Soccer: 10 reasons why Celtic are Champions

The 10 reasons why Celtic are this season’s outstanding Scottish side.

1) Henrik Larsson

What more is there to say about the super Swede, who recovered from the horror of last season’s broken leg to become the scourge of Scottish defences once again.

His current haul is 47 and counting. And to think he cost just £650,000!

2) Martin O’Neill

John Barnes may have been a great player for Liverpool, and occasionally England, but he was a mere rookie as a coach. It was no surprise that the weight of expectation at such a big club weighed too heavily on his inexperienced shoulders last season, with Kenny Dalglish, nominally director of football, seemingly reluctant to get too involved.

O’Neill, on the other hand, had served a long apprenticeship, first as a player under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, then cutting his teeth as a manager at tiny Wycombe Wanderers before proving his mettle in the Premiership with Leicester City.

3) Joos Valgaeren, Johan Mjallby and Ramon Vega

Rafael Scheidt is history, Olivier Tebily banished to the reserves and instead there are three reliable, if unspectacular, big blokes at the back.

Valgaeren was an unknown when he arrived but slotted in effortlessly, Mjallby’s career was transformed when O’Neill switched him from midfield and Vega, a mediocre performer in an average Premiership team, has not looked out of place.

4) Consistency

The ability to win games without playing particularly well is the hallmark of a champion just as much as possessing the league’s top scorer. For every resounding home success there was a single-goal scrape at places like Dundee and Aberdeen.

5) Celtic 6 Rangers 2

This was the first body of evidence that Celtic’s good start to the season, which had seen four out of four wins recorded, really was built on solid foundations. And that Rangers’ new-look defence was fatally vulnerable. Bobby Petta gave new signing Fernando Ricksen such a roasting that Rangers took off the Dutchman after just 23 minutes. Larsson scored a memorable goal after making a fool of Bert Konterman.

That day boosted Celtic’s confidence levels to an awesome high while at the same time sowed seeds of doubt at Ibrox that were quick to grow throughout the season.

6) Neil Lennon, Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton

They cost millions of pounds but each came with a pedigree from seasons in the Premiership. Sutton is still not the prolific goalscorer he once was but filled the role of targetman foil for Larsson perfectly. Thompson slotted in effortlessly on arriving in September and Lennon eventually signed in December. The Northern Ireland international became the pick of the bunch, proving himself to be a real rarity a tackling workhorse that not only wants the ball but once it is won but is also prepared to use it.

7) Fewer injuries

Alan Stubbs and Morten Wieghorst were both missing for long spells through serious illness but it was not until Stilian Petrov broke his leg at St Johnstone in March that a regular first choice was put out of action in the long term. Rangers, on the other hand, saw big name after big name disappear on to the treatment table.

8) The home record

Away wins were always in plentiful supply but dropping only two points at Celtic Park before the split is nothing short of remarkable. Ex-Celt Derek Whyte, the Aberdeen captain, reckoned the 60,000 or so faithful made Parkhead a fortress. He should know: the Dons were beaten 6-0 there, as were Kilmarnock.

9) Dressing room harmony

Of course, a winning dressing room is usually a happy one. But while Rangers were busy denying constant suggestions of a split between the Dutch contingent and everyone else, Celtic were happily huddling their way to success.

O’Neill was quick to bomb out Eyal Berkovic, who perhaps showed his true colours when he responded by saying he was happy to sit on the sidelines and pick up his big wages.

And while Dick Advocaat’s man-management techniques still baffle most observers, O’Neill’s arrival quickly saw erratic bit-part player Petta be transformed into a menace down the left flank.

Mjallby, too, must see O’Neill’s arrival as a breath of fresh air yet there were still roles to play under the new man for old stagers like Tom Boyd and Lubo Moravcik, who both did enough to earn new contracts.

10) Winning both of the February Old Firm showdowns

If Rangers were to have a chance of stopping Celtic’s relentless march towards the silverware it was by winning the back-to-back clashes in February.

But Celtic held firm and won the first, the stormy CIS Insurance Cup semi-final 3-1, before pipping their rivals 1-0 at Parkhead in the arguably more important league clash.

Rangers, with their injury crisis at a peak, knew then that salvaging the season was now beyond them.