Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

I thought it was disgusting yesterday that we filled 3 stands and the atmosphere was absolutely bouncing for kick off, only for them to no bother their arses getting up for it whatsoever..

 

Scary article that details the power struggle that's costing us transfers and may cosus Rodgers too



https://celtic365.com/2025/04/deja-vu-rodgers-losing-power-battle-as-he-makes-transfer-pledge/

 

Yup. Trusty just keeps springing to mind.

 

My worry for the summer is I just don’t rate Rodgers at all when it comes to signings.

£9m on Idah, £6m on Trusty. Even Engels for his fee is not justifying it at all (I get he’s young).

Plus all the duffers he signed in his first spell.

 

Rodgers deserves criticism, he is in charge and ultimately is the one who should be keeping the players motivated.

But it’s not solely on him - there were more than enough chances yesterday to win that game but the players didn’t bury them. Bringing Maeda off was mental, though.

Those clamouring for Moyes or thinking he should be sacked are off their rocker. I agree with the consensus on his transfer record, but he really should have a better support and scouting network to help him make these transfers - we’re still stuck in the 90s with how we approach transfers

Need to remember we’ve got a trophy in the bag, about to wrap up our league title and still on course for a treble. Not to mention our best European campaign in years. It’s been * since February but not all down to Rodgers.

 

same, boring as * these days. No freedom to express themselves. Football WAS all about entertainment. Now it’s all about money. Very robotic game now, maybe at the lower levels and junior football etc you’d still get proper games

 

Rodgers should have not subbed Maeda off yesterday. 2 up top should be the idea when chasing a result.

 

What has happened before in seasons past has absolutely zero relevance in my opinion. He wasn’t backed here last time and we ended up with a squad littered with dross. That isn’t on Rodgers in my opinion.

I get folk going on about Idah and Trusty, but the bigger picture is that everyone was desperate to see us improve in Europe. That’s been the gripe for the last however many years. Both these players played a massive part is us in progressing this year in the CL however. These guys have almost paid for themselves already, because ultimately that’s where the money is for us. We are still taking care of business domestically this season, and have a great chance of another treble. If we don’t manage they from here, fans will rightly be * off, me included, I think it’s silly to be going in two footed at this stage though.

 

An argument could be made that ended up with dross because he signed dross.

Transfer control was very publicly taken out of his hands because of signings like Gamboa, De Vries, Compper, Hendry, Kousassi, Morgan et al. Even an argument could be made for the likes of Ntcham, Toure etc

In saying that, the club didnt do much better, in fact alot worse but those issues about proper scouting have been long documented.

His hit rate for signings is very low, at all of his clubs, including Leicester where he has been accused of outright wasting money.

Fans and indeed the club are right to question whether we are getting value for money, when this time around, hes signed 22 players and some them have been highly questionable signings, other more high profile ones look like weve had our pants pulled down, and players like Valle and Nawrocki have been left on the bench to rot as he persisted with the likes of Taylor and Scales.

I wouldn't regard being concerned as jumping in two footed.

 

A lot of the worries regarding transfers would be sorted if we had an actual competent scouting team in place.

All well and good blaiming Rodgers and his transfers but it's not as if we have a competent system offering him alternatives.

It's a mess, and it's worrying it's not been sorted yet.

 

I am not sure the panic or concern are really towards this year but more next. It has been worrying to see the mentality shown by this team really since the turn of the year.

It is mental to say and in the grand scheme of things if we win the Scottish cup and when we win the league it will be another treble but this season in early December looked like being right up there as a contender for best in recent memory, big points and goals totals in the league, both cups and European progression.

Now the things that really matter can still be obtained but the fact we have subsequently been abject against Rangers twice and not really put in many complete performances domestically this year is a concern.

The squad is painfully thin both in terms of numbers and quality. There is a lot to do in the summer and a champions league qualifier to come. If we are having to bring in new players we want them ready to go for the champions league tie so need them in early.

At the moment that tie is 50:50 to whether we will be seeded or not and if we are not it will be a proper tough ask against likely a Copenhagen, Bodo/Glimt, Red Star or possibly a Salzburg or Olympiakos. If we are seeded then it could be more favourable but that’s not guaranteed just now.

 

He looks * off and so he should. Hopefully gives a number of players a boot in the baws.

 

The problem was that other players were being targeted and he wasn’t getting them and we were taking punts on players that cost buttons. The first 6 players you rattled off there probably cost us on average of less than £1m each. What do you expect when you sign players in that bracket?

Valle was given chances and didn’t show enough. Last summer, the signings were already decided. Let’s be honest about that. They players were coming in whether it was Ange, Rodgers or Ancelotti in charge. The signings we made in the summer have all played a massive part in us progressing in Europe this year. Something we have all moaned about for over a decade.

 

In recent times I would say the problem hasn’t been so much about scouting as actually getting deals done. It’s hard to be sure but some of the players we have strongly been linked with have been very good players but they have ended up at who I would often consider our European competitors. Some have done well others not so much.

I believe our problem lies in getting deals done and attracting players of the necessary calibre to come to Scottish football over the alternatives.

I do believe there was a dip in quality of scouting under Mark Lawell hence summer 2023 window but I actually think we scouted well before for the rebuild in summer 2021 and have actually been linked with good players post the Lawell era. We just seem to take far too long to make things happen relative to our European peers and being honest we are a less attractive option, we would probably need to offer them a little premium to come here over Belgium or Holland for example or the bottom end of Serie A/ top end championship.

 

It's been a successful season so far with one piece of silverware claimed and in it's rightful place, a good run in the Champions League (seconds away from extra time against a giant of the game), 2 games away from another League title (finish line in touching distance despite the weekend loss), a cup semi at Hampden (still to be negotiated). It's been hectic, there has been frustrations, disappointments along with jubilation and successes. We waved goodbye to players and welcomed back players. We should be filled with optimism as we enter these closing stages and the return of KT for next season. Yes there has been 'bumps' along the road but we remain on track with Rodgers in the driving seat. He, like everyone else. is fallible, that's life, that's football. We can't have an 'invincible season' every year, we have to take set backs on the chin. Brendan has delivered in large parts of his time here and I've no doubt he will deliver yet more. We have a chance to still build further next for the next and coming seasons. Before the weekend loss some people wanted his contract extending. With 'Hun' results still stinging some want him gone. Everyone is entitled to whichever side of the fence they choose, that's their right. At the minute he's our manager whether you like it or not, his decisions may elate, confuse or annoy you at times, but he's our manager. That reason alone is enough to back him with where he's gotten us and what he's given us so far. He may not be a Stein but he isn't a Barnes either. The test of time may tell that we never knew when we had it so good.

 

He has never spent money well. Rodgers and congerton were heavily criticised in his last spell. Even worse, see how he spent the Luis Suarez money when at Liverpool.

 

The boot in the baws should have come weeks ago mate. We have had three poor performances vs Rangers in a row and now beat off the bottom side.

He is identifying a poor mentality now but he is culpable in that for me. Going back as far as his “weak as * comment”.

He has only identified this now and he enables it by selecting the same players who are either in poor form or who are too inconsistent.

Kuhn should have been dropped weeks ago. Engels has dropped off it again and isn’t having any impact on games. Hatate is wildly inconsistent. Trusty hasn’t been at it and AJ maybe needs a rest.

 

Said it after the Huns game and I haven’t changed my mind.

I couldn’t care less if Rodgers is in the dugout next season or not. Why?

- His brand of football becomes repetitive and dull quickly

- He is wedded to the same formation and tactics regardless of who we are playing or how the game is going

- He spent nearly £30m on Idah, Trusty and Engels. Could we have got better players for that outlay? 110%.

- Further to above, his transfer record is really poor.

- We have been second best to the Huns in last 3 games. He’s failed to change it despite knowing how they are going to play.

If he stays then fair enough, I won’t kick up a fuss but I’d definitely expect more turgid football, the same formation and tactics and probably money being spent on players that could be spent better elsewhere.

 

At the rate we are going, its likely we will finish with less points than last year which seemed unthinkable in Dec.

The way the team is performing makes me uneasy. If Rangers had been able to muster the same level as results in any of the 5/6 previous seasons then we would likely be in a battle for the title now with a fixture in ibrox against a side we are now struggling against.

I cant remember the last away league game we had where we had the game wrapped up comfortably with 15 or 20m to go. It feels like every away game we toil. In a few of them we have scored a late goal or two to put a gloss on what was otherwise a bit of a slog.

The games against the worst Rangers side in 5 years have now shifted in their favour. They seem as comfortable against us as any other team in the league scoring 3 times in all of the last 3 fixtures.

Either Rodgers is struggling to motivate the team or his tactics have gone stale or some kind of combination of both. Im less convinced by him now. It bothers me that after these kind of results these insinuations get leaked or hinted about players attitudes or about not being backed by the board. Theres never any examining of changes to his own formula. Its careful re-allocating of blame elsewhere. Il accept resources as an excuse for Europe - although some of the horror shows on his watch in Europe have been tactical naivety. But resources cant explain the malaise in the team thats been growing for a while now domestically.

Im also less convinced now by his set up. Like many in the support - The midfield is an issue for me. Our patterns from the back are quite predictable and if you can man ark the midfield effectively we struggle to get the ball forward.

Our defence also seems to be regressing horribly. Our overall goals conceded numbers are not dreadful, but when you consider most teams domestically average about 20% possession against us we concede a lot of goals against teams that have very little of the ball. And Rangers seem to run riot now any time they play us.

Next year I think if Rangers get back to the kind of points totals they have posted in the previous 3/4 years then we will need to really improve on the levels we are seeing in the last number of months. Especially as the head to heads are going in their favour.