Former Glasgow Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has understandably jumped at the chance to manage once again in the English Premier League, putting his desire to be involved in a more competitive competition ahead of what some are pleased to call “loyalty”.
It’s something that tends to stick in the care of the average partisan, blinkered football fan, but the bottom line is that you can’t stand in the way of a man seeking to better himself. And that is precisely what Brendan Rodgers has done. Leeds United fans have had to swallow similar bitter pills in the past, but it’s the law of the jungle. Might is right.
In leaving Scottish football, where the top flight has rarely been other than a two horse race, and has lately become a boring procession, Rodgers will once again be pitting his wits against the best. For some Celtic fans to claim that he has swapped immortality for mediocrity is to plumb the depths of self-delusion. The mediocrity resides north of the border in a league without any real excitement or class; immortality is not earned in Mickey Mouse competitions. The main interest in football up there lately was duding Rangers’ resurgence from their relegation to the bottom division.
A few other Celtic fans have sunk even lower, expressing the hope that Rodgers will die in his sleep, or fall to an IRA bullet. That sort of filth intrudes upon football occasionally, and it can crop up anywhere. But it seems far more common in an environment riven with sectarian hatred, where vicious fanatics are far more common than in the slightly more healthy competitive atmosphere in England.
Leicester City have been able to attract the manager of a so-called “big club” simply because, whatever Celtic’s size and history, the real football giants in the UK are to be found in the white heat of battle that characterises the top two English divisions. Whatever diplomatic phrases Rodgers may have employed in talking about his departure from Celtic, he plainly wanted to take up the Premier League challenge, and it’s not hard to see why.
Unless, of course, you’re a blinkered, deluded – and maybe bigoted – Celtic fan.
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 
What’s the definition of bigoted if I may ask ?? Yours sincerely . A Celtic fan HH soft spot for Leeds too btw 🙂
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I’m afraid it’s rife up there. Division and strife based on religious differences – that’s bigotry in a nutshell.
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His team lost more games this season than previous two together so you could say his team has got worse every year so to say he’s bored of winning explain this and that there’s no challenge plenty of players in their careers would wish they would have a winning medal EPL is most overpaid competition in the world
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I quite enjoy reading some of your threads Rob on this one though I think your a little out of whack
Many Leeds Fan I included regard their manager and players as legend or names that become immortal in our hearts so I think that’s just about all the Celtic fan were referring to when they questioned the loyalty of Rodgers offering him nothing but immortality to the Celtic fans not sure they are quite as naive as you make them out to be
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I just call it as I see it. Celtic aren’t all that.
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Rob, there are good and bad people (and football fans) everywhere in the world. I am a Celtic fan and comment by the fans is about disloyalty. You clearly are ignorant of the numerous comments snake Rodgers made about being at his boyhood club, dream job, being here for the long hall and his 10 in a row gestures on a regular and convincing basis. Celtic fans are not stupid, we know the EPL offers more money but its the lies he told and worse still, its the timing and manner in which he left which for any group of fans, would be hard to take. So that explains the anger but it doesnt explain or excuse the “bigotry” as you call it.
First of all to be accurate, when you talk about religious hate, its called sectarianism. It is a form of bigotry, which is hate and biased towards any group for any reason. With this in mind, can you honestly tell me your own precious club Leeds (and several others in England) are free of bigotry? I will give you my insight on this given the fact I also lived in Leeds for a several years. Obviously, I met many lovely people in Leeds but I have honestly never seen so many racist, skin headed EDL type, uneducated, moronic, hooligan “football fans” anywhere else. I was completely taken a back by the amount of it ingrained in Yorkshire. It was everwhere from the old guys in the pub with their fear of anyone not from the area, to the with the extremist right wing groups and their sadistic enjoyment for racism and meaningless violence. How hypocritical, deluded and ironic it is that you call Celtic fans out for bigotry, whilst trying to convince us that the hooligan cultured EPL is family friendly zone of tolerance and purity.
Now, I know what you are going to say, as I’ve heard it all before, “yeah but you lot sing IRA songs” bla bla bla. Yeah, it’s a problem but the IRA chants in Glasgow are a reaction to previous complicated historical political upheavals. It is not an excuse but like the EDLs Islamophobia chants, they are a reaction to past percieved attacks on local cultures by foreign invaders. Neither are morally acceptable ways to act but it would be hypocritical to call out Celtic fans for their songs, while ignorign the extreme right element in the Leeds support.
As for the mediocrity comment, it is a fair assessment. He has joined a club with no where near the same size of worldwide fanbase. It just so happens, Celtic are stuck in a financially and thus poorer quality league. It is interesting you use the word delusion, a word well associated with snake Rodgers. The EPL has not always been financially better off than the SPL and dont be so naive to think it will forever remain financially superior. It will be for now but football is changing dramatically, technology is changing massively and outside challenges, along with the laughable arrogance of the EPL, will ultimately bring the whole EPL empire down, much like Leeds once lofty position and arrogance eventually left them as an eternal footballing irrelevance. As for the EPL being more competative, please explain in what sense? Its the same teams winning every year and with the exception of Leicester getting lucky one time, is increasingly predictable and boring to watch. Celtic by contrast, although not in a strong league, get to regualrly test themselves on the bigger stage of Europe, which also creates opportunities for players to prove themselves for a move to another big club but one with more money eg VVD to Liverpool. So yeah, snake man is off to a stronger league but dont delude yourself the EPL is bigot free. Also when you take the money out of the equation, he is going to a comparitvely very small club. Why you, as a Leeds fan felt the need to troll Celtic is probably more a reflection of your own bigoted views and hate towards Scottish and Celtic fans but its what I have come to expect from many Leeds fans.
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Not at all. I just think that Celtic fans have this tendency to make themselves look daft on a regular basis – man u fans are similar. The “Old Firm is no more” thing was one example, and this latest idiocy is just another. Incidentally, the posting name you’ve chosen is hardly a defence against bigotry.
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As a Celtic supporter I say Rogers was too good to stay in a league with such a corrupt FA, sectarian society and lawless footballers. Good luck to him in England, shame about the way he departed but Lennon can wrap up the league.
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it looks like rodgers wanted more money to spend,and who can blame him.
songs about bullets.who would have thought it?
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A handful of drunk fans in a pub doesn’t really reflect the support !!…..As for being deluded ?…. aren’t most supporter’s of most teams? ….I think Celtic supporters find the thought of a man who constantly and I mean constantly ..who told them this was his dream job how much he loved it ..was so happy etc then to leave with 10 weeks to go till the end of the season !!!.. is a bit off………by the way … rangers weren’t relegated …..
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I do think “swapping immortality for mediocrity”, when you look at the relative merits of the two leagues, is particularly deluded.
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Excellent article. All of Celtics titles are the equivalent of finishing mid table in English league one
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Rodgers, changing one set of delusional fans for another 🙂
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That’s right Rangers went bust, kaput, finito. Then along came some new owners and the first thing they did was to raid the old bins looking for old Rangers history. Even nicked the name and colours, the cheek of it eh?
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