There’s been a bit of noise recently in certain corners of the Celtic support suggesting Brendan Rodgers isn’t an elite manager. You’d think folk would be smart enough not to let one bad result lead them into saying something daft, but here we are, with people sticking the boot in off the back of that disaster against St Johnstone.
It’s easy to run your mouth when you’re raging. Everyone’s guilty of that sometimes. But there’s a difference between a rant in the heat of the moment and the kind of bile that’s been directed at Rodgers lately.
One pal of mine – a Celtic fan to his bones – absolutely loathes the guy. Never misses a chance to tear him down. Says Rodgers abandoned us for the EPL when we were chasing a third treble, that his football’s too slow, his methods outdated, and that the only reason he came back was because he’d been booted out of Leicester.
Now, I love a good debate as much as the next man, but I can’t get on board with any of that. Brendan Rodgers is a top-level manager. Maybe not perfect – who is? – but he’s got a football brain sharp enough to cut glass, and if there were tensions between him and the board the first time round, I’d be more inclined to point the finger at them. There’s a pattern here, and it doesn’t flatter those above him at the club.
I wrote about this just the other day; Rodgers had clearly planned for life without Scott Brown, and had identified John McGinn as his successor. From that moment on, it was up to the board to deliver and they failed. It is hard to blame Rodgers for being frustrated. It is hard to see how he could have stayed when they were second guessing him at every turn during that first spell, in spite of his achievements.
We’ve got a support now that’s been spoiled by success. Not that I’m complaining – we’re all in it for the trophies – but there’s a generation of fans out there who’ve never known what it’s like to properly suffer for this club. James writes about that a lot; he saw the first Ibrox club win nine titles in a row. It is hard to even imagine how our support in the modern day would react to a spell like that.
Some of them have barely seen us limp through a season far less collapse like Dave King’s proverbial house of cards, with nothing to show for it. The COVID season was played behind closed doors; our board should be grateful for that, although there’s always been a lot of doubt that we’d have lost that title had it been otherwise.
So when the wheels come slightly loose – even for a spell – the reaction from some of these fans, and especially online, is instant outrage. It’s over-the-top. And it ignores the reality that form sometimes comes in cycles, even for dominant clubs.
That being said, we’re not blind. Three defeats in six league matches? A team with our resources and expectations shouldn’t be in that position. So, aye, criticism is fair. But blaming Rodgers as if he’s single-handedly run us off the road? That’s where it gets ridiculous.
Let’s not kid ourselves about where some of the real problems lie. This board has repeatedly failed to back Rodgers when it matters most. Players leave, quality doesn’t come in, and we’re supposed to just muddle through with whatever we’ve got. It happened in January. It’s happened before.
We all said that selling Kyogo without replacing him was plain daft; they did it anyway. Rodgers has patched things up as well as he can, and although Maeda has been in banging form scoring for fun, perhaps moving him from wide left into the middle has unbalanced the team, even accounting for Jota’s good form.
And this could all happen again if those calling the shots don’t start treating the manager’s needs like they actually matter. Getting Rodgers to stay beyond his current three year deal will be off the table for starters.
It’s not just the short memories that bother me – it’s the lack of perspective. This is a manager who’s won eleven trophies across two spells at the club, and is in the hunt for another two this season. He’s never lost at Hampden. He’s even improved our performances in Europe, something that the media was sharpening its pencils about, in anticipation of his failing. More fool them.
Yes, some of the tactics frustrate. James has covered that. But the guy wins. That’s the bit people seem to be forgetting. He wins so regularly that there are few managers in our history who can match the record he has.
And here’s the real kicker – if we’re not careful, we might lose him. Whispers are starting to surface that Rodgers could walk this summer if he doesn’t get the backing he’s been promised. I don’t think it will come to that; he’s made a commitment to the fans. But he wants assurances. He wants a proper transfer window.
He wants the board to act like they have ambitions beyond domestic dominance. And if they don’t deliver, who could blame him if he decides that the end of his next season is the right time to cut the ties completely? If he goes out on the back of another successful campaign some will see it as a fitting ending to the story … without considering how hard we should have fought to keep it going.
The prospect should actually terrify the suits in the boardroom, not just because replacing Rodgers would be a nightmare in itself, but because it would send the whole club into a spiral. Too many of us would be furious, and we’d blame them. Lose him, and you lose more than a manager – you lose stability, credibility, and probably momentum going into another Champions League campaign.
He wants to leave a mark in Europe. He knows that’s the last big box left to tick. But he can’t do it on a shoestring budget and crossed fingers. If the board’s not prepared to back him, then the real betrayal isn’t him leaving – it’s them forcing him into a corner where that becomes the only option.
So here’s the message for the supporters tearing strips off Rodgers: be careful what you wish for. Because whatever your gripes about his style of play or past decisions, the reality is this – Brendan Rodgers is the best man for the job.
And if the club loses him because people can’t see past a couple of bad results, or because the board doesn’t have the bottle to match his ambition, the damage will be felt far beyond the dugout.
We put out our latest podcast last night, “Crisis? What Crisis?”
Am with you on most points and he is without doubt the best man for the job. Football fans in the main are not daft, they watch the slow build from the back that has won many games but also watch the first 45 minutes being wasted by too much fannying about as was the case against St johnstone. They stepped up a gear in the second half and should have scored a couple at least, these things happen. Why do we not try to win the game first. He changes man for man and like for like but the style remains the same. I would have thought moving Jota right with Maeda left and Idah centre might have been more profitable although Jang did well but Jota seemed on his game and determined to make something happen.
All about opinions but I don’t think he is close to being a top level manager. Yes he can talk the talk and handle the media, but it ends there for me, he seen Sevco high press us in the league cup final and at Ibrox and he changed squat for the home game. Like for like subs. Not meaning Sevco games are more important, only that those games this season showed up his limitations to change and adapt
The new year game at Ibrox was up there with the worst Celtic performances of any manager, it was horrific
Trophy amount not up for debate a great record by any measure. The question for me is the reluctance to recognise that there are times when the tactics have been wrong. Ibrox knows how to play us and I could see a similar defeat in the next game with them. 3defeats out of four is not good even winning the treble.
Personally I think he will not renew – perhaps he wanted to prove himself in Europe and he has done that to some extent this season. Can he do it next year? I guess the planning for that has already started, but for me for tactical flexibility will make an elite manager. He is a winning manager with plenty resources against his competitors that of itself doesnt make an elite manager
He absolutely WILL be a top elite manager… IF IF IF he learns how to have a Plan B-C-D-E goin forward…
Let’s see how he does with a Plan B if he ever manages to draft one up !
He has brought us an incredible trophy haul and an invincible season, there’s no doubt he’s been extremely successful at Celtic but he’s not above criticism and he has detractors he’ll probably never win over like James’ mate. We all know the board is to blame for their weaknesses, the players carry a responsibility and so does the manager. I’m a similar age to James and there’s plenty of fans older who have seen all sorts with this club in the past so it might seem like an overreaction to every bump in the road but it’s because we should be pushing to be the best Celtic we can be, the platform is there to make it happen. That’s why Ange’s “We never stop” mantra was so popular with the fans.
Totally agree Paulina 100%
Some fans need a reality check.
We’re fast becoming entitled CSC
Up til Bayern game we where playing some great football I know we’ve dipped a bit but we sell Kyogo and bring in a left back thank god Maeda has stepped up up or our “world class board” pmsl, would have made one almighty F*ck up like the signing they made (Petes laddie) did in Brendan’s first year but we got a double and now on the road to a treble and some fans are greeting like wee spoiled brats.
I’ve even read some fans wanting Ange back if he gets the sack, that’s a joke I watched some utter dire displays from “Ange ball” with suicide defending he’s not on the brink of the sack for no reason. Rodgers is a far better manager than him.
I get we could do with a plan B sometimes but if you watch the game from the weekend again had we not missed so many sitters in both half’s we would have cruised it.
BR’s future is in his hands,There is no way that he would be sacked anytime soon and by soon I mean within the next year and a half. He would have to have a disastrous 3rd season to come for his head to be on the block.
Whether he will see out his contract which has a year to run will be up to Brendan, I think he will, and we’ll see what happens after that. Is he an elite manager? mibees aye mibees naw. What I will say is that he is a very good manager, and like a lot of good managers he can be a bit pig headed and think that his way is the right and only way.
I think that the 3 defeats in the past 6 League games have been down solely to a bad attitude in the 1st 30 mins of those games. In The Rangers game at Celtic Park I was shocked at our insipid start, and hadn’t learned any lessons after their high press had us in trouble from the start at Ibrox on Jan 2nd. We seemed to have learned nothing from a 3-0 hammering.
I think that BR is a purist who thinks skill and sticking to his system of playing, will always win out on the day especially against inferior teams, That is why The Rangers are in the last eight of the European Consolation Cup, a lot of good managers think the same as Rodgers, and don’t seem to take on board, that even a quite ordinary team can beat a good team who approach the game with the wrong attitude.
What we have now now up front is better than what we had pre January. Brendan is not alone like Ange before him, in not identifying that Daizen is a better forward than Kyogo. Thankfully Brendan happen to fall into that move when Kyogo decided he wanted to leave Celtic.
I’ll say that again Kyogo wanted to leave. He wasn’t forced by the board and it took you no time at all to try to turn it on them. Hero worshipping is a dangerous pit to fall into whether with Kyogo or Brendan. He’s not works class or elite.
Brendan is a good manager not an elite and that’s not as you imply some fans basing it on one defeat last Sunday. You said it yourself out of the last 6 games we’ve lost 3. He has plenty of room to improve particularly with his stubbornness to impact games by applying system changes.
He is a good manager and probably the best we could hope for at this moment. I wish him well in his professional development
I actually think Brendan suffers from not having a coaching team behind him with a similar level of professionalism as himself. In situations when the tactics or formation need tweaked for certain games, then a proper assistant coach would challenge Brendan on that very point, perhaps bringing about the required changes. Ange seems similar in that he’s happy to be the lone wolf making all the decisions without anyone of the required calibre to challenge him.