Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Offt! Thats not very brotherly at all Mr Shelby!

I didnt want him here. I still go back and forth.

The hun result i still find absolutely unforgivable, tactically, he handed sevco 3 points.

But last night, he was tactically immense. Had the measure of Kompany and his players. Set us up right, had the players brimming with confidence and despite my misgivings about his European record at 3 different clubs (abysmal record with TWO epl sides), he has shown the season that hes far more pragmatic than he lets on, and can learn from his mistakes ie. Dortmund.
This is the most successful euro campaign hes ever had as a manager.

I said i would give him until the end of 2 seasons, to see if levels were maintained, and to make the sure the Brendan Rodgers slide didnt come back.

My needle is firmly in the "great decision to bring him back" after some fantastic euro performances.
But any more * ups to Sevco swings it right back to neutral.

As of now, he deserves all the plaudits coming his way.

Edit: i was also very impressed with his post match comments. Called the ref out without actually calling him out. Very clever.
He also alluded to taking stock at the end if the season and getting ready to "build" in the summer, which is highly encouraging.

On that note, i cant see that * desmond or Lawwell backing ANY new manager the way theyve backed him, financially.

 

Yea, but we had very little on the bench, both Engles and Reo were dead in their boots having given their all. A couple of Bernardo like subs would have gotten us to the final whistle 1 nil up.

 

Thanks for expressing how I felt. I really was cut up by him leaving, more so than Ange, because his football was excellent but the board failed him in his first stint.

I still feel like they’ve (the board) done it to him again and left him a couple of players short because they (the board) didn’t believe in our club like Brendon and the players did. Absolutely gutted we didn’t have another attacking player (higher quality than Yang) and a great midfielder to bring on late.

The reason I was cut up is I felt he left us, like a family member running away in the middle of the night, much like your older brother had ran away while your step dad was running amok and ruining the family.

It’s like big bro has come back and decked step dad and we are on the up.

But I’m back to loving him again

 

If he stay for a couple more years and make us even stronger, he will go down as a absolute legend at the club. A fantastic elite, world class manager who is perfect for us. Give him exactly what he demand.

 

He just schooled Kompany there but didn't have the players at his disposal from the bench that they did. That's the difference for us at this level, plus they wouldn't have wasted some of the chances we had in the first half which is out of BR's control.

Tactical masterclass.

 

What he said in his interview is very clear on what we need and it's improve the squad. Have more quality coming off the bench.

We need a stronger squad. Do we need it for Scotland? Absolutely not but to take the next step it's very much needed.

We play 100 games and year so plenty of game time to go round.

Its over to the board in the summer now. BR has been very clear in February so get working in the background now.

 

Surely legendary status has been reached already? How many trophies has he won? Trebs? Unbeaten in how many Scottish cups? Now add European performance to the list..

If it wasn't for the way he left first time we'd be demanding a statue haha

Just went head to head with one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world and wasn't out of place.. if not already a legend he's not far off

 

I personally dont hold it against him how he left the last time, but i still think he need 1-2 more seasons to make that "go away" for many people. If not for that he would already be a club legend. A true world class manager. And i don't think it is his last stint here. He is still a young manager.

 

There's another way you can look at it. If he completed that season and left with all the pats on the back would he be back here right now with us reaping the benefits. One of his biggest reasons for coming back was to rectify how he left, he said it in one of his most recent interviews. Short term hurt for long term gain.

 

I agree with you. One two bad performances and the usual people calling him ‘rat’ show up. I hope he stays and builds a legacy. A smart move would be another 2/3 years as a manager and then promote him as a sporting director. Where he oversees the whole operation.

 

I'm glad he's here but I feel as a support we need to stop trying to change the narrative with regard to Rodgers based on how well he's doing or behaving this time round (Not targeted at you specifically Maestro).

If he said he came back to rectify his reputation, it's as meaningless as him saying just about anything else. He's a known liar, even before he came here the first time this was kinda known. In fairness to him, I think he lies to himself most of the time so I don't think he always knows he's lying. The sensible approach with Rodgers is to not take anything he says at face value and try to see through his own reality distortion field.

Let's be real here. He abandoned Celtic mid-season for Leicester City. Mid-season. For Leicester City. Worse than that, a crucial point in the run in of a treble-treble. We don't need to downplay or dilute how bad that is and nor should we. At the same time, we can move on, but moving on doesn't mean rewriting history or trying to find new meaning.


In my view we should focus on what he's doing as Celtic manager right now, with zero expectation of which door he will eventually walk out of. He is doing an absolutely terrific job. He should be fully backed in the summer like we've never seen before. His signings have been top class and to me he is clearly more motivated when he is being appropriately backed.

 

He must be backed in the summer to go for it again in Europe. The bench was paper thin last night. Deserves all the praise he gets after last night

 

If we can keep the team who started last night and add a few player's of that standard then who knows...one thing I will say is he deserves to be backed with what he's done with the players at his disposal. It would be gross mismanagement if we don't get the players the present players need to help them..if the board back the manager the fans will definitely back the club with their money.

 

They should be doing everything possible to keep as many of the starting 11 as possible.

I think the back 5 apart from Sclupp are settled, so we need Schlupp so he can play LB and LM. Obviously we add KT.

Midfield will see Cal and Engles again next year. Hatate is a big ??? If Sclupp and Bernardo can cover here, we need another top addition in the same caliber as Engles.

Up front is where I fear we will lose too many. Idah and Jota definitely stay. I wonder if we’ll be able to convince Kuhn and/or Maeda to stay? Would be a big big coup if we could convince either or both to stay.

Some players might be up for an extra year to see if we can go that next step or two.

But you are right, need to back the manager and get some big money spent for him, at least give him a settled squad for the qualifiers.

 

World class manager

We are so lucky to have him

 

His management was never in doubt... It all came down to people questioning his loyalty and respect for the club - leaving was a natural progression, but going mid season and attempting to eviscerate the entire structure in the process for instance...

My personal preference at the time was we not go for him, but for a new, similar version of him/Ange to get a clean slate. When he was hired I was still a bit reticent, but never because I doubted his ability, just that he might disrupt the stability of the club/support and he'd maybe ditch us again if offered a good out...

Fact is, there was a lot of this story bubbling under the surface from his first stint and he's been exceptional upon his return - he's brought all the good from his first time and what seems like improved maturity to his faults.

To that, I now agree with you 100%, we're damned lucky to have him, and I hope we manage to hold onto him for a good while, and get the changes he wants over the line...

 

I look at maeda and think hes a guy who looks settled with a very young family and enjoying his role at Celtic..if someone comes in for him I could be wrong and he'll be off in a flash but he just doesn't come across as that kind of guy. Khun I think maybe would want to play in a bigger league maybe try again in his homeland..I hope I'm wrong and both could be excited at what this team could achieve if we add similar quality.