Yesterday, the news broke that Brendan Rodgers is coming back to Glasgow.
Not to Celtic Park, obviously.
To the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, on Monday 14 June next year, for an evening hosted by A Celtic State of Mind.
The Scottish Sun billed it as Rodgers finally breaking his silence on his Celtic exit.
Tickets went on sale at 10am this morning, and I’d imagine they won’t hang around for long.
First things first.
This is a brilliant achievement for the ACSOM podcast.
Getting a man who won 11 trophies over two spells at Celtic to sit on a stage in Glasgow and take questions from the support is no small thing.
It’s a coup, and the lads deserve every bit of credit for pulling it off.
But will Brendan actually open up about what happened at the club to the extent that people think he will?
I’m just not sure that he will.
Celtic had to have imposed an NDA on Rodgers, hence the reason we’ve heard nothing from him to date
Think about it.
Rodgers left Celtic for the second time last October after a difficult run of results.
On his way out the door, Dermot Desmond branded him ‘divisive, misleading and self-serving’ in one of the most astonishing statements ever to come out of Celtic Park.
That’s the principal shareholder of the club saying that about a manager who delivered back-to-back Trebles in his first spell.
And what has Rodgers said in reply?
Nothing.
Not a word in almost a year.
This is the same man who was never shy in front of a microphone when he was here.
He spent the weeks before he left telling anybody who would listen that the summer transfer window wasn’t good enough, and that the results were down to the club’s failure to strengthen.
He told us he’d been handed the keys to a Honda Civic and expected to drive it like a Ferrari.
Does that sound like a man who would take a public kicking from Desmond and stay quiet out of the goodness of his heart?
Not to me.
He went off to Saudi Arabia to manage Al Qadsiah, and he has kept his mouth shut ever since.
In my opinion, that silence has a legal document behind it.
I’d expect a few lawyers to be present on the night, and they won’t be there for the stories
In fact, I’m sure Celtic and Dermot Desmond have already instructed the club lawyers to purchase tickets.
They’ll be there with their notepads out, waiting on Brendan saying ONE thing that he shouldn’t say.
And if he does, I’m sure they’ll be ready to act.
Of course, Rodgers himself is fully aware of this too.
He’s nobody’s fool – and I’d imagine he has lawyers of his own telling him exactly where the line is.
Which leads me to believe that it’ll be a pretty cagey affair.
A lot being said, while not much is actually being said at all.
So what will we actually get?
We’ll get the stories from the back-to-back Trebles.
We’ll get the dressing room tales and the big European nights, and I’m sure they’ll be well worth hearing.
There’s a fan Q&A as well, and you can guess what the first question from the floor will be.
You can probably guess the answer too.
A smile, a pause, and something along the lines of ‘I can’t really go into that’.
Now, I could be wrong.
Maybe whatever agreement is in place will have run its course by next June, and he’ll walk out on that stage and let rip.
As far as I can see, this show will either result in everything being revealed or very little at all.
There’s no in between.
And my money is on very little.
Many Celtic fans think this will be box office, but I get the feeling they might end up disappointed
Let’s be honest about what this is.
It will be lucrative for Brendan Rodgers, and it will be lucrative for ACSOM.
Good luck to them, I don’t begrudge either of them a penny of it.
But the people who are paying for a seat in the hope of an explosive reveal may well be left wanting.
If you’re going for a night in the company of one of the most successful Celtic managers of the modern era, you’ll get your money’s worth.
If you’re going to hear the full story of what went on between him and the board, I’d keep your expectations in check.
Regardless, the Celtic board and our God King will be left stewing until next June
And that’s the bit I like the most.
Make no mistake, they don’t like this kind of publicity.
And they certainly don’t like Brendan Rodgers.
Especially our God King, Dermot Desmond.
Can you imagine his face when he heard about it?
Maybe it’s why he’s performing so poorly in the Dunhill Cup?
This is a board that banned fan media from Celtic Park.
And now they get to watch fan media put the man they slaughtered on his way out the door on a stage in the middle of Glasgow.
For the next eight months, they’ll be wondering what he’s going to say.
Every time the show gets advertised, it’ll remind them that it’s coming.
Rodgers doesn’t have to reveal a single thing to get under Desmond’s skin.
The fact that he’s turning up at all will do that for him.
So fair play to ACSOM.
It’s a brilliant coup for fan media, and I hope it’s a great night.
Just don’t expect Brendan to tell you everything.
The lawyers will see to that…
Key Takeaways
- Brendan Rodgers is returning to Glasgow for an evening event hosted by ACSOM, where he might address his Celtic exit.
- Speculation surrounds whether Celtic imposed an NDA on Rodgers, which explains his silence since leaving the club.
- The event will likely feature back-to-back Trebles anecdotes, but fans may be left disappointed by the lack of revealing content.
- Many Celtic fans expect an explosive reveal, but they should manage their expectations for the night.
- Regardless, Celtic’s board will be uneasy about Rodgers’s appearance, making it a notable event for fan media.
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