Brendan underlying message – ‘Value without quality isn’t value at all’ | OneFootball

If you listened to Brendan Rodgers press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to Aberdeen, you’ll know his words were measured and chosen with care. Not to dodge the issue, but to deliver it in a way that wouldn’t turn the press conference into another week-long boardroom drama. The manager wasn’t going for fireworks this time, but the message was still there for anyone paying attention.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

When asked directly whether the delay in concluding signings was down to talent identification, or delays in concluding deals, Rodgers initially seemed to be seen to be swerving the question somewhat. But as his point developed it was made just as clear as last week, but with a bit more of a scalpel than a sword in comparison to seven days ago.

“No, I don’t really want to go into that, it’s not the forum for that. It’s one where our scouts and recruitment are working ever so hard identifying players, really good players.

“So yeah, we just hope by the endgame that we can get the right level of player in that can help us and improve us. And we all know what supporters want to see. They want to see that freshness in the team, they want to see the team being exciting.

“I’m hopeful that we can do that over these remaining weeks, and then go off into the season in a really good place.”

Paul Tisdale the manager of Bristol Rovers looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match between Bristol Rovers and Darlington FC at the Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2020 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

By singling out the recruitment team — Paul Tisdale and his staff — Rodgers effectively removed them from the firing line and that was certainly no accident. It was his way of saying that the scouting is getting done, the lists are drawn up, the work is happening.

The bottleneck however, well, that’s elsewhere.

Earlier, when asked if he expected to be backed by the board to get the tools he needs before the window closes, he delivered another well-judged response.

Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive of Celtic FC looks on from the stands prior to the Premiership match between Celtic FC and St Mirren FC at Celtic Park on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“I think the board have shown over many years and numbers of years that the work will get done. And, obviously, as a group that runs the club and has run it so well for so many years, they’ll look to get what they will feel is the best value for the players.

“Of course, as coaches and managers and supporters, you want the best players. But ultimately, the club will be run in a way that makes sure that both the best players and the best value are there to be made. So, that sits above me. That’s something that clearly does.”

Two things stand out with that response. First, the repeated nod to the board’s long-standing ‘way of doing things.’ Second — and arguably more importantly — the deliberate use of value. In Celtic boardroom language, value has become shorthand for cautious, painfully slow even, deal-making.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

Rodgers knows he can’t roll into Lennoxtown every Friday and take another direct swipe at the board — that quickly becomes a circus, plus it simply loses its impact. After all he might need to return there over the next three and a bit weeks. But he also knows the supporters aren’t blind. By dropping ‘value’ into his answer, he underlined exactly where the holdup is without having to spell it out.

And that’s why the idea some are floating — that this was perhaps a backtrack from last week’s press conference — misses the point. This was Brendan being smarter about it. Same message, just a wee bit of a cuter delivery. The recruitment team are doing their job. The manager wants the freshness and quality we all crave for this squad. The delay isn’t in spotting players – it’s in getting them over the line.

The frustration for supporters, and surely for Rodgers, is that value has already been bought. We’ve got the floor-lifters in the door, the good profiles for developing, the ones who might become players down the line a bit. But bar Kieran Tierney and Benjamin Nygren, this squad is lighter in pure quality than the one that took Bayern Munich all the way in the Champions League, lighter than the one who lost the Cup Final on penalties.

Sporting CP v Celtic – Pre-Season Friendly Benjamin Nygren of Celtic FC is in action during the pre-season friendly match between Sporting de Lisboa and Celtic FC at Estadio Algarve in Faro, Portugal, on July 16, 2025. Faro Portugal Photo DAX Images

Now Rodgers needs the next level — the three or four wide and central attackers who replace the sale of Kyogo, the sale of Kuhn, and cover the injury to Jota. The players who let Tilio and Yang move on if they want to, rather than being kept simply because we need bodies.

These aren’t just squad-fillers, they’re the players Rodgers can trust on a European night when the margins are cigarette paper thin.

Because at this stage of the transfer window, at this point in the squad development, value without quality isn’t value at all.

Niall J

Yesterday Conor Spence attended the Celtic fan media conference at Celtic Park to represent The Celtic Star and to speak to Celtic legend James Forrest alongside supporters from four other fan media outlets. Here’s the video…

READ THIS FROM NIALL J…Celtic’s robust financials celebrated but Simply Wall doesn’t tell the full story

More Stories / Latest News

Brendan underlying message – ‘Value without quality isn’t value at all’

Aug 8 2025, 21:57

Rodgers Showing Transfer Patience This Weekend

Aug 8 2025, 18:38

What Jahmai Simpson-Pusey Brings to Celtic’s Back Line

Aug 8 2025, 18:02

CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, with just a limited number of signed copies still available, although they are selling very quickly.

It’s looking like the signed copies will run out over the course of this weekend so if you are intending to purchase David Potter’s final Celtic book then why not do it today to get the benefit of a Danny McGrain signed copy!

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, pre-order now

Alec McNair – Celtic’s Icicle now FREE and with FREE postage when ordering with David Potter’s last book Celtic in the Eighties

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered and don’t worry, your copy will be signed by the legendary Celtic and Scotland star who captained Celtic for the early years of the 1980s.

And there’s another great benefit for readers who pre-order their copy of Celtic in the Eighties. You will also receive a copy of an earlier David Potter book – Celtic’ Icicle – Alec McNair – which you’ll receive for FREE when you pre-order with Celtic in the Eighties.

Danny McGrain lifts the trophy in 1981. Photo The Celtic Wiki

So  you get two great Celtic books by David Potter and better still the postage is only charged on one. Offer available for a short period only as we have a very limited number of copies of David’s wonderful book on Alec McNair left.

So why have one brilliant David Potter book when you can enjoy two? And if you’re planning on buying Celtic in the Eighties why not get your copy signed by Celtic legend Danny McGrain?

Click on the image below to order…

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image to join.