Celtic’s detractors know Rodgers will be a great appointment

Don’t listen to the spin, our detractors know Rodgers will be a great appointment…

It’s looking increasingly likely that over the next few days, probably tomorrow, Celtic will be announcing that former manager Brendan Rodgers is back in charge of the football club, and I for one will be happy…..and thoroughly relieved.

Yes I’ll be happy that the club have gone for Rodgers, I’ll come back to that later, but even more so I will be glad to put an end to the constant barrage of ‘in the know’ attention seekers stating they know when the announcement is happening. I’m absolutely sick of it now. The Eddie Howe fiasco a couple of seasons ago was unbearable, this is starting to become just as annoying. Announce it soon Celtic, and save us all the pain of going through any more of this.

Now that I’ve got that rant out of the way, I will delve into something else that has piqued my interest during these past few days. This one, rather than anger me like the ‘in the knows’ saga has done, has actually amused me. It’s the ever increasing amount of rubbish being spun in regards to Brendan Rodgers coming back to Scotland from both the Scottish media and fans of theRangers.

Over the past few days I have read multiple articles in the media proclaiming fantasies which include Michael Beale already having Brendan’s number from the last time they went toe to toe in Scotland, to other ridiculous statements like Rodgers is no longer being regarded as a top manager after his time with Leicester City.

 

READ THIS…Reeking of bitterness towards Brendan – A ‘hurting’ headline so stupid in its style

One of the most common things I keep reading is that if you actually think about it, Brendan Rodgers wasn’t really that successful last time he was here. Honestly, its unbelievable that somehow they are trying to legitimise the argument that Rodgers ‘beat nobody’ the last time he was at Celtic.

I’m sure a lot of you have saw the nonsense emitting from the Govan Loyal that he only beat a ‘Championship’ team the last time he was here. The cries of ‘we were starting players like Rob Kiernan last time’. If you haven’t, they have a chat subject about it on one of their biggest fan sites with over 4,000 comments on it. They have the cheek to call us obsessed.

In reality however it wasn’t some bunch of absolute no hopers they had, not according to them back then. At the time they were telling everyone who would listen that some of their players were worth £20m. Some even £30m. You had Morelos, Kent and ‘Tav’. In fact if you look at it Brendan came up against most of the same players that brought them the title in 2021. That all-star team full of players they embarrassingly keep putting into their ‘hall of fame’ had been mastered multiple times by Rodgers. They erase that all out of their minds however.

Ange Postecoglou has had an incredibly dramatic turn of fortunes within their psyche in the past few weeks also. After they beat us in the meaningless game towards the end of the season, after the title was already wrapped up, Ange was done. Beale had his number. Postecoglou was about to be shown up for the fraud he always was.

James Tavernier of Rangers looks dejected following the team’s defeat in the Scottish Cup Semi Final match between Rangers and Celtic at Hampden Park on April 30, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Bring on next season, Ange won’t lay a glove on Beale’s new superstars. But now? Ange was a top coach, irreplaceable. Now that the Australian, who they had never heard of or rated is gone, Celtic are doomed. He was a far superior manager to Rodgers. It’s advantage theRangers. Strange behaviour all round. Not surprising however.

They are trying to convince themselves that Gerrard, Beale and the rest of them were bettering Brendan Rodgers and that’s why he left. It’s all nonsense of course, and beneath it all they know that. It’s similar to this theory that Rodgers wasn’t successful at Leicester.

He was. He improved them massively when he arrived, delivering them a European football semi final and an FA Cup. Yes he failed to get them into the Champions League but came very close twice, not bad for a team who wouldn’t be regarded as a top six team never mind top four. Last season obviously wasn’t great, I would say most feel that Rodgers maybe stayed on too long and kept faith with players perhaps past their best. They are probably right. It doesn’t mean Rodgers is suddenly a bad coach.

Leicester City’s Northern Irish manager Brendan Rodgers (C) reacts to their defeat on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Crystal Palace and Leicester City at Selhurst Park in south London on April 1, 2023. (Photo by Ian Kington / AFP)

The other big hope that both the media and theRangers fans are keen to cling on to is the hope that Rodgers appointment will destabilise Celtic. According to them it’s causing huge friction internally at the club. It’s also a massive bone of contention within our fan base. Regarding how it’s being received within the confines of Celtic Park, how would they know? Maybe a few ‘in the know’ characters on their chat forums know a flight attendant on Desmond’s private plane? Or maybe one of them is the on-call repair man when Peter Lawell’s heated driveway is playing up?

Dermot Desmond is seen prior to the Celtic vs St Mirren Cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park on May 20, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

None of us know how people at our top table are taking this appointment. One thing I’m pretty sure of however is that it will have been discussed thoroughly amongst them and they have concluded Brendan is the best candidate to take the club forward. I don’t know the personal relationship between Peter Lawwell and Brendan Rodgers but I am 100% sure an astute businessman like Dermot Desmond would not be pairing these two up again if he had any inkling that they couldn’t work in harmony for the best of the club.

In regards to how the fans will react, they have blown this out of proportion also. I am in no way saying that all Celtic fans are waiting and willing to welcome Brendan Rodgers back to Celtic Park with open arms, there are certainly some who are against it, but I can honestly say that from what I can gauge amongst the majority of Celtic fans I know most will accept it. We will never forgot how he left us, but I think that’s actually a positive thing.

READ THIS…Sandman’s Definitive Graphically Explicit Review of Celtic’s Season – Part 1

After what happened with Brendan the first time, and then again with Ange Postecoglou, I think the Celtic fan base will have learnt to treat managers the same way as they treat us. As a business partnership rather than a emotional relationship. Appreciate the fact they will give everything to make our club the best it can be but remembering they aren’t doing it for us, they are doing it to further their own careers.

And you know what? I’m ok with that. As long as they make Celtic successful I don’t need to feel like he loves the club as much as I do. Delivering success is all that matters, no matter what his future intentions may be. I think a lot of my fellow Celtic fans feel the same.

Conall McGinty

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About Author

Hailing from Cushendall in the North of Ireland my formative years were spent watching Celtic during our barren spell through the 90's which meant I have appreciated our recent trophy-laden spell even more. Favourite matches home and away I've attended has to be beating Man Utd 1-0 at Celtic Park and being with my 2 brothers watching us beat Lazio 2-1 in Rome. Best away day experience? Has to be Munich with friends from Coatbridge...what a few days!

4 Comments

  1. Jim O'Rourke on

    Im not happy about his imminent return regardless of when it happens but it has nothing to do with what i think about his ability as a manager-coach but us appointing someone who already had a go at it as it seldom works second time around and that he left us in the lurch for more money.

  2. Get your head out the sand. The in invincible stuff was great for us the fans ,but useless as a guide to how good Brendan was. Huns weren’t even in the first two most of the time he was here. His record in Europe is not great…anywhere he been. If he’s coming he’s coming ,he’s got a lot to prove.

  3. Heed the breed on

    Funny how every time a manager leaves Celtic it’s always the manager’s fault strange that .
    Is that why our board want to keep SMSM or bottom feeders at Parkhead to control the narrative ah so keef jackson does ham Pinocchio Peter on speed dial.

  4. Celtic board have picked rodgers to manage Celtic again so we as Celtic supporters have to back them scottish media and ibrox fans one of the same know he is a top coach and are dregging all the negative stuff up for a start rodgers left the spl for the epl not Celtic ange says dont get to attach to players or management or put them on pillar cause most leave do you think ange was right i do we are a big club held back by a small minded spl whos referees with poor performaces are backed up by sfa fifadony have any on there list cause thry sacrafise there careers in europe for some biased calls your brought up supporting one glasgow club you hate the other thats human nature and sfa dont see it rangers no penalties against record penaltise for stats tell you and let me tell you there were penalties there goldstone was like a goalie in games even var switch off and thats the way it is in glasgow lemnon what a disgrace the way scotland law lords never protected him cause he was from the north of ireland and R. C. Now so happens brendan from that part of ireland not like lennon never captain is national team and celtic then managed them twice but was assulted on and of the park rodgers is a quiter person put i still think he gets mail but it will br directed to somewhere and checked our shameful country i hope rodgers does the invinsible