The Daily Mail has shone a light on some of the issues that saw Brendan Rodgers quit Celtic in February 2019 to join Leicester City.
Less than halfway through a four year contract the Irishman took charge of a Sunday victory at home to Motherwell but by the time the Celtic squad clocked in for training on the Tuesday their manager had left alongside three key background figures.
John Kennedy and the promoted Damien Duff prepared the players for a midweek match away to Hearts as Neil Lennon was drafted in, initially as a caretaker.
It was one of the most dramatic weeks in Celtic’s recent history but the seeds had been sown in the summer when Peter Lawwell mucked up on a deal to sign John McGinn from Hibs.
Instead Youssouf Mulumbu, a free agent with Kilmarnock the last entry on his CV, was signed up, joined by Emilio Izaguirre and a loan deal for Filip Benkovic while Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Dembele left the club.
It was bonus time all round on the balance sheet but defeat to AEL Athens in the third qualifying round of the Champions League had an ominous feel.
January’s transfer window meant that it was only a matter of time before Rodgers would leave- you don’t qualify for the Champions League with Oli Burke, Vakoun Bayo and Marian Shved ‘boosting’ your squad.
Highlighting details of the current negotiations, Stephen McGowan of the Daily Mail reports:
Rodgers has also held a number of in-depth conversations with major shareholder Dermot Desmond to thrash out his conditions for a second stint in Glasgow.
Key to the 50-year-old agreeing to a return is an undertaking by Celtic’s board of directors that they will invest in the players and infrastructure necessary to drive the club forward in Europe.
Frustrated by the glass ceiling on transfer spending during his first spell in charge, Rodgers wants to see the football operation reshaped and is now speaking to potential members of his backroom team.
There is no mention of the Celtic chairman playing any role in negotiations with Rodgers, it seems that the elephant in the room can expect to spend more time enjoying free lunches in Turkey as Rodgers and Celtic get on with doing business.
A week after Ange Postecoglou left are you more open to the return of Brendan Rodgers
Yes, he is clearly the best candidate, we have to move on
No, he crossed a line, we can't go backwards
Totally undermined and let down by Lawwell last time around. He’s quite right demanding certain conditions are met before signing up again. No elite manager is going to put up with Lawwells antics, he should be nowhere near the club.
If Brendan Rodgers is reinstated as Celtic FC’s head coach , I won’t be over the moon with the decision , but so be it ! Just get the guy to sign a 10 year contract and when he is Joe The Toff after 2 seasons to another club , the compensation received will be massive ! Eight years dough as a pay off settlement will be a nice bit of business …..
…which is exactly what the Board should have done with Ange,
immediately after he secured the Double – a year ago. 🙁
Brendan Rodgers, unlike Ang , signed an extension, so that Celtic would be compensated for 9M.
If he returns, you should be doing ???? cartwheels because it signals our club finally being ambitious. Try and put the good of the club before your petty hurt feelings. It was business, these guys have career’s, even Kieran Tierney done it. Let it go, harbouring grudges only effects the harbourer of the grudge.
Didn’t realise he got Leicester to the semis of the ECL.
Probably underachieving with the Foxes’ resources, but at least he has more Euro experience?
And if a BR stipulated condition is that the Board – explicitly – backs the manager’s Euro ambitions,
then that has to be a bonus: that’s what we have wanted for years?