Celtic signing is top class

 I read an article the other day noting the impact of Brendan and I thought I should pay my own tribute as he has made his mark on the team in some style.

The first day on the job

The best signing we have made in a long time has been Brendan Rodgers. He appears to have had a Lazarus effect on some players whose careers at Celtic Park looked dead and buried and he has the team playing some beautiful football. His moves in the transfer market appear to have been a success (even Dorus de Vries has been responsible for Craig Gordon lifting his game) and he exudes an air of confidence and authority whilst dealing with the media.

I was a fan of Ronny when he was appointed and I thought it would herald the start of a new, dynamic era for Celtic but alas as time passed we just seemed to be a team without direction and leadership. The media treated Ronny with scorn and contempt and with our abject performances in Europe under his tenure did not inspire confidence or hope. Ironically it wasn’t Europe that directly led to Ronny going, it was in losing a Scottish Cup semi final to a lower league team that sealed his fate and ultimately led to the appointment of Brendan Rodgers.

Brendan was not my first pick for the job (my initial choice is unemployed at the moment- shows you what I know). However he breezed into Celtic Park and has absolutely exuded authority and leadership. He has fashioned a team that is playing some amazingly lovely football but this is a team that works harder than any of their opponents whether we win lose or draw. Look at our team when we are not in possession. We hustle and harry and whilst this might not always be effective against superior European teams it has been hugely successful in the domestic competition so far.

When Brendan was given the job I suspect he was told that ‘success’ might be qualification for the Champions’ League group stage for this season. This is reflected in the huge increase in turnover for Celtic as reported by the Board for the first part of the 16-17 financial year. He achieved this with largely a group of players who were there under Ronny. Playing in Europe usually terrifies me as I feel our deficiencies get exposed but the first game of the group stage aside, we competed really well. Indeed although we did not win a game in the group stage I actually thought we overachieved with three draws. Throughout the campaign you could actually see the confidence and belief growing in the players.

I get the impression Brendan is just an amazing communicator with his players, his staff, the support and the media. He appears humble and grounded when he speaks and has forged a real connection with the fans. He is not being messed about by the media and for the first time in a long time WE are setting the media agenda. I have never been an advocate appointing someone because they are Celtic Minded, I feel that it is quite restrictive. However Brendan epitomises what it means to be Celtic Minded. He gets us and is aware of the history and traditions of the club.

That we can be so assertive in dealing with the media seems to be down to his relationship with his players. We have a pretty big squad and as such not everyone can be happy but I have not seen or heard a bad word against Brendan or his coaching staff emanating from anyone at Celtic. This is a true testimony to the communication and human qualities of Brendan and is the sign of a strong leader.

Man management

Stories or media reports indicate a group of players who have bought into Brendan’s philosophies and have taken on his mantra of working hard and improving as a player. Look at the resurgence of the following over the past few months…Broony, James Forrest, Nir Bitton, Dedryck Boyata, Jozo and Stuart Armstrong. At the tail end of last season many were speculating as to the futures of most of the above names. Now- they all appear to be an integral part of Brendan’s squad. Even Craig Gordon is now back to where he was when he first signed for us.

The transfer moves have been a huge success. Gone from last season are the likes of Charlie Mulgrew, Stefan Johansen, Tony Stokes and Kris Commons is very much out the picture. Brendan’s high profile signings were Kolo Toure , Scott Sinclair, Cristian Gamboa, Dorus de Vries and a lad called Moussa Dembele from the English Championship. He has since added Kouassi Eboue but I cannot say anything about him as I have not seen him play.

Kolo’s value it would appear has been in his absolute commitment to the club and his emergence as a role model for younger players. The anecdote about Brendan stopping the young lhads eating their lunch and taking them to the gym to see Kolo working is fantastic and it also seems that Kolo was instrumental in getting Kouassi Eboue over the line to sign for us. Here is what the young fhella said:

“Kolo gave me some advice, the main thing was not to hesitate, just come to Celtic, it is a great club, it is a fantastic club.

“He told me they will look after you and make you progress, make you an even better player than you are at the moment.

Sadly Kolo had two lapses in the CL against Borussia Monchengladbach and since then his appearances in the first team have been curtailed somewhat but Brendan clearly admires his qualities and speaks highly of him.

The best thing about Dorus’ signing was the re-birth of Craig Gordon. After an amazing start to his Celtic career Craig seemed to be going off the boil. His spell out of the team after Dorus’ signing may have been the jolt he needed to raise his game and he has did this to such an extent that runaway EPL leaders Chelsea were interested in signing him in January. That Celtic rebuffed this is a sign of Brendan’s authority as it was not too long ago that Craig would have been on a flight to London and gone.

Cristian Gamboa has looked an improved player with every game he has played and whilst he is still second choice behind Mikael lustig he has given us some cover for a position that was sparse in cover.

Scotty Sinclair is a player who has been floating around for a while. I remember he was going to be the next big thing in English football and he has played for some big clubs but has not really blossomed- except under Brendan at Swansea. Brendan knew what he was buying and Scotty is now at a club where he is loved and rightly so. I mentioned that the team works really hard during games and no one typifies this more than Scotty. His movement with and without the ball is top drawer. He is always on the move and when he is on the ball has the pace and skill to cut inside or drop the shoulder and go on the outside. His runs are intelligent and he always gives team mates options. What a signing he has been. He just fits Celtic and Celtic FC suit him.

Born to play for Celtic

The lad Dembele? Who among us thought he would displace wee Leigh as centre forward? Certainly not me. Living in Australia I do not have a great handle on the English Championship so I did not know a lot about Moussa when he arrived. I hoped we had a good player but if I am being honest I saw him as no more than a back up to wee Leigh who had just banged in a lazy forty goals last season. I think what has been most impressive about this kid, he is still only twenty, is not the volume of goals but when he scores. He seems to have a knack of scoring on big occasions and I think it is this trait and his apparent willingness to improve and learn that will take him to a club where he will make obscene amounts of money. Let us enjoy this bhoy whilst he is here. I loved his Wolf of Wall Street tweet and that showed me he is listening to what Brendan and his staff are saying about learning and improving. Many other players would have caused a stink and had a           ‘ leetle problem’ when the chance for money appeared on the horizon.  Not the Wolf. He will go when the time is right for him and the money is right for Celtic.

So what do I love most about Brendan? His system and the belief of the players in the system. He ensures we dominate the ball and move teams about until a gap is created and we get a scoring opportunity. Ladies and gentlemen…Exhibit A.