Should Celtic supporters expect a more reserved playing style in Brendan Rodgers’ second spell as Celtic manager?…
The key moment that will define Celtic’s season actually happened on 19th June. That was the day that Celtic Football Club announced the return of Brendan Rodgers, who is set to manage the club on a three-year contract.
Every Celtic fan will know what Rodgers did for the club back when his first stint began in 2016. Winning consecutive domestic Trebles and delivering the most incredible Invincible seasons, if players were to look up a picture of Rodgers in the Celtic Football dictionary, it would come under the word “success”, until of course he left abruptly and then things changed.
And a lot has changed since then. Since leaving Celtic, Rodgers has leant his hand to the rise of Leicester City, leading them to victory in the FA Cup for the first time ever while also achieving fifth position in the EPL twice.
But for all those running to place their bets on Celtics 2023/24 season, we’d suggest holding back for a moment, or at least waiting for the in-play sports events. Although you might know what to expect now that Rodgers is back at the helm, five years ago was a long time, and the playing style Rodgers might implement could be entirely different.
So What Should Celtic Fans Expect?
While Rodgers’ first stint with Celtic was based heavily on possession and attack, there’s every chance Rodgers might employ a more reserved playing style in the former stages of his second stint. This comes after Ange Postecoglou, the last Celtic manager, has left a solid attacking legacy of his own. He leaves Celtic having won the domestic treble, mainly through a non-stop pressing and attacking playing style.
Postecoglou is known for his teams being relentless on the press, but keeping the inverted full-back system, without coming out high and providing width. This has worked for Celtic in recent years, and with their main rivals theRangers claiming to dominate Scottish football with a so-called razor-sharp attack strategy, there seems no reason to change it so quickly.
According to the Ross County manager Malky Mackay, there are more “similarities than differences” between Postecoglou and Rodgers. In his mind, there will not be any full change in shapes, formations, or beliefs. This is backed up by the team Rodgers has recently put together, virtually the same team as the one that was under Postecoglou, showing how the squad is keeping to a similar way of playing.
Will Celtic See Success?
It’s important to note that both Postecoglou and Rodgers are still seen as mainly attacking coaches. They know how to split open a team and take advantage of weaknesses. But competition has changed since Rodgers first spell. It has got better. The eague has improved. And it’s important that Rodgers plays wisely and attains the “W”s, rather than play recklessly and risk the “L”s.
In Rodgers’ own words, he will be doing everything he can to “maintain Celtic’s momentum”, using the already talented group of players and foundations to meet the domestic and European challenges head-on. It should also be mentioned that he will be joined by John Kennedy, who will support Rodgers as the Assistant Manager.
Having served the club for many years in both a playing and coaching capacity, Kennedy will also make a big impact, helping to tame some of Rodgers’ grand ideas and fuel the ideas that will keep them on a strong, but consistent upward trajectory. There are some who are predicting a big first season for the Celtic, but we can’t tell if Celtic will see immediate success until the 2023/24 season really gets underway. But with Rodgers back in the box, Celtic fans have every reason to be optimistic.
Cyriel Dessers comment about being “ready to die” on the pitch for sevco rangers is disgusting!
Does this idiot not realise that many people ‘have died’ during this fixture, from supporters to an actual player, being John Thomson!
Someone needs to take this moron to task over this reckless insensitive provocative utterance of idiocy!
You know for a fact if a Celtic player had said something as foolish, that we’d be constantly bombarded with hate via Scottish media, social media, fans podcasts etc with the Ibrox Disaster being mentioned!
Someone at his club needs to have a word!