Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

There is nothing apologist about backing a manager who has consistently delivered us silverware and broken several records for quality of play. He's earned a level of trust and respect same as any successful manager here. Calling anyone who shares a balanced view that he's not the main problem at the club an "apologist" is baseless. In order for that to hold any weight he'd need to be due the sack. Anyone suggesting he is or immediately close to it is deluded. I do not give a * if defending him because of external circumstances isn't a fashionable opinion. I like Brendan and we're lucky to have him. Could not give a flying * if anyone disagrees. Pretty much every measurable metric you can think of that defines a good Celtic manager would support the opinion that he's been nothing short of an overwhelming success. Until such times that he is demonstrably failing in his role, then he has my support. As does any player pulling on our jersey. Pretty standard stuff at our club, the way it always has been.

Again, the false narrative around poor football last season is inaccurate and revisionist. Lifting a double, being one game off a treble and genuinely competing in the Champs League isn't possible if that were true. Nor is breaking our goal difference record. So its a gross exaggeration designed to fit an anti-Brendan agenda. Your description of "eye bleeding football" is genuinely laughable.

We're now 2 windows removed from this "successful" window you speak of. In which we've sold all our best attacking players and downgraded the team. Yet you're saying we shouldn't have dropped off to this extent? To what extent should we have dropped off? What's an acceptable level of it? Other than failing our CL qualifier our season is very much alive. Only played 8 league games and still in both cups. We haven't yet encountered a domestic disaster other than losing to Dundee in a poor performance. I'd expect many more poor dropped points to come with this squad. The fact remains that we didn't even attempt to replace key players. That can never be acceptable under any management.

Rodgers quote regarding the Civics was daft, however, it seemed to get the desired effect out the players on Thursday. He said after the game he used it to give the players a nudge after a poor showing in Dundee. I don't disagree with the logic, only the way in which he delivered it. But that's up to him. Would look far worse if we'd lost that game with a performance as bad as Dundee.

As I said in a previous post. In his entire spell here he's lost to Rangers twice. They've yet to beat us in a meaningful game. Yes performances against them have been poor but whenever there's been something on the line be it a league title or a cup, he's managed to win. So his record against Rangers overall is about the best you'll see from one of our managers. He certainly hasn't sat back and watched Rangers lift much silverware in his time which is what really matters.

I've again said multiple times I don't see how anyone can look at that squad and brand it fit for purpose to challenge for 3 trophies and compete in Europe. It certainly isn't now with the injuries we have. So I think all things considered that was a very good performance and victory on Thursday. Of course its Brendan's job to get the most out of the players and squeeze every bit of quality out the team. That really goes without saying. But my argument has been all along that goals win you games, and we are absolutely woefully short on viable attacking options to score the number of goals required for a Celtic team. It is of absolutely no surprise to me that our post transfer window desperation signing is injured after being pish for the last few years and is considered our number 1 striker. To expect Brendan to suddenly be able to turn what's left into Celtic quality strikers to me is an unrealistic ask. I can't remember the last Celtic manager who had such poor options to select from. The fact we're playing a game against our current main rivals at the top of the table in a few hours with Kenny and Shin as the only strikers in the squad is absolutely criminal. Chance conversion has been an issue for us since the start of the season and if you look at our xG vs the actual goals we've scored it clearly demonstrates that. We have a decent defence and midfield, which is providing my only hope of keeping us going until January where we can try and sort the glaring holes. But I think we'll struggle to win games with a lack of goal scorers in the team.

Why would changing a manager suddenly improve our performances? Do the attacking options somehow improve? Does a wholesale change of formation guarantee different results? We can't even field 1 quality striker, never mind a formation involving 2. We have no good options on the right wing, constantly limiting a formation that involves a quality right sided attacker. Any suggestion of formation changes involves more players playing out of position. Yes its Brendan's job to find the answer to how to set up going forward, but it doesn't make it easier by bringing in someone else to do it. There's certainly no one on this forum who has the answer to this magical formation you allude to or they'd be in a job. Being an armchair manager is the easiest job in the world as you can never be proven wrong as its pointless speculation. The point has always been no manager should be expected to rip up his formation and tactics due to boardroom negligence. If you don't want to supply players to play his system, then get rid of him. Anything else is pointless. A celtic manager needs fully backed and supported. A basic requirement. We would probably have beaten Kairat had we signed Tounetki in advance of the game, such was the small margins of going out of that. But we spent all summer * about and now are struggling to field a team fit for Europa nevermind the potential embarrassment if this squad had made it to the Champions League. Doesn't bare thinking about.

How can you say Rodgers is incapable of doing anything here when he's delivered trophy are trophy here? I'm not interested in him not winning the league at Liverpool thanks to Gerrard slipping or anything he did at Leicester. He deserves to be judged on his tenure as Celtic manager and a manager here is judged on results. So far as I said, you can't class him as anything other than an overwhelming succes. Even if we finished this season winning nothing, which I hope to * we don't, his overall record would still be outstanding and we'd be happy with any future manager replicating it. I think our fanbase sometimes is too accustomed to winning the league, doubles and trebles as if its a cake walk because we've made it look that way. It still takes a monumental amount of hard work.

He does indeed need to get his * together, its not like I have at any point given him a free pass and said he's bulletproof indefinitely for as long as he chooses to be here. But I'm also aware he's also a human who will have been devastated by the way he was treated over the summer and bitterly disappointed by our recruitment. The carry on with the staff member leaking stories etc it all plays a part on his ability to do his job as much as negative circumstances can affect a playet on the pitch. I understand its easy to look at his wages and tell him to shut up and get on with it but its going to take time and hardwork to find the answers. But the bigger issues are the club and the way we're operating. We don't need the transfer window to be open to fix the shambles behind the scenes. This needs sorted ASAP so that when Brendan does go, our next manager is walking into a situation befitting of our club and isn't left with a * mess like Brendan was this summer.

 

You started the debate and you're the one who stopped the discussion, which I'm happy about as we're treading over the same ground. But there's no point in pretending you don't want the manager gone and aren't really offering up anything worth talking about other than some narrative of poor football. I've seen you in other threads saying you can't wait to hopefully soon have a new manager so clearly you're going to have a hard time offering a balanced view.

"I wont be judging any player until i see them under the next manager (hopefully soon)."

Your post on the Kieran Tierney thread. As opposite to a balanced view as you'll find on here.

 

Didn't want him back, don't like him as a manager, looking forward to the day he's not our manager, if he were to resign on monday id be happy. I'll admit that. It is possible to, at the same time, recognise that as things stand it is premature to call for a sacking. And I haven't done so yet, but his coat must be on a shoogly peg.

Anyway, you're hardly a beacon of impartiality on the subject. Glass houses and all that eh?

 

Half the support didnt want him back .still dont. Get rid asap and that board have to go. HH

 

Be careful what you wish for.

 

All the old, 'never liked him' brigade back on the wagon I see.

Rodgers deserves a lot of the criticism and hasn't gotten the most from the team but when people start with the traitor/never liked him I don't bother reading the rest of the comment as it's going to be completely negatively biased towards confirming their own belief.

 

You're saying it's revionist but its not.

Some people, very much myself, have been railing against these drop offs TWICE. Before he left us and now again.
It was precisely the reason why I didnt want him back.

Saying that you dont care about a Celtic managers managerial history, or the reasons he has been binned at two EPL clubs, is also very naive. I absolutely LOVE Postecoglou, but Angeballs time at Celtic has come and gone, and his two recent sackings give alot of pause at any reappointment for me.

I totally believe Rodgers is a great coach, but a poor manager.

Youve also again pointed out the apparent difficulty maintaining the level of trophies we consistently win. And how much credit Rodgers should have in the bank because of it.
When this argument was put on here by someone else I retorted, as I will now, that titles and cups are not as hard one as they were, when we had actual financial and footballing competition.

Any look at any leagues across Europe will tell you that 9 times out of 10 the club with the best resources will win the title.

Bayern Munich have won 18 of the last 25 championships.

PSV and Ajax have 20 of the last 25 between them.

In fact, trebles in todays Scottish football environment are NOT the unicorns they once were either.

The point being that we are NOT, as some people claim, spoiled. We merely expect our financial and structural position of supremacy to yield trophies, just as any other supporters of their leagues biggest clubs would.

We sacked BOTH Deila and Lennon, title winning managers, due to the severe drop off in quality and inability to stifle rot, and in Lennons case, his inability to see off Slippy gs Sevco.

Rodgers, * by the board or not, should be held to the same standards as every Celtic manager before him; if you have the best squad, we expect the title and if you get an easy draw, CL group stages.
Rodgers is so far failing this season, as I and many others predicted he might.

But anyway, we could go round in circles all day here. You dont apologise for being a Rodgers fan and nor should anyone expect you to.
Lets just ALL hope, together, that he can get this team pulling in the right direction again, and buck the trend.

 

There's not really alot of point in debating him, you've said it yourself you don't like him and have been against his return. You've spent 2 years in this thread tearing into him. You're entitled to your opinion but can't help but feel its generally agenda based. My defence of him has been based on his body of work here. Your comparison to Ange is an interesting one as Brendan has delivered far more than Ange here, yet you love him and hate Brendan. Anyway, I think we've both said our piece. Brendan for me won't be here past the end of the season anyway. Can't see why he would stay and with the way the club has behaved I think everyone would agree the best option is changes and board and management level going forward. Hopefully that time comes after a somewhat successful season and its not a reaction to an on field disaster. Lets hope we can get something today and keep building a bit of momentum.

 

There is no way if this was any other manager after 2 seasons of success that his coat would be on a shoogly peg this early into a season. Losing a CL qualifer unfortunately is a common theme. Never sacked a manager for it. We've lost 1 domestic game. There has never in the clubs history been a sacking after similar. Again, its a biased opinion as you don't like him. Another one who's spent 2 years in this thread tearing into him.

I actually am capable of being impartial. As if we were in a position for him to be sacked I'd be calling for it. My opinion would change if he wasn't doing his job and was at fault. I hated him after he left the first time. But I recognised that he came back here due to a love of the club and he didn't want to be the end of his legany at Celtic, and I can respect him for that. I think he's genuinely tried to make amends. I'm perfect capable of trying to hold a balanced view.

 

Serious question.....if we lose today....is he out?

 

He won't be no. But that line-up/formation shows utter ignorance/arrogance. Everything is not rosy after the Strum Graz game. We're the easiest time to set up against, and he's played to that again.

A massive game for him now. He loses this, it's on him as the lessons of this season and of lasts season haven't been learned.

 

Make the changes you *!

 

Rodgers can get to ???? now. Trusty 6 million paid and doesn't get a start over Murray. Away u go Brendan

 

At * last

 

Please leave man please
Sick of him

 

Get him gone. He’s * done

 

Doesn’t have a clue

 

This result and performance today must be close to a sacking - we have been awful all season. Beat next week he has to go

 

What does he coach these players at? I cannot see anything

 

Time to go it's not working out this time. Just because it has in the past doesn't mean it will now. We need something new.