Peter Lawwell

If we have a team capable of progressing in Europe, it will also be good enough to sweep everything up domestically.

We do have enough about the squad to say we should still have been beating Kilmarnock and St. Johnstone. The problem is though, when Rodgers took the job, all the talk was about signing next level players to take us forward in Europe. Where are these signings? What player have we signed that looks like they are going to command a first team place right now and can help take us forward in Europe?

 

I didn’t want Rodgers back and would agree that the transfer window has been a joke so far. It’s not been a great start but sacking him after one league defeat, if it happens, would be just ridiculous.

 

Ange inherited a mess. Rodgers inherited a good team that didn't need a tactical revamp domestically. I'd rather sack early than wait like we did in the COVID season.

 

As ridiculous as it sounds, I would wait to see how the transfer window ends as well. If come Friday we have still done very little, if we were to lose on Sunday, as crazy as it sounds, I wouldn’t be totally against a change either. He seems to be here under false pretences going by what he said regarding transfers initially. So that won’t end well.

The other issue, and I think this is a big problem, is that some our fans are absolutely choking for him to fail. So when we are chasing a winner like we were on Saturday and things aren’t going our way, there is a large section of our who cannot wait to get on the backs of the players. This comes from the fact that it’s Rodgers in charge. I can honestly see it turning very toxic, very quickly this season.

It all starts with the transfer window though. If we brought in players we were expecting and playing an attractive brand of football, our fans would have forgotten all about the way in which Rodgers left previously. We have brought in a whole host of projects though, and the squad looks bang average at this stage.

I was desperate for Rodgers to be brought back, but I now fear that too many of our fans simply aren’t going to get over the fact he left before. Saturday was embarrassing.

 

Oh, I agree. But as I pointed out, after Celtic went chasing after BR to come back, and knowing what we remember about some of the acrimonious relationship had had with PL during his first stint, surely whenn he was negotiating that contract and not just the terms and forced Celtic to abandon the structural policy of managers having 1 year rolling contracts to the 3 year term he signed in June, there would've also been significant provisions made for BR to have authority in the signings that have been made.

Noone is going to tell me all the signings that have been made that BR has not agreed to them/had hem forced upon him. After all, Ange was given a lot of leeway in the transfer market and it was pretty successful, by and large. So, would they then say to BR, nope you're jusyt gonna deal with what we give you? :/

It comes back to Rodgers.

100% agree with this. He is here now, and as such I really want BR to do well, because if he is doing well it means Celtic are doing well. End of.

 

The problem with your argument is that Rodgers rebuffed the notion of big signings about a month ago, saying he was not promised anything like that. Based on that, I think he approached our board, not the other way around.

I'd also like to hope he isn't having signings foisted on him any more. He recently said he'd work with what the club provide him with and that he'd develop these players. At least I hope he has the right to demand certain position be strengthened instead of others. The lack of GK rumors is consistent with him not talking about the position and ITK-s saying it's not a priority.

He accepted the board 's terms, as stingy as they were, but in doing so, made his position more exposed. Still, he shouldn't be doing so poorly with this squad.

 

It's pretty clear that the Board went out after Rodgers. DD got personally involved in this once again and that doesnt happen very often. If BR came to Celtic, cap in hand so to speak, that is a position of strength for the club to bargain from. Do you honestly think the club would've willingly discarded a structure that has been in place for decades, from the days of Fergus McCann onwards, for Burns to O'Neill, WGS right through to Ange and everyone in between to do anything but accomodate what BR and his representatives negotiated on his behalf? Clearly by agreeing to allow BR a 3 year fixed contract is evidence of what he wanted and he did so from a position of strength.

Secondly, considering how much leeway Ange was given in the transfer market and at the time of his brought here with no real background in European football, are you saying that someone who was such an unknown quantity on this side of the planet would get virtual carte blanche and yet BR would be given so little control?

Considering BR's previous highly successful stint here as well as his experience and success down south (multiple Top 6 foinishes, FA Cup win, European runs etc), is it really logical or reasonable that he would be told that he can't have a pretty heftly level of control or veto in these matters, when all evidence, admittedly circumstantial, would suggest otherwise?

 

Ange had more control over matters because throughout his career, he's worked well with small budgets. The board also liked the focus on a cheap market, so they let him run the scouting and transfer departments, as long as he bought players cheaply.

Rodgers has a poorer transfer record, and is over-reliant on EPL as a market. The board don't want to spend that much money, so they allowed him only the power of vetoing unwanted signings, so money is not wasted on another Shved.

The 3 year contract may be an indication we expect Rodgers to leave after 2 seasons. It eliminates the uncertainty of a rolling contract, which remains in force as long as someone doesn't decide to terminate it. Rodgers had done that once.

Your initial logic made sense, but the facts are: we aren't seeing Rodgers as a man who demanded and got a lot from the board, but as a submissive man accepting of his current situation. I think it's because his stock was far lower than we initially thought.

 

Ok, firstly, I think BR reject the FANS notion of big signings, not big signings. People were saying about buying multiple players in the £10-15M range and actually competing in the CL. That was moonbeams and rainbows from the board to begin with, and ramped out of control. Everyone with experience of our club and basic knowledge took it with ladles of salt.

Secondly, as someone just in and attempting to overhaul somebody else's setup - especially a successful one, we're still top of the league, with most goals scored and only 1 goal per game conceded even with about half our first team defence out and the other half barely in the door.

Not saying we're playing anything like well, but we're definitely not in the absolute horrors some people are suggesting. Just need to find our form and get everyone firing and we'll start shredding teams again. Definitely gonna get caned in Europe though, no matter what

 

Which only highlights how badly run we have been for 2 decades.

The landscape has changed for lots of clubs but somehow everyone thinks we are unique to this change.

Clubs Like Porto, Sporting, Feyenoord, Brugge, Salzburg, Shaktar and the likes are miles ahead of us.. we've been beaten by Romanian, Scandinavian, Polish, Kazakhstan not to mention a team from Gibraltar amongst others in Europe, regularly

The people in charge of Celtic have failed to move with the times but instead they blame it. Either they are incapable are just don't want to, either way it's negligent.

Get people in that want to take us forward. We've been stagnant for decades and no amount of Scottish titles will mask that.

Under the current regime we are going nowhere and not enough will to change it. Its depressing

 

And anyone that thinks the 2 Korean lads and an injured Tilio were Rodgers idea as good enough for Champions league football needs their head * checked.

If BR was promised backing it hasn't happened. Big IF

By the looks and sounds of it he is happy for the recruitment team to sign players and he will coach them.

Someone persuade me otherwise going on our simmer activity

 

No he shouldn't and no it doesn't.

 

I get you don't need to spend millions too mate. We signed a 22 year old from the league of Ireland and a 22 year old from the South Korean second tier. Who okd these signings and who thought they would be good enough for a champions league club, yes we are a champions league outfit.. total waste of money that could of been put towards actually players that would improve us.

I'm not gonna full 2 feet in and say the club is rotten top to bottom but it's clearly not working. Our "model" isn't working.

 

Bingo.

 

Also this notion Scottish teams cant compete in Europe. I know some of us don't like to be reminded or call it a fluke but the huns were a peno kick away from winning the Europa League.

Last time we got to the knockouts stage we were thumped 5-1 in the conference league by Bobo Glimt, a club with a fraction of our resources.

Something needs changed and with Lawwell back that aint happening.. it will only get worse

 

One thing I have to give Lawwell a lot of credit for though, is his ability to convince a lot of our support that we are a tinpot diddy club.

 

A man that appointed Neil Lennon in the showers after a cup final and said he didn't even look at any other applications.. He certainly convinced me we are fast becoming a tin pot club.

 

He's a *.get him to *.HH