According to Sky Sports, managerless Leicester are in talks with Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers after the Hoops gave the Foxes permission to talk to the former Liverpool chief. The Foxes dispensed with the services of the unpopular Claude Puel last week after a poor 4-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace. It seems that Rodgers is the man that the club believes can take the team forward.
Rodgers has rebuilt his managerial career at Celtic
Brendan Rodgers has been a highly rated coach for a long time. However, a poor run of form in his fourth season at Liverpool saw the Northern Irishman sacked as the Merseysiders boss.
Rodgers is the boss who has come closest to guiding the Reds to the Premier League title (so far), as his team finished second having been in a comfortable position with just a few games of the campaign remaining. Despite that close brush with the title, Rodgers’ time at Liverpool is regarded as a major fail. By the time Rodgers left in October 2015, many saw him as a laughing stock because of his outgoing personality.
The move to Celtic has rebuilt his reputation as a coach within the game. Rodgers won every available domestic trophy in the Scottish game in his 32-month spell in charge of the reigning Scottish champions, including winning an unprecedented treble.
There is no doubting that Rodgers has done a good job in Glasgow and has honed his managerial ability, albeit against minimal opposition in the SPL.
Was always going to return to the English top-flight
It was always a case of when Rodgers would return to the English top-flight and not if. The former Swansea boss had previously been linked with succeeding Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. However, the Gunners instead decided to appoint Spanish boss Unai Emery as their new head coach.
Although Rodgers will not admit it, he still has plenty to prove as a boss. He does have some very good attributes when it comes to being a head coach. However, he also showed some major weaknesses during his time at Liverpool.
One of those weaknesses was that he was often over-confident to the point of arrogance. That is not necessarily a terrible thing when your team is winning. However, when things go south, then it makes you look very foolish. His time in Scottish football has hopefully seen Rodgers develop some humility, without losing confidence in his own managerial ability.
Rodgers should lift spirits at Leicester
On paper, this looks like a good move all around, apart from maybe for Celtic. Rodgers and Leicester seem like a good fit. The Foxes have a good squad of talented players, who should be doing much better than they are in the Premier League. The boss will also not be under the same sort of pressure he was at Liverpool.
Rodgers joins the Foxes in freefall. The team from the Midlands have lost five of their last six top-flight games, amid speculation that boss Puel had lost the dressing room. The former Nice boss was not a popular figure with the clubs fans towards the end of his tenure. In fact, he has not been a popular figure with the fans for a good while.
The team’s poor form has seen them fall to 12th place in the table, eight points off the relegation zone. The Foxes look a long shot for relegation at odds of 150/1, but they could still be dragged into the battle at the bottom.
For his failures, I do believe that Rodgers appointment will give everybody at the Midlands club a lift though. Despite winning the title with a counter-attacking style, the Leicester fans now want a slightly more expansive style of play, which Puel could not deliver.
Rodgers likes his teams to play, possession-based and attacking football. He may not be able to implement his style of play properly until next season. However, his appointment should be enough to keep the Foxes away from the bottom three of the Premier League.
Is Brendan Rodgers a good appointment for Leicester?
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