Champions League Progress Would Give Brendan Rodgers the Edge Over Ange Postecoglou…
Celtic’s performances under Brendan Rodgers have triggered an inevitable question – has the team progressed since he replaced Ange Postecoglou as manager? The Hoops had just relinquished the Scottish Premiership title for the first time in a decade when Postecoglou arrived in 2021, with theRangers clinching the trophy.
The Parkhead faithful hoped to bounce back and were excited when Eddie Howe was linked with the managerial role. However, they ended up with Postecoglou. Despite his track record of success overseas, many fans and pundits questioned the wisdom of the decision to appoint the Australian.
Postecoglou’s ultra-attacking philosophy blew the supporters away, with his aggressive high line and suffocating press making Celtic a formidable force. Five trophies in two years sparked interest from Tottenham Hotspur, and Postecoglou was ultimately tempted to move south of the border.
Rodgers’ return was not universally welcomed following his acrimonious exit to Leicester City and his first season back in the dugout was undoubtedly a mixed bag.
Shift in Style Fails to Hit the Spot in Europe
Celtic’s 2023/24 Champions League campaign left a lot to be desired. They finished bottom of Group E below Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord to exit the competition. Having grown accustomed to Postecoglou’s attacking approach, the manner of Celtic’s performances in Europe and left fans feeling underwhelmed. Rodgers worked with project signings such as Gustaf Lagerbielke and
who both mad their Champions League debuts in Rotterdam in the opening match of the group and both got sent off leaving Celtic with just nine players. Neither will be involved in the campaign this season.
The Australian manager had moulded Celtic into a force to be reckoned with during his time at the club, making them the scourge of online bookmakers. Postecoglou’s team garnered significant interest with bettors in his homeland, who were eager to bash the bookies by wagering on Celtic.
The Hoops went on a lengthy unbeaten league run and new Aussie bookmakers were inundated with wagers backing the Hoops to win. However, Postecoglou’s exit changed the narrative at Parkhead, with Rodgers failing to garner the same excitement among Aussie bettors following his appointment.
Summer Transfer Business Should Improve Celtic
Despite winning the league and Scottish cup double last season, Celtic needed to halt their run of awful Champions League showings by improving their squad. The club focused on signing younger players during the 2023 summer transfer window, but they have added depth and experience to their ranks this time around.
Goalkeepers Viljami Sinisalo and Kasper Schmeichel were signed to replace Joe Hart, while Auston Trusty and Alex Valle look to be shrewd defensive acquisitions. Celtic also signed midfielder Paulo Bernardo from Benfica permanently for £4 million. Arne Engels and Luke McCowan are other useful additions to the squad.
However, their most important signing is the purchase of Adam Idah of Norwich City for £9.5m. He was Rodgers’ top target and Celtic got the deal over the line.
Losing Matt O’Riley to Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion was a blow, but Celtic’s current squad still looks stronger than the one which finished last season and the team so far this season has been playing a higher quality of football than ever before.
European Exploits Will Determine How Rodgers is Viewed
Having overseen a poor European campaign in 2023/24, Brendan Rodgers put the pressure on the Celtic Board by continually saying he needed to make quality signing in order to improve Celtic’s fortunes in this season’s Champions League.
It is worth noting that the Hoops did not make a dent in continental competitions under Postecoglou, despite the hype about his playing style, and the obvious reason for that was Celtic needing to add quality signings.
Celtic flew out of the blocks ahead of the new campaign, laying down a marker with pre-season wins over Premier League heavyweights Chelsea and Manchester City. They have mauled Kilmarnock, Hibernian (twice), St Mirren and arch-rivals Rangers to set the tone for the season. Performances look much sharper than last term.
Celtic have landed some tough fixtures in the Champions League against RB Leipzig (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Atalanta (A) and Aston Villa (A). However, games against Club Brugge (H), Young Boys (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A) and Slovan Bratislava (H) are winnable if they put their best foot forward.
Celtic, so proud of being Champions of Europe in season 1966/67, are desperate to put years of mediocrity in European competitions behind them and show some progression under Rodgers.
If they give a worthy account of themselves in the Champions League by reaching the knockout stage, Rodgers may well be viewed in a more favourable light than Postecoglou.
“Having grown accustomed to Postecoglou’s attacking approach, the manner of Celtic’s performances in Europe and left fans feeling underwhelmed.”
Bizarre comment.
Under Postecoglou we got a paltry 2 points.
Last season we doubled that, still not great but a distinct improvement.
We also got our first home win in about 10 years.
How you spin that, to great under Ange but rubbish under Brendan, beats me!
Way to early to be trying to make comparisons between Ange and Rodgers, especially with trying to use the CL as a benchmark?
If any comparisons are to be made at present, then it’s regarding the performance levels gained from each of them, regarding the same players that were involved?
And for large chunks of last season Rodgers wasn’t getting the same levels as Ange was able to?
But that certainly isn’t the case presently, and would say the extra dimensions that Rodgers has introduced into the same players involved, especially kyogo and calmac along with others, are currently making themselves looking as better players under Rodgers than Ange at present imo?
Not hard really, as Ange and Rodgers are totally different types of managers?
We have been a bit nieve at CL level over the past couple of seasons, especially within games that are usually decided by very fine margins?
That inexperience at such levels have been very costly, but using the likes of Holm and the largerman as scapegoats, when mistakes from Hart and CCV were just as costly last season?
With Ange in his only CL season, we missed a host of chances to gain a better points return than we did?
But that was mainly in the first round of games, but with being a bit one dimensional in our play, teams found it far easier to play us in the second round of matches?
Rodgers took a different approach last season with playing on the front foot in the matches at home, where we possibly deserved a better return than only 4 points?
Totally different approach in the away matches which didn’t suit ourselves whatsoever and ended up with nothing?
This season we are currently playing a brand of football that suits ourselves very nicely?
We have a far higher degree of footballing intelligence added within our game, along with some outstanding transitional play and pressing within our game?
Actually was expecting to see Rodgers potentially taking ourselves to a higher level, than Ange did, and think that is in the making for ourselves this season imo?
Yet would never undermine Ange for the fantastic job he did achieve for ourselves, under very trying circumstances when he first arrived, even if he didn’t totally finish the job either?
Rodgers is still looking to achieve something he never has had with ourselves, and that is gained proper success in CL?
Think this season he may just do that imo?