In football, managers are a great part of the team’s success, they create the tactics and give the specific player roles through which each player knows how to act on the pitch, adapting to every possible scenario that could happen during a game.
When it comes to Celtic, the first manager that comes to mind is none other than Brendan Rodgers, the mastermind behind Celtic’s success these past years. Known for his tactical flexibility and focus on structured formations, Brendan Rodgers’ tactical decisions tend to vary from game to game, which directly impacts how Celtic approach the market both in the summer and January.
But how do Brendan Rodgers’ tactical decisions mirror the market strategy adopted by the Celtic board?
An Almost Perfect Adaptability and the Ability to Compensate
Apart from his obvious success as a manager, Brendan Rodgers is widely known for his ability to quickly adapt his training depending on his players’ roles and the oppositions players. Usually, Brendan Rodgers tends to compensate for his aggressive pressure with players that have the ability to track back, although that may not be the case when he is using a specific set of players.
As a result, Brendan Rodgers tends to adapt to what he has before starting to build his own style, similar to what the Celtic board does. Imagine a scenario where Celtic have several options for the striker position, one striker which would cover all the available money for spending and other cheaper options that could allow for, let’s say, new signings in the midfield. Essentially, Brendan Rodgers’ tactical decisions mirror the decisions made when signing players, looking to strengthen other areas instead of going big on one player, trying to find the perfect balance on every occasion.
Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term
Brendan Rodgers has always had the challenge to bring immediate balance to the clubs he is signed for, desperately needing to get results and success at the first time of asking. Of course, Brendan Rodgers isn’t a superhero, thus why he tends to balance short-term success with long-term success. For example, Brendan Rodgers didn’t have an immediate impact when he arrived at Leicester, winning some and losing some. It wasn’t until a few years later that, after carefully building his squad, he managed to win trophies.
Essentially, the market strategy adopted by Celtic is very similar to what Brenda Rodgers shows on the pitch. Although the Celtic board has stated that they have spent too much this summer window, they have backed Brendan Rodgers the years prior with player that are either having an impact on Celtic’s immediate success or making other clubs break the bank, giving Celtic huge amounts of money in return.
As a result, Brendan Rodgers stayed away from instant success in favour of building a squad that is capable of winning the league every year and getting to the knockout stages of European football.
Knowing When to Hit
If there’s one thing Brendan Rodgers is good at it’s knowing when to strike the opposition and start pressing and putting them in danger. In football, there are different matches within the same match, some minutes you could be defending with eleven men inside the box and suddenly you see yourself with eleven men trying to find a goal, it’s a constant change where every scenario needs to be controlled.
At every team he has managed, Brendan Rodgers has always tried to find moments where the opposition may be more vulnerable to hit and get what he wants, which in this case is scoring a goal. In the end, timing is everything.
When it comes to market strategy, timing things correctly may be the difference between signing a player or not. In a world with many teams and even more players, it’s important to correctly time everything to get the desired player. For example, the last few days of the transfer market is when almost everything happens, players are desperate to leave and agents start offering their players out for the lowest amount of money possible, making last minute deals the perfect occasion to sign the next big thing or the player that will guarantee stability and experience on one part of the pitch.
Whether it’s on the pitch or the offices, knowing when to hit is essential as it can guarantee success, whether it’s a goal or signing your desired transfer target.
Reading Opponents as Market Competitors
Analysing the opposition is a vital part of modern football, making the difference between winning and losing. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of a team is crucial, and Brendan Rodgers knows that, shifting his tactical plans form one match to the other to guarantee wins and success inside the pitch.
This can be equally applied to the market, as many teams could be interested in a specific player, therefore it’s important to know everything around them. Think of it as if people were looking for the best betting exchange sites, they would try to find the strengths and the weaknesses of each site to know where to go.
In conclusion, what happens on the field isn’t very different from what we see on the offices, and Brendan Rodgers has been able to mirror his tactical decisions into Celtic’s market strategy, approaching players using the same principles the former Leicester manager applies on the pitch when Celtic are playing.
