The majority of Celtic fans worldwide would concur Ange Postecoglous swashbuckling, flamboyant, all-out attack style of football hadn't been witnessed at Celtic Park since the Tommy Burns days when he unleashed Paolo Di Canio, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Jorge Cadete on opposition defences.

The average Celtic fan didn't know much about big Ange prior to his appointment as Celtic manager but quickly appreciated the man from down under was in the throes of setting Scottish football on fire.Opponent reputations were merely myths waiting to be torn asunder. Even when Ange found his team trailing with 2 minutes left on the clock we didn't contemplate defeat but simply pondered how many we'd score before injury time was up. The phrase ' We Never Stop ' brought a smile to our faces. It was an incredible feeling supporting Celtic at that time. Our players could detect the fear in our opponents eyes before  ball was kicked. We, the Celtic family, indulged in a football dream completely ignorant of the fact it was all going to prove short-lived. 

12 months ago to the day, Celtic fans were celebrating another treble following their 3-1 defeat of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the national cup final. The very next day big Ange signed a four year contract as the new Tottenham Hotspur manager. Secret contract negotiations had been ongoing for weeks. Celtics Board of Directors suspecting moves were afoot allegedly offered Postecoglou repeated improved contract terms and conditions during what transpired to be his last season at Celtic Park - all of which dismissed on the grounds he never signed four year contracts - precisely what he agreed to with Spurs. We were shell shocked. 

Dermot Desmond immediately instigated the return of Brendan Rodgers to paradise. It felt like we'd gone from heaven to hell within a matter of hours. Rodgers previous bland form of football resulted in empty seats throughout the stadium on match days. It was dire to watch. The manner in which he left the club in the lurch to join Leicester City in the EPL at the business end of the season whilst Celtic were chasing the treble was succinctly summed up by the Green Brigade at Tynecastle on 27th February 2019. They displayed the infamous banner aimed at Rodgers which read " You traded immortality for mediocrity never a Celt always a fraud ". We were facing the stark reality of enduring another bout of Rodgers tedious interpretation of entertainment. Doom and gloom descended the Celtic family across the globe as Rodgers dreaded appointment was confirmed.

Season 2023-2024 commenced with being knocked out of the Scottish League Cup away to Kilmarnock. The season would  be compounded with notable, lengthy injury spells to our most important players. In fairness to Rodgers we retained the league title whilst providing some unexpected comparisons to Postecoglu from the season before.

Ange Postecoglous League Performance Season 2022-2023

Played 38 Games, Won 32, Drawn 3, Lost 3, GF 114, GA 34, GD 80, Pts 99 


Brendan Rodgers League Performance Season 2023 - 2024

Played 38 Games, Won 29, Drawn 6, Lost 3, GF 95, GA 30, GD 65, Pts 93


Aside from 3 additional draws compared to wins over an entire season, Rodgers league statistics surprisingly compare favourably to his predecessor.  Admittedly there was a 20 goal difference deficit to Rodgers name but in fairness to him the club had just sold Jota our goal machine during the close season. That would have impacted any team. 

Postecoglous teams racked up 19 goals more than the Northern Irishman sides which notably conceded 4 goals less ( reducing the overall goal difference down to 15 ). In the three previous seasons that Rodgers managed Celtic between 2016-2019 ( Including results obtained by Neil Lennon from February to May 2019 ) Brendan averaged the following league numbers per season :-

Played 38, Won 28.3, Drawn 6.6, Lost 3.0, GF 85.3, GA 23.3, Points 91.6  

Manipulating statistics can prove many points but the Irishman did prove a lot of doubters wrong on his return. His key players were missing for considerable periods throughout the football calendar yet his proclamation to the Scottish media of 
" Come back and see me in May " proved telling

Postecoglou beat Sevco into second place in the league table by 7 points to claim the 2022-2023 league title. Rodgers, minus our goal machine Jotta, beat Scotlands Shame into second place by 8 points to win the 2023-2024 league title. Brendan extended the winning points margin and the gap keeps growing. I should never have doubted the man. 

Brendan also ensured Celtics £40 million pay out for automatic qualification into the new format 2024-2025 Champions League competition. The gulf in Celtics wealth over all other domestic clubs combined - leaves them trailing in our wake. I just hope the men in grey suits offer him the transfer fund he deserves but you never know this is Celtic afterall.