Brendan has insisted that he’s not interested in the blame-game over the transfer window. He talked about collective responsibility.
There are people who will try to tell you that Rodgers is at it, that he’s working his ticket, that he wants out of Celtic or even – and I swear one website tried to make this case this morning – that Rodgers himself decided not to sign proven quality in this window and went for backup players instead.
None of that is true.
Nor would it be true for anyone to try to pretend that this window was a success. Nobody sits and talks about people looking to apportion blame, and about collective responsibility, who thinks that he’s coming off the back of a success. Rodgers is acknowledging that the transfer window was an abject failure. He’s not even attempting to sugarcoat it.
But unlike his pay masters, who are the authors of this disaster, he’s not looking to hang it around anybody’s neck either. He accepts that he bears some of the responsibility for it, and I agree with him. I don’t think he has shown the appropriate courage or conviction to change these people’s minds. He is not happy about their performance though.
“I would go with supporters thinking we maybe could be a bit a little braver in terms of bringing in another level of player,” he said. Which knocks on the head any suggestion that it was his decision to downgrade the quality he was looking for here. It also knocks on the head any suggestion that he’s perfectly fine with the way things have gone here.
But if he’s not openly accusing them of lacking ambition, he’s saying that they lack bottle and imagination and I don’t disagree with that at all. He wants to project the impression that the club is united and working as one, but it would be disingenuous and even outright insulting for him to have sat there and pretended everything is fine.
He says everyone is working towards the same goal, and I guess I have to believe that … but in his own diplomatic way he’s admitted that there are differences of opinion, and big ones, over the best way to get to where we want to be.
And you know what? He’s the football professional and I’ll trust his judgement over that of a handful of bean counters who wouldn’t know a full-back from a hunchback.
I am pleased that the manager is frustrated and is allowing that frustration to come through today. To have sat there and put a smile on his face and pretend that he’s perfectly happy with what we’ve all watched would have been transparently fake.
Rodgers is not in the least bit interested in pushing narratives or treating us like mugs. He’s not happy and we’re not happy and he’s saying basically what I would expect anyone in his position to say. Those above him need to do a Hell of a lot better than this.
And he’s saying something else, and this is a critical one; when he’s talking about collective responsibility, he’s saying if the manager is being judged on his results then everyone else at the club should be judged on the same basis, and that might be the most important message to come out of the day and indeed the whole of the last four or five weeks we’ve had to endure.
Great but how do you end the l awells reign Desmond needs to stand up boycoting games only hurt players and results need another Fergus to stand up
It’s enough said that 1st pick left back is side lined with an injury, plenty of time 2 find a replacement but as the window closes no one in for cover , only stories, mark lawwell has proved he’s incompetent
There you go again James in trying to defend Rodgers and his decision making imo?
Heard nothing more than a total bullshitter at work.
What’s done is done, and far from confident that Rodgers is the best man for the management job, certainly not long term anyway no longer imo?
That opinion might change, if the performances and results improve under his management, but far from confident that they will all the same.
Certainly not buying into this nonsense that we haven’t got the player’s to have a successful 2nd half to our campaign?
But struggling to understand why we have left ourselves shorter in a few positions, remains a scandalous situation to find ourselves in, and not buying into the horseshite from our manager either at present either
From the club point of view they have invested heavily with offering long term contracts to key players. They may feel there is adequate talent within the squad. There is a big pool of players. A pathway to the first team needs to be created for the youth. In the first half of the season the team did struggle due to the demands of European football. With the return of players from the Asian cup the team will be stronger. AB will come good and challenge GT, Oh is backup to Kyogo. A winger has been signed who is believed to be a Rapid upgrade on MJ.
From the supporters point of view. The whole approach is a gamble and fresh talent was required to help the struggling team. If performances don’t improve, the title and circa 50M European cash may go southside.
The window is shut. Let’s hope for the best.
Collective responsibility heading towards the same goal is the statement highlight for me without of course stating exactly what that goal is.
It can only be stability, slow and steady consolidation of the club.
Brendan’s role, his responsibility, it would appear as stated when he arrived is to coach the team.
Ambition to improve quickly, as the fans want, are is the words that are missing.
So Brendan the responsibility to win this league, to coach these players to success, has been firmly placed and it would appear accepted, is on your shoulders.
The lack of ambition in the transfer window will highlight if he has the talent to achieve that. He and the team, players secured on extended contracts and better wages, now have to buckle down and get on with the job in hand. I’ll continue to support them in doing so but time will tell if it’s stability or a gamble to far. HH
There must have been howls of contemptuous laughter in the board room today. And the biggest laugh of all is that they don’t have to explain their actions to anyone.
These utter rats have had one agenda all season. To keep their friends at Ibrox relevant.
Celtic are very much one half of something.
Right Peter?
We should have had Shankland in on the 1st of January which would have knocked the stuffing out of our critics and rivals.
All this “he’s not going to take us to the next level in Europe” balderdash doesn’t matter a flying fig. Win the league then worry about next levels. Our immediate aim in the CL would be to finish at a level that guarantees us to drop into the Europa. He would probably score a lot of the appalling sitters our current superheroes missed in the last two campaigns.
The next level snobbery kept us from signing Griffiths two seasons later than we should have. Who knows? Had we got him earlier he might even have been less of a self destructive half wit further down the line.
The very real possibility is that our “next level” is to lose the league.
It is beyond appalling that we didn’t go out and throw the money HoM wanted for Shankland at them. What price £4-5M when there is £60M up for grabs in Europe next season?
Given the arrogant, shameful, disgraceful and downright twisted performance by our club in the last two windows we should be looking at P45’s being doled out today.
If I was locked in a room with that smirking, smug and arrogant bandit Lawwell you would struggle to find his gold fillings. He failed in his fiduciary duties and this had a negative effect on the shares and the earnings for the club. I sold my shares and stopped going when it became apparent in 2012 in 2013 that we wouldn’t do anything to achieve reparation for being cheated blind for the previous 12 years. I have been inside Celtic Park three times since.
I despise those self appointed twisted power hungry clowns. In any other industry they would be frogmarched out the building.
A CEO does not stay in position as long as that swine did and then to be appointed chairman tells you what our Terry Thomas lookalike defacto owner thinks of us.
I hate them for losing the ten. I hate them for that.
If we conspire to chuck this league then it’ll be worse given what’s at stake financially. If they don’t care about stomping Sevco into the dust and only money is their God then they sure as hell are flying close to the sun with this transfer approach.
May hell rain down upon them and a plague on their houses.
Brendan has played this very well indeed…
He has absolutely subtley got his disappointment out there without over decrying his employers (our ‘custodians’ )
And anyway – Who can truly publically decry their bosses to the masses out there…
But I’m glad that he got that out there and he mentioned the fans wanting ‘more bravery’
It must be frustrating for him but I need to realise that Brendan cannot simply vent his spleen about our ‘custodians’ and their recent DISASTROUS transfer windows like guys like me can on forums like The Celtic Blog !
Thank Goodness for forums like this are there to keep guys like me very sane !!!
I’ve got a theory that this board have a ceiling for the wage bill at our club and they are determined not to breach it , that is the only explanation I can think of for the lack of strengthening our squad during this window.
The recruiting dept, headed by young Lawwell, have loaded the squad with so many players who haven’t made the grade and they are now finding it very hard to move them on, even on loan.
The amount of dead wood hanging around our club is ridiculous, while we’re short of cover in at least 3 positions maybe even 4 with Hatate injured and Turnbull away.
To think that we’re in the strongest financial position by far in Scottish Football and yet
we all have a wee bit of doubt that we’ll win this title is disgraceful.
The next week could be season defining.
James please tell jonno and jenny this time tae get aff the coke ,iright couple of sniffers,what a double act ,the new del bhoy and Rodney.
Reality is, that lawwell and the board have totally failed Rodgers as well, with goin back on their assurances. They’ll no be slow in makin him out responsible tho, if things fall apart. Time for him more than ever, tae bring out the best in our players.
Were in a mess and what is the tash billionaire wanker doing playing fcukin golf ionly wish it was in San Francisco and the tight fisted bastard could be locked up in alcatraz and fcukin die a horrible slow death .THAT MAN HAS NO AMBITION OR CARE FOR CELTIC IN HIS BODY.
absolutely agree. think it was more telling what he didn’t say but you knew what he was thinking. His Pause at the question about the 2 signings also. Telling. He fronted up and took heat off the Nepo baby and team and basically laid it at Lawwells parasitic feet. Bravery in my mind is grow a set and show ambition. i felt it was a 2 footed tackle to the corpses in grey suits. It’s done now we are where we are if any one can get us the league he can.
I realise our great fans love their Celtic kit and souvenir’s but as I’ve said before we are only lining the Clowns in suits pockets .
As for Desmond the Doughnut, the quicker he sells his shares and fcuks off the better. He has no interest in the club other than taking money out of it and paying his Cartel huge wages for being total incompetents We need real Celtic people in charge.