The Broony 500
Captain Scott Brown reached 500 appearances for Celtic on 19th December 2018 versus Motherwell. He has been at the club since 1st July 2007 after becoming Celtic’s 8th all time highest fee signing from Hibernian.
Where Brown sits on the all-time list of Celtic appearance makers depends on whether you include historical competitions such as the Glasgow Cup, Charity Cup and Drybrough Cup. In all likelihood, Brown now sits 12th in the all-time list of Celtic appearance makers. He is closing in on the beloved Tommy Burns (501). If he remains at the club for another two years, he may reach Bobby Lennox (586) in 7th position.
He stands alone, however, in second place as the most decorated captain in Celtic history. Whilst Billy McNeill’s 23 trophies will likely never be reached, Brown is up to 15 with the third placed captains being on 7. He has won 17 trophies in his 11 ½ years at Celtic.
No player has played more matches in European competition than Brown for Celtic. This record may eventually be under threat from James Forrest currently on 80.
Brown averages 43 matches a season over the eleven and a half seasons he has been at the club. This illustrates how hard it is to get into the 500 Club. Not only do you have to stay fit, but you need longevity at the club rare in this age and of course to maintain the form that demands being picked.
I only have detailed performance data since 2014/15 covering just over 19,000 of Brown’s 41,813 minutes.
The current crop of players includes Tierney, Forrest and McGregor that may emulate Brown’s longevity and trophy success. Tierney may even achieve that as captain.
But in the storied history of Celtic, to be second only to Billy McNeill in the pantheon of captains tells you everything you need to know about the boy from Hill O' Beath known as Broony.
