Full Circle for Charlie Mulgrew

Article by e-Celtic's Tom Shanahan

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On 23 August 2006 Celtic signed Lee Naylor from Wolves to finally end the clubs search for a left back. Celtic paid the Midlands club £600,000 for Naylor’s services; however a young Celt also made the move to Molineux as part of the deal.

At the age of 19, Charlie Mulgrew was allowed to leave Celtic Park. It would have been easy for the teenager to believe his Celtic dream was over. Mulgrew had other ideas however, and over time would show he had a lot more character than the Celtic management staff believed he had.

In January 2006 Mulgrew was loaned to Dundee United for the remainder of the season. Played mostly at left back, it was hoped he would gain the experience required in order to cement himself in the Celtic first team squad the following season. He enjoyed a successive spell at Tannadice, playing 14 times and scoring 2 goals. Both of his strikes for United had been free kicks and he was starting to establish a reputation as a dead ball specialist. During this spell he was also named SPL Young Player of the Month for February. After the final league match of the season Mulgrew was included in the Celtic squad which headed down to Newcastle to play in Alan Shearer’s testimonial. Although lacking experience in his defensive duties it was easy to see that Mulgrew had the technical ability to back up his self confidence with the ball at his feet.

As season 2006/07 began Celtic were on the hunt for a left back after Mo Camara and Ross Wallace had failed to impress in the previous season. Mark Wilson had proved an able stop gap but his preferred position in defence was on the right. Unfortunately for Mulgrew, it became clear early on in the season that manager Gordon Strachan did not believe he was the player to step up and so the swap deal to Wolves went ahead. Throughout two frustrating years at the West Midlands club Mulgrew only racked up a handful of appearances after a series of injuries. In a move to revitalise his career he was loaned out to Southend United in January 2008, where he endured a happier time as he helped the Shrimpers reach the play-offs. During this time, Southend United manager Steve Tilson stated how pleased he was with Mulgrew’s hunger to succeed and was sure that the young Scot would end up plying his trade at a higher level.

In the summer of 2008 Mulgrew was the subject of serious interest from Swindon Town, however he decided to return north of the border and sign for Aberdeen on a two year deal. Mulgrew soon established himself in the first team and quickly became a favourite with the supporters, mostly due to his dead ball expertise. He scored a text book free kick on his return to Celtic Park, however a weak tackle on Aiden McGeady allowed the winger to set up Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink for an injury time winner. Mulgrew did manage to get revenge on the hoops though as his set piece deliveries helped defeat Celtic 4-2 at Pittodrie later that season. Overall it had been a decent first season back in Scotland for Mulgrew.

By the end of the following season Mulgrew was offered a new contract to stay at Aberdeen, however he rejected the offer and it looked certain that another move to England was on the cards. However, change in the management team at Celtic would in fact open the doors to Paradise for a second time.

Charlie Mulgrew became Neil Lennon’s first signing as Celtic manager, although it is fair to say that the Celtic support were not enthused by this deal. Celtic were in a summer of change, but a left back from Aberdeen was not the signing that the fans were craving to kick off the Lennon revolution. It was widely expected that Mulgrew would be used as a squad player, happy enough just to be given another opportunity at Celtic. This train of thought seemed to gather more passengers after Mulgrew’s league debut, a disappointing individual performance away to Inverness Caley Thistle. In the following few months of the season Mulgrew was used sparingly, however, he was about to be thrown in to the deep end at the beginning of 2011.

A visit to Ibrox on 2 January 2011 saw a shock in the Celtic line up, Charlie Mulgrew playing wide left in the midfield. This decision was maybe made easier for Neil Lennon to take as the Celtic squad on that day were missing key personnel, as Scott Brown had been sent off in the previous match and Ki Sung Yueng was included in the South Korea squad for the Asian Cup. In a 2-0 victory for the Bhoys in green Mulgrew had proved to be an inspired selection. Due to his defensive background he was the perfect assistant for Izaguirre to nullify any attacks down Celtic’s left and his aerial prowess was needed when defending set pieces. His ability on the ball was also an asset going forward as he was prepared to support Georgios Samaras and Paddy McCourt in attack. It was only after this match that Neil Lennon let it be known that Mulgrew had asked the Celtic manager exactly what was needed from him in order to force his way in to the starting eleven. Mulgrew took the advice on board and proved himself in training, which again displays the type of character and determination needed to succeed at a big club like Celtic.

As the second half of the season progressed Mulgrew found himself playing at centre half where he was starting to impress. Celtic ended the season as Scottish Cup winners and Mulgrew found the net at Hampden on three occasions, including the third goal in the Scottish Cup final. This had just been a taster of what was to come for Mulgrew and Celtic.

Season 2011/12 saw Celtic reclaim the League Championship and it also witnessed Mulgrew play a pivotal role in this triumph. Once again he showed off his versatility by playing at centre half, left back and central midfield. Additionally he scored some important goals during the season including the equaliser against Kilmarnock, when Celtic came from 3-0 down to gain a crucial point, as well as a diving header against Rangers in a 3-0 victory. The title was wrapped up in clinical fashion with Celtic winning 6-0 at Rugby Park and Mulgrew added two more to his tally whilst deputising at left back. Mulgrew then signed off from the season in perfect fashion by claiming the SPL Player’s and Writer’s Player of the Year awards. These personal awards were truly merited after Mulgrew showed all the characteristics that were needed when over hauling Rangers at the top of the table.

The previous two seasons have seen a slight change in Mulgrew’s play as he is now used predominantly as a central midfielder. This seems to suit his style of play perfectly, allowing him to get on the ball as much as possible whilst also taking away the pressure of playing in defence, where mistakes have previously affected his game. Mulgrew has also shown in European encounters that he is more than capable of competing against the very best on the continent and these displays for Celtic have helped Mulgrew play a key role in the revival of the Scotland national team.

Change will be sweeping through the East End of Glasgow this summer but the man whose Celtic career has gone full circle should still have a major part to play.

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