Managers | Manager Pics (First Stint) | Manager Pics (Second Stint) | Quotes
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Fullname: Brendan Rodgers
aka: Fudgie (old hometown nickname), Buck Rodgers, Brendenbeau
Born: 26 January 1973
Birthplace: Carnlough, Northern Ireland
Manager (1st Stint): 20 May 2016 – 26 February 2019
Succeeding: Ronnie Deila
Successor: Neil Lennon
Manager (2nd Stint): 19 June 2023 – Present
Succeeding: Ange Postecoglou / John Kennedy (Interim)
Successor: –
Biog
| “I’ve come to Celtic to build something special here. I’m really happy in my life and want to keep developing the club.” Brendan Rodgers (Apr 2017) |
Brendan Rodgers was arriving at Celtic to rebuild his own career as much as that of Celtic’s. The Northern Irishman had made a name for himself at unfancied Swansea where he had taken them from nothing to being a staple side in the top tier in England, with a fine transfer record and known for setting his teams out to play good football on the field. A noted point was his emphasis on man management, which was a good touch.
Liverpool snapped him up as manager, and he took them within a whisker of the coveted English Premiership title. They lost that title following one slip by their captain which led to a conceded goal in a crucial game against eventual title winners Chelsea, it was the closest Liverpool had come to winning the title for around 25 years. It didn’t work out into the longer term, and in time he was sacked from the role, the key being the unwanted transfer loss of a key striker after which little was going right at Liverpool. Ironically, the aforementioned Liverpool captain (Stevie Gerrard) went on to become TheRangers manager in 2018 facing Brendan Rodgers.
If anything good came out of the difficult period was that Rodgers who had developed unfairly a reputation for needing his ego to be deflated, had now seen that his ‘ego’ had been punctured. In fairness, it is hardly an accusation you can make at him alone, as practically all EPL managers have egos, and when you have to deal with partisan aggressive pressmen, you have to have a thick skin.
Taking time out, he was waiting for the right opportunity, and various chances came along including a return to his old club Swansea where he was still well-feted. He had something to prove and he had never hidden his love & support for Celtic (especially for Tommy Burns), and had previously put himself forward as a choice for the top role at Celtic. Following the ultimate failure of the experimental choice of Ronny Deila as manager, a more orthodox choice was wanted by the board and support, and Brendan Rodgers on paper was a perfect fit, as he was to put it himself:
“I’ve just landed my dream job. The team I’ve supported all my life.”
First Stint (2016-2019)
Season 2016/17
Appointed on 20 May 2016, Brendan Rogers was taking the helm at a very dispirited club. The previous incumbent had left behind a bloated squad with low morale and little direction. So for Rogers this was truly a ground zero project, especially with the emergence of the new Ibrox entity (Sevco) to the top tier.
Immediate impact was a resurgence amongst the support with season tickets selling out for the first time in over ten years, much to the surprise of all. Partly this was also due to the resurgence in atmosphere following the reintroduction of the standing atmosphere, the difference it was making was incredible at games. This season was also the 50th anniversary of the European Cup triumph in Lisbon.
It was never at the inception seen as if Rodgers was to instigate a revolution, but he was to quietly implement a philosophy which was little difficult, and without any real radical intent, the impact was to be little different for the first team.
After the on-field shambles that was the second season under Ronnie Deila, Rodgers had to pick up a squad of players who were in many ways stuck in a rut. The league title had been won but unconvincingly, but the first team had failed repeatedly in major tests in the past season, in Europe in particular but also have been ignominiously being knocked out the cup tournaments. If anything, Aberdeen should have won the league title if it weren’t for their talent to collapse.
Hitting the ground running, Rodgers was to understand very quickly the task in front of him. The opening defeat to Lincoln Red Imps was embarrassing (but not humiliating as there was a second leg to go), and provided Rodgers with the ability to cut quickly where need be. From there on in, the first team knew what was expected and results picked up.
Domestically, it is possibly the easiest summary that any reviewer will ever have of a Celtic season.
Celtic were simply peerless, and won an incredible treble without losing a game domestically, with the squad being dubbed ‘The InVIncibles’ (VI for referencing Six league titles in a row). Celtic sealed the Scottish cup in injury time at the death and sent the support into raptures. Rodgers had simply transformed the club and the players. They played for him and he earned their respect.
The on-field play was wonderful to watch, the players gelling together, youth players working hard and the established players revitalised.
Demonstration of the difference to last season was the hunskelping in September as Celtic won 5-1 v TheRangers at a cantor. The press had been hyping up Warburton as some city type genius, with articles on his European ambition for Sevco. In retrospect, there was no challenge but at the start of the season that was not how the media sycophants had played it out with warnings that TheRangers were well in with the challenge and Rodgers had better beware. All laughed.
It is hard to pick out further individual league games (maybe the second 5-1 victory over Rangers), as simply the form was consistently good and the play wonderful to watch. Backed by the wonderful burgeoning atmosphere generated by the new terracing section led by the Green Brigade, it was a sight to behold, and everyone was heading to Celtic Park.
In Europe, things were a lot harder, and this is where Rodgers could came unstuck. The miracle of the domestic form should not hide the fact that in Europe, he was on occasion outsmarted tactically and came up against some formidable challenges. In the qualifiers, against Astana and Hapoel Be’er Shiva, the opposition managers often matched Rodgers, and Celtic came through by the margins. On the other hand, it should be noted that unlike Deila, these matches also highlighted Rodgers strengths, as when the going got tough (as when two goals down away to Hapoel Be’er Shiva), Rodgers rejigged the tactics that ultimately saw Celtic go through.
In the Champions League group stages, at this time it was a step too far, but apart from the one-off humiliation against Barcelona away (7-0 defeat), Celtic competed well. Out-thought in the home defeat by Bourssia M’bach, Rodgers almost turned the tables in the away leg in a 1-1 draw, but two draws v the monied Man City was enough to show he had the ability to manage at this level. One journo who is a TheRangers sycophant tried to paint at the start that Scottish teams were not deserving of their place here, but Rodgers had proven that Celtic were worthy of a place at this table despite the challenges.
As for the squad, whereas last season players were downhearted and losing confidence, this time there was no questioning of the manager. Established players were reinvigorated. Many had written off Scott Brown as coming to the end of his time in the past season, yet his best form after so long at Celtic was to be this season. He was commanding, effective and productive, not three words used to describe him previously. Others followed suit, with the greatest surprise being that of Armstrong. Few were convinced he was going to make it after the poor past season, but once given his chance he proved all wrong, and whatever Rodgers had said to him had proven to work.
Youth players were getting chances and developing well. Tierney and McGregor were continuing from under Deila and proved their worth, but others were getting opportunities when there was a place available.
As for transfers in, two names clearly stand out: Sinclair and Dembele, both of whom were scoring for fun and entertaining everyone, they were wining plaudits everywhere and the quality of their play and goals was of the top order.
Rodgers never publicly criticised players harshly, with only rare quotes pre-planned by him which were to gee up players. Lennon before Rodgers was never slow to rebuke some players publicly. It’s a double-edged sword.
Despite public opinion to the contrary, he was unashamedly ruthless on mistakes as seen by the swift culling of Ambrose, Janko and Craig Gordon (later to return with the once more swift culling of his replacement de Vries). He had standards to maintain, he could be fatherly but if players weren’t up to grade or following into line, then they were to be dropped for everyone’s sake.
His interviews were becoming mandatory listening for all supporters, with his intelligence and warmth coming over well. He had a lot for even the most established football analyst to learn from.
Rodgers had simply had a dream debut season. It was incredible. As a mark of his success, Davie Moyes, who was actually the initial favourite for the Celtic job, was to be sacked as Sunderland manager as they came bottom of the English top tier league. To unintentionally rub salt in the wounds, Celtic then defeated them 5-1 in a friendly only a few weeks after. Rogers had more than proven his worth in so many ways, and this was another unintentional but notable measure.
The players were happy, the manager was happy and the support was very happy. What a time to be alive.
Season 2017/18
Onto the great second season, Brendan Rodgers had a lot to live up to, but as was the case with his predecessors, a successful league campaign the previous year had to be followed up with something to show in Europe. Granted he had a fair return in the Champions League in the past season, it was still short of the heights both he and the support wanted to attain.
Celtic carried on from where they carried off, ‘invincible’ but that run would obviously have to come to an end domestically. Still, Celtic ignored that point and continued to swat teams aside despite the warnings.
The biggest problem was that the first team was to be given next to no pre season break, as the European Qualifiers started up soon enough. Again Celtic had to travel far and wide, and despite the odd scare (e.g. home draw v Rosenborg), the first team qualified for the Champions League again, this time with less drama than before. Problem was that it was clear that without time to rest, the players were going to sooner or later begin to start hitting a wall, mentally as well as physically. Fully aware of that, Rodgers didn’t rest on his laurels, and brought in various players to shore up the squad, although he continued to struggle to find adequate new defenders. Bringing in Ntcham and Edouard kind of reflected his continued philosophy but he was to again rely on the same set of players he had worked with beforehand.
The Champions League campaign was mostly a shambles, and only charitably could Celtic fans say there was some progress. Granted Celtic defeated Anderlecht away 3-0 and qualified to the Uefa cup in third place, but the first team lost all the other games, including humbling 7-1 & 5-0 losses to PSG. Admittedly, they were an exceptional squad but really better is expected. The tactics were wrong and the defensive frailties were there for all to see. Rodgers tried to swat away any complaints, stubbornly sticking to his philosophy on play, as he made clear in football. Clearly in private he knew that change was needed and not just in players but also his management. However, how was any manager to cope with a mentally exhausted side?
The end of the ‘Invincibles‘ came with against Hearts, in a 4-0 thumping. It was the end of a glorious record run, and lots to be proud of, and that should be concentrated on. Rodgers was the architect for this and that should be acknowledged by all. Maybe it was good to get this run ended as it could be a burden (not a bad problem though). It then allowed for supporters to finally be able to discuss changes and development needed, and the clear problems that were obvious to those not wearing blinkers.
What was to be the greatest highlights in the season was again the near perfect record v Sevco. Celtic scored an aggregate of 14-2 v Sevco, including a 4-0 victory in the Scottish Cup and a 5-0 victory at home. There was a nil nil match at New Year’s which gave delusionists at Ibrox a belief that the gap was closing (it wasn’t), but really it was a blip. The most incredible victory was a 3-2 victory over Sevco at Ibrox in the league, where Celtic incredibly came from behind twice to win despite being a man down (red card). The goals came from across the first team, and if one victory best reflected Rodgers tactical philosophy then it was this game. He made errors (in defence) but when the chips were down he changed things which led to an unexpected victory.
The quality of the Celtic play too was excellent in these games, and probably superseded that of last season. Rodgers also achieved an incredible feat by defeating three Sevco managers by at last 4 goals in 12months, and by the end of this season was onto his fourth Sevco manager. It was laughable.
If anything, the greatest challenges domestically came from Aberdeen (who still chocked) and surprisingly newly promoted Hibernian. Aberdeen were pushing on but always that one step behind Celtic (or maybe a few steps), whilst Hibernian under ex-Celt Neil Lennon was proving was a capable manager he was and managed Hibs to be undefeated at home v Celtic (including a 2-0 victory). Hibs were playing great football, and for Rodgers it was a welcome challenge. Hearts also posed a challenge for Rodgers too, but Celtic despite one defeat.
Aberdeen gained a worthy scalp over Celtic by finally defeating Celtic at Celtic Park by one nil, in the final league game of the season. This match is notable for various reasons firstly as it ended Celtic’s long undefeated home record domestically (since Dec 2015), and confined Sevco to third place (a defeat for Aberdeen and victory by Sevco over Hibernian would have put Sevco second). Cynical remarks about Celtic lying down are not backed by the stats of the game or the line-up. For Rodgers it was a frustration and you can see that he sensed change was needed.
Hearts manager Craig Levein hit back at Rodgers for the state of the uncut grass at Tynecastle, bizarrely claiming that if he wanted fairness then all should have the same financial resources. Everyone just laughed. Hearts were re-establishing themselves as a front runner as a team, so Celtic fans were getting a lot of satisfaction out of defeating them. Despite all that, Celtic still comfortably won the league, and created history with an incredible back-to-back domestic treble. Dreams are made of these, but in truth the atmosphere was a little more low key than in the last season. Sealing the Scottish Cup with a victory over Motherwell was excellent, but there were concerns for the longer-term.
Rodgers was actually now receiving certain criticism which previously were little aired or bottled up, and at one point quite simply unthinkable. The defence was still a shambles, and was even in decline. Rodgers had by now two seasons to shore it up.
The big question was if history was repeating itself as with Liverpool’s time under Rodgers. At that club as well, a special first full season was followed by a slow decline with defensive frailties the biggest issue.
Two seasons in a row of hammerings in the Champions League is not something that could be swept under the carpet, especially as Strachan & Lennon had managed to go through the group stages with successes despite having weaker squads. As for transfers in, concerns were that few were working out with many questionable.
There was still much faith in Rodgers, and there was some poor luck due to certain injuries to key players (e.g. Armstrong, Roberts, Dembele, Compper). That should be remembered.
Regardless of any dip in form, another great season domestically.
It was another history making season, and there was more to come.
Season 2018/19
The main talking point as the season was to start was the hiring by Sevco of ex-Liverpool player Stevie Gerrard as their new manager, who had played under Brendan Rodgers. Stevie Gerrard was well remembered for a slip v Chelsea in 2014 that allowed Chelsea to score & win and go on to win their league, Brendan Rodgers was the Liverpool manager. Some say they both didn’t get on, but it’s not clear how true that was. The dynamic was to be tested, but as a psychological test there was only going to be one winner.
The season started ridiculously early, with ironically Boyata being a talking point, and highlighted a lack of foresight in sorting this out. Boyata’s name was to feature prominently as Celtic’s transfer window created chaos. Despite all the good notes on Rodgers, this time his team with the board had made a mess. They struggled to get any defenders in, then held onto Boyata who went into a major diva fit and practically on strike. Celtic in this environment ended up knocked up prematurely from the Champions League qualifiers v AEK Athens.
Next thing, Celtic lost Dembele who was desperate to leave (albeit for £20m) but Boyata was retained (or couldn’t be shifted out). Little good was brought in terms of permanent playing staff, with two loans. No replacement for the Dembele, Armstrong etc. Celtic were still stuck with the hapless Compper, whilst Hendry in defence was a major cause for concern. Question marks on Rodgers transfer record were gaining ground.
The domestic season started briskly, but a defeat to Hearts showed the team needed freshening up and appeared to be mentally drained. Celtic were to start poorly with the First Team’s worst start in 20 years with Hearts surprisingly on top of the league. Supporters started to bring out the pitchforks with some waving banners about Celts for Change revivals and shouts for the removal of Peter Lawell (Chief Exec of Celtic). In time it was clear the board were not the real problem.
The big question that was arising was if Brendan Rodgers was leaving at the end of the season. Some quotes were being taken to reflect his frustrations and his body language was being interpreted that he was losing his spark for the role. The number of loans on the books and the inability to move off non-performing players fuelled this theory, but was he really working his ticket out? Rodgers was being criticised for his decision making and possibly his enthusiasm in the role now, so concerns were arising.
An easier than it sounds 1-0 hammering of Sevco put all back on side with Rodgers, and it calmed the nerves, and Hearts were to fall away. However, performances were unconvincing but Celtic were able to keep their noses in front and stay there.
Celtic won the League Cup at a cantor to be honest, which was a fabulous triumph, and now Brendan Rodgers had managed Celtic to an incredible seven trophies in a row, the treble-treble was still on.
December 2018 was a packed out month and Celtic performed well, albeit only scraping through the Europa League Group stage by the skin of their teeth. A major victory that showed the steel of the team was a back to the wall 4-3 victory over Aberdeen, possibly the most exciting game of the season.
The crunch game was v Sevco at the end of the month in the traditional match which if won would have clearly have closed the door on Sevco’s title challenge. However, Celtic lost 1-0 in what was a very one-sided match to Sevco and the title race was back on, with both sides level on points but Celtic had a game in hand. Things were not looking good, and Brendan Rodgers was getting flak, although fatigue for the players was a valid excuse, but Rodgers tactics could be too predictable and the defence and midfield were ill equipped to handle the situation.
The issues over the transfer window in the summer were repeatedly raised, and all agreed that it was not good. Brendan Rodgers was clearly showing frustrations and admitting it hadn’t gone to plan, but he deserves flak too as he purchased various figures instead of concentrating on areas like defence. The squad was bloated, and fringe players (such as Compper and Gamboa) were wasting time at the club.
January had to be a reboot, and the introduction of big name loan signings was a surprise. Weah & Burke were stars from the off. Ex-Celt Charlie Nicholas though stated that he believed that Sevco were now the favourites for the title, which at this point was ridiculous. They had strengthened but with older players. Brendan Rodgers just shrugged it off, and got on with things. Charlie Nicholas was often attention seeking with contrarian views to the obvious.
Into the New Year, things started to go right again for Celtic: a long sequence of clean sheets, victories and Sevco dropping points enabled Celtic to build up a comfortable 8pts advantage in the league as well as progress in the Scottish Cup. More important was the great form of players who were really making a great fist of things, such as new players like Burke and Weah. Scott Brown surprised all by having a purple patch of quality goals, and some late winners by Celtic helped to build confidence in the side.
Injuries were a bain, with Rogic & Benkovic out for a long time and Tierney out for a run of games, but the squad had just about coped despite being stretched thin.
Most important game and pivotal was probably the 1-0 victory v Kilmarnock away in the league. In February 2019, Kilmarnock were punching way above their weight this season with some excellent performances and pushing for top slots in the league. Celtic had lost twice away there in 2017, and Celtic struggled on their plastic pitch in this match with a late goal (89th min) by Scott Brown sealing the points in a hard fought albeit fortunate win (goal was from a deflected shot).
Celtic seemed to be on course for the league title, and then the big shock happened… Brendan Rodgers left the building, taking some major backroom staff with him.
Premature Departure from Celtic (Feb 2019)
In February 2019, Brendan Rodgers surprised many by suddenly announcing that he was given permission to discuss with Leicester City for their vacant manager’s role, and he was gone fast to Leicester City taking a number of key background staff. The timing was disappointing as Celtic had 11 league games to go with the title still to be won and the Scottish Cup too. There had been rumours and discussions over the season that Brendan Rodgers was looking to possibly move on in the summer, especially as there had been so many loans over the past two windows and his body language was much different than before.
For many it seemed unprofessional, and understandably the support did not take it well. With the history making treble-treble potentially on the way, it was poor for the players and the club, and many felt deflated. It seemed as if the Liverpool fans complaints on their prior manager were correct. Different reports said differently if it was the Leicester City owners or Brendan Rodgers who was responsible for the premature departure. He could have waited till the end of the season, as taking away the backroom staff was poor.
With the money on offer you could understand, but he was well paid at Celtic, and the opportunities were far greater at Celtic, He still had much to prove in Europe with Celtic (or anyone else), and really there was more to offer at Celtic for prestige.
Some wits remarked, that it was disappointing that Brendan Rogers had left the club with the reputation of being the first treble winning manager in Celtic’s history not to get to a European final.
The Green Brigade made their views known with a vitriolic banner, with the line:
“You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt. Always a Fraud”.
BBC journalist Tom English probably summed it all up most accurately (although not in every case) when he opined on Brendan Rodgers’ departure that:
“Sentiment nearly always gets trumped by ambition in football”.
In fairness to Brendan Rodgers, maybe the decision was forced by his new club (as he later stated) and possibly there were issues with the Celtic board. It would take time for the full facts to come forward, but in general there were many in football critical of Brendan Rodgers’ premature move including surprisingly former Celtic bête noir Mourinho.
Neil Lennon took over from Brendan Rogers as interim manager for the remainder of the 2018/19 season.
Review (1st Stint)
There is so much good to say about Brendan Rodger’s time at Celtic, yet the way it all ended prematurely will leave an unwelcome cloud over his spell which may pass over in time in future retrospectives.
Celtic were in partial retreat when he arrived, the Ronnie Deila era had not worked out, and the squad seemed to be underperforming. Rodgers came in, and from the start he revitalised the entire First Team, and was ruthless with underperformers.
You can’t argue with his record at Celtic, with the ‘InVIncibles‘ season possibly the only time that it will ever occur in Scottish football history (undefeated domestically). The football in that season in particular was incredible.
He managed Celtic to back-to-back domestic trebles, something never achieved before and also a domestic treble which was not won by his recent predecessors despite an arguably less difficult environment for them to face (for example Deila did not have to face Hibs or Sevco in his first season).
For many supporters, the Rodgers era was one of the finest times in their football supporting lives, so many great memories, and the humiliations given to Sevco were exceptional who struggled to lay a hand on Rodgers’ teams. With only one victory in three years, Sevco simply weren’t in the same ballpark. As a reminder, when Rodgers arrived there were mainstream media commentators predicting that Sevco would win the title and be a challenge. They never really competed until the third season but Celtic were still well ahead in the league when Rodgers moved on.
Many squad players were revitalised under Rodgers, in particular Scott Brown, who had been written off by many even at Celtic. If anything, Scott Brown was to show his best form of his career whilst under Rodgers and had achieved a great cult status for Celtic supporters. With Rodgers, Boyata’s career could have been killed off stone dead, but he was to go on to be the best central defender in the squad with some fine goals along the way.
The young players were developing, and following on from the good work under Deila, the youth set-up was flourishing with many young players winning their debut and getting great runs under Rodgers which was to pay dividends. Forrest, McGregor, Tierney and others had much to thank Rodgers for, and they in turn turned into stellar players. There was great management of the players, and Christie had been handled well away on loan and then when back at Celtic had grown into an exceptional player.
The above work with players showed his commitment to strong man management, which was noted by many others who had worked with him previously, and the reports were universally positive. Coaching and development is key, and along with some of his key backroom staff, the setup was professional and forward looking.
At his best, he helped give his teams a belief, purpose and conviction, and that was proven in the results and silverware. Some of his transfers were inspired, such as Mousa Dembele and Scott Sinclair, who were stellar and owe Rodgers so much, and also there were a number of fine loan moves.
However, many Rodgers transfers had not worked out, e.g. Gamboa, Compper, De Vries, Hendry, Mulumbu, Benyu, Hayes and Eboue. This was worrying, and reflected the criticisms from his time at Liverpool. The number of failed transfers in was solved in part by loans in, but there was an issue and the net result could be costly. Failed transfers bloated the squad, and a common point noted that much of the success was based on players inherited from his predecessors and from the youth squads. There was some discomfort over the long-term squad, and the often over-reliance on Scott Brown.
Europe was a very mixed bag, and if anything this showed Rodgers’ limitations in tactics. He successfully steered Celtic through to the Champions League twice, only to be undone in the third season due to various player issues. However, once in group stages, Celtic were mostly uncompetitive and suffered some major defeats which can’t be swept under the carpet. Heavy defeats to Barcelona and PSG showed the gap with the mega-clubs, but also highlighted the naivety in Rodgers attacking philosophy & tactics against stronger opposition. Granted Celtic still made the KO stages of the Europa League twice, but then were soon knocked out.
The away record in Europe was poor, and despite all the plaudits given to Rodgers over his time at Celtic, his sides did come unstuck against any foreign team who on paper could be deemed to have been stronger. In his time, Celtic never defeated a clearly stronger European side. Neil Lennon may have had his critics, but did better in his first Champions League group stage campaign with less resources and an inferior squad of players, and even Ronnie Deila managed a 3-3 draw with Inter Milan.
Again, history was repeating itself as Liverpool fans had complained that Rodgers couldn’t handle defences, and it showed very much so in European games, and increasingly over Rodgers second & third seasons domestically. Bringing in Toure worked well in the first season as a player, but seems to have not worked out well when he became the defensive coach. It led to the slide in the teams’ performances and results over the final season, but in fairness Celtic domestically did recover.
Overall, the Rodgers era was a golden period and must be seen in light of the tenures of some previous incumbents (such as Deila). There was progress, immense achievements and entertainment, and for supporters that’s what is wanted. The successors were going to be handed an upgrade on what Rodgers himself had been given, albeit a lot of changes at Celtic were still needed as many players & loanees were to leave in the summer coming.
His exit was admittedly poorly and unprofessionally handled, and Rodgers should have said no to Leicester’s immediate start but he didn’t. It sadly was to mark his card down, but it shouldn’t be the main talking point of his time at the club. Everyone moves on, but Rodgers who had made a name for himself in good management in this case had mismanaged himself very badly, and left Celtic in the lurch. There was already much rumour of his impending departure over his final season, but the manner of his departure still surprised everyone.
It could be argued that Brendan Rodgers had taken Celtic as far as he could, with domestic dominance and involvement in the Champions League. The set-up in the European Cup and increasingly in the Europa League was now shutting out clubs in the smaller leagues.
However, this isn’t fully convincing. Firstly, how was he going to achieve more at Leicester? They had an incredible title winning season a few years back, but that was not expected to happen again. Also, Rodgers still had much to prove in Europe. Lennon and Strachan had taken weaker squads further in European matches than Rodgers had done, whilst Ajax just after Rodger’s departure made the quarter-finals of the European Cup defeating Real Madrid in the Bernabeu. There was still much to prove and achieve at Celtic for Rodgers.
Disturbingly, various stories were being told that showed that he had been prone to flights of fantasy. Mostly harmless or simple exaggerations, but one tale involved Danny McGrain. An oft-repeated story, Brendan Rodgers stated that Danny McGrain questioned him if he was still needed at Celtic, and Rodgers had given a heart-felt answer of yes. It was recalled at a Celtic Q&A in front of audiences with Danny McGrain present and was published in the media. Problem is that Danny McGrain stated later that Rodgers had taken liberties with the retelling of the actual meeting, and it never happened as Rodgers’ retold the story, and Danny McGrain felt embarrassed as it appeared as if he was being desperate to get a role.
It wasn’t helping Rodgers’ reputation at the time of his departure. If anything, the situation resurrected Liverpool fans’ previous remarks that Rodgers had an ego problem and was a snakeoil salesman, with the more zealous critics in the Celtic support claiming he wasn’t a real Celtic man. Harsh but possibly the success domestically at Celtic had re-ignited some concerning traits in Rodgers as from his Liverpool days, and so he was regressing back to his old ways, thankfully not to the same extent as at Liverpool though.
He had had multiple offers prior to Leicester over the past two seasons to leave but he didn’t, that must be noted & respected. He could have taken many other high paid roles elsewhere but stuck it out and worked hard at Celtic with many successes and lifetime memories, which he will look back on with great pride and see as his greatest achievements.
Despite Rodger’s premature and unprofessional exit, there was so much to look back with pride & joy on his reign at Celtic. He is one of the most successful managers ever in Scotland, and the ‘InVIncibles‘ season is something that no one will ever forget. There were so many great key moments during that time, and once emotions have dampened down, the support in general may once again regard him with great respect for the bulk of his time at the club. He helped rebuild Celtic to be the undisputed leaders at the top of the Scottish football pyramid, and that should always be fondly remembered.
Post-Celtic to 2023 (Leicester City phase)
Ironically, Brendan Rodgers’ first match as the new Leicester City manager was against Watford, another club he had left in similar circumstances to Celtic, and duly Watford defeated Leicester with an injury time winner in a 2-1 victory. The Watford fans had still not forgiven Rodgers, and their PA blasted the Celtic terracing anthem of “Just can’t get enough” to rub it in.
Anyhow, he went on to prove himself, with former critics down south recanting their previous criticisms of his ability. At the same time Celtic had started to slip badly under Neil Lennon, so the Celtic support was mostly apathetic to the praise he was receiving at Leicester. His name ended up being linked with every potential available role at the mega-clubs, in particular seriously with respect to Manchester Utd and Arsenal, and even speculatively abroad with the big two in Spain.
However, to no surprise of anyone from either Celtic or Liverpool circles, his form at Leicester in time was to mirror that as at his previous clubs. After an excellent initial season or two (including an FA Cup win), the wheels began to come off at Leicester with comments by the manager alluding to lack of support by the board when really Rodgers should have been looking closer to home. An unarguably excellent coach & manager at his best, but across his major roles his transfer record was often questionable and his defensive record was poor, so the knives were out again.
He was sacked in April 2023 after his Leicester side slid back into the relegation zone, and there was a certain amount of schadenfreude from across various sections of supporters in football (e.g. Celtic, Liverpool and Watford). In fairness, he actually could very much look back on his time at Leicester with a lot of pride as there were some great achievements. However, the inability to make it to the Champions League with Leicester (despite coming close to doing so) means that his time at Leicester will have some mixed reviews in retrospectives by their supporters.
Ironically, he soon after ended up in competition with Ange Postecoglu, then the Celtic manager, for the coveted & lucrative managerial vacancy at Spurs. He lost out to Ange Postecoglu!
He commented well on Celtic repeatedly, even travelling back to Celtic Park for some games, and stated his thanks to Celtic in 2019 in an interview even saying that:
“[I] would have no hesitation in going back… incredible club, would I go back to Celtic? Absolutely!”.
Second Stint (2023 – Present)
In what has to be the biggest backflip by any manager in Celtic’s history, Brendan Rodgers returned in June 2023, with the response from the Celtic support quite apprehensive. A touch unfair but emotions do play a big part in the lives of supporters.
Being freely available, Brendan Rodgers was the most qualified and accessible of the possible candidates, and probably most cost effective too. Swapping one treble winning manager for another is good business, but in this case there was a lot of baggage.
Brendan Rodgers had some high expectations to meet to carry on from Postecoglou’s treble winning season, especially in Europe. For any candidate, this was the most attractive the Celtic job had ever looked when available: money in the bank, young side full of talent & serious potential, with guaranteed Champions League group stage entry for the first season.
For himself personally, he had to break the 3-4 year boom/bust cycle his career was stuck in. On the other hand, after Postecoglou’s departure, the support were resigned to believing a 2-3 year tenure was now the reality before foreign riches would entice a manager away. He also had to win back the trust and respect of the Celtic support, which is easier said than done.
So was this to be redemption? Well, as he confidently put it on his return:
“For those that have been with me and always with me, let’s enjoy the journey. For those I need to convince – I’ll see you here in May.”
Brendan Rodgers (June 2023)
Season 2023/24
“Let’s get to work!”
Brendan Rodgers (June 2023)
Brendan Rodgers was handed down a great legacy from the popular Ange Postegolou, so on paper at least he was in a strong position at the start of the season. The only significant loss during the summer was the inevitable loss of Jota for crazy sums to the burgeoning Saudi league. However the legacy slipped away quite quickly, and it was clear that a restructuring was required at Celtic. This season was to be arguably the most dramatic from the past 15 years or so, and Brendan Rodgers was very much centre-stage in everything.
The elephant in the room was that the league title was the be all & end all. The Champions League was restructuring, and there was an automatic place in the group stages for the title winner, and the winnings were too much to lose. Sevco were boosted and had well over-spent on a number of players, so the challenge was expected to be stronger than in the previous season, and Rodgers knew that the landscape in Scottish football had changed.
There was a very inauspicious start in the opening games (4-2 wins over Ross County on Flag day followed by a nervy 3-1 away win to Aberdeen) . If anything was to prove that this was a new era then the defeat to Kilmarnock in the league cup ended both Celtic’s treble hopes and Brendan’s unbeaten Cup record in Scotland. The kinder historians see it to have had unintended benefits, giving everyone a fresh start and from the off removing the burden of the target of another Treble but still a surprise. In reality, it highlighted there were certain issues to address.
An added problem for Rodgers was that while the support grudgingly welcomed him back, in those early days there was no real affection for him, so he had no room for error. Each game could be a test.
Back in the league, the early performances demonstrated that he was not going to follow the same playing philosophy as his predecessor, with the consequence that the performances were unconvincing, and various players were struggling with the new set-up. The irony is that having been handed a strong hand originally, things seemed to be unravelling quickly. It allowed for those critics who were biting their tongues about the board and the returned Rodgers to begin speaking out again, caustically and not holding back.
The bigger problem was what the first game v Sevco was up early, with tensions heightened as no away fans in the ground. A deluge of injuries and a dip in moral meant that Celtic were actually looked upon as underdogs, but Rodgers pulled everything together perfectly for a 1-0 victory in his first big test, aided by two Sevco goals being correctly ruled out. It was a filip for Rodgers and proved he still was a great tactician when under pressure, and that the players were behind him. A notable match that reflected the new Celtic, was a 2-1 win v Motherwell (Sep 2023) that saw Celtic win in injury time having conceded in injury time first, and that the “never stop” mantra inherited from his predecessor was still alive, and saw Celtic build up a 7pt lead as Sevco were imploding.
The real surprise was to be the sharp fluctuations of Celtic’s form from early on, which saw Celtic squander that incredible lead, with numerous injuries beginning to impact results. This was a new challenge for Rodgers, and in fairness impossible for anyone to fully cover for, and it took his full experience to handle. What was worse was the failure of the summer transfers, and from the off Rodgers was ruthless with cutting players who didn’t convince him regardless of what had been spent on them. The second wave of Asian players in particular were failing badly.
Part of the problem was that Rodgers’ new system and tactics were not suiting all the players. He clearly didn’t rate the current make up of the squad and the transfers he had inherited, and disaffection from certain players was evidently beginning to be played out on-field.
If one moment is seen to have changed the support’s relationship with Rodgers, then it was the post match rant after an unacceptable first half performance in a 3-1 win v St Johnstone (Dec 2023). It was thought this would provide the kick that the side needed, and for the concerned support it was received well. Celtic went on to defeat Sevco in the New Year’s derby match away, which was crucial but despite maintaining the club’s domestic hegemony, it had not been a convincing first half of the season.
In Europe, things were more difficult. There is no denying that both he & others had made it a major point that progress or improvement in Europe was paramount. However, in a group that relatively was not the most difficult that Celtic could have got, the overall performance was once again poor, despite the inevitable poor luck in certain games. A 2-1 win in the dead rubber match v Feyenoord ended an unwanted competition record, but beyond that only a 2-2 draw with Atletico was of note, whilst the 6-0 away hammering by Atletico was an unwanted humiliation. Celtic finished bottom of the group once again with 4pts, with Lazio & Atletico going through. For Rodgers who had stated an aim of coming at least third with some progress in Europe, this was a step back, albeit hindered by the unfathomable injury list and some unnecessary red cards.
“I think success for us as a club is to be in Europe after Christmas. That’s what our aim is.”
Brendan Rodgers (Sep 2023)
On the other hand, maybe Rodgers was also to blame in parts. Admittedly, he did not set out the side to be as gung ho as in his last tenure at Celtic, but with the benefit of hindsight he maybe would have played certain players ahead of others in Europe.
After the difficult first half season, you’d have been forgiven to think that Rodgers would be given a break now into the second half of the season as the settling in period was now long over. It was to be more drama as Celtic kept tripping up, and unfathomably in time Sevco boosted under a change of manager (Clement) were to overtake Celtic in the league title race. One Green Brigade banner reflected the mood : “Celtic Board – On your heads be it”. Some cynics perceived that the club was riddled with division between the board, Gteen Brigade Ultras and the manager.
Rodgers was castigated for his tactics, and many argued that his change in style was stymying Kyogo’s potency in goals, compounded by that he was clearly missing compatriot Hatate who was out injured. For Rodgers, when the main spine of his team was out or below par due to injuries (i.e. McGregor, Hatate and Carter-Vickers), then some leeway must be given, but in the heat of the action that never happens. On the other hand, too many other players were underperforming, notably Johnston, Iwata, Palma and even O’Riley for a period.
The Sevco games were to be highly pivotal, and a 3-3 draw away when under the cosh proved that under Rodgers, Celtic were the ones still in charge. It was a game changer, and afterwards Sevco imploded under this realisation, whilst Rodgers took the pressure in his stride, and Celtic leapfrogged Sevco back to the top of the league (narrowly).
Post-split, despite some possible banana skins, notably Hearts, Celtic came together bolstered finally by proper stable of players to pick from for Rodgers after having lost so many due to injury through the season. A comfortable 2-1 win over Sevco was the game that sealed it all, with even Rodgers pre-match playing on this stating:
“Mentally we’re in a really good place… Take nothing for granted, keep our composure, we have a lot of work to do in the week, get our plan ready and then next Saturday we can have a bit of fun!”
The final run of games were celebration time as Celtic wrapped up the league, and sealed the Scottish Cup a week later with another win v Sevco to rub it in to them. It was a difficult transition season for Rodgers who had to take on numerous unexpected challenges. For example, the squad wasn’t as strong as first thought, the transfers all underwhelmed or simply failed and the injury list was never-ending.
It is hard to fully assess Rodgers’ time due to having had little time to work with his first choice side due to injuries and internationals, but when handed a near full-squad (as at the end of the season), his side performed very well. You have to add that even though Sevco were bolstered by heavy signings last summer, they still couldn’t lay a glove on Celtic, with 4/5 defeats v Celtic, and the draw was only by a goal at the death of that match at Ibrox.
If anything proved Rodgers’ ability, then it was his choice to choose the unheralded Scales for the central defensive roles and his choice to bring in Idah (on loan) with both playing a more then disproportionate role that helped Celtic to the titles this season.
On the other hand, some felt Rodgers was petty and should have given some of the transferees more gametime, and was making unnecessary points. Some of the players were heralded before they arrived, and so many were not convinced that on signing they had become poor players. It’s hard to know where to draw the line, as was it Rodgers or the players alone? Rodgers weakness across many of his stints at clubs has been transfers.
On the other hand, various players clearly had benefitted from Rodgers’ input. Notably, Scales and on-loan Idah who had both been written off before Rodgers’ intervention, whilst O’Riley and Hatate were playing their best football of their careers to date this season when on-form.
At the end of the season, you could see what the success meant to him, as he joined in with the celebrations as much as any of the players and the supporters, and he joked after hearing the Ultras sing his name in praise on the title celebration matches. You could see his pride, and he needed this but so did everyone else at Celtic:
“It felt really good… I thought they’d forgot the name!”
Brendan Rodgers on the Green Brigade (May 2024)
The big question left to answer was on Rodgers’ relationship with the support, so had it been repaired? Well, that was still difficult to answer. No one could argue with the success on-field in the season, and Rodgers clearly didn’t have the patience he once had before. Gone were the fixed big smiles to camera through the season and the pre-prepared lines that pandered to the media. His departure from Leicester likely made irreparable damage to his psyche, and he knew that at Celtic it was potentially now or never for his career. He was generally diplomatic (as ever) but this could be double-edged, but on occasion he was willing to be forthright publicly too.
Overall, it was a successful season of transition. The real title was the Champions League automatic spot, and Celtic were clearly deserved winners. Rodgers deserved all the praise for that. He had dealt with everything admirably and to come out with the league & Cup double in relatively comfortable style in the end is a sign of a top manager who had plenty of self belief in his ability. He was the conductor and catalyst, and hopefully this was the start to even greater to come.
The support had begun to sing his name again despite any lingering concerns about his return to the club, but having won the double with clear blue-sky to the rest at the end of the season, then really he’d achieved it all. After all that, he deserved respect and his moment in the sun at the top of the table once again.
Season 2024/25
[…]
Managerial Career
| LEAGUE | |||||||||||||||
| Home | Away | ||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| 2016/17 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 8 | 53 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 59 | 17 | 53 | |
| 2017/18 | 19 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 38 | 9 | 40 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 35 | 16 | 42 | |
| 2018/19 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 5 | 42 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 10 | 21 | |
| Total (1st stint) | 52 | 42 | 9 | 1 | 126 | 22 | 135 | 51 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 117 | 43 | 95 | |
| 2023/24 | 19 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 15 | 48 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 15 | 45 | |
| Total (2nd stint) | 19 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 15 | 48 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 15 | 45 | |
| Total | 71 | 57 | 12 | 2 | 176 | 37 | 183 | 70 | 50 | 11 | 9 | 162 | 58 | 140 | |
| Total | |||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||||||||
| 2016/17 | 38 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 25 | 106 | ||||||||
| 2017/18 | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 73 | 25 | 82 | ||||||||
| 2018/19 | 27 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 64 | 15 | 63 | ||||||||
| Total (1st stint) | 103 | 78 | 17 | 8 | 243 | 65 | 251 | ||||||||
| 2023/24 | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 95 | 30 | 93 | ||||||||
| Total (2nd stint) | 38 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 95 | 30 | 93 | ||||||||
| Total | 141 | 107 | 23 | 11 | 338 | 95 | 344 | ||||||||
| SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | ||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |||
| 2016/17 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2017/18 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |||
| 2018/19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total (1st stint) | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 20 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 29 | |||
| 2023/24 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | |||
| Total (2nd stint) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 43 | |||
| Total | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 35 | 25 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 72 | |||
| EUROPEAN CUP | |||||||||||||||
| Home | Away | ||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |||
| 2016/17 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 | |||
| 2017/18 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 14 | |||
| 2018/19 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |||
| Total (1st stint) | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2023/24 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Total (2nd stint) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| Total | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 4 | |||
| Total | |||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 2016/17 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 23 | |||||||||
| 2017/18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 22 | |||||||||
| 2018/19 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | |||||||||
| Total (1st stint) | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 49 | |||||||||
| 2023/24 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 17 | |||||||||
| Total (2nd stint) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 17 | |||||||||
| Total | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 53 | 66 | |||||||||
| UEFA CUP | |||||||||||||||
| Home | Away | ||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |||
| 2016/17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 2017/18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||
| 2018/19 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | |||
| Total (1st stint) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | |||
| 2023/24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Total (2nd stint) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | |||
| Total | |||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 2016/17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| 2017/18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2018/19 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 12 | |||||||||
| Total (1st stint) | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 14 | |||||||||
| 2023/24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
| Total (2nd stint) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 14 | |||||||||
| OVERALL TOTAL | |||||||||||||||
| SEASON | P | W | D | L | F | A | |||||||||
| 2016/17 | 59 | 46 | 8 | 5 | 147 | 50 | |||||||||
| 2017/18 | 61 | 39 | 11 | 11 | 126 | 53 | |||||||||
| 2018/19 | 49 | 33 | 6 | 10 | 101 | 32 | |||||||||
| Total (1st stint) | 169 | 118 | 25 | 26 | 374 | 135 | |||||||||
| 2023/24 | 50 | 35 | 7 | 8 | 116 | 53 | |||||||||
| Total (2nd stint) | 50 | 35 | 7 | 8 | 116 | 53 | |||||||||
| Grand Total | 219 | 153 | 32 | 34 | 490 | 188 |
Honours with Celtic
Domestic Treble (League, League Cup & Scottish Cup)
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Pictures
Links
Books
Articles
KDS
- Brendan Rodgers joins Celtic (2016)
- Brendan Rodgers Departure (2019)
- New Manager Thread (2023)
- Brendan Rodgers joins Celtic for Second Stint (2023)