Brendan Fraudgers!

BRENDAN Rodgers last night dismissed suggestions he is at loggerheads with the Celtic board over their long-standing transfer policy despite admitting their squad was currently weaker than last season.

Rodgers prompted speculation that he was unhappy with the lack of transfer activity at Parkhead last week following the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round against Rosenborg.

He stated that he was unaware about the pursuit of Australian winger Daniel Arzani the day after he admitted that he was unsure if he would be able to strengthen before the window closes next month.



However, the Northern Irishman, who has brought in Odsonne Edouard from Paris Saint-Germain for a club record £9 million fee this summer, insisted he was comfortable with the Celtic business model as his side prepared for the second leg here.

The double treble-winning manager stated he would not make signings simply to placate fans and the media and stressed he was excited with the personnel he currently has at his disposal.

“We have lots of players that are working very well, that are developing, but what we need is quality and that is important," he said. "I don’t really want to bring in players that are just going to come in and, you know, just stockpile a group. We’ve got a core that really connect to how we work, but we have to bring in quality.

“Now that’s then what goes over to the club, and then the club will look to then do their best, which I believe they are, their very best, to get the level of quality that we need in and that’s going to help us improve because that’s what’s important.

“I think there’s always going to be a limit and I am fully aware of that. No matter what my feeling is I have to respect where the club is at. The club isn’t a Premier League club down south. They’re always going to have to be mindful of the types of salaries that they can pay because it is a totally different market.




But it is the job of the manager, the coach, to try and push to get the possible players we can in and help keep the club moving forward.

Rodgers added: “I don’t run the club. The club have had a very clear structure of how they work. Of course, these last couple of years have been great years for us. I have got no reason not to ever believe that club don’t want that either.

“They have supported me extremely well since I have been up here. All the changes I wanted to make, all the things I wanted to do, I have had great support in that. I just think it is one where there is not a huge reforming that needs doing.

“I can easy bring in 10 players. It looks nice and it might flash up on the telly. I am looking at efficiency, I am looking at the quality of the players. So, like I say, the recruitment team are looking very hard at profiles, the targets, and, like I say, we hope we can get some of them in.”

Asked if he would be happy to go into the ew season with the squad he has got, Rodgers said: “I have no choice. I love working with the players that we have. Like I say continuity in football sometimes gets forgotten about because people just want to recycle players.

“But when you get to a state like our club is in, which is very healthy, very strong, lots of great value within the squad, with lots of growth left in them, that’s great. That’s our job, to improve that.

“But you also need to strengthen. As we sit here now, we aren’t as strong a squad as what we were last year. We have lost players. I think everyone can see that, but the club know that as well, we call know that, we all push to try and get in the best quality that we can to make us better. That is always the key.”

 

Honestly not convinced it's all a personnel problem we have at the back anymore. We're 3-1 up on aggregate, within the first few minutes Gamboa is left completely exposed 1 v 1, I mean, who the * is setting us up to be that exposed that early on in a game where we have a lead to defend?! Genuinely Sunday league stuff. The amount of space we're leaving in the middle of the park and how exposed the defence have been is absolutely shocking.

 

Pish, we looked comfortable the full game. Shut them out without breaking a sweat. Made changes to preserve players legs for the weekend and next week

 

He set out to win the tie, job done.

 

BR: “We couldn’t quite build the game as much as we’d have liked. Very pleased with how we defended with that resilience and mentality.”


BR: “Tonight was a great demonstration that you can’t always play perfect football, especially in Europe. When you’re under pressure, questions are asked about your resilience and I thought we stood up to that very well

BR: “We won the tie last week with a great attacking performance and defending well. Tonight was about being solid and keeping the cleansheet.”


BR on @kierantierney1: “Bit of cramp. Probably could’ve played on but we just wanted to make sure we would close out the game with fully fit players but he should be fine.”

 

I honestly think the board are being tightarses and it might start to * rodgers off,surely they have to trust the guy after what hes accomplished here.

I mean we could spend another 10 million without really breaking the bank this season,2 or 3 quality players in and were in a great position.(i know harder than it sounds).

 

We shall find out soon enough if they are being tight arses when the transfer window closes and i would be shocked if we dont spend on a quality defender and then if we dont then the celtic fans can point the finger at the board .

 

That finger should've been pointed many times over. These * base their decision-making on what Rangers are doing. Talk about an "Old Firm" mindset. And I thought sponsors and the media had it.

 

I wouldn't, I think it's a certainty we won't.

 

No we didn't.

 

Also Brown was our only holding midfielder. Ntcham was further up the pitch than the wingers most of the game. And when possession was given away he was left too far up the pitch, Brown was trying to close down 2 or 3 players and one or two of the defenders would then step up to help, quick lay off, ball over the top and acres of space.
It's coaching and tactics. If it's not and Ntcham is just running about like a diddy he needs told not to i.e man management.

Don't want to sound harsh but we are beginning to see Rodgers failings as a coach and manager. All managers have them of course. This is where he should (or the board should) hire the correct backroom staff.
Either that or we don't have players capable of playing that way - disciplined.

 

Brendan Rodgers just doesn't like to deal with the defensive side of things. He wants football that can, at times, be unrealistic in expectations. He thinks he can overwhelm all teams by throwing people forward.

 

It was strange though because the 2nd half we took the sting out of the game and played our own game with the same personnel controlled it and you expect Rosenborg to be even more desperate for goals.

 

Not true. For instance, it seems to me that we were happy to sit back and defend vs. Rosenborg.

 

When we were attacking though, there was often insufficient cover to stop counterattacks.

 

Can remember 2 really good saves from Gordon and a good few chances where they were inches away from getting a foot to crosses along our box ,was no really comfortable but no total panic ,but we would not have held out to go through if they scored before half time .

 

The first thing you are taught as a kid, is when you've got an attacking corner, you never leave the defence 1 v 1 with their out ball. Too many times I've seen us do it under Rodgers and it should never happen, unless it's the last minute and you've thrown everyone forward to get an equaliser or a winner. If they leave one up, you leave two back, if they leave two up, you leave three back. Especially when you're defending a lead.

 

BR: "It’s our number one competition. Obviously the competition starts early up here but the Premiership is very important for us so it’s nice to have our first game at home. We’re preparing well to hopefully perform well."

BR: "It’s a wonderful league. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being up here. It’ll be a very competitive league again like it’s been the two years we’ve been here but it’s not just about defending the title for us, we have to win it."

BR: "We are clearly focused on winning as many games as we possibly can. We want to develop the work that we’ve already put in. When you work with individuals and teams there’s always room for improvement and we aim to improve in every facet of our game.

BR: "@Leighgriff09 will be back in the squad and @SimunovicJozo will be available again. That’s two players who are important for us and will add to the squad