Topic: Brendan Rodgers

[damomad]

Leicester were 12th when he got there after finishing 12th and 9th the seasons before. He's significantly improved the last four clubs he's been at, he just hasn't been able to maintain it long term (as many managers don't).

This a great shout. It's abnormal these days for managers to be successful at one club any longer than 3-5 years. Rodgers at least has an FA Cup and a few trophies in Scotland on the CV, more than the likes of Big Sam have.

Decent manager, I wonder what his long term aims are at Celtic? If he wanted he could stay long enough to overtake Rangers titles (3 more to go).

[pathetic]

T' Committee didn't count? 

If only he trusted in the committee maybe he would have lasted longer. But he made it a point to show who are "his" players and the "committee's" players cause his ego wouldn't let him acknowledge someone else.

[De La Goal]

Yes, he did do that. And he does indeed seem to have a bit of an ego. Goes with the territory though. Managers who are low in the ego dept don't tend to last long (or get there at all).

[Redbonnie]

I wonder if the Celtic fans who robbed his house will give him his medals back now.

[Fromola]

If only he trusted in the committee maybe he would have lasted longer. But he made it a point to show who are "his" players and the "committee's" players cause his ego wouldn't let him acknowledge someone else.

He was the same at Celtic and Leicester though. Ripped everything up in a power grab and left both in a bit of a mess after a successful first couple of seasons (Leicester obviously). He's got a terrible eye for a player so he's better at inherited a team than building one.

[mattD]

Surprisingly a lot of shithouse small club fanbase mentalities here sneering at Rodgers choice.

I'd rather manage Celtic than some mid table EPL side that's not much chance of winning anything. At least go to a club with heritage, packing in a passionate fanbase with class European nights on offer. Easy choice.

[slaphead]

Nearly every single time I read someones opinion on Rodgers the word arrogance is used. Where does that come from? Any time I've heard him or seen him he comes across very well to me. Friend of mine met him once in Belfast said he was a really nice man and very quiet.
I'm surprised at the stories of him going back to Celtic but his record there was incredible. Doesn't matter what you're up against but 60 odd games unbeaten is some going. and I still think theres no way Leicester would have went down if they had stuck with him. Good luck to him if he does go back

[Yorkykopite]

Surprisingly a lot of shithouse small club fanbase mentalities here sneering at Rodgers choice.

I'd rather manage Celtic than some mid table EPL side that's not much chance of winning anything. At least go to a club with heritage, packing in a passionate fanbase with class European nights on offer. Easy choice.

Celtic 0-1 Maribor
Celtic 1-3 Copenhagen
Celtic 0-2 Leipzig
Celtic 1-3 Bodo/Glimt
Celtic 0-4 Leverkusen
Celtic 1-4 Sparta Prague

Just some of the recent European games hosted at the great Celtic Park in recent seasons. It's a graveyard. Rodgers should be looking for a decent European club to manage, not the stony ground of Celtic again.

[Barneylfc∗]

Celtic 0-1 Maribor
Celtic 1-3 Copenhagen
Celtic 0-2 Leipzig
Celtic 1-3 Bodo/Glimt
Celtic 0-4 Leverkusen
Celtic 1-4 Sparta Prague

Just some of the recent European games hosted at the great Celtic Park in recent seasons. It's a graveyard. Rodgers should be looking for a decent European club to manage, not the stony ground of Celtic again.

Other recent home games include beating Ajax and Barcelona, a 3-3 draw against Inter, a 3-3 draw against Abu Dhabi, and a win over RB Leipzig.

[Flaccido Dongingo]

Nearly every single time I read someones opinion on Rodgers the word arrogance is used. Where does that come from? Any time I've heard him or seen him he comes across very well to me. Friend of mine met him once in Belfast said he was a really nice man and very quiet.
I'm surprised at the stories of him going back to Celtic but his record there was incredible. Doesn't matter what you're up against but 60 odd games unbeaten is some going. and I still think theres no way Leicester would have went down if they had stuck with him. Good luck to him if he does go back

I've met him twice and he was sound.

[Redbonnie]

Nearly every single time I read someones opinion on Rodgers the word arrogance is used. Where does that come from?

My biggest mentor is myself because I’ve had to study and that’s been my biggest influence.”

B Rodgers

[Flaccido Dongingo]

My biggest mentor is myself because I’ve had to study and that’s been my biggest influence.”

B Rodgers

Not really that arrogant at all.

[rob1966]

Surprisingly a lot of shithouse small club fanbase mentalities here sneering at Rodgers choice.

I'd rather manage Celtic than some mid table EPL side that's not much chance of winning anything. At least go to a club with heritage, packing in a passionate fanbase with class European nights on offer. Easy choice.

Dalglish was on BBC Scotland talking about Ange Postecoglou leaving Celtic and saying why would you leave Celtic for a mid/low table PL team only to get relegated? He was saying any manager wants to be winning stuff, playing in Europe, so if his options are 60,000 each week at Parkhead, winning leagues and cups and playing in the CL, or keeping the likes of Sheff Utd in the PL, it's a no brainer.

Celtic 0-1 Maribor
Celtic 1-3 Copenhagen
Celtic 0-2 Leipzig
Celtic 1-3 Bodo/Glimt
Celtic 0-4 Leverkusen
Celtic 1-4 Sparta Prague

Just some of the recent European games hosted at the great Celtic Park in recent seasons. It's a graveyard. Rodgers should be looking for a decent European club to manage, not the stony ground of Celtic again.

Could do him good to start winning games again, get some more European experience and then look at Spain or Italy?

[hide5seek]

Not the worst manager we ever had.
Probably not as good as he seems to think he is.
Always wondered if he had had a good right hand man/coach that could reign him in a bit?
Mind, wouldn't want to rent a gaff off him.

[Billy The Kid]

Celtic 0-1 Maribor
Celtic 1-3 Copenhagen
Celtic 0-2 Leipzig
Celtic 1-3 Bodo/Glimt
Celtic 0-4 Leverkusen
Celtic 1-4 Sparta Prague

Just some of the recent European games hosted at the great Celtic Park in recent seasons. It's a graveyard. Rodgers should be looking for a decent European club to manage, not the stony ground of Celtic again.

Fully agree. Genuinely can't think of any other club (apart from maybe Rangers) who have managed to con the footballing world into seeing them as a "big club" in the way Celtic have. Absolute counterfeits, the pair of them. Dining out on reputations that far exceed their true place on footballing totem pole. It might be a good place to cut your managerial teeth, and a good place to learn the PR side of management, but definitely not a place to go back to if you've aspirations of rebuilding your reputation 

[Lynx the saucy mynx]

Nearly every single time I read someones opinion on Rodgers the word arrogance is used. Where does that come from? Any time I've heard him or seen him he comes across very well to me. Friend of mine met him once in Belfast said he was a really nice man and very quiet.
I'm surprised at the stories of him going back to Celtic but his record there was incredible. Doesn't matter what you're up against but 60 odd games unbeaten is some going. and I still think theres no way Leicester would have went down if they had stuck with him. Good luck to him if he does go back

The two examples were the white teeth (strangely enough) and the big picture of himself he has hanging in his house.


Now, come to think of it. Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager makes me feel old. Because when I used to think of those times it was "ahh just a few years ago, challenging for the title under Brendan". Now it's been a decade!!!!

I used to think of Istanbul and Athens as my decade old memory. Harder to sink in. Brendan is like a mental grey hair.

[mattD]

Fully agree. Genuinely can't think of any other club (apart from maybe Rangers) who have managed to con the footballing world into seeing them as a "big club" in the way Celtic have. Absolute counterfeits, the pair of them. Dining out on reputations that far exceed their true place on footballing totem pole. It might be a good place to cut your managerial teeth, and a good place to learn the PR side of management, but definitely not a place to go back to if you've aspirations of rebuilding your reputation

Bizarre take from a Liverpool fan. Small minded take.

If you knew the history of Celtic and its culture/heritage/identity, you'd see a lot of similarities with Liverpool. 1967 is arguably the finest achievement in British footballing history.

To denigrate their status as a big club is ignorant.

[Barneylfc∗]

Fully agree. Genuinely can't think of any other club (apart from maybe Rangers) who have managed to con the footballing world into seeing them as a "big club" in the way Celtic have. Absolute counterfeits, the pair of them. Dining out on reputations that far exceed their true place on footballing totem pole. It might be a good place to cut your managerial teeth, and a good place to learn the PR side of management, but definitely not a place to go back to if you've aspirations of rebuilding your reputation

Any Celtic fan I know is fully aware of their current status in the food chain however they most certainly are a big club.
Clubs like Newcastle and Spurs are the ones that con the footballing world into thinking they're big.

[Lynx the saucy mynx]

Any Celtic fan I know is fully aware of their current status in the food chain however they most certainly are a big club.
Clubs like Newcastle and Spurs are the ones that con the footballing world into thinking they're big.

I feel like they are stuck.

The English leagues argument has been floated around for decades. The Atlantic League idea didn't take off despite UEFA not being against it.

Unless more money comes into Scotland to make it a bigger and better league, it has to be frustrating being stuck where they are.

There literally is nothing they can do.

[mattD]

Nearly every single time I read someones opinion on Rodgers the word arrogance is used. Where does that come from? Any time I've heard him or seen him he comes across very well to me. Friend of mine met him once in Belfast said he was a really nice man and very quiet.
I'm surprised at the stories of him going back to Celtic but his record there was incredible. Doesn't matter what you're up against but 60 odd games unbeaten is some going. and I still think theres no way Leicester would have went down if they had stuck with him. Good luck to him if he does go back

Some people fall for the media narrative hook, line and sinker. Rodgers only started getting negative media when he went to Liverpool, strangely some Liverpool fans decided to jump on that bandwagon.

Yes, he puts his foot in it at times and does suffer from clumsy self-aggrandising quotes at times, but generally, he's a good man. A flawed manager, frequently brilliant and frustratingly haphazard at other times, he wasn't ultimately the man for us. But he did his bit in starting this new era and he's a part of the club history in starting the new era with the new ownership. I also think he doesn't get enough recognition for his work with the youth academy, certainly in terms of hiring the likes of Inglethorpe and Lijnders who did wonders there.

[slaphead]

My biggest mentor is myself because I’ve had to study and that’s been my biggest influence.”

B Rodgers

There's nothing wrong with that. I listened to an old interview with him the other day with Graham Hunter where he spoke in depth about how he travelled and studied football on the continent when he worked for Chelsea.
I think its the painting thing why people assume he's arrogant...
"Those who hate him so point to the fact he has a picture of himself hung pride of place in the family home as proof of unchecked arrogance. In actuality the painting was a gift to the Liverpool manager from a charity he had helped in Swansea"

[Flaccido Dongingo]

Not the worst manager we ever had.
Probably not as good as he seems to think he is.
Always wondered if he had had a good right hand man/coach that could reign him in a bit?
Mind, wouldn't want to rent a gaff off him.

Mister Wendal, heyyyyyyyyheyyyyheyyyyeyyyyeyyyyehhhhhh.

[damomad]

Any Celtic fan I know is fully aware of their current status in the food chain however they most certainly are a big club.
Clubs like Newcastle and Spurs are the ones that con the footballing world into thinking they're big.

I would say Celtic have a larger supporter base worldwide than Newcastle and Spurs have, and that's without the reach of their SPL versus Premier League. Maybe not a top 10 club but definitely a top 50.

[Billy The Kid]

Bizarre take from a Liverpool fan. Small minded take.

If you knew the history of Celtic and its culture/heritage/identity, you'd see a lot of similarities with Liverpool. 1967 is arguably the finest achievement in British footballing history.

To denigrate their status as a big club is ignorant.

I'm fully aware of their heritage and identity mate. Just as I am with Rangers. I mean, it's not something anyone in Ireland or the UK can really escape from, is it? Both clubs wear their respective histories on their sleeves and both are pretty unrelenting when it comes to reminding everyone who they are and what they're about. So with respect, I don't need the history lesson. 

As far as 1967 goes, yes, of course it was a significant moment in history. and undoubtedly one that Celtic deserve to flaunt proudly. But you could say the same about Leicester winning the League, Greece and Denmark winning the Euro's, or indeed Forest winning dual European Cups. Great achievements yes, but we all still know where those respective teams rank in the wider scheme of things, just as we do with Celtic. So yeah, I stand by what I said. 

Any Celtic fan I know is fully aware of their current status in the food chain however they most certainly are a big club.
Clubs like Newcastle and Spurs are the ones that con the footballing world into thinking they're big.

Depends on what criteria you use to determine size though, doesn't it? I mean, if we're talking in terms of stadium size, sale of season tickets, match attendances, merchandising, global popularity, then yes, they undoubtedly operate on a large scale. However, there's a non-footballing aspect that plays a big part in that, isn't there? Without wanting to delve into the complexities of the history, we all know why Celtic and Rangers tower over everyone else in Scottish football, don't we? Let's not go pretending that their respective "sizes" are strictly owed to on-pitch achievements

Which brings me to my overriding point. When you look at how Celtic have performed against top continental competition over a wide time frame, then all of the data points to them being miles out of their depth. Given the frequency at which they gain entry to the CL, coupled with how poorly they tend to perform in it, there really isn't much evidence to support the idea that they're a "big club" in footballing terms, is there? Big fish in a small pond is the term that immediately springs to mind, isn't it? Hence as others have rightly pointed out, it's a bit of a step backwards for Rodgers. Alas, I'm sure he'll be handsomely paid so fair fucks

Fully agree with you about Newcastle and Spurs though

[Barneylfc∗]

They don't have the money to compete in Europe.

Hypothetical of course and people would disagree, but if they were in the English pyramid they'd compete more than the likes of Crystal Palace, Wolves, Brentford etc ever will.

In the last decade, they've finished 2nd in a group containing Benfica, Spartak and Barca in the Champions League.
In the Europa League they've finished top in a group with Rennes and Lazio and 2nd in a group with 2 teams funded by Red Bull.

Absolutely no doubt there have been some really really poor seasons when they should've done better, but then on the other hand they've drew the short straw and had groups with Barca, Abu Dhabi, Moenchengladbach and Madrid, Leipzig, Shakthar.

[stockdam]

Going back to Celtic is a backwards step for Rodgers. It’s a nice safe job in a league that is not competitive. The aim for Celtic is to finish 1st in the league and to win some cups. In reality they are guaranteed 2nd place in the league and it doesn’t take a good manager to get them to first. Hence there’s no real challenge as a good and experienced manager.

Getting through to the semi final or final of the CL would be an achievement but they don’t have the resources to do that and they won’t be doing that consistently.

Hence it’s not a move that is going to stretch him or show if he can get a team to over achieve. It’s a safe job that doesn’t move his career forwards.

[Kopenhagen]

Going back to Celtic is a backwards step for Rodgers. It’s a nice safe job in a league that is not competitive. The aim for Celtic is to finish 1st in the league and to win some cups. In reality they are guaranteed 2nd place in the league and it doesn’t take a good manager to get them to first. Hence there’s no real challenge as a good and experienced manager.

Getting through to the semi final or final of the CL would be an achievement but they don’t have the resources to do that and they won’t be doing that consistently.

Hence it’s not a move that is going to stretch him or show if he can get a team to over achieve. It’s a safe job that doesn’t move his career forwards.

It’s a top job though.

[Terry de Niro]

It’s a top job though.

If he doesn't win the league will that be looked at as a failure?

[Dim Glas]

It’s a top job though.

It is?

[Stockholm Syndrome]

It’s a top job though.

Is it?

In the last 10 years the job has been taken by such managerial titans like Neil Lennon, Ronny Delia, Ange Postecoglou, and Brendan Rodgers.

So big that only football giants like Leicester and Spurs can pry the managers away

[Dim Glas]

Is it?

In the last 10 years the job has been taken by such managerial titans like Neil Lennon, Ronny Delia, Ange Postecoglou, and Brendan Rodgers.

So big that only football giants like Leicester and Spurs can pry the managers away

I thought he was being sarcastic to be honest! Cos the fact is the second a club in the PL comes calling, Celtic managers (and Gerrard at Rangers) are out of there at the speed of light, some leaving mid or late-season with trophies almost won, to go to clubs where they may not even get to Europe straight away.

[Big Dirk]

He needs to get a new agent…back to Celtic..good grief.

[Dim Glas]

Looking at some of the comments on Twitter - seems that he was offered the Leeds Utd job too?

I get that there’s more glamour to be had playing in the CL, but would Leeds not have been a good option?  Yes, in the Championship again, but will go into next season ambitious to get back to the PL quickly and the favourites to do so I’d presume.   

[Red Beret]

I think there are better options for Leeds to be honest. For all his work with Swansea, Rodgers isn't the manager he was ten years ago. Maybe he's looking to rebuild his own confidence by returning to Celtic?

[Ray K]

Rodgers confirmed on a 3 year deal.

He'll continue to work with the coaches already there, including Harry Kewell. Hands up who knew Kewell was working at Celtic? 

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

No Brendan why.

[Gerry Attrick]

I freely admit to not being Rodgers’ biggest fan, I think he’s too prone to being a bullshit merchant and has a bang average eye for a player but I’m surprised his reputation to the wider world has taken so much damage. There are clearly some valid reasons for a significant drop off; namely they did not have a pot to piss in so were selling and barely buying for the last half of his time there. He also did exceptional work in the league for 3 seasons in a row and won an FA Cup. I can’t accept that Celtic is all he merits now. At worst he should have a midtable Premier League job.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

If he really did choose to go back up north over Leeds then he's totally lost his marbles.

[Gerry Attrick]

If he really did choose to go back up north over Leeds then he's totally lost his marbles.

But he’s way better than Leeds also. 3 back to back seasons challenging for top 4 and a cup winner then has one bad season where they were brassic lint and it’s Championship gigs or Scotland? It’s insanity in my opinion. He should be at a Brighton level club.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

But he’s way better than Leeds also. 3 back to back seasons challenging for top 4 and a cup winner then has one bad season where they were brassic lint and it’s Championship gigs or Scotland? It’s insanity in my opinion. He should be at a Brighton level club.

Leeds would've been the perfect "project" & will have the finances to challenge for UEFA once they get back up.