Brendan Rodgers is probably glad of the time he spent covering his own back in recent months after Dermot Desmond’s attempts to tear the manager a new arsehole on Monday night.
Within 15 minutes of Rodgers’ departure from Celtic Park being announced, shortly before 10pm, Hoops’ majority owner Desmond fired a series of parting shots that could make it a lot harder for the manager to fall upwards from Scotland.
“I want to acknowledge Brendan’s contribution,” began what most probably expected to be a few warm if largely hollow words that often follow such resignations. But Desmond had other ideas.
The normally publicity-shy billionaire piped up, not to blow smoke, but to completely and devastatingly eviscerate Rodgers.
He spoke of “deep disappointment at the way the past several months have unfolded”, effectively accusing Rodgers of lying to Celtic fans and the wider public, being “divisive” while “fuelling hostility” and creating a “toxic atmosphere”.
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Desmond insists Rodgers approved every mis-step made by the club down the road they are now trying to reverse back up, in eight paragraphs building up the knockout punch: “What has failed recently was not due to our structure or model, but to one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others.”
We assume Rodgers is currently busy picking his new teeth off the canvas but a counter must swiftly follow if the 52-year-old’s personal ambition remains as high as it was before he returned to Scotland in 2023.
Rodgers would return south with yet more titles and trophies on his CV, most of them gimmes, but Desmond’s savagery will have Premier League chairman wincing when they might have been tempted to fall for Rodgers’ corporate charm.
Even prior to Desmond sticking the boot in, Premier League chairman would be wise to be wary.
There are familiar themes across his body of work. Rodgers ball is generally front-footed and entertaining but often imbalanced. He offers quick and immediate impacts, but the novelty tends to wear off in similarly speedy fashion.
He took Liverpool tantalisingly close to the Premier League title only to blow up before the line. At Leicester, he guided them to FA Cup glory for which, quite rightly, he will always be remembered. But twice the Foxes missed out on a Champions League place on the final day. He left both posts with some happy memories but, in the end, a general sense of dissatisfaction.
Even while quitting Celtic – twice – his departures have come amid acrimony. Somehow, after consecutive Trebles, Rodgers managed to leave a sour taste when he moved mid-season to Leicester, and this latest early dart is tainted by the suspicion that he remained reluctant to commit, perhaps still feeling he could do better than the Bhoys.
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Rodgers’ legacy ought to be impossible to taint, but somehow he’s managed it twice. And leaving Celtic second in a two-horse race when the other runner is circus-bound in fifth is as damning as Desmond’s character assassination.
Would Rodgers now be towards the top of the lists at any progressive Premier League clubs? Desmond might have killed whatever prospect there was of that. Regardless, it is difficult to identify one with a realistic prospect of a vacancy any time soon that Rodgers would suit. And, just as pertinently, one that would measure up to the manager in his own mind.
There’s still West Ham, though. Rodgers might be a perfect fit for the Hammers board when they inevitably veer back from a functional coach to a front-footed one any time now.
That being true, Rodgers might want to turn off his phone while exploring his options abroad.
He is fluent in Spanish and has spoken in the past of coaching on the continent. Reports last month suggested that was his post-Celtic preference. If Rodgers is primed to go abroad, in these difficult times, we all deserve to see if Europe is ready for Brendan.
