Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Sounds like CCV is a major doubt..

 

If there’s any doubt at all, * playing him on an artificial surface.

* playing Phillips but, Nawrocki’s time to shine. If he’s adamant about Lagerbielke and Nawrocki attitude and performance in training being that bad though, I suspect you’ll see Welsh.

 

Don't think it will be Welsh, Nawrocki has been back longer.. I agree tho wouldn't risk CCV, I reckon he'll go with Phillips.. even tho..

 

Lagerbielke’s been the longest has he not? I was more thinking about his comments about showing it in training and attitude though. Phillips I’m convinced has been on the bench due to a clause with Liverpool regarding being in the squad, they’re notorious for that and we were desperate at the time bringing him in due to 6 or so injuries at the back, and at that point we didn’t even know Scales could be a serious option

 

Aye 100% on Phillips loan condition there will likely be a clause, said it myself on a few threads.. I think BR is keeping Liverpool sweet for a Doak loan move..

Aye, not even sure if Lagerbielke has even been injured, want to see more of Nawrocki thought he showed up well before injury, Lagerbielke definitely not sure about, but not writing him off yet.. but think it will be Phillips for the reasons mentioned..

 

Lagerbielke I think had a knock, literally a week out or so at most. Judging by him internationally around then.

Nawrocki being singled out by BR as well, and he is absolutely a Rodgers signing rather than a club scouted player that the manager gave the nod to, it’s very interesting. He’s setting some standards there, and right now I quite like he’s done it to guys that he’s spent a good bit of money on, that sets a good level of professionalism regardless of outlay for me. But I’m fully aware if it backfires because its happened so publicly, I’ll probably slaughter the approach with the benefit of hindsight.

I’m liking angry BR though.

 

If CCV isn't 100%, don't risk him on that surface.

 

BRENDAN Rodgers has confessed that increasing his options up front will be his priority in January after Celtic were linked with a move for Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski during the transfer window.

Rodgers declined to comment on reports that he was interested in North Macedonian internationalist Miovski, who was the Pittodrie club's joint top scorer last season with 18 goals, and stressed that he expected a lot of speculation about potential targets in the coming weeks.

However, the Northern Irishman knows he is likely to lose Japanese internationalists Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi as well as South Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu next month due to their involvement at the Asian Cup in Qatar.

And he is hopeful of getting his business done early so that his new recruits can settle in their new surroundings during the winter break and make an immediate impact when play restarts.

"I wouldn’t comment on any player," he said when he was asked about Miovski. "This is the period where agents throw out names and links so if I did it would be a long six weeks!

"There are certainly names and interest there. But we’ll have to wait and see. As a manager you’d always prefer to get them in earlier rather than later. But we have the winter break and won’t play until the middle of January. Clearly, the sooner the better.

"The work is under way for the guys who haven’t been playing. Obviously they’ll want to get out to play as quickly as possible. Our need for the squad is beside that.


You first look to within the club and if there is anyone who can make that step into the first team. Then you look at if you bring someone in a permanent role, someone who can challenge the guys when they come back.

"Or are you bringing in a top class loan, who will be with you for that period? That is then about availability. You have to plan forward. We can control what comes in. It has to work for us."

Nat Phillips, the Liverpool centre-half who arrived on loan from Anfield in August, has not been able to establish himself in the Celtic first team due to the return of Cameron Carter-Vickers and the form of Liam Scales.

But Rodgers has been happy with the contribution the defender, who is set to return down south when his temporary deal runs out in January, has made during his time in this country.

He may, with Carter-Vickers having undergone an MRI scan on the hamstring strain he felt during the Hibs game on Wednesday night, give the Englishman a start in the cinch Premiership match against Kilmarnock on the artificial pitch at Rugby Park tomorrow.


Nat's an experienced player," he said. "He's very good in the air and attacks the ball well. In both boxes he's very strong. It's one of his key strengths. We'll see what we need to do.

"He came in on a short-term loan to help us in an emergency period and he's been fantastic since he's come in, his whole demeanour and behaviour around the place. He was injured when he first came in and the guys that have played have done really well.

"It's the one position in the field where I'm reluctant to make changes. And when I say one position I include two players because centre halves balance off each other. That fluency is important, other positions can change but in the two centre halves you'll make minimal changes.

"He's had some game time, he hadn't played for a long time before he came. He's trained consistently after getting over that early bit and he has contributed very well to the culture here."

Celtic lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock on the last occasion they played at Rugby Park in the Viaplay Cup back in August - but Rodgers believes his team has improved greatly since then.

"In terms of the football aspect, the structure of the team is much better, more cohesive," he said. "The organisation, the mentality of the team, everything is a far cry from where it was. But that's what you would expect, that's what development is, you should improve as the season goes on."

 

Brendan Rodgers insists he won’t be sending any of his unwanted Celtic players to Coventry.

But the Hoops boss admits a host of squad stars are living on borrowed time and will be offloaded in January to make room for new recruits. Rodgers has spoken about the need to shrink his first team playing staff to around 25 with the likes of James McCarthy, Yuki Kobayashi Maik Nawrocki, Alexandro Bernabei and and Gustaf Lagerbielke all surplus to current requirements. The Irishman believes tough love is the best policy for players with no future with his club.

He said: “I care for players but I care for people more. Sentiment doesn’t come into it. You are paid to make decisions, lead and observe - and make decisions from that observation. You can’t be sentimental. It’s an ongoing conversation as silence for a player is a death sentence. I have had experiences outside of football where you mind plays mental gymnastics and you think, ‘What’s happening?’

“When you hear nothing, the brain starts talking. I’d rather take all that away and give stability and clarity to a player.

“I’d say, ‘This is where we are at, if it doesn’t work out you can move on’, but I will always respect them. That is a value I hold dearest of all.

“Wherever you sit in the hierarchy, you will always be offered respect. Train hard and work hard, and let’s see where it takes us.”

Rodgers insists he’d never soft-soap his fringe players about the reality of facing the exit door but it’s a brutal part of his role to take the Dear John approach to players who won’t feature in his team. He said: “”It is something that is difficult but it’s part of this job as a manager.You have to do it.

“But you are better off being honest and telling people. It’s especially difficult because you know when you are telling someone it changes the conditions in their life, and not necessarily for the better.

“They might never have that opportunity again but I would rather say it than be inhumane and bluff someone for six months. You are better off telling them as they will have families and having moved all over Britain, I know how hard and challenging it is.

“Sometimes it can be for the greater good for the player as the family might not have settled or the schools might not be right. To tell them can actually help them, but it’s something that is a difficult conversation but you are better being honest.”


Celtic face a dead rubber Champions League clash with Feyenoord on Wednesday night and Rodgers is determined to bring the curtain down on a dismal European campaign on a high. He said: “Every game is vital from a football perspective. Every point is a financial game for the club and pride is also there to play for. We have shown a lot in spells, whether it was Feyenoord away for a half or Atletico Madrid for the full game here.

“Okay we lost to Lazio but again there were periods in there. Away at Atletico we started with authority and then we conceded. Lazio right up until the last ten minutes. So we have been competitive but you want to be more than that. You want to arrive in European football after Christmas and for that we will need to improve.

“In terms of the squad we haven’t quite had the players we’d want available for all the games. So there are definitely improvements we can make.

 

We’ve played it very safe with injuries this season, which is unusual for us, because usually we’d risk it and then they’d be out for 6 weeks for the sake of 60 mins.

Question is if he isn’t 100%, then who plays? If it’s Phillips, real questions need asked about why we apparently sanctioned £8m+ on two guys that apparently are too unprofessional in training to even be back up or make the bench. Especially Nawrocki who can’t be long back from his injury and looked impressive the small glimpse we got pre-injury, and was clearly more than any other signing a Rodgers target and one that had little to do with anybody else except Rodgers, who had played against him as Leicester manager and had tracked him since.

 

Why to Coventry? What have I missed? They the feeder club we were talking about getting on board, because thatd be a lot more useful than the previous ones like Santos Laguna that * knows what that ‘link’ actually done at all. There’s been 2/3 clubs we’ve done that with through the years to no use I’m sure

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_to_Coventry

 

CELTIC'S slender hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds of a European competition this season may have been ended by the Champions League defeat they suffered at the hands of Lazio in Rome at the end of last month.

But Brendan Rodgers will still field a full strength side in the final Group E encounter with Feyenoord at Parkhead on Wednesday night and make sure his charges are fully fired up before kick-off.

Rodgers has, like so many supporters, been disappointed the Scottish champions have, despite performing well at times during the past three months, just a point to show for their efforts.

He is keen for Celtic to finish with a flourish against their Dutch rivals, record their first win in the tournament proper since their triumph over Anderlecht six years ago and show that they belong among the continent's elite clubs.

"Clearly it’s one we need and want to take something from," he said at Lennoxtown on Friday as he looked back and reflected on what has been a frustrating campaign.

"It’s a real challenging level. We have shown in spells over the games that we can really compete. But it would be nice to get a complete performance in that competition, see if we can pick up the result.

"Nothing may be at stake, but every game is vital from a football perspective. Every point is a financial game for the club and pride is also there to play for.

"We have shown a lot in spells, whether it was Feyenoord away for a half or Atletico Madrid for the full game here. Okay, we lost to Lazio at home, but, again, there were periods in there, right up until the last 10 minutes in fact.

"Away at Atletico we started with authority and then we conceded. So we have been competitive, but you want to be more than that. You want to arrive in European football after Christmas and for that we will need to improve.

"In terms of the squad, we haven’t quite had the players we’d want available for all the games. So there are definitely improvements we can make.”

The Champions League will change next season following a decision by the UEFA executive committee last year and the 36 participating clubs - a rise from 32 - will each play eight games, not six.

Rodgers believes the new Swiss model format could work in Celtic's favour and knows it is important for his players to gain further experience of facing top level European opposition ahead of it - even though he is sure to strength his squad with quality reinforcements in January and the summer.

"First and foremost, you want to make sure you are in it," he said. "But I think it will be a good. More games, going from six to eight games will clearly help in every aspect, finance, revenue.

"But eight different opponents certainly enhances the experiences of the players. I believe will be better. I will have been in here a year and we will have assessed lots of the players and some of the young guys who come in.

"By the time next summer comes there will be a clearer picture in terms of where we are at as a squad. But in the meantime it’s about working with the guys who are here.

"Domestically, in the main, they have been consistently good. They have had the odd disappointment in terms of performance which is only natural. But we are still winning without for me, feeling like we are near where I want us to be."

One Celtic player who could well feature in the Champions League next season if the Parkhead club retain the cinch Premiership trophy this term is Tomoki Iwata.

The Japanese internationalist made his first start of the 2023/24 campaign in the league meeting with on-form Hibernian in Glasgow in midweek and performed well in the defensive midfielder role.

Rodgers has fielded a number of players in the pivotal position since Reo Hatate picked up his injury - Paulo Bernardo, David Turnbull and Odin Thiago Holm have all had chances there in the past few weeks.

But Iwata, who Rodgers revealed would have started against Lazio in Italy if he had been fit, played with intelligence and confidence in the middle of the park and impressed his manager greatly.

The Northern Irishman, whose team take on Kilmarnock in the Premiership on the artificial pitch at Rugby Park this afternoon, is hopeful the 26-year-old can build on his encouraging showing and establish himself as an automatic starter.

"Even the best teams need someone who can win the ball and that’s what he is," he said. "He’s very good in that aspect and technically strong. He is efficient with the ball and aggressive.

"He recovers the ball well and allows the other guys to have that freedom in front. He is very strong, good in counter-pressing. And he is brave. He has trained ever so well which gives me great confidence in his attitude.

"Even though he has not played so much, he has never thrown the towel in and said, ‘I’m ready for a move’. His attitude has been first-class which is why I trust him."

Tomoki Iwata and all of his Celtic team mates will need to show the correct attitude when their final Champions League group game against Feyenoord kicks off at Parkhead on Wednesday night even though it will be their final outing in Europe this season.



'Silence is a death sentence' - Cetlic's Brendan Rodgers ready for tough talks with unused players as cull looms

Manager admits squad is not where it was first time around

Crucial to the Celtic cause going forward will not just be the players Brendan Rodgers deploys for the confrontations with Kilmarnock and Feyenoord in the coming days.

Just as important are the difficult discussions he has been having with the personnel who have no prospect of featuring at Rugby Park on Sunday lunchtime or in Wednesday’s closer to a frustrating and failed Champions League campaign. Across his five-and-a-half months, Rodgers has become increasingly unambiguous over the complexion of his squad being far removed from how he feels it requires to be. The 31-man pool is both too big and too thin on the calibre of player he feels is required to move performances up to the required level, especially to be able to pouch results in the Champions League. Indeed, the other day he was made the arresting admission that such a standard has not been reached across the first four months of his second spell.

“I believe we will be better [come the next European campaign]. I will have been in here a year and we will have assessed lots of the players and some of the young guys who come in,” Rodgers said. “By the time next summer comes there will be a clearer picture in terms of where we are at as a squad. But in the meantime it’s about working with the guys who are here. Domestically, in the main, they have been consistently good. They have had the odd disappointment in terms of performance which is only natural. But we are still winning without, for me, feeling like we are near where I want us to be.”

This is a result of the squad being nowhere near where it wants to be, with so many of the well-remunerated members of those within it nowhere near being considered for regular starts. Or, in the cases of such as Benjamin Siegrist, Yuki Kobayashi, Alexandro Bernabei, Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Stephen Welsh, even regular appearances in the matchday squad. With clear clues if you care to look for them that he is on the hunt for a new keeper, left-back, holding midfielder and striker – for starters – in the January transfer window, the need for the squad’s invisible members to be moved out – either on loan or permanently – is obvious. Defender Nat Phillips will return to Liverpool following his six month emergency loan and David Turnbull could be moved on, with the playmaker appearing to have fallen out of favour as he runs down the final six months of his contract. The Celtic manager concedes it is not easy to inform players that they are surplus to requirements but it is necessary, and an aspect of his job from which he does not shirk in order to be respectful, and scrupulously fair.

“It is something that is difficult but it's part of this job as a manager,” the Irishman said. "You have to do it. But you are better being honest and telling people. It's especially difficult because you know when you are telling someone it changes the conditions in their life … and not necessarily for the better. They might never have that opportunity again but I would rather say it than be inhumane and bluff someone for six months. You are better telling them as they will have families and, having moved all over Britain, I know how hard and challenging it is.

“Sometimes it can be for the greater good for the player as the family might not have settled or the schools might not be right. To tell them can actually help them. But it's something that is a difficult conversation but you are better being honest. I care for players but I care for people more. Sentiment doesn't come into it. You are paid to make decisions, lead and observe – and make decisions from that observation. You can't be sentimental. These conversations happen throughout the season. Some players wanted to move in the summer and I said: ‘Let's give it a chance. Let's see how they enjoy the work and get the game-time. This is where I think you can improve, so let's assess it. Coming into January, if you feel it's not right and you want to go, we can look at it then’.

"It's an ongoing conversation as silence for a player is a death sentence. I have had experiences outside of football where you mind plays mental gymnastics and you think, 'what's happening?' When you hear nothing, the brain starts talking. I'd rather take all the away and give stability and clarity to a player. I'd say, 'this is where we are at, if it doesn't work out you can move on'. But I will always respect them. That is a value I hold dearest of all. Wherever you sit in the hierarchy, you will always be offered respect. Train hard and work hard, and let's see where it takes us."

As vital as Kilmarnock is for where Celtic want to head in the Premiership title trail, the hosting of Feyenoord – even as superficially a dead rubber – is huge to the club’s self worth. Aside from the £2.3million on offer for a win, failure to end a truly desperate run of 15 games without a victory in club football’s most prestigious tournament, and not improve on their all-time low return of two points a year ago, does not bear thinking about. “Every game is vital from a football perspective,” said Rodgers. “Every point is a financial gain for the club and pride is also there to play for. We have shown a lot in spells – whether it was Feyenoord away for a half or Atletico Madrid for the full game here. Okay we lost to Lazio, but again there were periods in there. Away at Atletico we started with authority and then we conceded. Away to Lazio we were in it right up until the last ten minutes. So we have been competitive, but you want to be more than that.”

 

Is there any evidence Rodgers pushed for Nawrocki. I agree though the outlay on two central Defenders now deemed to be unprofessional screams due diligence not being done. A really scary thought though is that if Liverpool were to sell Phillips they would want north of £15 million..

 

Reading between the lines and what he’s said, it’s a player he had seen against his team, who he watched since then, knew a lot about and was pushed through quickly and competently. Which makes me think Rodgers was pushing for that one in particular, more so than the other signings that seemed more scouted targets that he had to confirm aye or naw and quickly run an eye over them to confirm.

I can’t remember why I think for this one as well, but I think Bernardo was the manager as well. But don’t know why so could be * that.

 

:

I thought for some reason he was just saying * you Coventry City, no loans from us.

I wiki’d who they were managed by and everything incase there was a link I’d missed

 

Can I ask a genine question that might seem a bit offensive but absolutely isn't meant to be?

 

You’re such a gentleman RR, go for it you’re not going to offend me lol

 

I have this idea that young people rarely read older books anymore. This is kind of a chance to test that idea, because I've never once heard anyone use that expression in real life, but it's a pretty common expression in older children's books (and these were still being read in the 80s and early 90s when I was a kid).

So, I'm guessing you never really read many older children's books as a kid. More like Harry Potter or recent stuff like that. Am I right?

 

A wide variety, Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton lead me on to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, which is from the 30’s.

Tried so hard to read Treasure Island when I was like 9 and failed at it, that’s 1883.

But books I read when I was younger, if I didn’t understand what it was, I thought I was a smart alec and didn’t need anyone to explain so would make up what I thought it would be through context.

Infact much like I did up there with Coventry and feeder clubs. * sake, lifetime habit.