John Hartson has launched a blistering attack on the character of Brendan Rodgers after his sudden decision to quit Celtic for Leicester.
For over two years the Irishman had told anyone who would listen that he was living the dream as he managed the club he had supported all his life.
Moving to Glasgow had brought him delight on and off the park, getting to coach and develop players on the training ground rather than be six weeks from the sack cycle of most English Premier League managers. On Saturday Leicester host Fulham with Scott Parker the third man to take charge of the London side this season.
Hartson knows Rodgers well, going back to his Swansea days where he achieved legendary status taking the Welsh side into the EPL before a civilised and understandable departure to take charge of Liverpool.
After Leicester lost 4-1 at home to Crystal Palace on February 23 it seemed certain that Claude Puel would become the latest sacking statistic in the English game, the following morning that news was confirmed.
Hartson had dismissed the strong rumour that Rodgers would be taking over at Leicester. He told BT Sport viewers and Michael Owen to dismiss the notion, Rodgers was happy in Glasgow building a legacy that had already delivered seven trophies out of seven.
Three days later Rodgers was in place at the King Power Stadium after an overnight flit from Celtic without even saying good-bye to some of his ‘friends for life’.
In today’s Evening Times Hartson states:
I cover Leicester a lot in my work for television and I have to say that I am looking forward to bumping into Brendan Rodgers.
I am reluctant to go over all of this much more because I think Neil Lennon deserves the chance to get on and get to work without it always hanging over him, but Brendan let a lot of people down. And I feel that I am one of them.
He sucked me in. He sucked a lot of people in. He made a fool of me.
Here I am telling every man and his dog that Brendan is loving his life in Glasgow, that he is loving Celtic and he wants to stay for ten. I know Brendan. I got to know him years ago at Swansea, so it’s not just a new relationship for me but he had the wool over my eyes. So I am looking forward to bumping into him at Leicester.
I won’t say publicly what I plan on saying to him but you can be sure that I will get my point across.
Getting to the heart of the anger felt by many Celtic fans Hartson added:
He held all the aces. All he had to say was let me get to May and I’m yours. May. It’s nothing. A matter of weeks.
That’s what the anger is about. Not the fact that he left but when he did it and how he did it. It felt sneaky and people won’t forget that.
Rodgers lack of awareness was highlighted by his suggestion that he might come back to manage Celtic in 10 years time.
As he discovers the reactions from Hartson and others over the coming months he will realise that his status has hit rock bottom, Celtic fans no longer hang on every word that he spins them.
Everything that he said and did over the last three years is now being reviewed and not in a favourable way.
Last Monday he slipped out of Lennoxtown for the last time, Celtic gave already moved on under Neil Lennon but the shadow cast over the integrity of Rodgers is only likely to grow darker in the times ahead.
This needs quickly resolvedhttps://t.co/QOo1mhXjnb
— Joe McHugh (@videocelts) March 5, 2019