Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

I wonder if the quality he’s wanting is out of our reach. That’s what it feels like to me, the quality we have in the squad in general at the moment I think if we can’t get that right quality of guy in, he’d not be interested. It’d need to be better than what’s there at the moment.

There’s two glaring places in the squad where we needed numbers, Kuhn has filled one now, and Kvistgardeen was clearly the ‘quality’ option we wanted there. The other is another option at LB, and if we can’t get an option to make Taylor the back up option, I’d rather us just play Frame as a back up there.

 

That was my take on the summer. What Rodgers wants us to bring in is out of reach/we aren't able to attract. He's not like Ange who was ultra-motivated to make things work and basically did 3 jobs when here.

Agree with bringing in development players if that's the option left.

 

If that were true… then the wheels would be oiled before the window opened and most if not all targets would be done deals…

They take the supporters fir mugs… and sadly too many live up to it.

 

I liked the look of the Danish boy. Think he would've offered us a lot..

This happened in his first spell as well where he was supposedly looking at players that were a bit further on than what we could afford or were willing to pay. Surely he'll be shown videos and a list of players the scouts will have identified at affordable prices?

 

as ange said if i dont get the players i need i havent dont my job convincing the tory * that i need them ( something like that) . rodgers needs to be plaguing that * desmond every hour telling him to players in

 

Surely our scouts should be doing their job throughout the year and not just wait until the transfer windows are open as, if not, it's an absolute damnation on how our club is run.

 

You'd like to think so.......but......

 

Or they are out of the reach of this board perhaps? They maybe shouldn’t be out of the clubs reach, but this board lack any ambition. We’ve seen this movie all too often.

 

We don't know that they aren't... We've no idea what reports/videos are being shown behind closed doors, at what time, and at who's behest. But they don't sign players, any more than managers do...

I've a modicum of sympathy for anyone trying to sell the SPFL at the moment, because the narrative is either that we're absolutely *, with a league of hammer throwers, or they think we're just like the EPL and then see that we're * broke in comparison - our top wages are equivalent to the EPL average squad wage. However, this can be placated by the board setting us up/selling a vision properly, rather than just living off an obsolete OF legacy, which they clearly seem incapable/unwilling to do...

 

100% this!

 

Looking more and more likely that Rodgers is a puppet.

Sorry Brendan if you want quality you ruffle some feathers. Demand it or walk. There needs to be some pressure applied here.

If we lose a few games or fall behind them I don't want to hear him bleating about quality. If he continues to defend/excuse this board then he's culpable as well.

 

He walked before. If come the end of the season he gets an offer, he will be off again I think. This is another point I think a lot of our fans are missing. The problem isn’t Rodgers, this is the same as we have seen time and time again from the current board. If Rodgers walks, they will simply bring in someone else and they will encounter the same problems Rodgers has, twice now. The only manager who didn’t seem to have the issues, was Ange, who worked here when Lawwell didn’t. Not a coincidence.

 

We definitely don’t, and never have, look at the interview that the scout we had for Dembele explained it a lot. The simple quick transfers are usually either from a surprise direction, like Ange’s ones identified from Japan, and his first choice we didn’t get Brighton did. Him and Kyogo were the main ones first summer for him.

Quality, proper quality that are ready made players, we can’t do quickly and also we need a lot of things going our way to get them eventually.

 

We have mate, and it just takes a different more focused approach and an attitude that we will either sign you or you can go do other things, no * about, either be here or not. Along with targeted planning, along with looking at different markets where those guys would be * desperately wanting the exposure we would give them… basically, what Ange done.

I feel like it’s when back to us waiting and being dragged along as a back up option, a just incase the offer from England doesn’t come, they have a good offer from us and then can go down there after being here… a lá Arnauotvic before going to Stoke.

I don’t think Rodgers is decisive enough to say no, he’s waited a week on our offer, * him to his first choice signings. And move to the next one quickly. And we can’t just copy and paste Ange’s style, but that’s the most successful we’ve ever been off the pitch.

 

It's becoming apparent that this guy is the problem. Offering Lennon the job in the showers and doing NOTHING whilst said manager steered us to failure in the 10 season should have been more than enough to rid us of him. Rid us of him for good!

 

He was also the guy around for the rest of the time, 4 Trebles in a row, 3 CL last 16 runs.

Honestly, I want him to * away from us and have for a long time, since Lennon left the first time was when I called it quits with him. Then the Ronny experiment was a Lawwell thing altogether and that cemented my opinion for him to get tae.

But when accusations are thrown his way, its always only the bad parts of his time at us, with the best parts either being downplayed or handwaved as despite him.

 

I’d argue that all things considered, we’ve underachieved relative to where we could be if we’d just once decided to try and capitalise from a position of strength.

 

I don’t think they do get downplayed. We all acknowledge how successful we have been domestically. Was it the easiest chance we will have to dominate Scottish football for a large spell though? Yes it was. To lose a league to Aberdeen or Motherwell was virtually impossible no matter what we done. The domestic cup success more impressive however, because we have all seen enough cup upsets over the years to know they aren’t easy to win.

To not win a knockout game in Europe in over 20 years for a club our size is utter abysmal. We have been held back massively as a club, and continue to be right now. It seemed to be changing under Ange I felt, and I think a few more additions could have allowed us to do something in Europe. We had the finances there to give us the best possible chance last summer, and we well and truly * it with our shambolic summer transfer window.

 

5 Trebles and a double in 7 years is insane though mate, we’ve lost 5 league seasons (I think 5, maybe 6) In the time he was CEO.

He hasn’t ever capitalised on the position of strength when it’s been there to hit a new level, that’s my problem with him. But he also got us through one of the worst recessions ever seen financially healthy, and through a pandemic and a closed season healthy as a club.

Whilst having an unheard of amount of success in that period trophy wise.

But he could have done so much better, within the framework he built. And we have done that at times, when Desmond got more interested. That was how BR signed as manager first time, Ronny got beat off Huns a league below and Desmond got * a Hun director didn’t give him a handshake. So he got involved more, signed Rodgers, ripped up the wage bill to an extent, got Dembele and Sinclair over the line… then lost interest a year and a half in and we got cautious again.

 

January can be a frustrating month, for managers and fans alike. There can be targets that slip by the wayside, key men that are poached away at a critical time in the season, and areas of the team needing strengthening that remain unaddressed.

At least in terms of outgoings, Celtic fans could breathe a heavy sigh of relief yesterday. Manager Brendan Rodgers spelled out in no uncertain terms that not only would Matt O’Riley not be allowed to leave the club during this window, after he was subject to a bid from Atletico Madrid, but that none of his key men would be sold.

Frustration remains though at the lack of incomings, with only winger Nick Kuhn added to the Celtic squad from Rapid Vienna thus far, and with less than a week of the winter window still to run. A frustration that is heightened by their own manager spelling out from the start of the campaign that he was targeting quality in this period, and the bulging bank balance the Celtic board have been happy enough to crow about, but less happy to relinquish in a meaningful way.

So, what can the Celtic support expect in the rest of this window? Would their manager be able to pursue a player in the £15m to £20m bracket, for instance, a figure it has been reported Liverpool would demand for goalkeeping target Caoimhin Kelleher?

“No,” Rodgers said flatly.

“It’s very difficult. The money’s there but that won’t happen. If you’re bringing in a £20m player then you’re taking a £20m player’s wages. That doesn’t work here sadly. We’re not in that ballpark.”

Are the club still targeting a middle ground though between that sort of outlay and the £2m project players that have become a common part of the Celtic recruitment strategy, perhaps in the region of the £6m or so it took to secure the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota?

“I think that’s realistic,” he said.

“I think we’ve done that. This isn’t new or now. You look before when they signed Carter-Vickers or Jota for £6-7m. The evidence is there that they do that. But £20m is…

“I’m just looking at good players. The money thing is irrelevant to me. As you’ll see some duds. I only look at the level of player I can get to. I don’t necessarily say, 'give me a £7m player'. As he might not be as good as a £2m player who has a capacity to grow.

“So, for me it’s about the level of player who’s going to come in and improve us and not just sit in behind someone. They have to really compete.”

There is something of a narrative that the relationship between Rodgers and the various iterations of the Celtic board that have existed throughout his two spells at the club have had something of a fractious relationship, particularly when it comes to transfers.

But Rodgers is keen to point out that at this moment, there is in fact a decent degree of harmony between the dugout and the boardroom.

“I speak and communicate with them really well, particularly with Michael (Nicholson) and Chris (McKay)," he said.

"We have regular communication, regular meetings, as much as people want to promote this [narrative]…we’re absolutely on the same page.

“I know what we need to do to improve the team and the squad. If I could click my fingers and do it that would be great, but football doesn’t work like that.

“So, it takes a bit of time, but our relationship is very strong. I will always demand we have the best players we can possibly have here, and if that means pushing the limits then I will always do that.

“But I will always respect where we’re at as a club.”

That’s not to say that the frustrations of the fans are not also his own, as Rodgers acknowledged he fully understands why supporters would look at the club’s balance sheet and wonder why more of those reserves weren’t being used to strengthen the most important part of the club – the team on the park.

“Supporters are right to ask that,” he said.

“If you promote as a club you have the money in the bank, then they know the money is there.

“But we’re all the same, we want what is the best for Celtic. We want quality players in, but we know there has to be a balance between young up and coming players and players that are ready made. We are very aligned on that.

“For me it’s not about the numbers or the number of players. It’s about having a squad that is competitive and you can take one player out and put another of quality in.

“The board guys run the club and the finances and run it very well. My demand will always be to get the very best players that we possibly can. And if there are ones who aren’t better than we already have I don’t see the point in bringing them in.”

That may seem to some Celtic supporters as though they are being softened up not to expect too much then before the window does indeed close on Thursday.

“A big part of my philosophy has always been to have faith and trust in the players that we have,” Rodgers added.

“In the modern games there’s always a shout for new signings and it looks great on the yellow bar on the telly saying Celtic have signed a new player. But that soon wears off if he’s not any good or won’t improve you.

“For me a big part of what I do is maximising what we have. I know what we need to do in the squad. I know clearly the profile of player that’s needed here to help us going forward. And if they’re available then I’m sure the club will do everything they can to help us on that.

“If not, then we’ll look towards the summer.”