Where are they now? The last Celtic team that failed to win league and lost title to Rangers
IT’S been a long time since Celtic have been linked with the word runners-up. However, after ten years of domestic dominance, the Hoops are no longer top dogs in Scotland. Rangers have secured title number 55, leaving the Parkhead club in their wake in the Premiership table. Celtic’s failure to beat Dundee United last week […]
IT’S been a long time since Celtic have been linked with the word runners-up.
However, after ten years of domestic dominance, the Hoops are no longer top dogs in Scotland.
Rangers have secured title number 55, leaving the Parkhead club in their wake in the Premiership table.
Celtic’s failure to beat Dundee United last week was the final nail in the ten-in-a-row coffin, but the reality is the league had been lost with various other poor performances and results over the course of the 2020/21 campaign.
The Celts had been crowned league winners for nine consecutive years and had swept aside all before them in the League and Scottish Cup before the Light Blues managed to overthrow their stranglehold of Scottish football.
Here, SunSport takes a look back at the last Celtic team that failed to win the top-flight title in Scotland, losing out to Walter Smith’s side in 2011 on the final game of the season.
Fraser Forster
The giant played a crucial role at Celtic during all of his spells at Parkhead under Neil Lennon.
Back-to-back loans in Glasgow initially saw the Geordie-born keeper suffer top-flight heartache, as he lost out to Rangers on the final day of the 10/11 campaign when they thumped Kilmarnock 5-1, meaning the Hoops’ 4-0 win over Motherwell was not enough.
But overall, the goalie will be remembered fondly by the green and white faithful, producing various standout performances over the years, with the Barcelona, Lazio and Rangers triumphs the pick of the bunch.
Now found largely playing second fiddle to Alex McCarthy at Southampton.
Lukasz Zaluska
The Pole was signed for Celtic from Dundee United in 2009.
He never nailed down the No1 spot in Glasgow, with the keeper only managing 28 appearances over his six years at the club.
He featured nine times during the 10/11 campaign, mainly playing back-up to Forster. The 38-year-old’s now without a club after leaving Miedz Legnica in 2020.
Cha Du-Ri
The right back was signed in 2010 and made 20 appearances that season, scoring one goal.
Signed with big expectations, the South Korean international failed to live up to the hype and was kept out the side by Mark Wilson. Left in 2012 and retired from football in 2015.
Mark Wilson
Wilson had his most productive campaign in the Hoops during the 10/11 campaign, making 25 league appearances at right-back.
Notching twice in the league, his famous moment of that season is one that is often forgotten despite being a WINNER against Rangers in the Scottish Cup.
His big moment in the fifth-round replay was overshadowed by three red cards for Gers as well as a short-lived but infamous spat on the touchline between Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist.
Wilson would leave Parkhead the following season having made only a handful of appearances.
After unsuccessful stints in the dugout with Airdrieonians and most recently Brechin City, Clyde Superscoreboard favourite Wilson now hosts his own YouTube show, The Celtic Huddle podcast.
Efrain Juarez
Juarez became the first Mexican to play in the SPL after joining from Pumas for big-money and on a four-year deal.
He arrived with a big reputation after playing for Mexico in the 2010 World Cup, being replaced by Javier Hernandez in the famous win over France.
Juarez scored in his first game at Celtic Park against Braga in the Champions League, before scoring in the Europa League qualifier a fortnight llater.
Juarez was banned from international football along with Carlos Vela for a party they held on international debut, before falling out of favour at Celtic and leaving the following summer.
Currently assistant to ex-Celtic boss Ronny Deila at New York City.
Daniel Majstorovic
The Swede was a stalwart in the Hoops defence during the season, making 32 league appearances in the 10/11 season – scoring once.
Majstorovic took the armband from Scott Brown when he went off injured and then captained the side in Broony’s absence.
His Celts career was unfortunately cut short the following season after a fractured cheekbone kept him out for two months before a collision with Zlatan Ibrahimović in Sweden training ruptured his cruciate ligament.
Jos Hooiveld
Hooiveld was another to arrive for big money, joining Tony Mowbray’s Celtic in January 2010.
He made his debut later in the month before picking up a thigh injury in his next game which kept him out the rest of that season.
He started the 2010/11 season as the first-choice centre-back but couldn’t cement a partnership and fell way down the pecking order before being shipped out on loan to Copenhagen for the second-half of the season.
Hooiveld left for Southampton the following season and retired from football in 2018 after a spell at USA side Orange County.
Charlie Mulgrew
Mulgrew showed his immense versatility when he became Neil Lennon’s first signing in the summer of 2010.
The fans’ favourite started a game with Rangers on the left wing, before deputising for Majstorovic at centre back later that month.
This was the first of six successful seasons for Mulgrew at the Hoops, netting 28 times in 207 appearances.
Mulgrew is on loan at League One outfit Fleetwood Town from Blackburn Rovers.
Glen Loovens
The Dutch centre-half rejected Rangers in favour of a move to the green side of Glasgow in 2008.
The 2010/11 season proved difficult for Loovens as his own goal against Rangers was the catalyst for a Gers comeback and 3-1 defeat.
He scored once in his 21 appearances that year and joined Real Zaragoza at the end of the following campaign after falling out of favour.
He left Sunderland in 2019 after serving just one of his two-year contract.
Thomas Rogne
Rogne’s time in Glasgow was blighted by injury but he was a regular when fit.
He was sent off in just the second game of the 10/11 season which Celtic went on to win 9-0 against Aberdeen.
One of his sixteen league games that season was an excellent performance at Ibrox in Celtic’s 2-0 win at New Year.
He currently plays for Lech Poznan after spells at Wigan and IFK Goteborg.
Emilio Izaguirre
Signing for around £650,000, the Honduran had an instant impact and wonderful first season in Scotland.
The left-back made 42 appearances in all competitions that season, scoring once in a 3-0 win against St Johnstone.
Izaguirre would clean up the end of season awards, claiming the SPFA Players’ Player of the Year, Football Writers’ Player of the Year and SPL Player of the Year, along with the club’s fans Player of the Year.
That season was the first of seven the first time around before he returned for a short spell in 2018/19.
He racked up five goals and 273 appearances in the Hoops and now plays with Marathon in his native Honduras.
Lewis Toshney
Toshney made his only Celtic appearance when coming on for Scott Brown as a substitute in February 2011.
He would have spells at Kilmarnock and Dundee before leaving for Raith Rovers in 2014 and is currently at Inverness.
Richie Towell
The midfielder also only made one Celts appearance which was during the 2010/11 season.
Coming on in the 57th minute as a sub, Towell set up Paddy McCourt for a goal in a 2-2 draw with Inverness.
Towell currently plays for Salford City – owned by the Manchester United Class of 92 boys – and played in the penalty shoot-out win over Portsmouth in the Papa Johns trophy final at Wembley over the weekend.
Scott Brown
A man that needs no introduction, Brown was confirmed the Celtic captain in the 2010/11 season after Neil Lennon said the midfielder was a ‘big part of the reason he was kept on.’
Brown missed the best part of two months after a stress reaction on his metatarsal on international duty and a sending off on his second game back meant he missed the new year Old Firm game.
During the Scottish Cup that season, Brown picked up the ‘best yellow card of his life’ when booked for celebrating ‘the Broony’ in front of El Hadji Diouf.
A nine-in-a-row, quadruple Treble-winning icon, Brown is in his 14th season at Celtic but could soon join ex-teammate Stephen Glass at Aberdeen.
Niall McGinn
McGinn scored twice in 14 league appearances in 2009/10, before mirroring those exact stats in the 10/11 season.
The Northern Irishman started the season on the fringes before scoring twice in his first league start after 70 seconds.
He would later play cameo roles throughout the remainder of the campaign before being shipped out to Brentford.
McGinn – who had a spell in South Korea – is currently in his ninth season at Aberdeen.
Freddie Ljungberg
Arsenal legend Ljungberg joined Celtic after a week-long trial in December 2010.
His debut came in the Scottish Cup at Berwick Rangers before making seven appearances in the league.
The Swede now works under Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in the coaching staff.
Kris Commons
Commons joined in the January window of 2011, despite interest from Rangers.
He made a stunning start to life at Celtic Park, scoring 11 times in the 14 appearances he made during those first few months – including a goal the day after he signed.
Commons would go on to score 91 goals in 227 Hoops appearances across six seasons.
After a season at Hibs, Commons had to retire due to a back operation that he couldn’t recover from.
Olivier Kapo
The Frenchman’s time at Celtic Park was brief to say the least.
On his arrival, he suggested he had turned down more money from elsewhere to sign with Celtic in November 2010, before leaving TWO MONTHS later when Hoops released him from his contract.
Spells at Al Ahli and Levadiakos followed before retiring after a spell at Polish side Korona.
Joe Ledley
Another favourite within the Celtic faithful, Ledley had interest from English Premier League sides and Roma before joining Celts at the start of the 2010/11 season.
He scored six times in 41 appearances in all competitions in his first year – two in 29 in the league.
After a brief spell at Newcastle Jets in Australia, Ledley remains a free agent and has been training with Bristol Rovers.
Marc Crosas
Having played a bit part role in the two previous seasons, Crosas started the 2010/11 season out of favour under Lennon.
He made just one appearance in the league that season before being shipped out in February 2011 to FC Volga of Russia.
The Spaniard retired in 2018 at the age of 30 after a spell in Mexico.
Ki Sung-Yueng
Ki scored three times in 26 league outings for Celtic in the 10/11 year where he was one of the mainstays in the side.
He won the Young Player of the Month in October but missed most of January as he turned out for South Korea in the Asian Cup.
Currently plays in his homeland with first club FC Seoul.
Paddy McCourt
We’ve used fan favourite a few times already but this guy definitely was a cult hero.
McCourt scored the only goal in the opening day win of the 2010/11 season and the club’s 600th home SPL goal later in the campaign – both with a synonymous jinking run and finish.
This season was his most profitable, scoring seven in 25 league showings.
But even that wasn’t enough to stop Rangers from lifting the title. Now technical director at Derry City.
Beram Kayal
Arriving for a reported seven-figure amount in the summer of 2010, Kayal won man of the match in his first Hoops game.
He missed three months after a hernia operation before coming back to win Player of the Month in January and captained Celtic later in the season.
He scored twice in 21 league games that season and currently plays for Bnei Sakhnin in his native Israel after several years with Brighton.
James Forrest
Forrest started this season with a Young Player of the Month award for August in what would be his breakthrough year.
He scored three times in 19 outings in the SPL and made his first Old Firm appearance in the New Year win at Ibrox.
Currently on the road to recovery after an ankle injury and made a cameo appearance from the bench against Dundee United a week ago – his first since September.
This is his 11th season in the first=team.
Georgios Samaras
The big Greek striker scored both goals in the January Old Firm victory and had a pivotal role in the 3-0 win over Rangers in February too.
He scored seven times in total in all competitions but is remembered for much more than just his goals.
Retired in 2018 after a spell at Samsunspor in Turkey and is now the Vice President of OFS Crete in Greece.
Anthony Stokes
Stokes made a great, instant impression when joining from Hibs in time for the 2010/11 season, netting 14 times in the league.
He would go on to score 76 goals in 191 appearances for Celtic across five seasons, and like many others in this crop of players, becoming somewhat of a fans’ favourite.
Stokes signed for Livingston at the start of this current season before leaving the club a few weeks later and remains a free agent.
Marc-Antoine Fortune
The Frenchman arrived at Celtic in 2009 with a big price tag and netted 10 times in 30 league games.
But the 2010/11 campaign, he appeared twice for Celtic before being sold back to previous club West Brom as Neil Lennon did not want him as part of his plans.
Fortune left Chesterfield in 2019 and is involved in the Art industry now and says his experience in collecting has allowed him to introduce other players into the art world.
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Gary Hooper
Signing in July of 2010, Hooper missed the start of the season after a calf muscle in a pre-season friendly.
But he would go on to have a clinical campaign, scoring 20 times in 26 league games for Celtic.
He finished at Celtic with 82 goals in 138 games across three seasons and earned a big money move to Norwich in the EPL.
The 33-year old currently plays for Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League.
Shaun Maloney
Maloney was handed a brief spell as captain in Brown’s absence in the 10/11 campaign.
Having started the season superbly, the attacker missed five months after surgery on an ankle injury.
He scored 52 goals in 215 appearances across two spells and has been linked with the vacant Hoops manager hotseat.
Maloney currently works as a coach for the Belgium National Team.
Daryl Murphy
Murphy only managed three goals in 18 league games during his debut season.
He would feature only twice in the two seasons that followed before he left for Ipswich Town.
The 37-year-old is still playing and plays for Waterford in the League of Ireland.
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