Scott Brown missed close to a month of action due to an injury, and that gave Brendan Rodgers a chance to play the likes of Ryan Christie and Callum McGregor in central areas. And if we are going to go by the last game, then it feels like the manager is set to prefer them in midfield over Brown. The club captain has been available now for the last few weeks, but it seems he might have to continue biding his time on the bench.
Rodgers recently indicated that the 33-year-old might have to be patient to get his place back in the starting eleven and with the kind of form other midfielders are showing, we think Brown could be waiting for quite a while. Rodgers was quoted as saying (Via Evening Times),”I have compassion for players, especially for ones who done amazingly for me, but what I don’t have is sentimentality.”
”We don’t rely on just 11 players, we need more than that. It’s clear for me the level and fluency of the team was great. My job is to pick a team that can win games and win titles. Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie, along with Tom Rogic, have been exceptional, not just in their football but how they press the game.”
Brown is currently in the final year of his deal, and there were reports earlier (Daily Star) that the midfielder could sign a new deal soon, but for some reason or the other, the contract talks have stalled. With offers (The Scottish Sun) from Australia and the MLS, Brown might look for a big money blowout as the final act of his career.
The game against Salzburg could be an important one as that could decide whether Brown is firmly out of the picture for a place in the starting eleven. One can understand why Rodgers has been picking the likes of Mcgregor, Christie and Rogic in the Premiership as the trio are more offensive in nature and they tend to collaborate well together. On the other hand, Brown is someone who likes to sit back and dictate play from the back. However, his defensive work could be handy against an excellent Salzburg side.
Therefore we still think the midfielder will have a good part to play in the season but not as a no. 1 choice anymore. The way Christie has been going, even Olivier Ntcham is finding it hard to get in the starting eleven which would have been unimaginable a few months back given the influence Brown and Ntcham had together in the past one year together.
With the January window approaching and no sign of a new contract, this could very well be the final season of the veteran midfielder at Park Head.
