Pants On Fire – Brendan Rodgers versus Dermot Desmond

THE BOARD; The board has been under fierce attack for some time, particularly overseeing a shambolic transfer window – or two, most recently culminating in Celtic’s appalling exit from the Champions League against Kairat Almaty, not Real Madrid.

The infuriating collapse in this term’s league campaign has been gut-wrenching, despite being only nine games in. Hearts forging eight points ahead of us at this stage, and the manner of our capitulation is more than worrying; it’s deeply concerning.

Rodgers has consistently pointed the finger at the board, citing a lack of leadership and support from his paymasters. He continually points out that he can only work with the tools he is given, and they are substandard, to say the least.

SOME support groups are at pains to demonize the board, and have demanded their immediate exit from the premises. Others say they are upholding the financial stability of the club, are wizened in their approach to wheeling and dealing, and the fundamental aspects of long term sustainability.

The board have always defended their stance, claiming to be ‘Celtic supporters one and all, and with the good of the club at heart’. There has always been an invisible chasm between the two parties, but the latest damning statement from Dermot Desmond has caused shockwaves around the world of football, not just in the Celtic camp.

Calling out Rodgers as a liar and a manipulator is cause for a major lawsuit – should there be no provable substance to those claims. That is massive!

THE BOSS; Brendan Rodgers has assimilated more trebles over his double-tenure at Celtic than most clubs have trophies over a lifetime of trying.

Some say that the majority came after the death of Rangers FC, as the Ibrox phoenix club were new arrivals to the Scottish Premiership, giving him a free shot at glory,  with the new entity struggling to catch up, cementing their existence in the game as also-rans for the most part.

This new Hearts challenge has ramped up their view that Rodgers is incapable of sustaining a credible challenge when the going gets tough, and seeks to deflect blame onto others for his failings. An elite manager he is not, in their opinion.

No matter which Celtic team you have at your disposal, you should still have enough to beat a Kazakhstan outfit over two legs, and extra-time. Don’t mention Dundee…

Did he, or did he not, sanction the invisible men he claims were ‘club signings’? That may come out in the wash.

The accusation of trust and honesty has cracked open the shell of transparency; Rodgers’ critics harking back to ‘blatant lies’ in the past. Danny McGrain’s denial of what appears to be a made-up conversation has never been challenged, leaving us to believe the legend, rather than the story-teller.

The boss’ private life has been under scrutiny too, and his track record is not good in terms of what is expected from a Celtic ‘great’. That’s his business, but others see it as theirs too.

Whoever you see as the main culprit in this sorry saga is entirely your choice, and should be viewed according to your own conscience. Has the board been playing Brendan, and thrown him under a bus in the same way as he did recently with his under-fire, underperforming squad?

Or, has Brendan been found out as a deceitful, self-seeking liar, and a manager who only wins against substandard opposition? That will have to be proven rather than a petulant throwaway accusation.

Rodgers clearly has the right to reply, and it will be interesting to discover things we may not yet know, and he is entitled to defend himself as vigorously as he feels necessary.

As lifelong supporters we are all entitled to our views, but we must unite now, more than ever, to help bring Celtic Football Club through a period of angst, and instability not suffered since the failed ten era.

Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney are Celtic men to the core, the former a name etched in legend at Celtic Park, the other a former assistant manager with a brilliant Belgium squad.

Can they help turn around a floundering supertanker? Sanity prevail.

Hail Hail!

Eddie Murray

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, signed copies by Danny McGrain available from celticstarbooks.com 

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