Celtic A to Z – E is for Paul Elliott

Paul Elliott was a very good Celtic centre-back at a time when the Hoops were at a low ebb. The club was trying to recover from the Maurice Johnston debacle of 1989 when Elliott moved to Glasgow.

He performed very well for a team that wasn’t very good, and that is a shame for both the player and the club.

Elliott joined Celtic in the summer of 1989 from Italian side Pisa, as the Hoops looked to bounce back after a season which saw the team finish third in the Premier League table.

However, that wasn’t to be the case, as the team finished fifth in the league table. The Bhoys had more success in the Scottish Cup, reaching the final, but then lost on penalties to Aberdeen. It wasn’t the best of starts to Elliott’s time in Glasgow.

Things improved for Elliott in his second season in the Hoops, as his performances seemed to get better than in his first season.

The problem for Elliott was that few of his teammates were as good as he was, and as a result the Bhoys once more struggled to mount a title challenge, finishing third in the Premier League table.

Elliott and Celtic once more performed better in the cups, and he reached a second final in season 1990/91, this team the League Cup Final, as the Bhoys faced Rangers. Elliott memorably gave the Hoops the lead in the game, swooping to head the ball home, but Celtic lost 2-1 after extra time.

In the Scottish Cup, Elliott scored against Motherwell in the semi-final but the Bhoys lost 4-2, all but ending Billy McNeill’s time as manager.

Despite the poor results, Elliott’s performances were rewarded when he was voted as Scotland’s footballer of the year by his fellow professionals in 1991.

That is testament to just how consistent a performer that Elliott was in his time in Glasgow, that he was named player of the year despite playing for a Celtic side which failed to mount a title challenge.

Sadly, that award was Elliott’s last hurrah with the Bhoys, as after only two seasons with the club he joined Chelsea in the summer of 1991.

His career ended in 1992, after suffering an injury in a challenge with Liverpool’s Dean Saunders, he never got back to full fitness and retired soon after.

Some people might not remember just how good a player Elliott was in his time at Celtic, and if that’s the case that is a shame, as he was a truly excellent centre-back.

It is just a real pity that he was at Celtic during one of the club’s most unsuccessful periods. If he had been at Celtic a few years later, perhaps during Tommy Burns’ time as manager, he could have had much more success.

He was certainly good enough to play in more successful Celtic sides, but that just didn’t happen for Elliott in his two seasons at the club. Still, for Celtic fans of a certain age he has to be considered as one of the club’s best defenders.