night off from the new regime — days before he’ll lead out the Hoops on Sunday at Hampden for the League Cup final.
The hoodie-wearing ace took a breather on the street to scoff the chippie feast — capping a night that saw him get so sozzled he FELL ASLEEP during a lapdance.
A source at Baby Dolls club — one of the stop-offs on the lads’ night out — said: “Scott was a bit wobbly on his feet.”
Brown, 29, was spotted out in the capital on Wednesday when he was off training.
First he lapped up the attention of scantily-clad girls at the Burke and Hare — where he flashed the cash and enjoyed drinks while chatting to dancers.
The star generously offered to buy a dance “with any woman” for one elderly punter — but his eyes were already rolling and he was unsteady on his pins.
And the atmosphere soured when he turned his attention to three dancers perched on stools in the corner of the club.
Brown was seen wagging his finger at one of the irate performers while words were exchanged.
A burly barman tried to calm him down as he slumped over the bar.
But one dancer tottered over to him and said: “He’s a piece of s**t.” Brown — who had his back turned to the woman — said: “She thinks she’s something special.”
The furious dancer yelled: “If you’ve got something to say to me, say it to my face.”
Brown told the worried barman it was “just banter” — but the pub boss warned him away from the three girls.
He said: “If you don’t speak to them and they don’t speak to you they’ll enjoy their night and you’ll enjoy yours.”
Brown left a short time later for the Western Bar, another strip joint — only for door staff to refuse him entry.
But he was allowed into nearby Baby Dolls lapdancing club, where he and a pal proceeded to order up vodkas.
He was quickly surrounded by eight lingerie-clad beauties. The player — by this point wobbling on his feet — then disappeared to a private area.
But just three minutes later he stumbled back into the bar and was helped out the door by a bouncer — who told him to “get some food and sober up”.
An angry dancer emerged seconds later and complained to Brown’s pal: “He fell asleep during the dance. I don’t care if I got my £20 off him.”
Brown, right, stumbled to a takeaway before resting on the pavement.
But was barely able to get the grub in his mouth as a pal stood over him. He was finally helped away by a friend just before 11pm.
Last night the Baby Dolls source said: “Brown and his pal weren’t in that long.
“They had a couple of dances then left with no trouble, although they both clearly had a good drink in them.
“Scott was a bit wobbly on his feet.”
Brown will return to training today after two days off. Celtic FC refused to comment.
Alan Pattullo: Celtic’s Brown let off Scott-free
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/alan-pattullo-celtic-s-brown-let-off-scott-free-1-371922416 March 2015
SO WE’LL just slip that How To Be An Athlete manual quietly into the bin, shall we? Jim McLean, the former Dundee United manager, once articulated his despair at goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine’s eccentric ways by claiming “he is the one player who single-handedly destroys everything I have thought or believed about the game”.
Similarly, Scott Brown has now handed Ronny Deila, together with all other managers who worship at the altar of sports science, reason to reassess.
As Brown helped run the League Cup final for Celtic yesterday, there were clearly no ill-effects of the excesses that saw him, literally, plastered all over the front page of a tabloid on Friday. Brown even seemed to make comic reference to the stooshie by rubbing his tummy amid the celebrations at the end.
It was a reference, perhaps, to the fast food nourishment he was photographed delicately eating on a kerbside on Wednesday night. A hug from Deila proved there were no hard feelings. Indeed, Brown continues to bring new meaning to being let off Scott-free. Some would argue that this extends to referees.
Yesterday saw another decision appear to go his way after he nudged Ryan Dow over in the box in the first-half. United players were still venting their frustration in the bowels of Hampden long after the final whistle. Brown, meanwhile, was being feted by the Celtic supporters; forgiveness already assured.
Once was the time when “doing a Broonie” meant standing bug-eyed in front of an identified foe with arms outstretched. Now it has come to mean something else.
Now it means going on a bender in less salubrious parts of town four days before a major assignment. It means over-doing it to the extent that you are found slumped in a street before the clock has even struck midnight. Not necessarily a problem if you are a journalist of course (we’ve all been there, Scott).
But it’s perhaps trickier to explain if you happen to be the captain of Celtic and Scotland. Making things more awkward is the fact the manager of Celtic is a stickler for players following a code of conduct when it comes to their personal well-being. Deila relentlessly espouses the need to be “a 24-hour athlete”. It’s reasonable to assume he isn’t so keen on the 24-hour-party animal approach.
Of course, Brown’s argument (unsurprisingly, he declined to speak to reporters yesterday) is likely to be that he was home before midnight. It was almost four days before the game. Perhaps in private moments, he would also claim he is too good to drop anyway. He might well also point out that it is obvious he is one of the most committed trainers at the club – the six-pack he is not averse to displaying at the end of games has not appeared of its own accord.
Much of yesterday’s pre-match build-up concerned itself with one burning question: Will Broonie play? That question was answered with the release of the teamsheets.
Not only was Brown playing, he retained the armband. Either his apology had been sincere enough for Deila to compromise his principles or else Deila has changed his view on this “24-hour-athlete” thing. Actually, there is a third possibility; perhaps the manager realised Celtic’s chances of winning a game representing the first part of a hoped-for historic treble were better with Brown in the team than out of it.
Although he played the whole 90 minutes yesterday, and played well, ask yourself this: what would have happened had Anthony Stokes been photographed in such a state in Dublin on Wednesday night? Chances are he would have been nowhere near yesterday’s cup final line-up.
If Deila did decide Brown was too valuable to lose, then the skipper’s subsequent performance supported this view. He might have lost his first challenge when John Rankin came away with the ball. But, in the matter of who came out top in that particular midfield battle, there was only one winner.
Brown’s determination was already well-established. His stare bore into the tunnel wall as he prepared to lead his side out. Against a background of those squawking about whether he should be playing or not, he knew he had to deliver. There he was in the warm-up, the only one in a white tee-shirt, as always. While the rest of his teammates wore tracksuits zipped up to their chin, Brown dared the goose-pimples to march up his arm. Rather than concentrate on silly shuttle runs, he spent his entire time hitting 40-yard passes down the touchline. It seemed to underline how, when it comes to Brown, different rules apply.
Some, mostly of the tangerine persuasion, will contend that he shouldn’t have been able to play in any case. His studs up challenge on Nadir Ciftci in the Scottish Cup game was reckoned by many – though, crucially, not the Scottish Football Association’s compliance officer – to have been worth a red card.
There were always going to be vendettas left over from last week. Indeed, Ryan McGowan had gone on national radio and advised Brown to put a lid on it, after he’d accused United of diving in that fiery Scottish Cup clash last Sunday. There was little surprise when the Australian became the first player booked yesterday for a crunching late challenge on, yes, Brown.
Amateur leap readers watching on television later reported something McGowan said about “last week” when complaining to the referee, Bobby Madden. Clearly, he felt that his challenge was no worse than the one Brown made on Ciftci at Tannadice.
This latest week in the life of Scott Brown has done little to harm the legend.
What Gordon Strachan has to say on the matter today when naming his squad for next week’s Northern Ireland clash will be interesting. But then the Scotland manager has also always stoutly defended Brown.
Even Strachan, another of those managers who has strict views on footballers and alcohol, is hardly going to start criticising him now. In fact, he may likely quip that all players should “do the Broonie”.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/eboue-kouassi/
BRENDAN RODGERS is Celtic boss in name.
Scott Brown, Celtic boss by nature.
That’s how Eboue Kouassi sees it, with the Ivory Coast youngster looking at Hoops skipper Brown with nothing but respect.
Rodgers need not worry. Kouassi, 20, isn’t showing any lack of respect to his gaffer.
Kouassi simply sees Brown as Celtic’s driving force and someone he looks up to and admires as ‘the boss on the pitch’.
He said: “Scott Brown is a big guy, a main guy for Celtic.
“When he plays, I always look to how he plays because he has such a big mentality over the entire team. He is the leader.
“For me, he is the big boss in the team. He is our captain. The main boss is the gaffer, Scott is the other boss, the boss on the field.
“What did I think when I first met Scott Brown? I wouldn’t say I was scared of him, but I respected him right away.
“But I have sometimes kicked him in training!”
At that Kouassi burst out laughing.
But the midfielder is serious about the way Broony helped him through the dark days when he was injured last season.
Kouassi said: “When I didn’t play so much last season, Scott would talk to me about it.
“He told me “Don’t get angry. You are young, wait for your chance and work hard’.
“Every time he spoke to me he was great. He always had advice.
“Scott told me I could be a good player, but that I was still learning. I had to be patient and my chance would come.”
The McNeill family sends heartfelt message of thanks to Scott Brown
By Joe Donnelly, Celtic View Report
2021 May
16 hours agoFirst TeamThe McNeill family sends heartfelt message of thanks to Scott BrownBy Joe Donnelly, Celtic View ReporterShareThe family of Celtic legend Billy McNeill has reached out to the club to pay thanks to outgoing captain Scott Brown, and to endorse next week’s tribute to our long-serving skipper.As announced last week, supporters can pay their respects to Scott ahead of next week’s final home game of the season (Celtic vs St Johnstone, May 12) by visiting a designated collection point – where fans can leave their tributes, jerseys, flags and banners – from Saturday, May 8 to Monday, May 10.Speaking on behalf of the McNeill family, Billy’s son Martyn contacted the club today with the following message: “On behalf of our whole family, we are delighted for Scott’s record as a 9-in-a-row-winning Celtic captain and all his other contributions to the Club to be recognised at next week’s match. ‘No one would be better placed than our father to appreciate what it takes to be a successful Celtic captain and we know he would be so proud of Scott’s achievements.'”The leadership, commitment and passion Scott has shown through his time at the club is a major factor in Celtic having won so many trophies and of course making history in a quadruple treble.”No one would be better placed than our father to appreciate what it takes to be a successful Celtic captain and we know he would be so proud of Scott’s achievements.”Scott is someone who has given nearly 15 years of his life to Celtic and throughout this time has represented the Club brilliantly. We are sure fans will be eager to pay tribute to such an important figure.”As a family, we thank Scott sincerely for all he has done for the Club and we wish him and his family nothing but success for the future.”We realise it has been a very difficult year for supporters, not being able to access Celtic Park, and, unfortunately, this remains the case. But from Saturday, May 8, to Monday, May 10, the Club will be arranging a collection point where fans can leave their tributes, be that jerseys, flags, banners etc
Scott Brown ponders end of days at Celtic, his rage against retirement and title concession
There is an old adage that contends all political careers end in failure.
By Andrew Smith
Wednesday, 20th January 2021, 7:00 am
It might just as easily be applied to the football domain. It feels as if it is all about endings at Celtic this season. And none of them of the happy variety. The, surely, unsuccessful end of the club’s obsessed-over pursuit of a record 10 consecutive titles is sure to have profound consequences. It is difficult to see how such an outcome would not bring to an end the immense Celtic tenures of manager Neil Lennon, chief executive Peter Lawwell and captain Scott Brown. Driving forces across a decade in which the club have dominated the Scottish game in an unprecedented manner. There may have been nine-in-a-row championship runs previously, but there has never been – and never will be again – a quadruple treble.
Brown, now 35 and no longer a regular starter, is coy about what lies for him beyond the summer expiry of his current deal at a club that has been his football home for almost 14 years. But the Fifer isn’t thinking about the end of his days in the game. Even as he had admirably acknowledged that Ismaila Soro, the 22-year-old midfielder who has assumed his duties in Celtic’s engine room for the past two months, has deserved his opportunity in having age and mobility advantages over him.
Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports
Indeed, if anything good could be said to have emerged from Celtic’s Dubai farrago, for Brown it seems to have been the thinking time afforded him in being one of the 13 players forced to isolate last week, along with Lennon and his assistant John Kennedy. A fate imposed on that group through being identified as close contacts of Christopher Jullien following his Covid-19 positive test on the club’s return from the United Arab Emirates. It was exasperating for Brown to watch from his sofa as a Celtic shorn of all their senior attackers by the isolation process were held to home draws by Hibs and Livingston to fall an eye-watering 21 points behind their ancient adversaries Rangers. It did, though, spell out something loud and clear to him.
“I think it’s the longest I’ve been away from Lennoxtown when the lads have been in training and it’s shown me that retirement is not going to be great. I want to stick about in the game as long as I possibly can,” Brown said. “Don’t get me wrong, it was good to see the kids, but I love coming into my work and I love working hard. It’s not a chore for me to come into my work. It’s something I love to do. I wouldn’t say my mind has been made up or changed. It’s for me to sit down and think about my options, whether I want to continue in football or in coaching or elsewhere. I’ve not exactly sat down and thought about it yet. We will just wait and see. But you never know. If I’m still playing here in three, four, five months time you never know.”
It hardly sounds like Brown isn’t in the end game with Celtic, but he won’t allow himself to think that a spectacular explosion in a title campaign would be far from a fitting way for him to bow out at Celtic on the back of a career at the club that has brought him 10 league championship winners’ medals. “I’m not thinking that far ahead,” he said.” We have a huge game against Livingston coming up and we’re taking it one game at a time. It’s not for everyone to worry about my situation – myself, the manager and Peter Lawwell will sit down and sort that out together. Until that happens, we’ll just concentrate on getting back to winning ways.”
Brown refuses to give up hope that a miraculous turnaround can be enacted to see Celtic overhaul a seemingly-unstoppable Ibrox side. Yet, it shows how the mighty Parkhead side have fallen that even simply securing a win at West Lothian would seem a minor triumph. The midweek encounter – one of three games Lennon’s men have in hand over Rangers – has assumed hazardous proportions as a result of David Martindale’s men being able to dictate to their depleted hosts on Saturday and the fact they have not been between at home by Celtic in the clubs’ past three meetings at Almondvale.
“We still have that belief and we still have belief in each other as well,” Brown said. “We will just take it one step at a time and make sure that we win our games in hand starting with a victory on Wednesday and then push on from there because we owe it to every one of the fans, everyone who has been supporting us throughout the years. We need to make sure we keep fighting, no matter how long it takes.”
Those same fans have turned on Brown, Lennon and Lawwell as the men who have destroyed their dreams of the 10. The abuse meted out to the Celtic manager has been particularly unedifying but his ever-faithful captain hasn’t been put off moving trackside one day by how quickly the lauded can become the lanced.
“Seeing him come in and work as hard as he does – and how hard everyone at Lennoxtown works – and especially how we prepare for game days [appeals]. I like that part,” said Brown, who believes Lennon’s “passionate love” for a Celtic with which he has had a two-decade association should see him retained however the season turns out. “Management is never going to be easy – there are always going to be people out there who think they know better because they’ve been playing Football Manager. Ask them to give a team talk to the lads, though, and they would struggle. A lot of people have their say now – it’s part and parcel of living in 2021.”
What Scott Brown had to say after last Celtic match
In looking forward to his next career chapter, Scott Brown relished very different days to the last one he spent his last one in Celtic colours,
By Andrew Smith
Saturday, 15th May 2021, 4:56 pm
Now the, effectively, Aberdeen veteran midfielder is focused on receiving brickbats from a support that have been showering him with bouquets as his 14-year, 22-honour career has drawn to a close. The devilment of Brown was to the fore even as he conducted his post-match duties following the tedious 0-0 draw that marked his final game for the club he joined from Hibs in 2007.
It was evident also in the barb directed towards Rangers, centring around the ‘invincibles’ tag accorded them for their unbeaten title winning campaign of this season and how this failed to equate to the treble that Celtic earned without a domestic loss in Brendan Rodgers’ first season in 2016-17. Even after the disintegration of Celtic’s 10-in-a-row bid, to the end, Brown stayed true to his mischief-making character…not least when he pondered his inability to say farewells to Celtic fans because of the covid-restrictions that have meant the season being played behind closed doors.
Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports
“I’ll miss playing in front of 60,000 and not getting the chance to wave goodbye,” Brown said. “They have been a huge part of my life over the last 14 years and they’ve been fantastic with me on and off the field. It’s just sad that I can’t say goodbye but I will be back with Aberdeen next season. I will maybe wave at them or I will get booed off the park. But I wouldn’t want it any other way because when I come back I want to be a winner and take Aberdeen as far as I can. I have done that at Celtic and have so many fantastic memories from different players and managers. It’s been one high after the other and now it’s a new chapter for me at a new club.
“Celtic is a great club and I know it will bounce back. We have had a disappointing season but you need to look at the 13 before that. You do have to think about this season too. But I would rather be in my situation than anyone else’s. We have gone proper invincible throughout the entire season. We have gone treble after treble after treble after treble – and that’s not easy. It does take its toll on everyone’s body and that is what happened this year. We gave it everything we could but we just couldn’t get the 10.”
Brown revealed that the nosedive in the club’s fortunes was not related to his decision to cut his ties with a club that he has lived and breathed for almost a decade-and-a-half.
“My mind was made up at the start of the season,” Brown said. “For me, I wanted a new challenge, and I knew it was either go and do ten or finish on nine with a quadruple treble. I wanted to give it one last go and see it as far as I possibly could, and the board and everyone upstairs have been fantastic with myself. They offered me a new deal to stay and be part of it, but I wanted to see how it worked with a different club.”
Scott Brown: Mikael Lustig pays tribute to outgoing Celtic captain
By Martin WattBBC Scotland
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57000254
15 May 202115 May 2021.From the section Celtic
‘It’s emotional but I’ll cherish it’ – Brown waves farewell to Celtic
If the thick Fife accent was difficult for a Swede to decipher, there was no mistaking the message that came booming through loud and clear.
Mikel Lustig, having just joined Celtic from Rosenborg in January 2012, was given a sharp introduction to the standards expected on captain Scott Brown’s watch.
“I remember one of my first training sessions,” the 34-year-old defender tells BBC Scotland. “I’d come from Scandinavian football where everyone was quite quiet.
“Scott was yelling and shouting at me – we were in the same team – after we lost possession. I was thinking, ‘What the hell? This guy is crazy.’
“But after a while, you know he does it every session and he’s doing it for the best of the team. Every day he gives 100% and sets the standard. When people fell below that, of course he’s going to say to them.”
‘The best captain you can ever have’
Brown – who will join Aberdeen this summer – played his 620th and final game for Celtic on Saturday against his first club Hibernian.
There is no triumphant send-off, with his final season having seen the implosion of the club’s domestic dominance. But his contribution over a 14-year spell that garnered 22 trophies marks him out as a Celtic legend and leaves a sizeable void.
For Lustig, Brown is without peer as an inspirational presence. The likes of Sweden colleague Zlatan Ibrahimovic don’t even get a look-in.
Lustig’s seven-and-a-half years at Celtic brought 12 domestic honours, culminating in the treble treble in May 2019. Managers came and went, but Brown was with him every step of the way, barking, cajoling and organising.
It was an era of success Lustig, now back playing in his homeland with AIK, doubts would have been possible without Brown as the driving force.
“He’s absolutely the most inspirational leader I’ve played with – the best captain you can ever have,” says Lustig. “He was really important for me and is still a good friend. Those years when Celtic won everything, he was the most consistent player.
“A lot of games we won were down to Scott’s influence. Fans and players of other teams didn’t like him but he got a lot of energy from that and thrived on it. There were games we won because of that – it made him better.”
Brown’s leadership qualities, having captained Celtic for the past 11 years, are well known.
But Lustig believes his ability shouldn’t be overlooked, and the Swede describes a unifying dressing-room presence whose snarling on-field persona couldn’t be further from the off-field reality.
“His technique is brilliant – he’s a really good passer,” the former vice-captain says.
“I don’t think there was one day at Celtic where I came in and Scott was in a bad mood. He was always upbeat and had such respect from all the players.
“Away from football he’s such a humble guy. It’s just like when he goes on to the pitch, a switch flicks in his head and he’s in game mode.
“He was so important for us players because he is the guy who can speak to the board or the fans.
“It didn’t matter if you were Scottish, Scandinavian, French or African, everyone really looked up to him and he helped to bring the squad together.
“It was easy to be a foreign player in the Glasgow derby and other important games because Scott was always showing and telling us what it means to the club.”
‘He could change a game with one tackle’
Former Scotland manager Craig Levein was there at the very start of Brown’s trajectory to the top of Scottish football.
As a boisterous 14-year-old the midfielder was on Cowdenbeath’s books when Levein began his management career at Central Park in 1997.
“He played as a winger at times back then. He had good pace, was aggressive – in a positive way – even at that age,” says Levein.
“I had a meeting with his mum, who said he wasn’t academically-minded. So she was concerned Cowdenbeath didn’t have a professional youth team and he’d have to get a part-time job when he just wanted to play football.
“Gordon McDougall, who was chairman at the time, was a big Hibs supporter so he arranged for him to go in there. The rest is history.”
Levein and Brown’s paths would continually cross again as opponents in the Premiership and colleagues in the international set-up.
When Levein became Scotland manager in 2009, he made Brown the fulcrum of his midfield.
“It’s quite a unique thing,” he says. “Scott was able to change the atmosphere in a stadium just by smashing somebody.
“The game would be dawdling along and he would come in with an aggressive tackle – nine times out of 10 tough but fair – on one of the opposition’s best players and get the punters going.
“That happened with Scotland and numerous times for Celtic. He could sense when the game needed a jolt.”
Former Scotland team-mates Brown and Steven Naismith didn’t hold back in domestic confrontations
Former Scotland team-mates Brown and Steven Naismith didn’t hold back in domestic confrontations
When pitted against Celtic during his tenures at Dundee United and Hearts, Levein found Brown to be a master of gamesmanship with the talent to match.
“It’s hard to get players who are capable of winding him up,” he adds. “A brilliant contest was him and Steven Naismith – the two of them are as wide as they come.
“You couldn’t meet two nicer guys off the pitch, but on it they had some run-ins. And having Steven on the pitch was crucial in trying to help the younger players not get caught up in things because Scott just winds you up, a wee comment as he walks past and all the rest of it.
“It’s all gamesmanship to give his team an edge. I always wished he was in my team.”
Scott Brown’s gesture of solidarity nominated for FIFA Fair Play Award
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2021/november/23/scott-brown-s-gesture-of-solidarity-nominated-for-fifa-fair-play-award/
The nominations for the FIFA Fair Play Award 2021 have been announced, and Scott Brown’s gesture of solidarity with Glen Kamara before the Glasgow derby back in March is one of the three moments in the running for the award.
The Rangers midfielder had suffered racial abuse in a Europa League match against Slavia Prague, and as both sets of players warmed up before the derby clash, Scott Brown walked into the Rangers’ half, shook Glen Kamara’s hand and put his arm around his back. The Finland internationalist reciprocated as the two players spoke for a few moments.
It was a gesture of solidarity from the then Celtic captain, on behalf of the club to Glen Kamara, one that was appreciated at the time and one which has now been acknowledged by FIFA.
The other two nominations for the FIFA Fair Play Award 2021 are:
The Danish medical team and players who responded heroically after Christian Eriksen collapsed during their Euro 2020 match against Finland, giving Eriksen immediate and life-saving CPR, creating a circle with team-mates to shield the player from cameras and comforting Christian Eriksen’s wife.
Claudio Ranieri, who, as a gesture of goodwill to the recently-crowned Serie A champions, Inter Milan, got his Sampdoria side to form a guard of honour for the Inter players ahead of the game, a tradition he brought from his time in English football and, specifically, when his Leicester City side won the Premier League in 2016.
Since 1987, FIFA has recognised exemplary fair play with the FIFA Fair Play Award. The honour is bestowed on a player, coach, team, match official, individual fan or fan group in recognition of exemplary fair play behaviour, either on or off the pitch, such as:
Playing by the rules and promoting the Laws of the Game; and/or
Respecting team-mates, opponents, match officials and/or fans; and/or
Acting against discrimination.
In 2003, the Celtic supporters were awarded both the FIFA Fair Play Award and the UEFA Fair Play Award for their exemplary behaviour at the UEFA Cup final in Seville and their unwavering support of the team.
The winner of the FIFA Fair Play Award 2021 will be selected by a panel of experts representing both FIFA and external football stakeholders.
Scott Brown: Celtic legend looks set to retire after Aberdeen exit
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60683881
By Tom English
BBC Scotland
From the sectionScottish
Scott Brown
Scott Brown made 33 appearances for Aberdeen this season
In the world of Hollywood horror movies there is a particular plotline device featuring the plight of the protagonist that can be loosely described as ‘It ‘Aint Over Yet’.
You know the kind of thing. It looks like curtains for Chucky in Child’s Play, but no, what’s that moving behind the curtains? It looks over for The Shape in Halloween, but, hang on, who’s that climbing off the floor in the background?
This does, finally, look like the end of Scott Brown as a footballer and all-round cartoon baddie, a title he has absolutely revelled in, as if he was an actor playing himself in the story of his own life. In some ways, that’s true. The 36-year-old been a performer for all these years, a guy who put a mask up whenever he put his kit on.
When you met the person as opposed to the footballer, you quickly became aware of the difference between the two. The chutzpah of the athlete – domineering and unrelentingly intense at his peak – was in notable contrast to the humility and humour of the person, the tremendous self-deprecation, to the point of self-mocking.
All of it was laced with a bit of hurt at the flak he took, which was fuel to his fire. “Not bad for a guy whose legs have gone,” he would say. “I’m doing OK for somebody who was finished 10 years ago.”
‘The busted flush who roared back’
The next phase beckons. An assiduous chronicler of training sessions, particularly of Brendan Rodgers’ training sessions – he says he has every one of them from their time together at Celtic recorded in books in his house – his life now is in coaching and, he hopes, management somewhere down the line.
Rodgers is such a fan of Brown, and Brown such a fan of Rodgers, that it’s no surprise a reunion at Leicester City has been talked about so widely.
The Leicester manager spoke regularly about Brown’s resilience and intelligence as a footballer and always championed him as a coach of the future. This might be the moment when he takes Brown under his wing again, just as he did in 2016 when he became Celtic manager and revitalised a player who was then at the end of his tether in Glasgow.
That period was one of the moments when Brown’s playing post mortem was written. There’s no doubt that in the back catalogues of most people who comment about football in Scotland there is an incriminating item about Brown being washed up.
Is this the new ‘Broony’?
As far back as 2010, there was a major discussion about him on one of the Celtic supporters’ forums and the view was unsparing.
“Not good enough.”
“Brown’s days are numbered.”
“Never captain material.”
“Punt him.”
He won nine league titles, six Scottish Cups and five League Cups after that. In 2015, he was pictured late at night on an Edinburgh street, chomping on pizza in League Cup final week. Cue outrage, cue calls for a carpeting, cue another trophy come Sunday. Brown was really good in that final.
A year later he was deemed to be a busted flush after Rangers ran over the top of him in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Even Brown, himself, thought the end was nigh at that point. He’d become a frustrated figure under the coaching of Ronny Deila and said that had it not been for Rodgers coming to the club he’d have retired that summer, before the quadruple treble even existed as a concept in Celtic’s subconsciousness, never mind in reality.
‘Brown counted rivals in and counted them out again’
Brown sent fans of many clubs into advanced states of hyperventilation for some of the things he did on the field and who threatened to spontaneously combust when he committed the mortal offence of responding to some disgustingly personal abuse with a smile or a wave.
Many rival players threw a shape in his direction. El Hadji Diouf, Joey Barton and company – he counted them in and he counted them back out again.
There was always a feeling that those fans who gave him volleys did so, in part, out of grudging respect and because they wouldn’t have minded him – or a player like him – in their own colours, driving their team on and noising up those who sought to take liberties.
The truth of that was realised when he moved to Aberdeen. Their fans ranted at Brown almost as much as Rangers ones did over the years, but what happened when he went north? He won most of them over with his passion, even though his football was nowhere near the level of before.
They appreciated his commitment. They basked in him sticking it to Rangers in an almost-comical fashion. They recast him as ‘Brooner’ as opposed to ‘Broony’, as he was known by Celtic people. One of their own.
Scott Brown
At the start of the season, as he started to embark on the double life of player-coach, he got talking about his years of European football with Celtic and international football with Scotland. The way he spoke you’d think he was an interloper.
What also came through was the competitive animal that made him such a force for so long in such a demanding environment as Celtic Park.
“I was never one to run and get a strip from other players. ‘Please, sir, can we swap shirts?’ I’ve never done it. I wouldn’t speak to them in the tunnel, I wouldn’t help them up off the floor if I fouled them, I wouldn’t speak to them after the game. That was my way of getting through. No respect.
“That time in Barcelona [Champions League, September 2016] it was four or five at half-time [it was 2-0 but it was a terrible chasing all the same] and some of the lads were sprinting up the tunnel to try and get Messi’s strip and I was losing my head.
“Why would you want to get somebody’s strip who’s just ripped you a new one? I’m looking at them. ‘Messi, Messi, please, strip, strip…’ I went in and lost the plot. At the end of the game, they did the exact same.
“All those great players I played against and I never asked for a strip even though deep down I probably wanted to. Until they came looking for my strip I wasn’t going looking for theirs and I never saw Messi running down the tunnel after me going. ‘Broony, Broony, can I swap strips with you please?'”
He laughs when he thinks about the names his young boys are going to call him when they discover in later life that the family cupboard is bare and there’s not a single shirt from any of the immortals he’s faced in football.
Brown has won everything there is to win in Scotland, has wound-up everybody worth winding up – and plenty who weren’t – and has gone back and wound them up again and again, just for the laugh.
There was a softer side – many moments of generosity and class behind the scenes – but he said, with a smile, that any airing of that stuff would damage his reputation as the baddest man in Scottish football. After all, he had a caricature to live up to.
The footage of his poignant on-field cuddle of support with Glen Kamara after the Rangers player was racially abused by Ondrej Kudela last year could be placed alongside him ‘doing the Broony’ in the face of Diouf years earlier. Two entirely different snapshots that captured the essence of the man.
He’s hoarded trophies the way some people hoard plastic bags. In the pantheon of most talked about Scottish football men over the last two decades he arguably ranks below only Neil Lennon. In terms of the wild extremes of emotions he’s evoked it’s probably him and his former manager at the top of the list.
There’s surely a statement coming soon that he’s officially retired as a player, confirmation that a tumultuous career is over. Auditions for a new pantomime villain will start immediately. Bring your A game, whoever you are. The bar has been set at a stratospheric height.