Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

I agree with that. Also, makes sense to an extent given where both clubs have come from. Celtic fans are used to an absolute golden era of complete domination so grinding turgid wins is a big step down. Rangers fans are used to Beale and being 15 odd points behind in the league so grinding turgid wins doesn't feel too bad as long as they are winning and mounting a challenge.

This isn't a defence of Rodgers or the board or even the players, but I feel like people have forgotten what a normal season feels like. Under ONeill, Strachan, Lennon, Deila, and Rodgers first time round, we had periods of bad football and just grinding results. Especially under ONeill and Strachan, we used to celebrate our ability to play bad and win by playing to the final whistle. And as long as we won the league, that was success. Coming off a period in which we would have wrapped up most games by half half, I think our idea of what is normal has been skewed.

That's not to say we shouldn't be critical of the board. But there is a tendency to be overly negative even when we are winning at the moment.

 

Yep that was point I was making.

At no point did I not say we have been playing poorly or that our board arnt a shower of *.

As for fans not being led by the media I disagree and feel there are certain sections of fans who are, mainly the older ones and the stupid ones but they definitely do exist. You see them in social media and on the phone ins.

 

It’s not an alternative take. I’m not denying what the media are saying, I’m saying it isn’t what drives the opinion of the vast majority of supporters’ views on Celtic.

 

Cherry picking the last 7 games to justify our form sort of says it all.

But even if you want to, let’s look a wee bit closer. Within that we struggled past Ross County at home - scored in the first minute and it was turgid after.

Drew at third bottom Aberdeen who had just sacked their manager. Then needed two penalties to beat a rank rotten Hibs team who had just been battered off St Mirren and could easily have beaten us.

The media has nothing to do with how supporters are feeling in this case. We’ve been dire to watch most of the season and dropped far too many points.

 

There’s some amount of head in the sand stuff going on here.

I honestly feel like people struggle when things aren’t going well so they spin it all sorts of mental ways to feel better.

Treble winning team and millions in the bank. ‘Elite’ manager on a * bomb of a salary.

But the problem is the supporters aren’t used to 10-15 turgid performances a season, which is apparently the norm.

 

Kinda backs up my original point that unless we are playing swashbuckling football it's not good enough while the huns are delighted winning games 1-0 and playing right backs at left wing.

We should have far higher standards than them but again it's about the narrative being spun and manager is right to highlight it and show it up for what it is.

Yes we all want to see us playing good attacking, entertaining football but if that form guide continues over next 13/14 games we win the league yet according to the media we are in crisis

 

People have to understand it's not about our form over the last x games, it's about our declining level over the last x years.

Ange's rein was a brief respite in what has been a near 20-year period of decline. The only reason we are winning the league is because everyone else in the league has been declining faster. Our board have no ambition to raise our level, their entire business model is to buy cheap players and cross their fingers for a CL group-stage windfall. They've no interest in the quality of player, football, or performance. Smaller European sides in tinpot leagues have surpassed us because we have settled in to a policy of managed decline.

This window is just a particularly egregious example of that policy. We're not * off because of one bad window, we're * off because our board do the bare minimum required to eke out a profit. There's no ambition and our managers function like paid-off union reps, telling us it's all going to be fine when they know fine well we're being shafted. The media didn't invent that, it's actually happening and has been happening for years.

 

Not disagreeing or arguing any of that and have said numerous times the board are a shower of * who are holding us back.

It was more about this panic that's set in bcoz according to the media and sections of our support the ranjurs are coming and we are pish. When the reality is over last 2 months we have picked up more points than them.

* it, I tried to be positive but Mondays arnt for everyone. I'm away to the Lawwell and Greg Taylor threads to have a moan about how much I hate the 2 of them. Lesson learned

 

Mate if our form for the last 13/14 games continues over the next 13/14 games we lose the league.

 

I think it’s good that you’re trying to be positive to be fair but I think you’re going too much on the side of spin and smoke and mirrors.

The reality here is they have consistently closed the gap since their new manager came in to the point it is now even. There was a very small blip in that trend when we beat them at Celtic park which was shrunk even further when dropped points just three games later.

It’s just crazy to suggest there’s some sort of foundation-less cause for concern.

I think we’re all supporting the team and outside of emotional responses no one is seriously writing the league off.

But you can already see a narrative building from Rodgers and the likes of Lennon to excuse this situation, and I don’t think we should tolerate it.

Rodgers has done a * poor job for the salary he has collected. He knows it, that’s why they’re all hitting out with this bullshit.

Same for the board.

 

Good to see him getting angry and trying to change our style of play.

 

https://x.com/nocontextcelts/status/1757092826834198958?s=46

 

Pure shameless plug, go on son

 

I'm not disagreeing mate, and majority of my posts on here have been simialr to yourself.

But after Rodgers comments last night I went and looked at those last 7 league games and was really suprised to see we had outperformed they * bcoz the general narrative and impression is that all the momentum is with them.

Performances havnt been good enough, I left Ross County game at 70 mins bcoz I couldn't watch anymore of it so there's no head in the sand view from me.

Like I said it was merely to try highlight a slight positive that despite being largely * we have still outperformed them over past 2 months.

 

I’ve defended him to the hilt on here, but he’s starting to do my * in with his constant contradictions.

Saying that all the criticism of the team is external, whilst about 6 weeks ago deliberately coming out publicly in three different post match interviews saying that it’s the angriest he’s ever been with a team in his coaching career.

Crying out for quality additions in both windows before going out his way to defend the clubs position after not getting said targets.

Even a recent interview he was claiming he’s never asked Kyogo to do anything different from Ange, but in the very next breath explains in detail how he’s asked him to come in and link the play more.

Then that nauseating double act interview the other day with Lennon to top it off.

Starting to get on my nerves.

 

You'll get people excusing his contradictory waffle by saying "It's Brendan, that's what he does" like its justifiable or something. I would rather my manager not act that way to begin with, but there you go. In the last month I've lost count at the amount of times I've sighed or been in a state of disbelief after reading something he's said.

I really don't want him managing us next season. Best case scenario for me is that he wins the league then leaves in the Summer. That'd be ideal.

Before the season started the bare minimum was win the league, win one of the cup's and show progression in Europe. He absolutely needs to deliver on both domestic fronts to make up for the torturous football we've witnessed this season.

 

I think his contradictions are a mixture between being political and trying to build the team's confidence.

Bearing in mind it's a young team with some lads filling in for injured players, I can understand why he'd want to be more positive than negative about our recent performances. Obviously it's bullshit, the performances are poor, but it makes sense not to say that.

That being said, some of it is just nonsense. He was talking about the 'narrative' that we are in crisis, but that's not the narrative at all. The narrative is that we've not strengthened as well as Rangers and that we've invited an avoidable title race, which is entirely true. So he's tilting at windmills on that count.

Put it this way, I don't mind him defending the players, I do mind him defending the board.

 

He seems to alternate, between saying what he wants to say, and what that "old firm loving *" Lawwell wants him to say.

If I had the finacial security he has, I'd just walk.
Failing that I'd break with Lawwell and just do and say what I thought was best for Celtic, and to * with the "old firm".

I think we saw some glimpses of Rodgers trying to do the best with what he's got with the formation change against St Mirren.

Rodgers needs to do more of that, just do the best he can do to ensure we win the league. Even though it isn't what the "old firm loving *" wants.