The most recent Celtics player to get public criticism from Brendan Rodgers is Kyogo Furuhashi.
After evaluating the striker’s performance this year, the head coach of the Hornets chose to add, “He is not a baby.”
No one has ever suggested that Kyogo is a baby; he was by far Scotland’s finest player, the team’s top scorer, and a major factor in Ange Postecoglou’s two successful seasons.
He scored six goals in the Glasgow Derby in 2023, including the game-winning goal in Rodgers’ team’s lone meaningful victory.
After dominating in Scotland last season, there were doubts about his ability to score at the highest level. This season, he has replied by scoring two of Celtic’s three goals in the Champions League, keeping the team from potentially losing badly.
In the past, Rodgers was always supportive and protective of his players in public, but in recent weeks, he has started to be very critical of them.
During the press conference held yesterday, Rodgers spoke with the Daily Record about Kyogo.
He hasn’t been asked to do anything new because his strengths lie in timing his movements, playing off the last line, and having an instinctual boxing style.
He doesn’t dribble or make frequent appearances. Although that’s not his forte, he can manage it. And for a striker who wants to have an impact on games, that is always the problem. He is, nevertheless, incredibly open. He is 28 years old; keep in mind that he is not a baby.
The manager of 24-year-old Mikey Johnston last week reportedly called him a “baby,” according to The Sun.
He is a player that has gone through this system and is maybe the most gifted player to have ever emerged from this system.Having watched a number of the younger players here, I will state that he is no longer a baby. He is 24 years old.
Speaking about Maik Nawrocki and Gus Lagerbielke’s lack of playing time, Aaron Rodgers expressed doubts about the personalities of his summer additions, according to Yahoo (4 December):
Personality is constantly at play. They are obviously not the best players. Training is something that always gets my attention. I watch players train and work with that personality every day, and it makes me think more like them.Sadly for Maik and Gustaf, Scales has joined the team and has made the most of his chance.
In conclusion, even with a strong comeback to goal scoring, Rodgers was extremely direct about David Turnbull’s contract status, telling The Sun on December 3:
Indeed, a player has the right to refuse to contract if he so chooses. I’m not going to cry about it.I don’t know how far the conversations that started back in the summer have progressed.
Regardless of his personal sentiments, one of Rodgers’ main responsibilities is to safeguard the players, as they frequently take offense at criticism, particularly from their manager.
Rodgers may be reliant on a few of the players that were criticized previously before the January transfer market begins.
Critiquing players only gets you so far; eventually, the manager, who oversees a team of more than thirty players every day, has to take the fall for it.
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