3 reasons why Brendan Rodgers needs to answer his critics at Leicester City

Celtic fans might not be happy with his decision to leave their club, but this week saw Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers leave Scotland to be confirmed as the new manager of Leicester City following Claude Puel’s sacking last weekend.

It’s a huge move for Rodgers, who hasn’t graced the Premier League since he was dismissed by Liverpool back in October 2015, and while the Northern Irishman brings a stellar record with him from his time at Celtic – as well as a reputation as a top-class coach – he still has plenty of doubters that he’ll need to prove wrong during his reign at the King Power Stadium.

Here are 3 reasons why Brendan Rodgers needs to answer his critics at Leicester.

#1 He arguably only had one good season at Liverpool

Critics of Rodgers would argue he only had one good season at Liverpool

Rodgers managed Liverpool for 3 full seasons, and while fans of the Reds will always look back fondly on the massively successful 2013/14 campaign – one that saw Liverpool lead the Premier League for a long stretch before imploding in the final few games – critics of the Northern Irishman would probably argue that 2013/14 was actually his only good season at Anfield.

Rodgers’ debut season at the club in 2012/13 saw Liverpool finish 7th in the Premier League – an improvement on their 8th place finish in 2011/12, but still relatively disappointing considering the calibre of players they could call upon – the likes of Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho, for instance. And while they were undoubtedly fantastic in 2013/14, the follow-up season saw them slip down to 6th place, missing out on the coveted Champions League spots.

Essentially, it’s easy for a critic of Rodgers to view 2013/14 as an outlier, with 2012/13 and 2014/15 being more of an indication of his managerial talents. That’s why he needs to answer those critics at Leicester. Unlike at Liverpool, nobody is expecting the Foxes to break into the Champions League spots, but if Rodgers is truly a great boss – as that 2013/14 season run suggested – then he could definitely help them become a club that can challenge for a top 6 position.

That obviously won’t be easy given the financial strength of the clubs above Leicester in the pecking order, but it’s worth noting that prior to 2013/14, Rodgers only spent around £45m at Liverpool, while recouping around £27m in sales. If Rodgers can produce the form that Liverpool showed during 2013/14 with a similar budget at Leicester, his critics would definitely have to keep quiet.

#2 He’s dominated a weak league at Celtic

Rodgers won a lot of trophies at Celtic, but the Scottish Premiership is a weak league

Nobody can really dispute that Rodgers was a huge success at Celtic – after all, he won a crazy amount of trophies there, picking up both the Scottish Premiership title and the Scottish Cup in 2016/17 and 2017/18, and winning the Scottish League Cup in 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 too. But it’s also hard to dispute that Rodgers’ side were dominant over an extremely weak league, too.

UEFA’s current coefficient rankings have the Scottish league ranked all the way down in 20th position. Not only is that miles away from the Premier League – which ranks second behind Spain’s La Liga – but it’s also considered to be behind the leagues in countries like Denmark, Greece and Austria. Essentially, the Scottish Premiership is nowhere near as strong as it was in its early 90’s pomp.

Rodgers might’ve done well with Celtic on the domestic scale, but Europe was largely another story – he oversaw some horrendous results such as a loss to Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps, a 7-0 Champions League defeat to Barcelona – the biggest in Celtic’s history – and he never took them out of the group stages in the Champions League either.

It’s one thing to manage a dominant team in a weak league like the Scottish Premiership – but it’s another thing entirely to find success in the Premier League, especially at a side like Leicester who aren’t considered one of the top teams in England. Rodgers has been a big fish in a small pond for the best part of 3 seasons now – and it’s time for him to answer the critics who suggest that he’s only capable of succeeding in that small pond.

#3 He’s got a very high opinion of himself

Rodgers has been compared to Ricky Gervais' David Brent character

During his time at Liverpool, it was noted by many people that Rodgers had a lot of faith in his own abilities as a coach and a manager. There’s nothing wrong with self-belief of course, but the Northern Irishman quite often came across as his own biggest fan, and was even compared to Ricky Gervais’ legendary character David Brent from The Office for some of his quotes – lines like “my biggest mentor is myself” and “the problem with being a manager is that it’s like trying to build an aircraft while it’s flying”.

The problem is that to justify a high opinion of yourself in a sport like football, you’ve got to back it up with results on the pitch. That’s why critics of Rodgers couldn’t help but smile when his Liverpool side struggled in 2014/15 after selling Luis Suarez and then spending £117m on new players – Rodgers had, of course, aimed a jibe at Tottenham for doing the same thing a season earlier after selling Gareth Bale.

While he’s been less of a presence in the English media during his time at Celtic, then, winning so many trophies north of the border would suggest that his opinion of his managerial and coaching skills is hardly likely to have dropped over the past 3 years. And in fact, Rodgers has already stated that his goal at Leicester City is to secure a European place and also win a trophy.

With that much faith in himself, Rodgers essentially can’t afford to fail at Leicester, or else he risks becoming the laughing stock of the Premier League – as he did towards the end of his tenure at Liverpool. And that’s why he needs to answer those critics by either succeeding at the King Power Stadium – or by keeping his Brent-like quotes to a minimum.