Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

On a net basis surely he is the most under-backed manager in our history?

 

In 5 windows, Rodgers has spent about £74m in 5 windows and has brought in around £130m.

In 4 windows, Ange spent £47m and brought in £44m.

 

Not sure about that. The best way for the board to keep heat off themselves is for the team to be playing well.

Typically i think thats whats stifled mobilising the support for real change.

Theres always been an ach, well we won another double or a treble at the end of the day. Remember the 90s and appreciate it while we have it.

The one year in recent times we didnt win the league, sure lennon was dragged into the mire but the board didnt escape the wrath of the fans.

They will be sitting there knowing the worse the performances get the more they will get it tight.

Sacking rodgers right now may be theoretically the right call (hard to say). But when you step back hes still just lost once this season. We are still nowhere near out of the title race. After the window we have had i think to fire a manager who has never lost a league this early in the season would look from the outside pretty hasty to me.

In 4 or 5 weeks time if we have lost to hearts, gone out of the cup and tanked in europe it may be a more straightforward question.

 

I think we have to look at the Rodgers situation in complete context. We have failed to win our last five Rangers games under Rodgers inside ninety minutes.That alone, is a shocking indictment of a supposed " elite " manager, who was once acclaimed for having a previous winning record against the Huns. He keeps playing his favourites players for sentimental reasons (or simply he just not have the balls to drop them), witness playing a just recovered from injury Schemeichel in the Cup Final, that flawed decison alone ultimately cost us the Treble.We were knocked out by the journeymen Kairat in the Champions League, that alone cost us £40M. He is completely married to his 4-3-3 system, and up until now, has stubbornly refused to change it, unless his back is up against the wall, which it is now. We are 5 points behind Hearts in the League, and we have a manager who is at loggerheads with his bosses, never a good situation, let alone at Celtic. To keep him in his post is a mega risk imo, and the Rodgers dowward trajectory does stretch back to last year given all the previous, not just this season. My risk assessment instincts tell me it would be best to pay him off now, put a short term caretaker team in now, until a suitable replacement is found, rather than take the risk that Rodgers is suddenly going to find his mojo again in the last year of his contract, when his record with other clubs tells us different, and he sounds a beaten man in his post match interviews, and run the terrible risk of losing out on everything this year.

 

Who do you suggest?

 

Id only even contemplate sacking him were were able to install a good replacement fairly sharpish.

Sacking him and installing kennedy would be pointless i feel. Did that once and it was *.

We wobbled under him in his first season back where we went out of the cup to kilmarnock and performances were flat. But we managed to get it together. This feels different to be fair but thats what im clinging to.

We have some big games coming up and for me he deserves the opportinity to get the show back on the road.

He needs to make dundee the red line though and change. If its more of the same and we go out to a basket case sevco, get beat by hearts and tank in europe over the next month its probably going to need a change in the dug out if we want to salvage the league

 

Manager or caretaker team ?

I've already gave my manager suggestions before, Knutsen or Hayen.
Caretaker team, I am open to suggestion and discussion.

 

Thats the issue.. if our board put in a caretaker then it would be Kennedy and Maloney.. if they do we'd be as well taking our chances with Rodgers.. who actually still deserves time to turn this season around..

Forget Knutsen.. they're building a new stadium and he's on a profit share deal. They are also in the CL..

Forget about Hayen too, he won't be leaving Brugge either.. levels above us in structure. Unless we bring in their model and their DoF etc..

 

I see where you are coming from, but where my opinion diverges from yours, is on Rodgers deserving more time, I think he has lost that goodwill/entitlement, when we meekly surrendered to Kairat, compounded by subsequent setbacks, which now places us in the unenviable position of trailing a resurgent Hearts by 5 points.

I think a caretaker team of the right personal would stand a better fighting chance of salvaging the situation, which arguably may already be unsavageable.

I am not going to forget about Knutsen or Hayen either, we should at least ask the question of them.

 

He suggested Neil Lennon last night, ignore him he's at it.

 

Brendan, can we start with some team news? Is Daizen Maeda back and fit for tomorrow?

Daizen's not available, no. Alistair Johnston should be okay, hopefully all being well, so that's great news for us.

Just going back to last weekend's game against Dundee, I know you said that the fan protests weren't the reason that you lost that game, but Liam Scales has been in here and described it as a slight distraction. Is there a worry that if this continues, the longer it goes on, that it can affect the guys on the pitch?

I'm sure there are studies throughout the world in terms of the impact, of whether it's positive or negative, what this type of thing has on a team and a club. But all you can really do as the players and the coach and manager, of course, you're going out fired up to start the game well and get going, and, of course, there's the disruption, but you have to deal with it. And that's something that, like I say, we have to be mindful of now.







There's also been a lot made of your comments after the game about Honda Civics and Ferraris. Can you just clarify what you meant by all of that, and can you understand why some may view that as a criticism of your players?

I don't know because I haven't seen or read or heard anything, but it was based around the speed in our team. Clearly, it's not the same as what we had last season, and I'm pretty sure both of those cars have got a different speed, so that was the reference to that.

Brendan, do you understand the interpretation of the comment? Because I think the focus has switched to what impact that might have on the players that are here right now.

Yeah, I'm not really worried, to be honest. You can't please everyone, and I'm not going to start trying to do that now. The players know that I'm with them, I've always been with them, and our focus is now on performing and performing to our best level.










The narrative around recruitment seems to just keep being there all the time. Is there a way to maybe close that down, given you still have two months or so until that can be rectified in any way? And is it proving to be a bigger distraction than you imagined it may have been?

Listen, I think we all knew what we needed in the summer, and for whatever reason we weren't able to bring that level in, and timely at the right time. So yeah, I can't afford to look back. I understand if you're looking from the outside in, and if you're a supporter, of course, you would do that, and that would be a real sense of frustration.

But as a coach and manager, we knew what we had to do, we weren't able to do it, and now we live with that consequence. But we have to find a way to win games, and I'm relentlessly looking at solutions, and because obviously the guys, when they come in, it wasn't in pre-season, so you're now having to look at things within games with very little coaching time. Because you're playing over the weekend, and you get mid-week games, and you're doing a lot of your coaching on video, and analysing that way.

So yeah, I understand it, but on a personal level, I can only really focus with my coaches on the players that are here, and the team that's here, and look to stand up and rise to the challenge.

When you say solutions, how do you go about trying to find them short-term, given what you've just said, and given again what you have at your disposal?

Well, it's something that we constantly look at and think about, in terms of personnel and team shape. Like you've seen on Sunday, we're obviously down in the game, so we change the system, we have two strikers, two wingers on the sides, two attacking eights in midfield. So yes, that's something that you're having to think about, obviously, much more than if you've got your squad settled and in place.

Are we likely to see you experiment more, Brendan, going forward tomorrow night, in terms of formation and personnel, trying to get the team that clicks on the pitch?

Yeah, I think that's what I have to do, but at the same time, you're having to find some level of stability as well. I think we've obviously had important players injured as well, which makes a difference to our level. But yeah, it's certainly something, stability is important, and that hopefully allows you to find the tempo and the speed in the game that you actually want, and to deliver the best performance that you can. But yeah, I will never stop. I'm so motivated to try and find the solutions to it, and find a way, and use my experience in order to help us get there.








Given what happened on Sunday, in terms of the result, your comments, Callum McGregor as well, saying that you're too easy to play against. Have you had to speak to the players? What have you said to the players ahead of this game tomorrow night?

We analyse the sections of the game for another day, but it's purely based around principles and what our principles are, and the type of team that when we're at our best, what it looks like. And that running mentality, because before you think of talent, you have to head the ball, you have to run, you have to press, you have to do all these things before then you're decision making in the game. So that needs to be better.

All the things that aren't about talent is what we need to be better at, and then from that you should then show your talent, and that's what we reinforce.





Just considering everything you mentioned there about what you're trying to achieve and get those solutions, doing that at a club like Celtic, at the moment when tensions are high everywhere, how tough has that been for you in terms of your managerial career and everything you've had to go through? Where does this point as a coach rank for you in terms of toughness?

It's clearly a huge challenge, because it's not just on the field, it's off the field. I want this club, I love this club, I want this to be the best it possibly can be. It's not the face I want us to show what we've seen at the weekend, both off the pitch and on the pitch. That isn't what Celtic is about for me. But whilst we're trying to find it, as a coach, that's the constant challenge.

It's not meant to be easy. It's not all about winning trebles and doubles and all. You have to stand up and fight, or else it's over. That's not clearly what we want. We're a club that's a huge institution. We've got a remarkable history, and I'm very privileged to manage it in this tough moment. It is tough, absolutely. I need to stand up and really lead and see where we can improve.

The players being professional will get on with the job and try not to get distracted, but for everyone at the club, you're obviously the face of it to us. Is there that feeling around the club that everything that's going on is harmful, it is tough, it is changing the image of the club that you don't want to present? Is there that feeling amongst, not just within the playing squad, but everyone affected with the club?

As I said, I'm sure there are studies out there on the impact on a club or institution when you do have these types of protests and whatever else, or lack of harmony, is what we can safely say.

That will be out there somewhere on what that brings, but listen, we on the football side, we have to get on with it. We have to get on with it. We have to produce the best performances.

You can always lose a game. A defeat, of course, for 24 hours, it's a real, real sore one. Especially at the weekend, that's something I never envisaged at all. But you have to stand up and you have to focus on that and focus on the performance because if you perform well, then you normally get what you deserve.






Can I just ask, is there a time scale for Daizen Maeda's return? Is that a serious injury?

He's suffering stiffness in his lower back and his hamstrings. I think in the last game against Motherwell before the international break, he just felt his hamstrings. So we've had some positive news on it, but there's no timeline on it. He certainly won't be ready for tomorrow, and then we'll see where he's at for the weekend.








Brendan, just to be sure, do you stand by the Honda Civic comment, no regrets over it?

Yeah, listen, it's something that I said at the time, and I said it because I felt it. So I've got no regret now.

From Sunday, do you get a sense that the players are stung, that they're ready to come out and show what you would regard as their proper selves as players?

Yeah, well, we have to. I think that when you lose a game and you lose like we did away at Dundee, then the next game is the next opportunity, and that's what we have to stand up and fight now.

We need to get a level of performance and I need to get a level of performance out of the squad that allows us to be consistent and be creative and that's what we're looking at doing.







Brendan, with regards to your unhappiness at the lack of speed that was in your team's play on Sunday, do you feel you have the players with the pace that you need in the squad just now? Do you feel that there is that capability there with the players you have at your disposal just now?

I think this was part of my explanation to the first question. No, we don't. It's a different profile of player. If you think of what we had, the football is going to look different. Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen when he's playing and Nicholas Kuhn, it's a different level of speed, so we don't have that. The game will look different, but we can still be better and faster and more dynamic in our actions, and that's the challenge.

Is that something that Alistair Johnston can possibly help you with? That's a good part of his game, Daizen Maeda being out exacerbating it as well?

I think that's their strength, their physicality. Obviously ,he's been out for a while, but he gets into the areas that we want to arrive into and creates goals as well as giving the balance defensively.

Daizen, like you say, wherever he's played, if you think of the Motherwell game, I used him on the right, on the left and he ends up going through the middle so his importance is hugely missed. But we also need more from everyone and I know the squad are very determined to deliver that.







Brendan, I don't know if you're aware of a Glasgow phrase, the word scunnered. Some people may be suggesting that you're seeming a bit scunnered given all the things around the club in the summer and protests and all that kind of stuff and even injuries and form and all that stuff. Is that the case, and who motivates the motivator? You mentioned intensity and all these things. How is that from your perspective in terms of the job and what's ahead of you in the next few weeks and months?

I think that I've never been more motivated in my time at Celtic. If I look at my own style as a coach, I would say I'm a transformational; it's a transformational style, so I think I can come into a club and teach and inspire and motivate players.

At this point in time, I can't be any more motivated to turn it around because it's okay when you're winning trophies and playing great football and everything else. The challenge is, and we all have seen the challenges from the summer through to now and the continuation of that.

I'm so determined to try and turn the feeling around and the feeling on and off the pitch because for me it's not what Celtic is about or not what Celtic should be about. This is an amazing club, and yeah, you will get frustrated at times. We're only human, and you will get disappointed like you are at the weekend because I can never, with the greatest respect to Dundee, I would never expect a Celtic team to go and lose. That's what I've always felt about here.

We were talking six months ago about challenging at the latter stages of Champions League and now we're losing these types of games. So I'm super motivated to do the very best that I can for this club, and that motivation is burning inside to be able to do that.

The next fortnight feels particularly important in terms of how the season is going to look. If you say that to the players, if you can come through the next couple of weeks unscathed, it could be a liftoff for them?

I haven't touched on that purely because it's always about the next game. I think beyond and outside of coaching and managing, you look at the fixtures and you tend to look at how it maybe can look. But as a coach and manager in the modern game you can look no further than the next game, and that's been our sole focus. We need to get our performance level to a higher level, and if we do that we'll hopefully be in a better position.










Some people think that Sunday vs Hearts should be a priority this week. Is that anywhere in your thinking at this point in time?

No, I think tomorrow night is the next game, and it's a game where we had two home games on the spin in this competition and we wanted to take the points in those. We haven't done that. We've now come up against a really good team tomorrow night. Another big challenge for us and we're going to be ready for that.

Would you be astonished that we in Austria think that Celtic is still the clear favourite in this game, obviously also because of the special atmosphere of Celtic Park?

We would always feel, no matter what team we're playing, whether it was Sturm Graz or Bayern Munich, we would always feel here at Celtic Parkthat with the connection on the pitch and off the pitch that we have a very big chance of winning. Whatever competition that is in.

I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow. We know we've studied Sturm Graz and they're a really good side and score lots of goals, very direct, good speed. And changed the system slightly in terms of being in Europe to where they play more of a diamond at home domestically, and changed a little bit to 4-2-3-1 in the opening games of this competition. But no, Jurgen Saumel's done a really good job with the team. They'll come here and want to do well. But of course, we're at home, we want to get a first win in the competition and hope that it can provide the liftoff for our season.

Is it a question of determination in the game? Because both have good quality to play football. They also have moments where they probably struggle, both teams. Do you think it's a determination tomorrow to win?

Well, that is always a factor in any game. The mentality and the commitment to your pressing, your running, all those little details in the game. There's no doubt that the two teams have quality players, and you hope that your quality comes through. But you know it's going to be a challenge always against a good team. But for us, our determination is very much there to hopefully get the win.











Brendan, what would you say to supporters who believe, from the boardroom, to the players, to yourself in the dugout, that things have become stale and that the club is in a crisis?

Well, there's no doubt that it's in a difficult moment, and I think it goes hand in hand.

If I'm honest, I think that it is difficult. We understood what we wanted to be as a football team in the summer and we never quite managed to get there. So of course we now have to live with that.

So that's something that every day we're trying to improve and make better. But there's absolutely no doubt that we're in a difficult moment and we have to stand together and come through, and that's what's going to be important if we're going to progress.

Just going back to Callum's comments about being too easy to play against, is that perhaps the worst criticism you can level against your side just now and is tomorrow night a must-win game for the players and yourself?

I think every game is to win. When we go out, we want to win every single game. We'll do our very, very best to do that.

It's one of the things that I've always said, coming in here, that you want to be a team that's very hard to play against. When this team's at its best and when the club is, then of course it is very difficult.

We've seen it in pre-season. When Eddie Howe was here with Newcastle and thinking that this was going to be a real challenge in place for any team to come in the Champions League to play. I think he mentioned that afterwards. So that's the type of team that you always want to be.

But of course, circumstances and how it's dropped for us after the window has made that much more difficult for us. But for me, it's to win every single game. And if you don't, I understand the consequences. Especially at a club like this here. So for me, it's a must-win game tomorrow night in whichever way you want to look at it.

For us to compete in the Europa League, we want to get up and running. We want to get a performance level that can inspire that confidence. And in every which way, to give a better feeling to supporters off the pitch. That's what we want to do.





Brendan, I know your full focus is on Sturm Graz, but could I ask for your reaction to Rangers' appointment of Danny Rohl? Is he a guy that you've come across before? Are you aware of him and the Sheffield Wednesday teams?

No, I've not come across Danny before, no. It obviously looked like it was going to be Kevin Muscat that was coming in from the little bits and pieces I heard, but no, I haven't come across Danny. I think he's obviously worked at Southampton before and maybe came across, he was coaching there I believe, but no, I haven't come across him.

 

I’m really struggling with people wanting him sacked because I don’t know what people expect from that bad a team quality wise and that extends onto me saying nobody could get this team playing attractive football atm.

Say he loses the next 3, i think he would have to go but no matter who you bring in this team is not producing good football.

 

100%. You have to look at the net spend. Look at the one and only window where he was "backed" (scare quotes very much intended). Sure, we spent £11 million on Engels; but we got double that for MOR. I'm actually one of Engels' biggest fans on here; but he's no MOR. It's no coincidence that the best football I've seen us play in a couple of decades was that brief period before we sold O'Riley.

That's OK, though. The reality is that we have to sell and we were never going to be willing or able to spend £20 million on a replacement. It's OK if you reinvest enough of the money to get the manager what he needs. And it has to be noted that Rodgers repaid that with the only CL campaign I actually enjoyed since the year we beat Barcelona under Lenny. But even in a good window like that one, no one can pretend we broke the bank for Rodgers when we still had a hugely negative net spend.

As for that first summer and this last summer, only someone who hates Rodgers could even try to pretend he was backed in those two windows.

 

Who do we have in the 3rd game? I'm asking because I think there's a realistic chance we lose the next 2 TBH.

 

Third game is at home to Falkirk. Think that may have been missed as one after that is Huns

 

Its a good interview but think its very much designed to play to fanbase gallery.

Im not convinced hes working tirelessly on finding solutions when we have lined up more or less the same way with the same approach despite signs the system was being figured out going back 9 months now. If anything he seems to have gone out of way to stick rigidly to his default setting. An international break just passed to take a good look at options and we line up business as usual. Feels like as long as we were limping along relying on last minute goals we were happy to paper over the cracks.

Im not buying these performances are the best we should expect that group of players to produce.

 

Unfortunately your exactly right about Knutsen and Hayen. No chance at this point either would touch the Celtic job when they know as will any legit high level manager know that coming to Celtic means you have to run the team with an utterly incompetent board actually controlling who is and isn't in the squad never mind the fact that they stabbed the last manager in the back publicly and then covered for Lawwell/whoever afterward. What is out there in the public square alone is enough information to have any high quality managers steering well clear of Celtic at the moment and is another key reason why Desmond, Lawwell, Nicholson and McKay must go. There presence now at Celtic ensures we cannot attract managers at the elite level.

 

If we appointed a caretaker, it would have to be MON. I guess Ange could work, IF the board were removed and replaced by men who answer to him, and not DD. * having Kennedy, Maloney or Broony come in, they need to rack up a good few years managing decent clubs. My personal hope for next permanent manager is Steve Clarke, David Moyes or any renowned manager who doesn't care about possession.

 

Would love to know what certain members of the squad think. Saraachi who captained Uruguay last games, watching a half fit KT, do half the job he's doing (well) at the moment, not get a game. Same for Inamura.

Sinisalo will be biding his time, but he must be thinking the same about Schmeichel.

Donovan will be disappointed to see his place go to a championship level RB after doing little wrong.

Bernardo, Engels, watching Cal and Reo get bullied, pulled apart, ran past, misplace passes, wave their arms about whilst appearing mute on the field. Bernardo under 21 Portuguese capt, highly rated and Engels, a Belgian national already now second choice.

Balikwisha, watching Yang and limited Forrest do sweet fa on the right thinking, gimme a chance, let me build confidence and find my feet.

Yamada, top scorer in Japan prior to his move, who has pace, strength, energy, can score, moves half way across the world to watch a headless chicken in Kenny get put in. The amount fouls this guy gives away is ridiculous.

Thats all on Rodgers. He's refusing to use all of the tools at his disposal. He can claim to be super motivated etc, but he must killing the a lot of the squad knowing that no matter how * some others are, they're guaranteed a game.

Massive week for Rodgers. He loses these games and persists with his favourites in a 4-3-3, for me he's done. His face can be put up beside the other who need removed.

He doesn't have the players to do the 4-3-3. So to persist is either incompetent or arrogant. Neither of which have a place at Celtic, especially where we are currently.