Brendan Rodgers Slams Unfair Celtic Seasonal Comparisons What’s Your Take
Celtic made it eight wins out of a possible nine on Sunday afternoon. Goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda helped the Hoops to a comfortable 2-0 Scottish Cup victory over St. Mirren.
It was an afternoon full of positives for the Hoops as they continued winning despite recent criticism. Brendan Rodgers is proud of his youthful squad, and he thinks comparisons between it and the team of last season are unfair.
Under Ange Postecoglou in 2022/23, the Celts won a treble, losing just three domestic matches the entire season. Rodgers took over in the summer, and he doesn’t think it is right to compare his team to his predecessor’s: “If you do any sort of analysis and know anything about football then you will see we are getting compared to the squad last season”, he said (The Celtic Way).
“Now if you do your work you will see it is not the same squad as last season. Lots of those players who were starters have not been playing for long periods of this season.
“It hasn’t stopped the focus being on negativity. I look at it differently. I look logically at it. We have missed some very important players for long periods and we made some changes in the summer and players left.”
The double-treble-winning manager makes a valid point. Take Sunday’s lineup, for example; just four of those players were consistent starters last campaign.
Injury and the like haven’t aided the Celts in 2023/24, although many make the point that key players from last season haven’t been replaced. Arguably, valid successors to the likes of Carl Starfelt, Jota, and Aaron Mooy haven’t been found.
Celtic, however, remain top of the league, albeit slimly, and are still on for a double. Rodgers has done a great job with the team at his disposal but there is a long way to get you until silverware can be secured.