Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Big man will get what he wants over the next two windows, and the Celtic will go on to produce the goods in Europe for the foreseeable. Cry more ya fannies

 

If everyone is honest all negativity started because BR came back...admit gutted when left n how he done it but made a mistake...who hasn't?...Green Brigade?...Board?...Big Ange?...start off GB should be allowed back in but back to basics...celtic always comes first before all other agendas...Board start acting in our interests and not shareholders...put team on park that jersey fits and last everyone get behind BR..know family all celtic through and through...he won't let us down again

 

We’ve had a team and transitioned year on year thats provided success, unprecedented success. That’s not what the problem is for me, it’s that we feel like we aren’t trying our best to be at peak potential, infact it doesn’t just feel that way it’s pretty much provable by looking ay the money we don’t invest to improve piling up in our accounts without doing anything for us as a football club, even as a business it’s weird stockpiling money rather than investing to make a return.

Then add in Lawwell returning to day to day involvement, poor scouting, losing two guys who were really special in Ange and then Jota, our injuries so far this year, the grudge held against Rodgers, fighting with the fans and Parkhead having no atmosphere due to it (whether we agree with if they should or not they are the ones that bring the atmosphere).

And we’re still 9 ahead in the league, and we don’t find that enough. For me it is just bare minimum enough, but we are right to demand more.

 

Agree mate but to be the best have to have strong foundation...us the support...if everyone united then board would have to listen...just now whether right or wrong they've grouped our voice under small section GB...

 

Uniting the support is pretty much impossible, and I don’t wanty agree with half them anyway

We’d be the most indecisive club ever if we were fan owned, every small decision would be a violent argument

 

No don't want fan owned...actually like Desmond there but needs reminding football without the fans is nothing and as long as board can use GB as distraction then nothing will change...whether anyone agrees or disagrees with agenda is the whole problem...celtic park is for celtic fans and everything else should be left at the door

 

I meant that as an example of trying to get the fans on board in the one direction, Ange and MoN are the only time I’ve seen us do that. And they two were remarkable forces of personality and charisma. And frankly MoN was the first time we were good in ten years or so, so was godly for that.

I’m glad for Desmond, we’ve had an extreme amount of success with him there, through some financially troubling times. We don’t know what would have happened 2008 recession lr 2020 lockdowns under different leadership, we don’t know what success we would have had and thinking its more likely to have more with somebody else is just wishing that was a guarantee. I just think we have room to grow with the same constraints that make us profitable, and we have done that at times, when the fans are * majorly or Desmond gets offended with a Hun not shaking his hand. That’s the annoying part.

we should always be striving to be as good as we can possibly be, not just when we slip up being just better enough to dominate Scotland.

 

Been around long enough to know * all will change at celtic. Every single window we drop quality in the squad. Its just the way the world of football is now...you have billions or you have nothing.

 

Brendan Rodgers is aware of the picture being painted of Celtic as a club mired in disenchantment and disaffection.

The board’s ongoing dispute with the Green Brigade, allied to their apparent reluctance to provide the manager with a squad capable of competing effectively in the Champions League – despite having millions sitting in the bank – have done little to dispel the notion that all is not well at Parkhead.

Throw in last weekend’s lacklustre draw at home to Motherwell and it is a surprise they are not marching down the Celtic Way in their droves demanding change and heads on a plate.

Rodgers gets and understands all of that. How can he not when some of the mounting frustration at a signing policy wed to recruiting development players with potential to the exclusion of all else has come from his own lips.

And yet, given the chance to pause and reflect on the bigger picture, Rodgers remains optimistic. Moulding this Celtic squad to his liking was never going to be achieved in just one transfer window and the Northern Irishman is content that the business set to be undertaken in January and then next summer will provide him with a far more balanced group that, he believes, will be in better shape to compete in the Champions League next season - should Celtic again get there.


There’s a sense of a narrative around the club at the moment that isn’t healthy, with the supporters and that side of it,” he said. “But I can only see a really positive future for us. I was disappointed after the result in Rome [against Lazio], of course, so you mourn that for 24 hours but then you have to move on.

“Looking at my first six months here and at the team, I know we can improve a great deal and also knowing, having been here before, the rhythm of Celtic. Normally, there are a couple of years where players are really intense and then maybe they’re looking for a move.

“But when I look at this group here there’s still a lot of development in them. There are players who will become better but we can also improve the squad. If we can do that and remain consistent then we can have another bright number of years to look forward to.

“One of the reasons I came back was to see whether we could be better and end a cycle [in Europe] which has been going on for many years.

“We all want to be in the Champions League. It’s difficult when you’re there but we’d rather be in it, gaining experience and learning, plus there’s a financial implication for the club as well, which is great.

“But as a football guy, I don’t just want to be competitive. A lot of times this season we showed when it was 11 vs 11 that we were competitive but it’s also about achievement as well and that’s where we want to be.



In order to do that the squad would need to be stronger. That’s not beating about the bush: that’s the simplicity of it. It’s just about identifying the right sort of player who can improve us and the profile of players whom we want is pretty clear.”
There is a perception among the more hardened Celtic cynics that the board’s ambition stretches not to European respectability but being only marginally better than Rangers year on year.

Rodgers, though, felt any criticism of the directors was unfair.

“When I think of how this board has stabilised the club over many, many years then it’s very hard to knock what they’ve done here,” he added, ahead of this afternoon's league match against St Johnstone.

“There’s a high level of intellect on the board which has made the whole operation sustainable. Dermot [Desmond, majority shareholder] is someone who wakes up every morning thinking about Celtic and he goes to sleep every night thinking about Celtic as well. What the club has always tried to do is not to spend beyond their means.



Of course, it’s always about the next level and that’s something which is a big decision for any club but if you want to improve at that level then what you have to do is invest. That’s something that Dermot and the guys who run the club know.”

Rodgers will take the Asian Cup into consideration – when a number of Celtic’s players will disappear for the best part of a month – when he looks at potential short-term loan signings for the second half of the season. But he is also relaxed about players going the other way. David Turnbull’s contract is set to expire in the summer, with the former Motherwell midfielder linked in recent days with a move to Italy. Rodgers, though, is stoic about the whole thing.

“If a player doesn’t want to sign then he doesn’t want to sign,” he shrugged. “I won’t lose sleep over it. There were talks back in the summer and I’m not sure how far they’ve gone but clearly they’ve not gone as well as David or maybe his representative have wanted.

“Either way, he’s at that stage of his contract where he can choose what he wants to do and decide whether his prospects are better elsewhere. But while he’s here and committed, working and running he’ll always be a valuable asset.

“As a younger coach, I probably took it [players rejecting deals] very personally – if a player didn’t want to stay I thought it was about me.

“Now I know that it’s about players having short careers. This is an amazing club to be at – we’ll improve you as a player, you’ll make good money and win titles but if they feel the need to move on then they go. It’s the modern game. You adapt, get on with it and find your way again.”

 

Board apologist.

 

Good to see him addressing the issue of supporter unrest here. Really wish people had the ability to step back and realise that all the outrage is counter productive.

Everyone - fans, manager, board - knows we need to be better at progressing in Europe, but the constant negativity is only making it harder, and applying more pressure than there needs to be.

It's like people are addicted to controversy and outrage, but it would be better for us all to show support and a bit of patience. They may say I'm a dreamer...

 

It’s actually more pressure on the board we need. It’s fans like yourself who are part of the problem. The board need fans like you. I get it, you want to always be positive about Celtic. The board thrive on that. We need better quality, simple as that. The negativity comes from circa a decade of underperforming in Europe. It’s not something the fans haven’t been patient with to be fair.

 

No the problem is fans like yourself thinking you're making a positive contribution by endlessly slating every facet of the club, when in reality all it does is negativity affect what the team are trying to achieve.

BR knows what he's doing and where he wants to take the club, and if he feels the club are letting him down he'll be gone. As it stands he's confident of progressing the club. Wee bit of intelligence applied and it's obvious really.

 

Not every facet of the club. That’s a wild claim. Just the board really and their total lack of ambition and ability to progress us in Europe. Last time we won a European knockout tie was roughly 20 years ago. There’s obviously fans like you who think this is acceptable because the football landscape has changed, and will come up with all sorts of scenarios to defend this woeful statistic.

Brendan Rodgers knew where he wanted to take the club first time around also. This board chased him with their biscuit tin mentality. Rodgers is in a weaker bargaining position now as well, as his stock down South has plummeted since his first time here. So I’m not confident whatsoever he will get what both he and most fans know we need. Summer transfer window speaks volumes. Any crumb of intelligence would tell you this.

As I said, the board thrive on fans like yourself. It’s just a shame you can’t see that. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say it’s naive.

 

Fans like yourself just assume the board don't want to progress the club, therefore needing fans like myself to help them get away with it.

A very popular view I know, but one that is unbelievably stupid. It's also hilarious that people who fancy themselves as intellectuals with their finger on the pulse, assume that fans like myself are incapable of giving criticism where it's due, or are board sympathisers/happy clappers etc. When in reality they cannot grasp the idea that they are wrong about the clubs intentions.

We'll get past this European stagnation eventually and continue to look for ways to compete from a hugely disadvantaged position. And when we do fans like yourself will just find other ways of shiteing on your own club.

 

This board are incapable of progressing us in Europe. Surely 20 years without winning a knockout tie is evidence enough to back that up? The fact fans like you can accept that, is part of the problem. Two decades without a knockout tie win, yet you have fans like you who still think this board are the ones to take us forward. It’s embarrassing really. Wanting the best possible team on the park, and wanting us to progress in Europe whilst we sit with vast sums of money in the bank account isn’t “shiteing” on the club. The negative attitude that we canny compete is pathetic.

 

Fans like yourself love to simplify the European/recruitment issue though. It's easy to say the club don't do enough to take us forward, but there are many different reasons for it. Making out that it's simply lack of ambition/penny pinching/heated driveway etc is the mark of someone who values drama over detail.

I prefer to prioritise letting the team on the park get on with their job by not creating what is a welcome crack for our enemies to start prying at. The Scottish media don't need any encouragement in trying to sow division within our club, and fans like yourself are weirdly all too willing to oblige them.

 

Industry plant.

 

The three times we got through to CL knockout stages in the last 20 years, we got put out by Milan in a very close run thing - they won the competition Kaka scored a wonder goal at the peak of his power to knock us out in extra time after a clean sheet to take it that far. We also should have had at the very least one penalty, 2 in my opinion if I remember right. And we went out. That wasn’t the board that knocked us out there, it was the best player in the world and a referee refusing to call out Maldini.

We would have still lost if we got that penalty I think, because they were the best team in that competition and proved that.

Next one was Barca, last 16, sure they won it that year as well and we got Lionel Messi’d. Gave them a * good effort but, Caldwell wanting to assist Henry isn’t down to Desmond there.

The next one after that knock out stages, can’t remember if we done it under Mowbray don’t think we did but if I’m misremembering, I’ll blame Mowbray regardless. That January we spent more than any team in Britain, stole all the headlines. That was the board.

After Mowbray… I think Lenny’s first full season we didn’t get through a quite difficult Europa Group or weren’t there in n Europe at all? This is off the top of my head here so not 100% but we had a full new team heading into that season.

2nd year I’m sure Rennes, Atletico and Udinese was a tough group that we learned from going into the next season.

Best ever group stage in the CL then, first ever away win, most goals from a Scottish team ever most points, then we met Juve. And we got taught such a * lesson there, and I don’t think we could ever bridge the gap of what they done that year to blame the board. We ran Barca close in the Nou Camp, beat them at Parkhead, that Juventus team showed us every bit of experience they had and every bit of ‘the dark side’ of football and Buffon made 2/3 ridiculous * saves as well.

I don’t blame the board there either.

The following season though, I do, by Wanyama’s account we wedged him out the door when he was willing to stay for another year or two and he was key to that team. We lost Hooper/Kelvin Wilson and the board replaced one of them with Virgil Van Dijk. That though sounds like a major bonus for the board, but it’s on record they put in place no fee more than £2.5m. VVD was £2.5m and they would have cancelled that deal if it went a pound more, it was non-negotiable.


The Ronny years, thats the board, that was a Lawwell experiment but still, we drew Inter Milan favourites to win it, we fought to a draw at Parkhead and Van Dijk, the highest quality player since Larsson really, he got sent off stupidly away from home and we were still unlucky.

Since that what was it, Zenit? We should have pumped them at home, we were backed that season, we didn’t take our chances.

Since then though, I think Lenny was Valencia? Toljan * it majorly? Aye board should have done more that year. Ange’s season he got backed more than any manager in our history, we had no knock out games. This season will be the same.

I don’t know how much can be pointed at the board for those losses, the biggest issue is if we get through the CL group stage and meet one of the favourites for the competition or 2 out of 3 times the actual winners, including one of the best teams in history with the Barca one… * all anyone can do to bridge that gap.

Sure Messi got a double that game. How does the board bridge the gap between us and Messi alone?

The closest we’ve came to getting a player to bridge that gap was Van Dijk. He was that level, and he made that individual mistake to be sent off when he had the chance to help us insure it.

We’ve either been sheer outclassed and punched above our weight better than expected or we’ve shat the bed as a team either by not taking chances like Zenit when the game could have been dead and gone by the final whistle at Parkhead.

We can absolutely do more at a board level and as a club, there’s zero doubt about that, and that brief summary is purely knockout stages we’ve reached not a whole load of other stuff the board needs to shoulder blame for. But in general, we are mentally fragile and lacking belief as a club for a long time now. We need to get that belief back. 2000-2009 we’d all be confident playing Man Utd at Parkhead but more worried about Gretna away the next game. And we were right as well. Then that was broke first time we got pumped at home, and since then one season under Lenny our best ever in the CL aside, we’ve not had the belief we can do anything.