Barry Robson reckons that Celtic’s class of 2008 were more than just ‘Dogs of War’…

Barry Robson celebrates scoring against Barcelona during their UEFA Champions Leaguel match at Celtic Park, on February 20 2008. (Photo LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)

The former Hoops midfielder was speaking about his time at Celtic and the players he played with, insisting that although that team could roll their sleeves’ up and do the dirty work the game required, they were also  a talented bunch of players.

Robson arrived on January transfer deadline day 2008 

Robson arrived at Celtic Park on the last day of the January transfer window of 2008, and was brought in to give Celtic an extra bit of bite in the middle of the park, whilst adding a real threat from set-pieces with that wonderful left-foot of his. The man who was on fire at Dundee United signed for Gordon Strachan’s side for just over £1 million and was a snip at that price, considering what we got out of him.

The then 29-year-old was tasked with downing Walter Smith’s Rangers team at the time, who Celtic were chasing in the Scottish Premier League. Smith had returned to Rangers to try and knock Celtic off their perch, with Strachan winning the previous two titles largely unmatched by our city rivals under Alex McLeish and flailing Frenchman, Paul Le Guen.

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Barry scored with his first touch of the ball after singing, when he climbed off of the bench in the Granite City to score a beautiful free-kick against Aberdeen in a 5-1 rout; showcasing his undoubted ability from a dead ball situation. He also remarkably went on to score against Barcelona in the 3-2 loss at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League knockouts, where we gave as good a game as any against the Catalan side that year.

Two dramatic wins against Rangers in April 2008

However, it was really the League where Robson would make his mark at Celtic in 2008, along with the rest of his teammates, as we came back in dramatic fashion to beat Rangers in the last two Old Firm matches of the season. The two matches at Paradise are legendary and Robson’s part in them written into Celtic folklore. His challenge on Christian Daily in the opening few seconds of the first encounter under the lights set the tone and endeared Robson to the masses even more.

Barcelona’s Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho (R) challenges Celtic’s Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura during their UEFA Cup Champions League football match at Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland on February 20, 2008. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW YATES (Photo ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images)

‘We were good footballers by the way’

Likewise, his gutsy performance in the second match on a sunny day in Glasgow’s East End culminated in him blasting home a penalty to secure the points in a 3-2 win for the Hoops. Those moments are forever etched in the mind of the Celtic support and Robson recalled the team he played in with affection, saying in an interview with Derek McGregor of the Scottish Sun: “I think people would think of myself or Paul (Hartley) – but we were good football players by the way.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is challenged by Celtic’s Shunsuke Nakamura during the first leg of their European Champions League round-of-16 tie in Glasgow, Scotland, on Feb. 20, 2008. Photo IMAGO.

“See when you see these boys and you think ‘go and win it.’ We could pass the ball forward. We could run. We could score goals – like Paul Hartley. People tend to forget that. They just think ‘oh that Celtic team back then.’ But we had the likes of Nakamura and Scott Brown, we had Aiden McGeady – who was unbelievable. Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, who had over 20 caps for Holland. We had Georgious Samaras. We had Andy Hinkel, who had over 20 caps for Germany. Boruc – who could have gone for any amount of money.”

The Celtic star of 2008 said: “We could play by the way. Don’t be fooled by that. We were a side that could play, and we could win. We’ll mix it too. If you wanted to go and play football, we could play football. If you want to go  and mix it, away at Motherwell, wherever you’re going. Come on then, let’s have it out. We could do it all.”

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When asked if he wanted to leave when Tony Mowbray sold him, he replied: “It wasn’t so much Tony sold me. The club had bought me for, I don’t know, £1.4 million or something like that. And I had been there two or three years. I was 31 at the time. And they were getting offered another £1.3 million for me again. So it made business sense. On my personal side, it was making business sense – for me financially.

27/04/08 Scottish Premier League. Celtic v Rangers, Celtic Park.
Celtic midfielder Barry Robson celebrates his penalty goal. Photo The Celtic Wiki

“I probably wanted to stay. It was actually a great bit of business for Celtic. The club bought me for £1.3 or £1.4million, and then they sold me again three years later for the same price. And having gone and won a title and won a cup. So I’d done my job.

“It was probably the right time for the club to sell me and make their money back or it would have been dead money for them then. And then I went to Middlesbrough and it was good down there. But no, I didn’t really want to leave Celtic at that time. But I understood everything and why.”

Paul Gillespie

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