Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Knutsen is the man everyone wants, let’s be honest here.

 

Bit of emotion showed there at the end.

 

Think he expected to rock up here and walk the league. Now he's in a battle and he's waffling more than ever.

 

He was just like, 'we were good in the first half, but second half fair play to Hibs, yada, yada...'

Yes, we were better in the first half, but the HT stats don't lie either... 2 shots, 1 on target (the penalty) from 65% possession. I wouldn't say that we were 'good'.

Hibs improved after the break and quite simply we were just doing the same thing and expecting different results, to the point we finished the game with actually more possession in the 2nd half (69% in 2nd half... for 67% possession stat at FT) for 3 shots on target in total - 2 of those 3 from the penalty spot.

So effectively, we created just 1 shot on target from open play with nearly 70% of possession throughout the entire game... questions have to be asked of the manager, surely? That is not just today. Teams let us have the ball because Rodgers system means we don't do anything much with it.

 

Think the McKenna ship has likely sailed too.

Will be on the radar of clubs down south.

 

I agree that we won't sack him, but it's not because of the position we're in. A blind man can see we are on the decline and clinging on to a title race, something that we've aloud to happen.

We won't sack him beacuse Desmond and the board won't won't to admit they got this wrong and are to stubborn to act, just like sticking with Lennon after the protests while going for the 10.

 

I genuinely think if we can get a normally functioning board there's a host of managers that would be successful here.

Anyone who comes in will be hamstrung severely by this board. They are running the football department unbelievably poorly.

 

This is probably the most accurate and realistic summary regarding Rodgers and the parochial backwards board. We could lose against St Mirren and drop points in our next couple of games and nothing will change.

It's gonna be a rough few months ahead.

 

I think they also have an attitude of, "Well if we're going to lose anyway, * the supporters make them suffer"

There's a toxic relationship between Celtic and the board. They absolutely hate us.

 

It's that performance that worried me more than anything. I only saw the first 50 minutes against Aberdeen (when we weren't that bad); but having seen this today, I can now understand exactly why everyone was losing it after the Aberdeen game (I'm assuming our second half performance at Pittodrie was similar to this game today).

I genuinely thought we were lucky not to lose that, never mind get a winner.

 

The board wouldn't appoint a decent manager if you gave them 6 months to do it.

I'm positive that the only reason we got Ange is because they thought he was gonna be *.

 

We'd be as well playing hoof ball because there's no cohesion in our play whatsoever.

 

Whatever he is doing absolutely is not working. Infuriating watching the team standing about thumbs up their arses, not wanting the ball. It's unacceptable.

 

Celtic's Rodgers says team had 'heart and soul' vs Hibs

• Players showed heart and soul to win the match
• Great night for Adam Idah who also came through a psychological test
• Update on Alistair Johnston
• Both penalty awards were fair and just

Everything that Brendan Rodgers said to the media after Celtic's 2-1 Scottish Premiership success against Hibs at Easter Road.

What was your take on that match?

It’s good to get a win at Easter Road, that was nice. I’ve been travelling around Scotland now for a wee while, so it was really good. I said to the players before the game, listen whatever’s happened before there are 14 games left of the season. I said that tonight you’re not going to win the title, but you also won’t lose it….and you can make a big psychological impact by coming away to a tough ground and winning. We got off to a great start and had a lot of the ball. We were not as creative as I would have liked with that finesse and technical ability in the final third to make the chances easier. However, we got through. In the second half, we were not so good if I’m being honest. They pressed on to us very well, so Nick (Montgomery) will be happy with that. We just lacked that bit of composure to play through that pressure which you need to do when a team presses you higher up the pitch. What I never doubt about these players, and I said to them before the game, to get through and win games we need to play with our heart and our soul. The players showed immense heart to keep going right through to the very end and get the victory. So, I am pleased for the team. We will play better – we have to play better, it’s not the level I want to see. We’ll go away and analyse it and look to be better in our next game.”

It was not a perfect performance, but with the way won the game, can that give everyone, yourself, the players, and the fans a real lift?

Yes, it does, because at one point it looked like it was going to be another one of those games, like the weekend…where we should win the game and then you get pegged back and then they’ve got a bit of pressure at home. But you have to accept that, you never get it all your own way. We tried everything in the game to make us offensive and aggressive to try and win the game. Thankfully Kyogo comes in and makes the difference while Adam slots his two penalties away fantastically well.

Do you have a penalty taker now?

We’ll see. He’s taken six penalties before coming in so I knew what he could do. He scored a great penalty against Holland for the Republic of Ireland. You just see how he addresses it and how he is. He knows he’s a penalty taker. He was against David Marshall, who’s had a fantastic career in the game and is a top goalkeeper, there’s a psychological test there as well and he came through that. I’m really, really pleased for him. It’s a great night for him on his first start to score two goals and winning goals. I’m pleased for him.

Did Idah show bottle in those moments?

Time will tell. For me, it’s always about time. Players will always come in here with talent. We’ve seen it over many, many years. To survive at Celtic you’ve got to have mental toughness, you’ve got to be strong. I’ll assess that over time. To step up, especially so late in the game, to take that penalty and be so assured, it’s a great moment for him in front of our supporters.

Any update on Alistair Johnston?

He’s gone to the hospital. Some of the guys were just saying he’s texted or said on social media that he’s okay so he must be alright. It looked a sore one with the clash of heads.

Have you seen both penalty incidents? Do you agree with both awards?

I think the first one, I assume the officials think it’s a little bit reckless. The second one, I’ve seen incidents like this before, and when the shot goes away and then the follow-through comes, if it’s anywhere else on the pitch, it’s a free-kick. Nick will probably be the other way thinking the shot has gone but it’s the follow-through that catches him in the box. They’ll be disappointed because they had a go in the second half. For me, it is a penalty. Thankfully we got it.

 

Yeah, I agree with that also. It's rotten from the top down. Rodgers gets it in the neck as a knee * reaction mainly (rightly most the time), even though the football is chronic.

But let's be honest, I'd punt Both Lawells, get a DoF in, and revise our structure in terms of wages offered, whilst moving out that 1-3m project range, in to the 6m Jota/CCV range, which if they'd done in the summer wi 4 players. I think we'd be fine. Probably wishful thinking on my part.

Simmering down, he'll clearly stay. But * me, he has to change the set up. Get to a 3-5-2. Shake it up, whilst playing quicker and more directly. Something other than this tedious walking boreball that's being produced now. Certainly in the short term.

 

He better not * this up - if he does he will be chased. The board hadn’t helped him but tbh I’ve always felt strongly that he’s more spoof than substance.

 

His brand of football is mind numbingly boring and he is just too stubborn to change it. Teams obviously know how he likes to play the horseshoe formation and adapt accordingly which leads to us passing the ball across the back line to death. So, it looks like we will continue to see more games like tonight's and be bored to death in the process