Covid season part two? Don’t be daft!
Liam Scales of Celtic wins a header from a corner during the Scottish Premiership match, theRangers vs Celtic, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, 31/08/2025. Photo Colin Poultney PSI
There’s a worrying belief amongst some Celtic supporters that this campaign has all the hallmarks of the disastrous ‘Covid campaign’ of 2020/21, due to the current woes lingering around the club. Whilst that is only natural, I can only say to those of that thinking, don’t be so daft!
Yes the Covid season started brightly before crashing and burning due a mixture of self-inflicted mistakes and some terrible luck, not helped by some really questionable transfer activity. However I can’t say this clearly enough, the two situations are entirely different on so many levels.
Firstly we have a superb coach in Brendan Rodgers who won’t allow that slip in standards, no matter the circumstances. I’m not saying Neil Lennon was a bad coach, far from it, but Brendan is a much better all round man manager and coach.
Secondly our mindset is totally different from then and we boast a much better group of players, both in terms of ability and leadership.
Kasper Schmeichel theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
Gone are the likes of Vasilis Barkas, John Joe Kenny, Diego Laxalt, Shane Duffy, and Albian Ajeti, compared to today’s squad which boasts the likes of Kasper Schmeichel, Alistair Johnston, Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney, Cameron Carter Vickers, and Daizen Maeda, you get the picture.
Another valid reason – and perhaps the most important – is the presence of supporters who make it all the more real than it did back then when football operated in the eerie surroundings of empty stadia.
Celtic players acknowledge the Celtic support. theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
We have the right manager, and a more than capable squad of players, I’m quite confident in saying that this season won’t be a repeat of season 2020/21. Our six points lead over theRangers will also stand us in good stead and remember we’ve already been to Pittodrie and Ibrox while both Aberdeen and theRangers have two visits to Celtic Park
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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This is where I totally disagree.
You tend to put Rodgers on a far bigger pedestal than he has actually earned within his career, with a European record at appalling levels, and no track record of actually building teams. The least said about his 3rd season the better, especially with the one dimensional style of play in place.
Decision making, especially within big games is a massive factor for any manager, along with the motivation factor.
Since Munich, cup final, CL qualification, and Glasgow Derbys.
Rodgers has been found wanting badly, and no amount of board bashing will change that at present, unless he starts doing his own job to a higher degree, especially in our bigger games.
We still have plenty of good players, but aren’t producing to there capabilities, that’s on Rodgers to fix.
No longer confident that he can or even wants to imo?
I believe we have as many unsettled players right now as we had in the failed 10 season and also so many players we’ve yet to see play
As for managers Rodgers appears more unhappy than he did before his midnight flit to Leicester and I can’t see him staying neither do I care if leaves
Johnno has a point. Brendan is not the manager he is made out to be. He got lucky in England with Leicester and then managed to take them down. I believe he may very well be a superb coach of players, though.
His problem is that he cannot be trusted to pick a player and pick a player’s price. Adam Idah, for example. His other problem is that he has become exasperated with the Board’s reluctance to spend early in a transfer window.
The SPL is not the glittering prize that players seek after. Clearly, much has gone on at Celtic that we, the supporters, do not know of.
Annoyingly, he has played too much politics and this has upset the players. His omission of the new Japanese lads is an example as well as his acceptance of letting Oh go, only to hear lately that he is valued at £28 million.
Understandably, he wants things his way and his way only. However, the team is not as good as it should be and it might be best if the Board, who are not without blame in this disaster, ask him to leave. Let’s face it, his time is up. Supporters and the Board and Brendan know this. The Board will then, after appointing a new manager, preferably Ange, agree with the supporters a way forward as to explanations of decisions and all things Celtic.
It’s a points business and in the qualifier, we didn’t get the points. The manager must carry the can. We had a good enough team to beat Kairat and it looks very much like we will proceed poorly from now on. It might also require a Board member or two to fall on their sword. It’s messy and very unfortunate, but with an Aussie in charge who is loved by his players, we might just make something of this season.
I agree with Chris and Johnny.
Coming out with absolute tosh that Rodgers is a superb coach who won’t allow a slip in standards, no matter the circumstances, beggars belief.
Have you been watching the same performances as the rest of us? His approach since losing to Bayern last year has been awful. Unable to beat Rangers or a third rate Kazakh team and serving up the most turgid, boring, inoffensive football we haven’t seen since, er , well., his previous third year.
The boards failure is clear, as is Rodgers recent management.