Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

It was also the first year we never had a winter break. You could see that took its toll on them. We always come back refreshed and firing after that. Here we go 5 in a row. Rodgers will end his last season as his best. He's going opposites this time. Incoming undefeated treble incoming.

 

All narrative is exactly that... Opinion!

At the end of the day, we lost a single match, which was a cup final, on penalties... Is there a lot to take from it that's important going forward? Sure! Does it completely negate a season where we did well in Europe, got 2.4 points from every 3 all season long, and won every cup game except for this one? Absolutely not!

This is par for the course with us though, there's a section of the fans who think less than 3 points from 3, trebles and euro knockout stages is a failure... I mean, it's what we'd all aspire in hope for, but it's insanely unrealistic...

 

This has been on my mind a lot since Saturday. He used to be so proactive in making in game tweaks. And getting it right.

Now, it's really rigid. And the changes barely happen. His subs and set up on Sat were a big part to play with how the game went. We've seen managers wee fergiehun, Thelin and Boldemort approach the game differently against us and getting success from this.

He def needs a rethink for next season. This pace and power he eludes to wanting....be great if actually got some players in of this mould as right now, our MF is so one dimensional.

 

I disagree with that..

We were excellent this season when it mattered, bar the weekend..

That same side we've smashed to bits, even with a second string. Dominated all the ball Saturday but just didn't have our same creativity to kill them off fully..

Think a mix of injuries (particularly creatively), some players heads elsewhere, fatigue after a slog of a season where we've had to contend with dead rubbers for a period recently and maybe some complacency crept in to deny us a treble..

I've no doubt we'll be back stronger next season..

 

I don't entirely agree with that. I think if you look at all the "big" matches - finals, derbies, European games - it's been very, very mixed.

Actually saw it elsewhere but in 2025 we've played 8 high profile, "big" games - Rangers x3, LC final, Villa, Young Boys and the Bayern tie. We've won 1 of those matches. At home against Young Boys and we needed a late own goal to get the job done.

Pretty much all of the highlights came in the first half of the season. Since the turn of the year, it's been much more mixed with, honestly, about 5 or 6 absolute shockers.

Definitely need to kick on next season. Can't start it the way we've ended this one.

 

To be fair I am meaning more the first half of the season..

The league was pretty much already done so 2 cups were won and we'd got ourselves in to a position where we only needed that win against Young Boys for a playoff spot..

It has tailed off, some of it's understandable to a point. Our midfield has looked leggy at times. McGregor's getting on. McCowan is a squad player. Hatate has been the shining light recently. Engels has been hit or miss. Bernardo was out for quite a while which meant we were effectively going with 4 options in a midfield 3. We need 2 for every position in the engine room and I don't like our options as it stands..

We have Kuhn for me who was our poty contender up until he decided his head wasn't here. Another big factor in some of our slumps. Before that he was dovetailing with Johnston superbly. Luckily Forrest has come back in and done well, but that's another argument where we shouldn't be relying on him at this stage..

We lost Kyogo (which was the right decision) but then didn't replace him. Maeda has excelled and Idah has banged them in....but we still could've done with another option going forward..

Jota came back, wasn't up to speed, has done well but is now out again which has limited our options..

It's meant a player like Kenny is our go to sub option off the bench and Idah our starting 9..

We could keep going through it. Basically, it's a side that's lacking depth. Guile, particularly when a couple of injuries hit the first team and needs a freshness of pace, power and quality through the spine particularly..

 

How many games have we dominated the ball but failed to do the most important part in football - score goals. We all knew how the sheep would set up but, once again, BR stuck with the same old tired methods and we failed when it mattered. It's no coincidence that the majority of teams know how we play and set up accordingly and, yes, we won a double but I don't think we were "excellent" all season as our form slumped around about Christmas and especially after the Bayern game. Hopefully we do come back stronger next season as you say but, by *, I think there's a lot of work to be done

 

We scored 112 goals in the league alone..

20 against the sheep this season, including a 6 nil mauling at Hampden..

It's the first time Rodgers has lost at Hampden..

I'm no saying there isn't things to improve on, there is. Saturday was sore as * but the reaction is over the top for me. I still personally think we've had an excellent season..

We were playing some scintillating stuff first half of the season. Won a double practically at that point and had a more than respectable champions league showing. Had some terrific results. No more embarrassing home pumpings. Got badly done once in Dortmund and learned from it. Almost knocked out a much better side in the playoffs..

We'll improve for next season..

 

Sorry mate, I disagree with much of that. Goal scoring throughout the season has been pretty good. The tired methods you mention has won us the league by a country mile and we've battered teams, including Aberdeen, scoring plenty.

In saying that, we were poor on Saturday, but even then, I can't actually remember Aberdeen creating a good chance in 90 minutes. It's a game we should have won and didn't. It happens and just goes to show, winning trophies is never easy and shouldn't be taken for granted.

As you say though, hopefully we come back even stronger next season.

 

I do think people forget we had an excellent European campaign this season too. Format helped but we still showed up in a good way for once.

The people wanting him sacked or to leave are the usual suspects that have been calling for his head since that bad spell during his first season, if this was any other manager other than Rodgers, not one person would be wanting him sacked, clearly a few still not over how he left originally.

Doesn't mean he's above criticism of course, our form after Christmas took a dip and his record against the huns this season was not good enough (albeit the two games we won were the two that mattered). His favouritism with Scales is easily his most infuriating aspect, and there is a lot of questioning over his transfers (Engels is/will be worth his fee, Idah and Trusty very unlikely they'll live up to that)

As you said, it's still been a good season, a double and a good European campaign should never be seen as bad or underwhelming.

 

I’m choosing to remain optimistic with everything tbh, was * to lose the cup final of course.

Overall it was a good season, I do think since we went out of the CL there was a slight dip in performances … but I also think that has to do with some of the rotations not being at the level we need.

4/5 players that can come in and challenge immediately for a first team place is crucial … starting striker, LW, RW, CB, CDM and another creative midfielder that can break a press is what we need to hit the next level.

 

The performance in the cup final and the performances in the derbies are a worry.

That being said, we’ve had an excellent season. A really great season. 2 trophies. Plenty of goals.

We are adding real quality at left back, in Tierney. We need to have a reset. Is it a worry the players brought in for huge money? Hmm… Idah and Trusty definitely. I like Engels though.

Club needs a big summer. A very proactive, productive summer that brings in quality. We need 3 right now. Club needs to get it right.

 

Scales breakthrough into the first team was last season under Rodgers. First Glasgow Derby of the season at ibrox. Had to play Scales and Lagerbielke at central defence cause of injuries.
No Celtic fans there.
Kyogo boom.
Nae hassle..... 1 nil to St Patrick's * Army

 

I do not see a reason why any Celtic supporter would not be optimistic

 

There's always work to be done. Historically we've never improved from a position of strength when we should have done.
But we do not have a failing team. Some people on here are acting like we do.
Won the league by a country mile.
Won the league cup
Bawhair aff the treble
I do not see why people are so concerned. We do need to improve. So do Liverpool. So do Barcelona. All Champions like us that still could do with improvement.

Some folk on here are making it sound like it's the John Barnes 99/00 season. Total team rip out and replace is what some people are suggesting is needed. Panic merchants...but I don't know why they are panicking!!!

Won the league months ago...very close to another treble....progressed to latter stages of Champions League and only lost to an elite club.

What's wrong again?....can somebody remind me??

 

This coming summer is by far the most important of his entire career as Celtic manager.

During the Cup Final on Saturday, as the game went into extra time I had already began to ready myself for the possibility of what happened. And when we got to penalties, I sort of viewed them with the perspective of a degree of whatever happens, happens. I have never, ever felt like that before, or been less invested in such a situation as a Celtic fan.

Had we won the treble, including 2 Cup Finals both having been won on the back of penalty shootouts would've papered over the cracks and on the surface the impression being of it's fine, nothing needs done, just continue with how things have been.

But, just like during BR's first stint, other teams began to figure out ways of being able to negate BR's tactics and a lack of a Plan B. This is likewise borne out in results, in statistics, wins, goals scored and more. And when things started to get tough, BR was gone, leaving the club in the lurch.

Since his return, he inherited a strong squad from Ange, a treble winning team, and it has been a continuation of that with some evolution and tweaks, but not a million miles from those he inherited, but even then it took time for him to implement. But once again, teams are devising ways of coping and blunting his current gameplan.

There will be player turnover this summer, and not only inbed new players, will need to tweak the gameplan and tactics, if not an overhaul. There is a Champions League qualifying play off to contend with, and presuming we progress to the Group Stage, the chances of getting as favourable a draw as we did this past season is pretty slim.

And it goes without saying, the natural expectation is to once again retain the League and go after the Cups as well, to dominate the domestic game.

BR has never had as much to do since his first arrival, and as evidence has proved during his first term, things were allowed to slide without really being addressed and despite the challenges was able to at a relative canter, while Sevco was still finding it's feet back in the top flight - remember, it took them 3 seasons to even finish R/Up, such was the gap.

And now in his 2nd stint, he was able to carry on and build on the success from Ange's rebuild, with Sevco still a bit of a basketcase, but still able to deliver multiple black eyes over the course of this season - and embarassing at that. Even mostly recently, the St M game last week should've given pause for reconsideration, but no, straight into the Cup Final with literally making no changes, and expecting different results.

BR's idea of 'just treating these as normal games' clearly isnt working. Teams spend time devising ways of negating what Celtic do, because they know what is predictable. Even when it's apparent what opponants are doing, the struggle to devise something different, and the all too apparent struggles especially when other team's score first.

So, hopefully the fact that both Cup Finals went to penalties, getting lucky with one and not so much with the other, will add to the motivation to get that job done successfully.

Hopefully his transfer record can be significantly improved this summer also, to say the least, but I don't know how much faith have in that - his record, no matter what budget he has had to work with is pretty underwhelming, to say the least.

It's a huge summer for BR, and I would argue his biggest test in his entire time as Celtic manager, and more than anything else it will define his legacy far more than much of the silverware has.

 

I agree that had an effect but Rodgers had opportunities to rotate positions more and avoid injuries and/or allow longer recovery plus have more genuine competition and also have more players better prepped. So he takes some responsibility for the tiring squad. It's also slightly lazy management in my mind as despite dips in performance he took a slightly easier.

 

I think being so far ahead of the huns for such a long time is a major contributing factor to our downturn in performances as the season went on, we’ve been playing games for such a long time with very little jeopardy involved that some players lost that competitive edge that is needed to play at your best. And when the important games came back round like the hun games and the cup final the players found it difficult to switch on properly again like they were in the first half of the season when we had all a much smaller lead in the title race.
Also losing Kyogo and not replacing him along with going out of the CL also contributed.

 

The squad has gone stale as * and there are plenty that just expected to win Sunday( and weren't particularly excited at the thought ).....just look at the muted celebrations from most players when we scored. Couple of grins and the odd high 5 , there was absolutely nothing on the line in their heads. If that's against the huns or a European game they would be going mental. Plenty of them need a new challenge elsewhere and BR needs to find a fair few new ones that haven't been there and done it so will have that fire in their belly. Winning things here doesn't excite enough of them any more , which is what it is move them on.

 

the horrible performance shows that he's human. it was always coming sooner or later. he was never going to win every final with celtic, surely got to lose at some point, and usually, that's when someone loses in a bad fashion. which is what happened. even with that, he would've pulled it off if it wasn't for Schmeichel making a horrible mistake, but * happens.