History made as Rodgers leaves!
Brendan Rodgers 'resigns' from Celtic just weeks after Rangers sack Russell Martin
FIRST TIME EVER
In 137 years of the Rangers-Celtic rivalry, both clubs have never before seen their managers depart mid season in the same campaign.
This season it has happened in the same month!
The previous closest instances of both losing managers mid season came in 2021, when Neil Lennon resigned as Celtic manager in the February and Steven Gerrard left Rangers for Aston Villa in the November. Same calendar year, but different seasons. Wim Jansen and Walter Smith both left their respective clubs in May 1998, however they were both end of season departures rather than leaving mid season.
Despite Rodgers leaving during a season for the second time, mid-season departures are relatively uncommon for either side. Rodgers is just the seventh man and eighth managerial spell to end mid-season at Celtic, while it has happened 15 times at Rangers. Remarkably, since Jock Wallace left at the end of the 1978 season, Walter Smith and Alex McLeish are the only permanent managers to have departed Ibrox at the conclusion of a campaign.
OLD FIRM DERBY RIVALRIES
Brendan Rodgers’ departure means Danny Röhl and Rodgers become only the second pair of managers to be in charge of Rangers and Celtic respectively without ever facing each other in an Old Firm derby. The only previous instance came in 2014, when Ally McCoist was entering his final months at Ibrox while Ronny Deila took over at Celtic Park. With the clubs in different divisions at the time, they never met before McCoist’s departure. By the time the sides clashed in the 2016 Scottish Cup semi-final, Mark Warburton was in the Rangers dugout.
If Celtic appoint a new manager before the weekend (who has never managed the club before), then it will be just the fourth occasion where it is two managers tasting the derby for the first time at the same time. The earliest instance of both clubs being led by managers in their first Old Firm derby at the same time actually came much later than the first managerial reigns at each club. In the formative years in the late 1800s, both sides were run by match secretaries and selection committees rather than individual managers. Willie Maley became Celtic’s first official manager in 1897 and took charge of several derbies before William Wilton was appointed as Rangers’ first official manager in 1899, although he had previously been a match secretary at the club.
The previously mentioned 2016 Hampden semi-final, which Rangers won on penalties after a 2-2 draw, was the most recent occasion where both managers (Warburton and Deila) were leading their teams into their first derby at the same time. Prior to that, it occurred in 1998, when Jozef Vengloš and Dick Advocaat were appointed in the same summer - Vengloš replacing Wim Jansen, who had just stopped Rangers’ bid for 10-in-a-row, and Advocaat succeeding Walter Smith. Their opening meeting ended 0-0 at Ibrox, but Celtic dominated the return fixture 5-1 at Parkhead before Rangers took revenge with a 3-0 win at Parkhead on their way to a domestic treble in May 1999.
Before that, there had only been two previous cases of both clubs appointing new managers simultaneously - in 1991 and 1978. In April 1991, Walter Smith succeeded Liverpool bound Graeme Souness at Ibrox with just a few games of the season remaining, while Liam Brady replaced Billy McNeill at Celtic at the end of the season. Smith and Brady’s first Old Firm derby came that August at Celtic Park, where a Mark Hateley double earned Rangers a 2-0 victory.
The 1978 season saw the only captains to lift European trophies for either club both stepping into Old Firm management at the same time. John Greig replaced Jock Wallace at Rangers, while Billy McNeill succeeded Jock Stein at Celtic. Their first derby as managers came just four games into the season at Parkhead, where Celtic triumphed 3-1, which would prove crucial come the season’s end, as Celtic won the title by 3 points.
DESMOND’S STATEMENT
As for Rodgers’ departure, Dermot Desmond - Celtic’s largest shareholder (though he does not hold a majority) - issued one of the most extraordinary and personal statements ever seen following the exit of a successful manager.
The statement was a complete character assassination of Rodgers and it underlines that Dermot Desmond retains ultimate control at Celtic. There was no statement from either the Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson or the chairman Peter Lawwell.
INTERIM MANAGERS
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney will be interim Celtic managers, at least for the home match against Falkirk on Wednesday - possibly also for the Celtic Vs Rangers League Cup Semi Final at Hampden on Sunday. At 73-years old, O’Neill is two years older than Sir Alex Ferguson was when he retired as Manchester United manager in 2013, aged 71. Danny Röhl was 11 years old when O’Neill was appointed Celtic manager for the first time in 2000. It is likely to be a short interim stint for O’Neill, as Celtic look to appoint Rodgers’ mid-season replacement as quickly as possible.
Ange Postecoglou is out of work…….
