Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

I think part of that is Rodgers barely knowing about anybody.

So pre-season and the first games was really him just looking at what these players were like, him managing us before and being a "fan" you'd expect knew all our players inside out like me and you but I bet he barely ever watched us after leaving and knew near enough nothing about anybody.

Like Bernabei a few weeks ago he brought on to rescue us in a game and Bernabei clearly couldn't give a * when he came on, most fans would have signed a new left-back as one of the first things we done but he seemed to give Bernabei a chance then only realised then right at the death the guy was a clown.

Same with Haksabanovic and stuff, like he only realised near the end "* im in trouble here" and then it was too late.

He probably never really realised that part of the effectiveness particularly of Abada and Maeda for example was that the way Ange played suited them really well, they got good numbers of goals and assists but they aren't actually creative players. He probably rarely ever seen the way Ange played here and didn't know that to be effective thats how they were used. He's playing slow build up everyone deeper on the park and looking for them to just make things happen on the ball which is not what they do.

Same with Taylor, highly praised last season, tidy effective player but for Angeball not average football where he lacks the pace to get up and down and can't beat a guy.

Turnbull as well he's decent technically and a good goal threat but as a 10, not just in the centre of midfield.

Even O'Riley and Kyogo, he's spoke about how they are "devloping their game", like O'Riley playing a wee bit deeper in the odd game and defending well or Kyogo dropping back the odd game to link play. He's probably thinking he's helping them do that but fans know O'Riley always defended well its nothing new or surprising or a development, same as Kyogo always oozed class at passing and moving and his vision for a pass and use of the ball, we know he can do that. It's like he's more surprised they can and think he's helped them do it when there nothing different.

 

TBF the window just gone was really busy. We signed 9 players after all. Trouble is they weren't the right players. We will sign players in January for sure but anybody hoping for the big-money deals we all dreamed about for the summer coming to pass will end up deflated again I fear, it's just not something we're looking to do as far as I can see. Another problem with the January window is that the big deals or the moves for the players who are currently starring for their clubs usually happen in the summer window. Apart from in England it's most often fringe players and short-term loanees that move in winter.

 

Brendan Rodgers this afternoon admitted he was not content with Celtic's transfer business - before insisting his comment was not intended to be disrespectful.

The Parkhead boss revealed he - like other managers - wished more business could have been done before the transfer window shut earlier this month.

Rodgers did see Celtic sign nine players this summer - ten if Tomoki Iwata's buy-clause is included. However, he admits he would've like more business to have been done.

Asked if he was content with the transfer business done, he said: “No. No, I think if you ask any manager they will always be wanting more, of course.

“But we work with the players that’s here. I’m not saying that in any disrespectful way, I think every manager will tell you they maybe wished they could have done one or two more signings.”



He added: “But the window closed, we had the players we had in and I’m a coaching manager and we will work with the very, very best players at our disposal to make our performance level the best we can possibly be.

“And now we are preparing already for the January window and the summer window.”

It comes after the manager revealed Celtic will wait before making a decision on whether Nat Phillips can return to action this weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "We’ll see how Nat Phillips is. He obviously rolled his ankle quite badly last weekend so we’ll see how he is. We’ve still got another 24 hours to go before we make the team.

And he also confirmed Cameron Carter-Vickers won't be back until next month at the earliest. He added: "It’s early October. He’s still a wee bit away."

 

If only we had had more time in which to sign players........3 months say.......

 

There's a debate about whether that's acceptable or not though. I would expect a good manager to get a feel for players pretty quickly. That's a big part of the job.

He also had John Kennedy and Callum McGregor there. If we're saying it took Rodgers the entire window to make decisions on players I would say that's really poor from him. I mean he had a bigger advantage than most managers going into most jobs.

 

Part of it will be the Ange tactics though, if he never really knew the way Ange played from never really watching us. He'd not have known that Taylor, Maeda, Abada especially you'd say really suited the system and were going to be hampered by playing average football like we're playing now.

He'll only be realising that now or after 10-15 games, probably thinking "why was everyone hyping up this Taylor boy who canny beat a guy and has no pace and canny defend" or probably thinking "how the * were Maeda and Abada scoring and assisting 20-30 a season when they canny run with a ball and barely create anything.

I thought Rodgers would have come in and played like

Hart
Johnston CCV Nawrocki Taylor
O'Riley McGregor
Yang Turnbull Abada
Kyogo

And would have been a clear structure to lining up like that. I thought he'd maybe have used Turnbull and Haksabanovic rotated in the 10 like the old Armstrong and Rogic. Played Abada cutting in from the left as a goalscorer since Maeda isn't going to be much use. Then the guy on the right more of a dribbler and creative player. Could even have played Oh as the striker and Kyogo as a 10 with Maeda as the sub striker or stuff.

What he's doing has been weird to me. He should also have known to sign a new left-back.

Watching us so far has been brutal and it's still ongoing where you know its going to be another 10 games or whatever before he actually works out what he's * up and guys are in the right roles and the team are playing the right formation and stuff.

I feel like the 4-3-3 we're playing won't work but he's trying to get it to and we won't actually play well until we stop playing like that.

We're not passing a ball quick and direct enough for the front 3 to be effective and the wide players are not Jota types who you can just pass a ball and they can beat men and put quality deliveries in. Front 3 need another guy up there to tie things together which will only happen in a 3-5-2 or a 4-2-3-1 I think anyway.

 

* what Brendan thinks. The happy clappers were content and that's all that matters.

 

Rodgers takes some responsibility for that. He's had the whole window and obviously been part of the conversation on who to target and how long to hold out.

 

It’s not up to Rodgers to get deals over the line.

 

Not much point complaining about the window now is there... he had 3 * months to say something during the window.. not a peep.

 

Only gig in town he had to take it.but as you say totally bizzare.HH

 

He can go asap. I dont watch or listen to his * anymore. We knew what would happen and it has HH

 

Bang on sir HH

 

Same.. I barely listen to a word he says anymore unlike Ange where I'd actually look forward to his interviews.

 

I Don't trust Rodgers and I don't believe a word he says anymore and as I've said I barely listen to him. I actually wasn't that upset when he left first time and I understood why.. there is absolutely no point in any ambitious manager working for this board.

So why is he back? I'm absolutely baffled like you. Winning the league with Celtic isn't going to enhance his CV anymore. He doesn't need the money or he'd of gone to SA.. if anything this stint at Celtic could actually damage his reputation more if we take some hidings in Europe

Yep I'm totally baffled.

 

My only explanation is he's back here to repair his reputation with the fans. Win a couple of leagues, beat the huns and we all know that will satisfy a very large percentage of our fanbase. Make a nice few quid while he's at it.

He's under absolutely no pressure to get results in Europe because the board don't give a * as long as we qualify. He's here to secure the champions league cash by winning the league.

Anything he says in interviews, meh...

 

I think he will only last a year if we don't spend well in January. He looks fed up and some comments seem negative from someone who is always positive spin.

 

I don't really know what's happened, whether the recruitment department has screwed up, the board have vetoed some spending or delayed it until it was too late or tried to play hardball to bring prices down or if we were just spectacularly unlucky; but we didn't get what we needed. Rodgers is well aware of that and he can't be happy.

The frustration he displayed when he mentioned going down to 9 men at CL level was really palpable. Since everything else he has said since the game suggests that he doesn't blame young, inexperienced players for making the kind of decisions young, inexperienced players make under pressure, I personally think this was a moment where his frustration showed at having to play players like that in a vital match at CL level in the first place. Which might be frustration at the injuries or might be frustration at the window. It's exactly 2 minutes in if you want to rewatch that reaction.

 

Brendan Rodgers called for some common sense to be applied to Celtic ’s Champions League expectations.

The Parkhead boss got his Group E campaign off to a damaging start on Tuesday night as his side went down to a 2-0 defeat against Feyenoord, having had two of his new young recruits - Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm - sent off in a chaotic second half. Rodgers admits the club’s player trading model will inevitably require him to fast-track inexperienced players straight into the highest level of the European game.

And he insists that, while he’s throwing them into such a tough school, there has to be a sense of realism over his side’s results. Those two red cards signalled a loss of discipline in the heat of the moment and torpedoed any remaining hope Celtic had of snatching a point from Rotterdam. But, as he prepared to return to the more serene environment of domestic football at Livingston tomorrow, Rodgers insists Celtic’s struggles abroad are not just down to mentality alone.

He said: “It’s one of a number of things. It’s not just that. Quality helps!

“So it’s a trait you need in any team but it’s not going to take you to the next level. If you’re suffering in a game you need to dig deep, absolutely. But that’s something that comes with all good teams.

“We see that domestically too. But, with the greatest respect, you can’t compare the levels. For us, there’s never any relaxation. We have to be full on at Champions League level to do anything. That’s the reality and the logic.

“If you understand football at all - and the finances and economics of football - you’ll see that. I understand when you’re working for such a historic club with a great history what that can mean. But, logically, there has to be a common sense element to it.

“I’m certainly not a fantasist. I like to dream but I don’t live in fantasy land. I look at the opponents that play at this level and I know the economics of it. It doesn’t mean we’ll never fight or ever give up hope. But I have a common sense side too, especially given the youthfulness of this squad and where it’s at.”

Rodgers will have to place his trust in a string of largely untested new summer arrivals throughout the Euro campaign - with the next four games against Italian big guns Lazio and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Asked yesterday by broadcasters if he was content with the club’s transfer business he replied ‘no’ while adding that the same answer would come from almost every other manager in the game.

But Rodgers admits he’s about to find out a great deal about his new recruits as Group E unfolds. Asked if he has enough quality in his squad to survive at the elite level he went on: “We shall see. That’s the challenge at this level.

“Being at home the next two games are really important for us, the next one being Lazio. We’re looking at players being up to speed. I don’t think there’s any doubt that at this level you need to have your best players available for us to have a chance.

“Tuesday night was another 60 minutes for Reo Hatate so him getting back up to speed helps us and we’ll see what else is available for us. But that’s always a challenge at this level. It’s about quality.”

Hatate could start again in West Lothian tomorrow but Rodgers may resist the temptation to give Nat Phillips a return to action on Livi’s notorious plastic pitch. He said: “With Reo, I’ll get some information from the medics. He’s obviously recovering in his second day but he looked fine. So I think it’s important for him to get up to top speed and get minutes and game time.

“If he’s fit and available, that’s what’s important and we’ll see. With Nat, that’s something we’ll need to look at. He obviously came with a little issue around his knee and he’s been out for a long time so these are the types of things that you have to balance.”








Brendan Rodgers could never be accused of a lack of ambition but his revelation that he “doesn’t live in a fantasy land” was a blunt reminder that he is also under no illusions about the size of the task facing Celtic in the Champions League.

Rodgers took great heart from the fact his team “didn’t unravel” in Rotterdam after losing two goals and then two players to red cards in an opening day group defeat to Feyenoord. Such an indefatigable spirit, he opined, will serve them well when these sides do battle again at Celtic Park in December.

Rodgers, though, is no mug. Getting stuck in and fighting for every ball may be commendable traits but they alone are nowhere near enough to succeed at this level. In a game of Champions League Top Trumps, physicality and power will always score substantially lower than more aesthetic qualities such as pace, precision and panache.

A key part of Rodgers’ manifesto after returning to take charge for a second time was to improve on his European record from his first spell. He is making no promises, however. Asked whether he believes his team has the quality to trouble Champions League opponents over the remaining five group matches, the former Liverpool manager erred on the side of caution.

“We shall see,” he said warily. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that at this level you need to have your best players available for us to have a chance. I’m certainly not a fantasist. I like to dream but I don’t live in fantasy land. I look at the opponents that play at this level and I know the economics of it. It doesn’t mean we’ll never fight or ever give up hope. But I have a common sense side too, especially given the youthfulness of this squad and where it’s at.

“You are bringing in young players, developing them and getting them to a level. Part of that learning is domestic and European games in which they will make mistakes. In young players that is part of the dance really.”

Celtic’s dominance on the domestic landscape has allowed them to grow a mindset where they never know when they’re beaten. Transposing that self-confidence into the European arena would undoubtedly help in times of adversity but, again, Rodgers warned that greater belief alone wouldn’t be enough to topple the tallest of giants.

“It’s just a level of belief,” he added. “That’s why I call the Champions League big belief games. You believe at home as you know the level and you’re dominant. But go into Europe and you’re playing against a different level of player.

“That’s what pleased me the other night. We didn’t unravel. Mentally we weren’t broken, our spirit was there and we kept fighting. But it’s not just that. (Being competitive) is a trait you need in any team but it’s not going to take you to the next level.

“If you understand football at all, and the finances and economics of football, you see that. I understand when you’re working for such an historic club with a great history what that can mean. But, logically, there has to be a common sense element to it.”

Ange Postecoglou felt it was imperative that Celtic didn’t adjust their style from domestic football to the Champions League last season but his successor can see flaws in such a plan. “I’d love to say let’s go out and go toe-to-toe with any team at this level, which you can, and you can score goals,” added Rodgers. “But you can lose a load of goals as well.”