Can Brendan Rodgers repair his reputation at Celtic?

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Brendan Rodgers has finally announced his return to football management, after being unveiled as the new Celtic boss. The Northern Irishman has been out of work since his sacking by Liverpool back in October last year. The big question is, can he revive his career and repair his reputation?

The first thing that needs to be looked at before making a solid decision is his track record at his previous club. There is no doubt that Rodgers’ appointment at Anfield was met with a few raised eyebrows; a solid season at Swansea the year before in their debut campaign in the Premier League being enough to convince FSG, Liverpool’s owners, that Rodgers was the right man to take the club forward.

One of the biggest problems Rodgers faced almost immediately was being the successor to Kenny Dalglish. Even though Liverpool had a relatively disappointing season under the Scotsman, his stature and reputation at the club is of the highest regard, and it was always going to be difficult for anyone to follow in the footsteps of a club icon like Dalglish.

After an uninspiring first season in charge, Rodgers almost written his name into the history books at Anfield during the 2013/14 season, with Liverpool coming close to their first Premier League title, and their first title for 24 years. Sadly the wheels came off for Rodgers and his Red Men against Chelsea, and the Merseyside club finished runners up to Manchester City.

The loss of Luis Suarez prior to the following season proved to be one of the worst incidents under Rodgers’ management at Liverpool, and the failure to bring in a suitable replacement by him and the club’s transfer committee put huge pressure on his shoulders, particularly at the end of the season which saw them finish sixth in the league, crashing out of both the Champions League and Europa League, as well as being knocked out of the F.A Cup in the semi-final to Aston Villa.

In the space of 12 months, Rodgers had gone from hero to zero at Anfield, and written his name into the club’s history books for the wrong reasons, after becoming the first manager not to win a trophy in his first three seasons at Liverpool. Despite the intense pressure, Rodgers kept his job ahead of the 15/16 season, but a failure to turn things around forced the club to relieve him of his duties, and draft in former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp.

Some would argue that Rodgers was hard done by at Liverpool. Even though he had a big say in which players he brought in to the club, the transfer committee at Merseyside didn’t help ease the pressure on the manager, and some of the players that came through the doors were frankly not up to the standard Liverpool fans have expected in recent years.

The Luis Suarez saga also worked against Rodgers, with the Uruguayan forward being a firm fan favourite with his electric performances, and a number of fans arguing that he was treating Suarez unfairly, and potentially resulting in his eventual departure to Barcelona after the 2014 World Cup. However, when you look at the stats, you can see where those defending the Northern Irishman are coming from, even though any manager worth his salt would be put under a lot of pressure to succeed at a club of Liverpool’s status.

Looking at just the Premier League alone, Rodgers had a win percentage of 52% with 63 wins, as well as drawing 30 games and losing 29 of his 122 Premier League games in charge of Liverpool. Despite having such a good track record in terms of results, the events behind the scenes and his apparent lack of man management and transfer skills was what eventually killed off Rodgers’ Anfield career.

With him doing well in terms of results, it would seem that Rodgers can be a success at Celtic – but again, he will no doubt be put under pressure at Celtic Park. The club have dominated the SPL in recent years, and will have even more competition ahead of next season with the return of their bitter rivals Rangers, meaning he will have to maintain the club’s dominance, as well as ensuring the club have a good run in Europe, either in the Champions League or Europa League.

With no transfer committee at Celtic to dictate the players he brings in, Rodgers can put much more of his time and energy into perfecting his tactics, which may work better in Scotland with the game being played at a slower pace compared to the Premier League. It is very possible then that Rodgers can indeed revive his career and reputation at Celtic, and his time at the Scottish champions could work in his favour in the years ahead, especially if the club maintains their competitive nature in both the league and Europe.

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