Sinclair, Scott

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Fullname: Scott Andrew Sinclair
aka: Scott Sinclair
Born: 25 March 1989
Birthplace: Bath, England
Signed: 6 Aug 2016 (from Aston Villa)
Left: 8 Jan 2020 (to Preston North End)
Position: Midfielder, Winger, Forward
Debut: Hearts 1-2 Celtic, SP, 7 Aug 2016 (and scored)
Squad No.: 11
Internationals: England / Great Britain (Olympics 2016 side)
International Caps: ? [complete at end of career]
International Goals: ? [complete at end of career]

Biog

Scott Sinclair arrived at Celtic in August 2016 as Brendan Rodgers first big signing. He was seen as a precocious talent who had not matched the heady heights forecast for him, and many had unfairly written him off.

His last club Aston Villa had just been relegated to the second tier, and he was another to suffer from the fallout. Rodgers had worked with him previously at Chelsea and Swansea, and had high hopes for him.

So at Celtic he had a lot to prove, and with a TV star partner (a prominent actress in the long running ITV soap Coronation Street), anything he was to do would be in the spotlight.

He hit the ground running, and with a great start. On the same day he signed for Celtic, he played in his debut match and scored v Hearts after being subbed on in the season opener to seal the win in a 2-1 victory. That set the tone for the season and for himself, as the first team went on to achieve the ‘InVIncibles‘ by winning the treble and remaining undefeated domestically.

He was a tall, fast and athletic forward, often playing alongside a main striker but chipped in with some wonderful goals too. He provided assists and was a strong team player. Always on the move he linked up well with his teammates to provide a firm platform for the side to score.

He was one of the stars of the season, an incredible touch and pace made him a hero with some gallus goals along the way. He became the first Celtic player since Jimmy McGrory in 1922 to score in each of his first five league matches, which was an astonishing achievement.

Defences couldn’t handle him, and his 21 league goals in his debut season was a clear sign of his contribution to the title challenge. He outshone even the highly valued Moussa Dembele on a number of occasions. He scored a key winner v TheRangers in a 2-1 victory in December 2016 to help keep them in their place, and a hat-trick v Hearts in April 2017 really showed his talent and confidence.

He was settled at Celtic, he had won over the support, and nothing seemed to be able to stop him. It’s often forgotten that in this first season, he was also a bit of a Hunskelper with 4 goals scored in 4 different matches against them. He went on to win a number of awards for his stellar season from his peers like players player of the year. A great record, but admittedly in Europe he was often ineffective and couldn’t adjust, so that was where he needed to work on the most.

You could see the joy on his face whenever he scored, he was enraptured by the support and was very honestly open about his love for the club, which made him a genuine firm favourite with the support:

“I have been to so many clubs and this is where I’ve been at my happiest. Leaving here would be out the question.”

However, after his first season he seemed to have lost his key talents. Whereas before he could take on anyone and fire in a shot from anywhere for a wonderful goal, now he was a shadow of the player he was in his first season. He got off to a decent start the next season but seemed to slip away from games from November 2017 onwards. Often he was typically ineffective, something never attributed to him previously, and he needed a reboot (the skill was there) or needed to be moved on.

He was not the only one underperforming after the past season, but he just struggled to regain consistently his best form. It was surprising, although it was always going to be a challenge to meet the incredible standards achieved in his first season. Part of the issue could be attributed to that his family was based down south and it was a long time apart.

Still Celtic won the treble domestically, but the entire side was faltering in 2017-18 but incredibly repeated this the next season to win the treble-treble. Sinclair was all part of this and was well loved, but there was a regression in the First Team’s performances, and many would say that Sinclair was part of the problem. The manager still had faith, and in truth Sinclair was still scoring but the swagger and quality was missing, with concerns for the longer haul.

The key issue was that Scott Sinclair at his previous clubs had similarly started brightly before fading away, the worry was that despite being happy at Celtic, the pattern was worryingly repeating.

He scored goals and provided valuable assists when needed, and despite any questions of form he kept his head. He scored a much deserved hat-trick in December 2018 in a key match v Aberdeen to help Celtic win 4-3 despite Aberdeen fighting back repeatedly to stay in the game. Things turned around around mid-season 2018/19 when he finally had a purple patch of matches, with only a defeat to Sevco away being a blot on his book, but this improved form didn’t seem to carry on to the end of the season.

There were supporters who said that Celtic were better with him, others argued differently that he was a faded force. It was no easy place or situation for him, and no clear consensus on opinion on his position with Celtic from the terraces. Whilst others kicked on to greater praise like McGregor, Forrest & Christie, questions were being asked of Scott Sinclair.

Once Neil Lennon returned to Celtic taking over from Brendan Rodgers, it became clear that he didn’t seem to favour Scott Sinclair, playing him off the bench. In fairness, there was a glut of performing midfielders at Celtic to pick from making competition tough for anyone to make a breakthrough (e.g. Ntcham, Brown, Christie, McGregor, Sinclair, Bitton, Forrest, Johnston etc). Scott Sinclair was given a number of appearances by Neil Lennon in his first games, but Scott Sinclair didn’t outperform his peers.

Having been written off in season 2019/20 and given little opportunity by the manager, even though various supporters were crying out for him to be given a chance, it was inevitable that the end was near. In January 2020, Scott Sinclair moved to Preston North End.

He has a lot to be proud of his time at Celtic. He played more games and scored more goals than any other player on the way to the Treble-Treble: 127 games, scoring 52 goals. What more could you want from a player? He had though become a shadow of the player in his last season or so. He seemed to slip away from games he’d previously would have been prominent in.

There’s no denying that Scott Sinclair was value with goals when on form. Despite any loss of form in his last season or two, he was still highly respected in Celtic circles, and he clearly loved playing for Celtic when on the field. He was a favoured player from a golden era for the club.

We wished him the very best.

Post-Celtic

[….He returned with Preston to face Celtic at Celtic Park in a pre-season friendly in July 2021 which handed Ange Postecoglou his first defeat. Sinclair was very well received and you could see the joy on his face on this brief return. ]

Quotes

“I’ve been with so many clubs, so many. I think here, I feel like I’ve found a home.”
Scott Sinclair (2017)

“To be fair, coming to Celtic I didn’t expect too much this season. I just wanted to be happy, to be playing every week which I have done. I wanted to be under a manager who gives me that belief, to get my career back on track. It has worked out better than I expected.“It has been a joy. I’m so happy to be playing for Celtic and having a group of fans right behind me. I’m playing with a great team and just enjoying football again. This is what it’s all about, picking up trophies and celebrating with the rest of the lads.”
Scott Sinclair (2017)

“I have been to so many clubs and this is where I’ve been at my happiest. Leaving here would be out the question. I want to be here for 10-in-a-row.”
Scott Sinclair (2018)

“Oh I’ve missed this feeling, unbelievable reception from the fans, I will continue to keep fighting for this shirt,”
Scott Sinclair on his return to the first team and scoring v Partick Thistle (5-0, league cup) (Sep 2019)

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Domestic Treble (League, League Cup & Scottish Cup)

• 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19

Scottish League

• 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20
  

Scottish League Cup

• 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20

Scottish Cup

• 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19

Pictures

• Player Pics

KDS

• Signs for Celtic (Aug 2016)

Songs

• Scott Sinclair Song
• …He is so wonderful – Song

Articles

Scott Sinclair: Celtic sign Aston Villa winger on four-year deal

BBC

Celtic have completed the signing of Aston Villa winger Scott Sinclair on a four-year contract.

The 27-year-old had a medical on Saturday and could go straight into the squad for the champions’ Scottish Premiership opener at Hearts on Sunday.

Sinclair previously worked with Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers at Swansea, where he says “I played my best football”.

“It feels amazing to have joined Celtic,” the winger said. “It’s a massive club and I’m happy to be here.”

After Sunday’s opener at Hearts, Celtic have a League Cup meeting with Motherwell on Wednesday, a friendly against Inter Milan in Ireland next Saturday, followed by the first leg of their Champions League play-off round against Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva on Wednesday, 17 August.

With Patrick Roberts facing up to three weeks out with a hamstring problem and fellow winger Gary Mackay-Steven still recovering from an ankle operation, Sinclair is likely to be involved straightaway.

“I can’t wait to get on the pitch. When I went back to Aston Villa for pre-season, I heard Celtic were interested and I just knew I had to come here,” he told the Celtic website.

“I had to look at this move and I thought it would be great for me. And because I know the manager and I know what to expect, hopefully I can get off to a flying start.

Sinclair and Rodgers have worked together twice – at Chelsea and Swansea City.

“I had him in at Chelsea when he was 16 years of age. I know him probably as well as anyone and I know his qualities,” Rodgers said on Friday.

Scott Sinclair speaks out on racist abuse and the need to kick it out

Ewing Grahame
Published: 22:30 Saturday 22 December 2018

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/scott-sinclair-speaks-out-on-racist-abuse-and-the-need-to-kick-it-out-1-4847951
Celtic winger Scott Sinclair used to grin and bear it when he was subjected to racist abuse from rival supporters but he now believes that the problem has become so acute it should be highlighted rather than swept under the carpet.

In May of last year he highlighted on social media a Rangers fan who taunted him with monkey gestures after he had scored the opening goal in a 5-1 victory at Ibrox.

Earlier this month he described an Aberdeen supporter as “uneducated” after he yelled out “You f****ing black bastard” as he was about to take a penalty in the BetFred Cup final win over Derek McInnes’ side.

Two Hearts fans were arrested for allegedly directing racist remarks at Motherwell substitute Christian Mbulu before a match at Tynecastle two weeks ago and Sinclair believes that football should adopt a zero tolerance approach to such abhorrent behaviour.

“It’s unacceptable, not just in football or sport but in society generally,” said the 29-year-old. “I think it needs to be kicked out. It needs to stop and to be shown that it’s unacceptable to use racial slurs or to abuse the ethnicity of players.’

“The cup final incident was on social media. I was flicking through some things and came across it.

“It’s one of those things that just shouldn’t be happening. It’s 2018.”

Sinclair struggles to comprehend how the louts who are guilty of issuing these insults regard the black players at their own clubs.

“This is what I don’t understand,” he said. “When I tweeted I called them uneducated and that’s what they are. They are uneducated in this area; they have black players in their team so it’s very confusing.

“Why would someone use that sort of slur towards black players? It’s embarrassing. It’s not acceptable for anyone in society to even think they can use that sort of language, whether they are at a football game or in the street. But it’s always around and it’s such a shame to keep hearing the racial slurs.”

Sinclair argues that the fascists who pollute stadiums with their invective should not be ignored in the hope that they go away.

“I think there’s more of a spotlight on it now, especially with [Manchester City’s] Raheem Sterling experiencing it down south and speaking out,” he said.

“It seems it’s highlighted more and people are, hopefully, taking more note of the situation. In the past players might have been racially abused and thought: ‘Never mind; I’m not going to say anything because nothing gets done’.

“Hopefully, though, as things start being done we can move forward into a more positive light. I’ve had a lot of support from all sides, all sorts of fans. They know that it’s wrong.”

Sinclair faces matches at Pittodrie and Ibrox this week but insists he will ignore any bile which may be directed at him. “I’m experienced now,” he said. “I have been in the game for what seems like a long time. You go and enjoy the occasion. It’s disappointing that we won’t have so many of our fans at Ibrox but you just blank that out and get on with it.”

Sinclair will train at Lennoxtown on Christmas Day before travelling to Aberdeen to prepare for the Boxing Day clash.

“Obviously it’s not ideal. But as football players this is sometimes what it’s all about,” he said. “We’ll spend Christmas morning with our families, with our kids. Then we will have to train in the afternoon and travel up to Aberdeen.”

But he claims that it’s a sacrifice worth making.

“It’s not ideal but we have a winter break coming up so we’ll spend time with our families then,” he said.

“It’s difficult but most of us haven’t had much time off on Christmas Day. I’ve trained on Christmas Day for God knows how many years and you just get used to it.

“You just manage. It’s all about balance; you have to play football and be professional. Then you come home and you have family life.