There was a time in our club’s history, the sweet green oasis that is Celtic FC, when we boasted the talents of one Ryan Mullen. Born in the year of our Lord 2001, a mere 24 years ago, on the somewhat familiar turf of Scotland. For those who pay attention to such trivialities as dates, that makes his birthday the 18th of May. This strapping lad, measuring in at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m in that newfangled metric system) and tipping the scales at an almost respectable 12 st 8 lb (or 80 kgs for those who like their weights in a more continental fashion), is nowadays found guarding the net for the illustrious Greenock Morton. Aye, that's right. Morton, not Celtic.
From the hallowed turf of Celtic Park, our Mr. Mullen decided to embark on a series of amblings and ramblings across the lower echelons of Scottish football. Initially, he toddled off to Cove Rangers in the League One for a short loan stint in September 2020. His absence from Celtic was hardly noticed, for not long after in October 2020, he stumbled back to us, the green side of Glasgow.
Unsurprisingly, our then resident glove wizard set his sights for pastures new again in March 2021. Do you know where he went? Queen's Park, on loan, of all places. In fairness, he did return once more to Celtic, but we all knew it was just a matter of time before he'd want to slope off again. He certainly didn't disappoint.
He got itchy gloves in September 2022 and found himself a new home at Clyde in the League Two. Our remarkable Mullen managed to make a full three whole first-team league appearances in the 2022-2023 season. But it didn't take long before he packed his bags again.
July 2023, and there was Mullen pulling on the Morton jersey for the first time. His debut season in 2023 - 2024 saw him strut his stuff between the posts for a whopping 23 times. This season, as of 2024-2025, he's somehow managed to up that number to 24. He's even earned himself four starts in the League Cup 2024-2025, if you can believe that.
So, there you have it, the curious career journey of one Mr. Ryan Mullen - a Celtic 'could-have-been', forever in the number 1 jersey, but never quite at home in the hoops.