Kris Commons

Signed in January 2011 for a fee of £300,000.

226 appearances & 91 goals.

SPFL Titles 5

Scottish Cups 2


League Cups 1
https://mobile.twitter.com/CelticBible/status/868910045874008065

 

A goal every 2.5 games from midfield is pretty special.

 

Aye and that's not including the goals he set up

 

He'll move to Hibs I reckon he's got 1 more season in him then he'll retire

 

good luck Kris wherever you end up thanks for the memories.

 

Kris fancy coming to hibs


Let me think about it Neil

 

Yes Kris, you are coming back to hibs, even if I have to drag you by the ears...

 

See you next week Neil.

 

Those are outstanding stats for a guy who cost a few hundred grand.

Leaves us with some great memories.

 

After six-and-a-half years at Celtic, what's next for midfielder Kris Commons?

The 33-year-old has been linked with a return to Hibernian where spent a month on a emergency loan in the winter.

But Commons, who has been struggling with a back injury for the past 12 months, admits he remains undecided about his future.

"I'll reflect on what has been and what is next going forward," he told BBC Scotland. "There are plenty of options out there and that's not just football. It's the other side as well, coaching, media. There's plenty of doors open."

And moving into coaching certainly seems to be on the mind of the former Scotland international.

"I've been lucky enough that I've played at the highest level," he said. "For me now it's about enjoying my football. If I can pass my knowledge on to younger players that would be great, but I just wonder whether that is going to be through a playing capacity or should I go into a coaching route."

Commons moved to Glasgow in January 2011, signed by then manager Neil Lennon from Derby County for £500,000.

His Celtic career got off to the perfect start, with a debut goal six minutes into a League Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen.

He would go on to net 91 goals in 175 appearances, winning five titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup.

This season was tough. Injury-plagued, there was no opportunity to impress new manager Brendan Rodgers. His loan spell at Hibs yielded two goals in five games for his old boss Lennon before further frustration.

Unfinished business?
"I haven't been fit enough to play," he added. "I get to a half decent level of fitness then I have to take a step back.

"I had a good stint at training October, November, December, went on loan to Hibs, but as soon as I came back that's when I started feeling the back again. It's a very niggly injury that has caused me a lot of problems over the year.

"I still feel I've got a little bit in me if I can get to a good level of fitness, but I've not been able to get to that top level to get into this team."

So, does he try to regain the level of fitness required and continue playing or does he decide it's time to hang up his boots?

"I still feel I have got unfinished business playing but the doubt for me is can I get to the level where I'm going to be the Kris Commons everyone knows," he said.

"If I'm not, then there's no point dwindling away. I'd rather finish on a relative high."

While Commons has had to look on while Celtic completed an unbeaten treble this season, he is able to reflect on what has been a "magical journey".

"Some of the biggest highs were under Neil Lennon," he recalls. "I look back at my Celtic career and think I had a good run at it.

"I was probably naive when I came to Celtic. I thought I was a player until I realised the scale of the club and what it meant. It was a real learning curve.

"You see big clubs in England but this club is above and beyond anything I've felt anywhere else.

"My goals might be forgotten next year or the year after but the memories that have been created for me by this famous football club will last with me till the day I die."

 

Good touch yesterday letting Lisa and the kids do the half time draw.

They got a great reception too

 

That's the thing it was celtic that made these players nurtured their talent

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

 

KRIS Commons has bid a fond farewell to Paradise, but only as player. He will remain a Celt for life. The 33-year-old brought the curtain down on an illustrious a six-and-a-half year spell at the club at the end of this season. He made 226 appearances for the Hoops, scoring a tremendous 91 goals from an attacking midfield role.

In terms of silverware, he won five league titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup, and he was also part of the team that reached the UEFA Champions League last 16 in the 2012/13 season, scoring that crucial penalty against Spartak Moscow to send the Bhoys through to the knockout stages.

Among his personal highlights was the 2013/14 campaign when his tally of 32 goals saw him named as Scotland’s Player of the Year by his peers.

In contrast, the last 12 months have deeply frustrating for the former Scotland internationalist as he struggled to regain full fitness and challenge for a place in the team due to a series of back problems.

But his predicament didn’t dampen his delight at the stunning success enjoyed by Brendan Rodgers’ side as they swept to a domestic treble and achieved invincible status in Scottish football. His joy came from being a Celtic supporter.

From the moment he, his partner Lisa and their young family moved to Glasgow in January 2011, they embraced Celtic and the charitable side of the club, forming strong bonds with the Hoops faithful.

And that was why Commons was afforded such a rapturous reception from the fans in Paradise on Trophy Day as Brendan Rodgers hailed his colossal contribution to the club. As he stood there on the pitch and 60,000 supporters roared in appreciation, he had to fight back the tears.

In part one of an exclusive interview with Commons on the official Celtic website, he reflects on the start and the end of his playing days in the Hoops...



How did you feel when you received that rapturous reception from the Celtic supporters on Trophy Day against Hearts?
I had to bite my lip so I didn’t cry really. I was very emotional. It was something I probably needed for a bit of closure as I hadn’t had a chance to really say goodbye. Brendan said some really kind words about me, Lisa and the family and how I would always be part of the Celtic Family. It will never be forgotten. It was something I perhaps felt I needed as it has been a pretty traumatic 12 months in terms of trying to get fit and play football. I have probably done the best part of four or five pre-seasons and had four injections in my spine to try and sort the problem out so it’s been an uphill battle. I just wanted to get fit and I have always been someone who thrives on pressure and to get back fit and prove doubters wrong. I’m in the latter stages in my career but I still feel I have a lot to offer if I was fit and healthy. The frustrating thing for me was that I was never able to get a standard where I was going to cause a selection problem for the team in terms of getting fit. But on the flip side, watching the team what they have become has been even better than me playing. I have been doing my coaching badges and seeing the changes off the field and seeing the amount of effort that goes into a team we have at the minute has been a joy to watch it all come together. Outside of looking in, it has given me a huge amount of knowledge in how to do that.

It must make you feel special to be still revered so much by the Celtic family?
Celtic has not only been a huge part of my life but the way I have brought my family up. My kids still go to bed in Celtic strips. My good lady, Lisa, has been doing charity work for the past 16 years but since coming to Celtic that has blossomed as well. On and off the field, it has felt like a perfect match. I came in as a bit of an unknown and not really knowing a great deal about Scottish football other than I was coming to a great club. It was a huge whirlwind in the first couple of months, playing and scoring in Glasgow derbies, playing at Celtic Park. It was crazy. And now it seems in a blink of an eye, I am saying my goodbyes at Lennoxtown and trying to reminisce, which for me is the hardest part. The ovation I got against Hearts capped it all off me.

You have had many memorable moments during your six-and-a-half years at the club, starting on your debut when you scored against Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final inside the opening two minutes.
I came through the door as a young, fresh-faced boy, not really knowing what the future held. I felt seriously under pressure as soon as I walked in the door. You walk round Celtic Park and you realise what you're in for. I thought about everyone who has come before me and worn this historic shirt and the people have gone out of their way to bring me to the club, and how I needed to repay them. I didn’t go into every game thinking that but I had a good 10 or 15 minutes myself looking around Celtic Park when I thought about it. I couldn’t have got off to a better start than by scoring after a couple of minutes. The rest of the season was a whirlwind with game after game. We were unlucky to get beaten by a point that season in the league but that wetted my whistle. I thought this is where I want to be and where I belong and I was fired up about going into the upcoming seasons. European football was the pinnacle of what we wanted to try and achieve and I felt it brought out a different side of me – professionalism, a winning mentality and a drive to win and whatever we do the outcome always has to be to play for the fans and give them what they want and that was titles and European football and that was a great experience and learning curve, not just as a player but as an aspiring coach.



It would be impossible to go through everything on your highlights reel, but some of those big European nights in Paradise must be amongst them. Were they the pinnacle for you as a Celtic player?
I would have to say the Shakhter Karagandy game. I felt invincible that night. I felt I was playing with brothers, people who I would do anything for. It wasn’t a personal thing of celebrating my goal. Once I scored, it was about getting a job done and doing everything we could to where we wanted to be. We had the best part of 20 men on that pitch who dragged us through the game, and the journey that got us to that position and to win in the last minute was something very special which led on to more special nights.

Personally, the 2013/14 season must be a standout you, having made a clean sweep of individual honours, including PFA Scotland Player of the Year, after scoring 32 goals in all competitions?
I was mentally driven to be the best. I wanted to play a huge part in the history of this club and when you have a leader and a captain like Scott Brown, he drives you on. He makes you want to perform week in, week out. All the sacrifices of my team-mates that year allowed me to play so many good games and score a lot of good goals, so I wouldn’t be who I was that year without every single person, not just on the park but off the park as well, who all put in a huge amount of effort to get me where I needed to be.

 

You'd think Messi was retiring with that interview

He had a good season but he never 'layed a huge part in the history of this club'.

 

IN part two or our exclusive interview with Kris Commons, he reveals just why Celtic became such a special club to him and his family...

You have played under some great managers and alongside some wonderful players during your time at the club. Have you forged a lot of friendships in that time?
I’ve had six-and-a-half years up here and my two boys were born up here so it’s a family thing for me. My door is always open to friends and family who want to come and spend time with us. It’s been more than a football career, it’s been about creating a family life which has blossomed in Glasgow. I think we will live here for the rest of our days. Coming up here has completed changed our lives. It’s way beyond football.

You, Lisa and the rest of the family have really embraced Celtic and the club’s ethos which has cemented your connection with supporters.
I gave a little bit of my time playing football and doing what I did on the football field, but what the fans gave me in return, I will be forever in their debt. How they made me fell and how they made my family welcome. I scored a few goals, but the nights and the atmosphere I witnessed will stay with me for the rest of my days. Some people may forget my goals but I certainly will never the great nights and memories with Celtic.


Having scored 91 goals in 226 appearances made a crucial contribution in such a successful era of the club, your place in Celtic history is guaranteed. How does that make you feel?
It’s good as you always measured on certainly the goals you scored but also who you scored them against. Going back to my team-mates, they gave me the opportunity to score goals in big games. When I look back over a DVD at some point when my children are older and I have grandchildren, I can show them this what I was part of and no-one can take that away from me. The emotional side of it is always going to be there.

What have you and the family enjoyed so much about Celtic and Glasgow which has seen you want to establish roots here?
Everything: there is not one word I can say that has been bad about here. We came up to Glasgow on a Wednesday or Thursday and within two weeks we had moved into a house and my first son was born. It’s like been thrown into a washing machine of passion and love. We went along for the ride and came out the other side with heaps of memories which will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

What would your message be to the Celtic supporters?
I came as a professional footballer and I am now one of them. I am a proper Celtic fan, and I will be getting my season book.


You and Lisa have become immersed in the fabric of the club – what do you believe makes Celtic such a special institution?
The fans are the heartbeat and soul of everything good about Celtic and without them we would be nowhere. For what they have created for me, I will be forever in their debt. Credit to every single person who turns up every week and to every Celtic fan across the world as they have so much passion for their football club and it shines through to the players and people in the dressing room – you buy into this club. There are no normal Celtic fans. They are diehards. They are full of life and just the energy and soul I feel from every Celtic fan is just a blessing, so why would I want to move from Glasgow when I get so many good feelings from every Celtic fan I see?

Has there been one moment where it’s really stuck home to you about how much Celtic means to so many people?
There have been a lot of good memories but realising exactly the scale of the club would have been the recent (BBC) documentary about the Lions. Anyone who watched that, regardless of their background, if you weren’t moved by the achievements of those men and what they did for this city or club, I don’t think you are a normal human. Now I can say I’m part of this iconic club, and I was able to enjoy a little snippet of it.

Speaking of the Lions, how much did you enjoy the Celebrate ’67 event at the Hydro?
It was exceptional. I really enjoyed it. It was a fitting tribute to the Lisbon Lions, and rightly so. The documentary I watched on the television cemented their place in history. They will sung about and talked about for many years to come. It has been an emotional time but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Although your playing days have ended, you now have a lifelong association now with Celtic. What does that mean to you?
I am never going to be too far away – once a Celt, always a Celt. The fans have gained another fan in me. I came as a footballer but I left as a Celtic supporter and that’s not just me but pretty much my whole family. I’m looking thoroughly forward to in the future when I will be watching the stars who inspire my boys.

 

"I came as a professional footballer and I am now one of them. I am a proper Celtic fan, and I will be getting my season book."

Nice one

 

Which bit?

 

That's a cracking interview, he will be back here as a coach in the future I think.

 

Genuinely sad to see him go, still think if we could have got him fit he could have done a job, sounds like he is really struggling though.

Some cracking answers that seem genuinely from the bottom of his heart.

One of us Kris .. always will be.

 

Sorry but what are you talking about? In what way does that interview make you think of Messi? The only thing I take from it is that he loves our club.

Like it or not, Commons has played a huge part in our recent history. Playing against Barca when we beat them is an achievement in it's own, never mind winning the player of the year and having a goals to game ratio that surpasses any midfielder I can think of in recent history at our club.