Brendan Rodgers' controversial Celtic comeback is a risk worth taking
Why Brendan Rodgers’ controversial Celtic comeback is a risk worth taking for both the manager and the club… despite fan anger at his previous exit
- Brendan Rodgers’ return as Celtic manager is a truly jaw-dropping development
- The Northern Irishman, 50, was announced as the new Hoops boss on Monday
- Resetting relationship between the fanbase and Rodgers may be no bad thing
Scottish football’s capacity to churn out tales of the unexpected shows absolutely no signs of diminishing.
The reappointment of Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager four years on from his abrupt defection back to England with Leicester City has been widely trailed for the past week yet it remains a truly jaw-dropping development.
While the tasteless banners that were seen in the Celtic support after the Northern Irishman’s sudden departure in 2019 were unrepresentative of the true strength of feeling towards him, even the more level-headed factions felt some sense of betrayal.
This could, in part, be attributed to the loss of a truly elite football manager — one who had won each one of the seven domestic competitions he had entered.
But it was the many words and promises of this self-professed boyhood Celtic fan that rubbed salt into the wound. To leave his ‘dream job’ with eight-in-a-row still on the line was seen by many as an unforgivable act of heresy.
Brendan Rodgers’ reappointment as Celtic boss remains a truly jaw-dropping development
Rodgers’ return was announced by the Hoops on Monday after his sacking by Leicester City
The Northern Irishman enjoyed domestic success but angered fans when he left for the Foxes
While the passing of time is always a soothing balm, anyone suggesting that Rodgers was the obvious choice to replace Tottenham-bound Ange Postecoglou as recently as two weeks ago would have had to retreat a safe distance.
Rodgers may have ‘taken the emotion’ out of his decision to leave but those he left behind didn’t have that luxury. Hell hath no fury like a football supporter scorned.
This was not then ‘a really simple decision for all involved’, as Rodgers put it in a pre-prepared statement. Not as far as the rank and file were concerned, anyway.
It required Dermot Desmond to do exactly as Rodgers did when he left.
Just as the man from Carnlough looked after himself back then so the billionaire is looking after his football club now.
Regardless of what went before, a serial winner like Rodgers was the stand-out candidate in a weak field. The manner of his departure and the rancour it caused have been overlooked. Expediency has won the day here.
A resetting of the relationship between the Celtic fanbase and its returning manager may be no bad thing, however.
Stung by Rodgers, they were swept off their feet by Postecoglou only for him to run into Tottenham’s arms with the confetti still swirling in the Hampden air.
But Tottenham-bound Ange Postecoglou was also loved by supporters before leaving – now, a resetting of the relationship between the Celtic fanbase and Rodgers may be no bad thing
Anyone seeking a semblance of loyalty in football these days had better be patient. Gary O’Neil’s sacking by Bournemouth and the immediate installing of Andoni Iraola as manager suggests we’ve embarked on a new era.
You can now be shown the door for success as well as failure.
Little wonder, then, that bosses strike while the iron is hot. Rodgers did so four years ago and will doubtless do so again when the time and opportunity are right.
An acceptance of the inevitability of this would lessen the sense of loss.
Increasingly these days, the marriages of football clubs to managers are ones of pure convenience. And, as evidenced by confirmation of Rodgers’ return, no break-up is so bitter that you can’t give it another go.
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