As we await the inevitable Eddie Howe arrival, it’s evident that there is plenty of excitement in the air regarding what he’ll bring to Celtic Park.
After all, he has such a track record of success. He’s the man who brought Bournemouth up from League Two and made them a sustained Premier League club. He’s a man who’s known nothing but success and has contacts down south that should work wonders for the Hoops.
You can’t help but draw parallels with the Brendan Rodgers appointment of 2016. At the time, there was a similar feeling of decline at the club, even if we had won the title under Ronny Deila the previous season. There was a staleness surrounding the place and a fear that Rangers were catching up.
Rodgers came in, used his contacts to do some valuable work in the transfer market, and reinvigorated the team. He lived up to and exceeded expectations in his first season. In that debut campaign, he bagged UEFA Champions League qualification and the domestic treble. All the while he smashed Rangers in almost every derby match and secured total dominance of the country within a year of taking the job.
It was revolutionary and historic what Rodgers did here. And as the similarities between the appointments is clear to see, it’s important the new man isn’t held to the standard of Rodgers’ first season when the new campaign kicks off.
Celtic need a much bigger rebuild under Howe than was required with Rodgers
First off, the size of the rebuild both men will have encountered will be entirely different. Howe needs to go out and sign players perhaps in the quantity of double-digits. Rodgers, meanwhile, had swathes of talent at his disposal that were just underperforming.
Think about how Rodgers changed the performance levels of the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Scott Brown, Callum McGregor, and James Forrest just to name a few. His only real blockbuster signings were Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair. Granted, Kolo Toure made a positive impression in his first few months at the club too [Transfermarkt].
You then have the calibre of opposition. Rangers at the time were a lot worse off under Mark Warburton. They didn’t have European action and were clearly fragile all over the pitch. Unfortunately, as much as it pains us to admit it, Steven Gerrard has built up a stronger squad these days that has a more stubborn core. Whilst Rodgers came in with the club as heavy favourites to down our rivals, Howe comes in with Celtic operating at a poorer standard.
As for European qualification, it’s a massively different kettle of fish under Howe this season. Rodgers had the less difficult Champions route to go through and only had to get past Lincoln Red Imps, Astana, and Hapoel Be’er Sheva. This season, we could be up against the likes of Galatasaray or Benfica en route to the competition.
Most importantly, however, trebles simply can’t be expected. We’ve been absolutely spoiled over the last few years with regards to trophy success. So much so that it’s been forgotten just how fabled the treble chievement once was. Nobody expects Howe to go unbeaten next season if he takes the job, but he shouldn’t be demanded to win a treble either.
So long as we see increased performance levels and secure the league title, it’s job done. We can build from there. Last season has shown that we simply can’t take anything for granted anymore. His main remit is to win the title, and anything other than that is a sheer bonus.
In other news, the final player linked with Celtic under Neil Lennon is now available for free.
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