Scott Brown: how much will we miss him?

So our captain, Scott Brown, has a degenerative hip problem. Lennon is now planning on nursing him through our European games with the possibility of him not playing any league football and only training once or twice a week.

How much will we miss him?

Personally, I am torn on the issue. His tackling is ferocious and can cover box-to-box all game. Teammates can be better around him as he motivates and brings the best out in others. You always get 100% out of him. My problem lies with what he does with that 100%.
Undoubtedly talented, he can be erratic and reckless. Often showing poor judgement and carelessness, when in possession as well as when chasing the ball down. Many would say he shows ‘headless chicken syndrome’.

Rarely has the arrival of a Scottish player been greeted with so much anticipation and excitement by Celtic fans. With a £4.4m pricetag hanging over his head we could foresee something special. Watching him with Hibernian he was a powerful creative force. The play would flow through him and he would be at the centre of most that was inventive. Galvanising and inspiring the team. The fact that he was occasionally overzealous, resulting in a patchy disciplinary record, was put down to passion and was accepted.

His arrival at Celtic was not as impactful as many expected. Still driven and with an unrivalled workrate he seemed to shy away from the inventive. Over time Gordon Strachan made it clear he wanted Brown to develop into a more defensive player. Wanting him to sit back, breakup play and spread the ball. Brown was more than capable of this but I, and I’m sure many other Celtic fans, became frustrated that the player who was so innovative at Hibernian seemed to have had the shackles put on him.
During that spell we missed out on what he was capable of but I personally feel we are seeing the benefit of that now. Lennon is happy for him to dictate play going forward and he often drives through the midfield with pace and determination. The player that Strachan moulded is still in there also, doggedly chasing down the opposition and doing the ugly work. Sometimes not fully appreciated but always needed in a team.
I would argue that we possibly have a more complete player than the young talent the club invested in five years ago.

But how much will we miss him?

It is certain that he will eventually need a prolonged period of rest. Lennon does not want that to come about so early in the season (possibly thinking Europe will not be a consideration later in the season?) but nevertheless, it will happen. When the time comes, Lennon must look to the rest of his options in central midfield and rely on them to produce the goods.
Ledley, Kayal and Wanyama are certainly capable of delivering in the big games. While the latter two are still young, all three have shown the maturity and composure required for European football. I doubt Lennon would hesitate in placing trust at those feet.

We have the youth of F Twardzik and Jackson Irvine to nourish and bring through. Lennon and John Park enthuse over Twardzik. They have been waiting for the chance to bring this lad through. Having only started to see little glimpses of him it is clear he has bags of potential but possibly another season away from regularly fighting with the big boys. We also know that we have the option of Paddy McCourt and in emergencies Charlie Mulgrew is more than competent playing a defensive central midfield role.

So we have the reliability of Ledley, Kayal and Wanyama. Resting them while Irvine and Twardzik gain experience, move towards reaching potential and no doubt cause opponents plenty of problems. Paddy McCourt can fill the gap, as well as Charlie Mulgrew waiting in the wings if he is needed.

Scott Brown is not going to play much in the coming months and even then may require resting for a concerted period of time, which will no doubt infuriate such a passionate player.
I don’t believe that we should be questioning whether or not we have the players to cope. I strongly believe that we do, many may disagree. I believe the important question is this;

Is his overall impact on the performance of the team more beneficial than playing our other CM options? The latter option eliminating Scott Brown’s possible recklessness, hot headedness, slackness, overzealousness and infrequent casualness. Arguably the downsides to Scott Brown’s game.

I am certainly leaning towards one direction (not the boy band) but could not argue with any opinion. Unless it is wrong…..

@stevenceltic81

Posted by Tetraplegic Bhoy on September 2, 2012

https://stevenceltic81.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/scott-brown-how-much-will-we-miss-him-2/