Tempering Optimism with Caution

I think it’s safe to say Brendan Rodgers is the most exciting appointment Celtic could have made, truly inspired on varying levels.

Kudos to Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell. Both have come under some flak recently.

Deserved?

Perhaps, the boat could have been pushed out sooner.

Unfair?

I think people asking for Lawwell’s removal need to ask themselves what do they really know about the business side of the club? Who would they replace him with? I am sure many worthy candidates could come in and steer the ship but would face the same mandates Lawwell has and does their passion for Celtic match his?

The Celtic powerbrokers have broken a cycle, I believe, started when Rangers submerged into the financial mire. Everyone knew Rangers couldn’t stay in the top flight. The miscalculation by the board was that Celtic fans would still pack out the stadium, partly in defiance of the Old Firm symbiosis, mostly in their love of Celtic.

The sad reality is they didn’t hook the casual fans or those who couldn’t justify the outlay on a season ticket with various other commitments without enticement.

The cycle began…

No investment in the team. Less punters through the gate. Less money made. Lesser investment in the team. Lesser punters through the gate.

The team weakened.

The fans appetite dried up.

One party had to stand up, the board realised their responsibility and the board duly delivered.

Brendan has already brought a feel good factor back to Celtic and galvanised the Scottish game as a whole.

He was easily in the top two candidates mooted by speculation along with David Moyes. His panache for attacking football was going to make him the front-runner compared to the more pragmatic Moyes, and his big club experience of Liverpool might have seen him jump ahead of talented but less notable coaches.

To be fair to the likes of Malky Mackay and Neil Lennon, I’m confident they could have done a marvellous job, but wouldn’t have created the instant feel good factor and would have had to win the super skeptical around.

Rodgers does bring many qualities but I think there should be some caution noted.

Positively, he likes attacking football. He isn’t scared to mix it up. A lot of plaudits for his Liverpool team went to the exchanges between Suarez, Sterling and Sturridge but wasn’t afraid to tap into the quality of long-range passing of Gerrard. A point of note as well, when his Liverpool team hit their stride they were notoriously fast starters. A trait he’d be well advised to adopt to Celtic to keep supporters on side at Celtic Park as more often than not he’ll come up against ten-man defences aiming to frustrate the crowd as much as the Celtic team.

He improves players. Whether it’s by coaching or just instilling confidence.

He likes formation flexibly. I have often said that formations are not the be all and end all of tactical formulation.

Throughout the season, the call for 4-4-2 seemed to grow but if you recall the East Kilbride game when we did play 4-4-2, we didn’t click like the best club in Scotland playing an amateur side and it was just unfathomable approach play. Ronny played Mackay-Steven and Forrest on their weaker side, looking for them to cut in. This caused two issues, both players were going into more players and an issue more apparent for GMS was byline hitting duty was taken up by Ambrose who at full back is a defensive block at best and offensively should look to give the ball quickly to the more skilled whilst hopefully isolating the winger against fewer defenders by not crowding the area near the winger.

Also, a clamour for 4-4-2 would see us most likely play without Commons, Allan or Rogic, players Celtic fans have been quite vocal about their lack of consistent game time.

That’s merely a side note to my point about Rodgers’ flexibility.

He wasn’t scared to use experimental formations to get the best players on the park. He fielded more than a few teams playing three at the back and improving the options further up the field. Also, the flexibility of the SSS Trio (Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling was a joy to behold. They interchanged. Sometimes Sterling played behind the other two, other times Sturridge or Suarez would go play wider causing defenders to acclimatise to differing patterns of attack, usually ineffectually.

The negative side is there but not been highlighted as much.

He hasn’t won a major trophy. I always like the manager to have that know how of getting over the line with a major title medal sitting on their mantle at home. Winning a title is a bit like a 15th century Chapel, sure everyone goes for the art but the building was still put up by old fashioned hard work, bricks and mortar.

Maybe the highlight of this comes down to the infamous Chelsea game. You can’t legislate for the Gerrard slip but moreover, I feel Brendan fed into his old mentors game plan that day and couldn’t find the plan B on the day.

Maybe another criticism was the plan B at Liverpool. After discarding Carroll, rightly if you look at his injury record, he couldn’t find the alternative. He went through Balotelli, Lambert and Benteke to very small amounts of success. Maybe he has a blind spot for the chemistry to bring an alternative to the formula.

And transfers maybe should be the major concern of Rodgers over Moyes. Much like Celtic of recent years, Liverpool’s’ signing policy more often than not was a collaboration.

If Moyes was asked about his willingness to come was his authority over transfers a deal breaker?

Did Brendan’s experience working in collaboration make him more suitable?

No doubt due to his enormous salary he will be the defining word on transfers and given the enormity of the football transfer market unrealistic to think one man could manage all deals from player identification to signing.

My hope is Brendan has learned from the Liverpool signing committee what both Ronny Deila and Lennon continued to run foul of, just because you need a player doesn’t mean you should sign one. Be patient, bide your time and wait for the right player.

All in, I’m pleased and reinvigorated for the season to come. The club proved it still has appeal and those in charge have the vision to capture the imagination of fans in their armoury. Brendan has a lot of goodwill coming his way, but it is a baptism of fire.

Champions League is still where the club wants to be and entrance jackpot to the group stages maybe the difference in Brendan making decisive playing staff recruitment and having to work more with what is there. It also keeps quiet any doubters before he’s even had the chance to get his feet under the desk.

Still, thumbs up from me.