Brendan Fraudgers!

No surprise, Lenny is far and away the best manager in the league outwith BR.

 

IT wasn’t quite “no one likes us, we don’t care”, but Brendan Rodgers does believe his Celticside weren’t given the plaudits they deserved for their away win over Anderlecht in Brussels on Wednesday night.

And he doesn’t stop there. For every bit of praise that does come the way of his club, Rodgers feels there is always a qualifier attached regarding the level of the opposition. Celtic, and their manager, are well used to the sneering arrogance around their domestic achievements from south of the Border, but he believes the same attitude exists within Scotland when it comes to

celebrating their successes either at home or on the continent.

“I’ve had that quite a bit up here,” Rodgers said. “But myself and the players just get on with it. When we play Rangers, it’s about how Rangers aren’t what they used to be. Anderlecht aren’t what they used to be. The Scottish league isn’t what it used to be. It’s constant, it’s nothing new. We just deal with it. We can only focus on ourselves and just continually look to develop our game and improve.

“It’s the modern world unfort-unately. We don’t look for the credit, we just want to do a good job for the supporters that travel and pay a lot of money to get out there. And for ourselves too, because we’re ambitious and we want to do well. The other stuff, we can’t really control.”

There should be no doubting the scale of Celtic’s achievement last week. Winning away from home in the Champions League is far from easy as the

five-year gap between successes on foreign soil for the Glasgow giants suggests. And particularly in the emphatic style with which Celtic swatted Anderlecht aside.

So, would it be fair to say the Celtic manager believes his side deserve far more credit?

“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s also worth remembering as well that this is a team [Anderlecht] who have virtually double our budget. Even though it’s Anderlecht and it’s the Belgian champions, they have double our budget, so to go and deliver that level of performance and with that confidence is great.

“But we can’t control it. The only news headline we can write is to win the game. I saw a lot of the stories and lots of the columns on the game, and even internally in Scotland, a lot of them were very much about how poor Anderlecht were.

“It comes from close to home as well, but we can’t worry about it. We just do our jobs and the players did theirs very well.”

Rodgers made the point after the game that his team are at last coming to terms with their own embarrassment when they keep the ball for long spells, and don’t now feel pressured into taking a shot from distance or forcing a final ball that isn’t on just because they have been passing it around for a while.

But what pleases him most is that his players understand why they are keeping the ball, moving the opposition around effectively before sensing when the time is right to go in for the kill, the opening goal against Anderlecht being the perfect example.

“Everyone talks about possession but it is no good on its own,” he said. “You need to penetrate, defend well and create opportunities. When I watched a re-run of the game it was great to see the calmness and the confidence we had to play a high-level technical game. It shows the way we have been developing.



“The incision at the end was good. It was a wonderful pass from Olly [Ntcham] but it doesn’t get there if Kieran [Tierney] isn’t running.

“It is important to get through teams without the ball and Kieran has the explosive speed to get there.

“The second and third goals also pleased me. The fitness at the end to have five players in the box in injury time, with the hunger to score.”

One man who was on the outside looking in at Celtic’s Champions League exploits midweek was striker Moussa Dembele, who had been very much front and central of their European adventures last season.

The 21-year-old made his name for the club as he burst on to the continental stage this time last year, scoring twice against Manchester City and once against Borussia Moenchengladbach to establish himself as the club’s No 1 striker.

Leigh Griffiths, who had netted on 40 occasions the season prior, was forced to watch on helplessly from the bench for the most part having been usurped by the gifted young Frenchman, but now the tables have turned.

Dembele, lacking match sharpness as he continues to work his way back following injury, was never likely to be risked ahead of Scotland star Griffiths given what was at stake in Brussels on Wednesday evening.

But with former Hibernian man Griffiths in such lethal form, the question is when Dembele will be given the nod to spearhead the Celtic attack again. That he is currently down the pecking order is of course in part due to injury, but due credit must also be given to Celtic’s number nine. And he is showing no signs of letting up.

“It’s difficult at the moment for [Moussa] because what he needs is games, but Anderlecht away in the Champions League isn’t a fitness test,” said Rodgers. “You have to play well.

“At the minute, Leigh Griffiths has been brilliant. OK, if we decide to play with two which we sometimes do, then fine, but it has to fit the needs of the game. The beauty of the team this year as we are evolving is that we can play different systems, but each system has a purpose as to why you would use it. It’s not a case of playing with those two because they are fit, the game might not need that.

“But, what’s good for Moussa is that we have lots of games, and there are going to be lots of opportunities for him to play and to build his fitness. Every day he is fighting and working to be the best he can be. It’s a long season.

“We’ve got young Odsonne [Edouard] behind them as well – and what a talent he is – so between the three of them we’ve got real competition there now. But at the minute, Leigh has been superb.”

 

Yeah, by quite some distance. Real coup for Hibs getting him and I can see them overtaking Aberdeen soon enough if he stays and continues to build.

 

Presentation this morning to the Academy coaches from Brendan

 

You see Brendan's autobiography, the club said they'll donate to the Hospice for every book sale but by how much? It's 20 quid a copy...if I knew virtually every penny was, I'd buy more than one copy.

 

CELTIC Football Club is delighted today to give supporters their first glimpse of a fantastic new book to be released, charting Brendan Rodgers’ life and career in football and his journey to the position of Celtic Manager.

This fantastic official autobiography, entitled ‘Brendan Rodgers: The Road to Paradise’ will be released on October 28, 2017.

From a small village on the north-east coast of Ireland to the treble-winning manager of Celtic, Brendan Rodgers’ football journey has been a remarkable one of dedication, hard work, a desire to always keep improving and a determination to succeed at the highest level of the sport…and throughout his life there has always been a love of his team, Celtic Football Club.

Now, for the first time, he tells this inspiring story in his official autobiography, The Road To Paradise.

While the opportunity to pull on the green and white Hoops as a player did not arise, he is now manager of his club, the leader who drives his players to deliver success to his fellow supporters

In a momentous first season in charge at Celtic Park, Brendan Rodgers delivered the treble to Paradise – only the third Celtic manager to do so – while also going through the whole season unbeaten domestically – a monumental and historic achievement – as well as reaching the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in three years.

In his own words, Brendan Rodgers tells his story – from a promising young footballer growing up in Carnlough and dreaming of playing for Celtic one day through to his professional career – as a player, a coach and now as one of football’s top managers.

His first season as Celtic manager was a momentous one, and supporters will enjoy an insight into that campaign – from the first competitive game in Gibraltar through to the thrilling Scottish Cup final, with plenty of highlights in between, including the manager’s first trophy triumph, the Invincibles’ campaign and some unforgettable Glasgow derbies.

The Road To Paradise tells the story of Brendan Rodgers’ inspiring journey, from the park of Carnlough to the peak of Celtic Park.

In recent years, Celtic has launched a range of fantastic new books and as before, the club and Brendan were on this occasion very keen that charity played an important part in this latest project.

At Brendan Rodgers’ request, Celtic Football Club has made a donation to each of Northern Ireland Hospice and Children’s Hospices Across Scotland in relation to the publication of this book and a further donation will be made by the club to each charity for every copy of the book sold.

Northern Ireland Hospice offers specialist respite, symptom management and end of life care ‘palliative’ care to babies, children and adults throughout Northern Ireland. Established in the early 1980s the charity now cares for around 3,500 people annually, supporting them to live the best quality of life for as long as possible, in comfort and with dignity.

Each year, Hospice relies on the generosity of individuals, businesses, clubs, organisations and grants to raise the vital funds needed to deliver specialist care to local people. A team of 450 staff work at Hospice to turn the funds raised into care and this work is supported by an army of 1,500 amazing volunteers.

In 2015, Brendan Rodgers joined TEAM HOSPICE, accepting the role of Ambassador for Northern Ireland Hospice. This was a momentous occasion for Hospice and the beginning of a new chapter of high level support for the future of Hospice care in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Hospice Chief Executive, Heather Weir said: “As every football fan will know, every team, no matter how strong, needs new players from time to time, to strengthen the squad and bring fresh enthusiasm.

“Having Brendan join TEAM NI HOPSICE was a huge honour and a massive moral boost for our staff, our volunteers and our patients. We are honoured to have such a highly respected achiever supporting NI Hospice.

“The gesture from Celtic and Brendan to donate proceeds of this autobiography to Northern Ireland Hospice is a measure of their character and dedication to raising awareness of hospice care services that Northern Ireland people can avail of when they need us most.”

Every week in Scotland, three families lose a child to an incurable condition.

Children’s Hospices Across Scotland, better known as CHAS, is Scotland’s national children’s hospice service. The organisation is dedicated to supporting every single one of these families.

They make sure that no matter how short the time they have together may be, it is filled with happiness and fun. CHAS makes sure that even in the face of death, life flourishes. And in the pain of grief, joy lives on

Dr Pat Carragher, Medical Director at Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), said: “Brendan is a wonderful supporter of CHAS and I would like to thank him for his continued support. I know from his recent visit to Robin House how much his help means to the children and families we care for – he is a very popular visitor!

“His generosity will make a real difference to families across Scotland. CHAS is Scotland’s national children’s hospice service and we want to reach every family who needs our help. Brendan’s support will help us to raise the vital funds we need to achieve this.

“I know everyone at CHAS would like to thank him and I look forward to reading his autobiography.”

Celtic FC Foundation, the charitable arm of the club, will also benefit from a donation.

Brendan Rodgers: The Road to Paradise, will be on general release on October 28, 2017 and can be purchased at www.celticfc.net and all Celtic stores.

It is also possible to pre-order the book now at www.celticsuperstore.co.uk

 

Love the tactileneck

 

Yeah. I found the following statement a bit vague:

I understand there are costs involved with manufacturing and publishing the book, etc. but a clearer and more in depth statement would've been appreciated. Irrespective, I'll be dipping into my pockets to buy a copy. BR is a gentleman either way.

 

Plan is to produce our own and have a squad I'd say 70 per cent home grown and rather spending money on players using it to give better longer term contracts

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is there anything BR can't do? what a * of a man

 

Best goddam manager in the world

 

Hes going the right way in becoming one of our greatest of all time.

 

Prefer buying football autobiographies that were written after retirement, but might be tempted to buy that.

Seen above Rodgers said Anderlecht have double our budget, find that hard to believe tbh. Mad if true.

 

Im surprised its not more than that tbh.

 

Seen above Rodgers said Anderlecht have double our budget, find that hard to believe tbh. Mad if true.[/QUOTE]

The Belgian league currently receive £60m a year in tv money compared to the £18 odd Million the Scottish league receive. Not hard to see why they would have a larger budget than ours.

 

I'm the same regarding books.
And a little disappointed (not by the club just my self) that it looks to be focused mostly on just last season.
Fir me, that's a dvd sale to watch all the good times and splice it with a truly great interview throughout. Brendan telling about each game/week and how it relates to his life and expectations etc.

For me, just now I want to see all that again. I want to read about his life and achievements once he had completed it all. Then read it all from start to finish in great detail. Not just a puff piece on our great season.

Sounds *, but that's what I'm waiting for.

As for the charitable donations and rodgers insistence on the northern irelsnd hospice, spot on. Great touch and a lovely gesture from the big man.

I know loads will buy the book and enjoy it greatly, so the added donations and enjoyment of what will be a good read is just all round, great.

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