Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Nobody was booing Greg Taylor. It's fans getting excited about speculation regarding a top-class player and one of our own returning to the club.

Taylor has literally nothing to do with it.

 

Find a lot of our fans attitudes towards our players far more embarrassing and more of an issue than anything BR says to the media personally. Whether people think he hasn't worded things correctly, not going to be surprised when he comes out defending his players. Some people are just completely unrealistic.

 

Brendan Rodgers has accused a section of the Celtic support of showing a lack of respect towards Greg Taylor after chanting Kieran Tierney’s name towards the end of their side’s win over St Mirren, while also taking aim at the Celtic Park crowd for a lack of patience.

Tierney has been linked with a move back to his boyhood club in this transfer window, with Celtic in talks with Arsenal and Tierney’s representatives about a potential loan deal for the rest of the season before the left back would sign permanently when his contract expires in the summer.


Rodgers wouldn’t be drawn on how those negotiations are progressing, but he was far from impressed by some fans chanting Tierney’s name towards the end of the routine 3-0 win.

“There was a few things that I may have overheard at the end there,” Rodgers said.

“That’s a total lack of respect. Of course it is.

“Greg Taylor, he's been absolutely amazing at this club. How does he feel?

“He nearly breaks his nose [today], bleeding for the club, for a cause. It's not very respectful. You sing for another player, no matter what Kieran’s history is. I don't like that.

“There's lots of speculation, lots of names, but I wouldn't add anything to it.”


When pressed on whether the club are any closer to agreeing an extension to Taylor’s own deal, which also expires at the end of the season, Rodgers said: “Hopefully. It's been an ongoing issue, so I'm not exactly sure where it's at at the moment.

“But what I know is that a young player who's given so much to this club over a number of years, consistently. His ability, what he's done for the club. So, that needs to be explored.

“He might decide to go elsewhere. But at this moment in time, he's here, he's very much a Celtic player, and we want to support that. Hopefully we can get to some agreement to let him stay.

“I can only vouch for where I've come in here. I've had a look at his numbers before, and then his performance level, consistency, availability. And then from my time here, he's been absolutely great.


"I hear the stuff around, oh, maybe [he's not cut out for the] Champions League. But I've had hundreds of Celtic players that haven't been good enough in Champions League.

“What I know is this is a man who gives everything for this club. Hopefully we can keep him here because we're trying to build a strong squad.

“I put myself in his shoes when he’s playing left-back in the game. Especially when you're doing so much for the club and have given so much for the club.

“I'm not sure [if he’s conscious of it], I haven't spoken to him, but I don't think he can miss it. I don't think he can miss it being on the pitch. But what I know is every single day of his life it's up to him. He's there for the team, he stands up and be counted. The next mistake, he goes again.



Like I said, his availability, his consistency over a long period of time has been absolutely brilliant. I've said it before, I commend him. I get a greater appreciation even now, walking with him, closely. I'm really hopeful that we'll keep him.”

Rodgers was also unimpressed by some sections of the Celtic Park crowd getting on top of his team for passing the ball backwards when the St Mirren game was goalless, saying those who did it don’t understand the game.

“The challenge here itself is that I have a big respect for this group of players," he said.

"Especially on a day like today, because when it was 0-0 for the first 20 minutes, and when we'd make a backward pass the crowd would be onto the team


That cannot happen. One, if you know about football, and two, if you can understand it when teams come here, they're going to make it really difficult.

“You can't turn up every single week and be three, four up in 20 minutes. Teams are well organised, teams are well set up, you have to work the game.

“So sometimes you have to play a backward pass to change the point of attack. We make a backward pass, and then we go to the players, and that's why I was proud of the players.

“I don't need the cheers when it's 3-0, and the support when it's 3 or 4-0, or 5-0. This team needs it.


It's just the amount of games that they're playing, and how we play. You only need to look at the facts and how this team plays to know they're an attacking team, a creative team that creates goals and scores goals.”

The Celtic manager also pointed to his record over the past 12 months or so, and asked the crowd to trust him in such situations.

“When we decide to go back to change the point of attack, clap the players, don't panic,” he said.

“Don't start getting on to them. Because we're trying to get another level. And the best example we have of that this season was against Brugges


We're in the Champions League. Daizen (Maeda) is going forward, he turns, he plays a backward pass to change the point of attack. The pressure on that guy when he did that, thankfully he coped with it. But the noise, the negativity around that.

"We then change the picture, he then gets a back again, and now he's free. He cuts inside, he gets a shot.

“But that's not what football is. So for us, we play a backward pass, a sideways pass to change the point of attack. And the players deserve more. The players deserve the trust.

“And that was my feeling today. We need the support when it's 0-0. Especially amidst a run of games where there are so many games where you might be a fraction just fatigued. But we don't mention that.

“We want to attack. Look at our numbers, look at our stats. Just trust the team. Trust the management.

 

I can understand his point to an extent on the so called backwards & sideways passing to get it back to the so called focal point to set up the next attack. BUT the team over do this aspect of the game. So many times today the player on the ball had so much forward space to drive in to but you can see they are robotics at times and automatically reverse it back. To say that the fans are not qualified to have a view on this is not on. There's a fair few of us in the crowd who have played at high levels. You do not need to have played the game to see that we over do the backwards & sideways passing at times. I'm sure the analytics team could prove this to the manager.

 

What will we say when we are in the last 8 of the Champions League

 

The guy has been getting abuse for months ffs. Rodgers is right to back him, some of the * getting flung at Taylor is a * disgrace. Whether or not people fancy him as a player is irrelevant, it's the absolute children how can't separate that from all our hatred fir a guy who's given us his all that are the problem. * embarrassing at times it is.

 

Nobody is talking about Taylor. Rodgers has brought Taylor up. When Taylor leaves he'll be thanked for his service and history will remember him well.

The reason he gets stick is because he's absolutely pish and regularly costs us in big moments

 

Fans have a right to question tactics and players ability...especially after that disgraceful performance on Thurs.

Taylor/Scales/Hatate and Engels have been woeful....They should be dropped and fans have a right to ask questions.

No one is getting into arguments with players outside stadiums etc.....

No one attacked anyone.....We are asking questions ....

 

This.

You dare question Rodgers and you know nothing and aren't allowed an opinion it feels.

 

Sounds like a massive overreaction from Rodgers.

 

Boy has obviously got to the end of his tether. I've no doubt some wee * have been in his ear from the stands telling him to gtf and all that, and he's lost the rag after getting dogs abuse for months off his own so called 'supporters'.

 

I personally think Taylor has a lot more Celtic supporters that give him praise in his every day life than he does abuse tbh.

Need to have a thick skin in football when you're not performing regardless. There's a line you don't cross as a football fan but criticising performances when they're poor isn't that line.

Personal abuse, threats etc are all obviously no nos for any sane person. But there's no reason to believe Taylor is subjected to that.

 

Is it not disrespectful to Valle, Trusty and Scales as well then as Tierney plays all of their positions or did that not fit the agenda

 

Is it not disrespectful to Valle that despite being a superior player he continues to get zero chance?

 

Evening Greg..

 

Totally agree and it's not just him, scales, reo and even mcgregor get a ridiculous amount of stick.

The amount of idiots I've seen claiming mcgregor is a having a poor season is mad, I think they just parrot eachother at times.

 

Don't like his post-match comments at all. Sounding very arrogant and holier than thou.

 

Anyone thinking that's all came from just fans singing KT's name hasn't put any sort of thought into it. He's obviously aware of all the bile that's been sent his way and lost the rag.

Thinking he's walked up the tunnel cos fans are singing about KT, * *

 

This comment is embarrassing. No * was wishing Taylor away, we are excited about the possibility of one of our own AND most talented players of the last 20 years making a return. If Taylor and Rodgers can't handle that then so *. Taylor hasn't walked over burning coals and played for free to be here. He's handsomely rewarded. Suck it up wee man & if you've got a wee petted lip about it then get a grip.

 

Again it's no about criticism of performances. That comes wae the territory....you're slacking you're getting jip, that's the way it is.

Problem is * taking it too far, especially wae players who have produced for us over years, won us trophies etc. Some folk just cannot distinguish between justified criticism and all out hun-like abuse. It's always the same.