Celtic: Brendan Rodgers controversial comeback is a risk worth taking for manager and club

Scottish football’s ability to tell unexpected stories certainly doesn’t seem to be diminishing.

The reappointment of Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager, four years after his abrupt return to England at Leicester City, has been widely followed over the past week, but it remains a truly stunning development.

While the tasteless banners seen in Celtic support after the Northern Irishman’s sudden departure in 2019 were not representative of true feelings for him, even the more level-headed factions felt a sense of betrayal.

This can be partly attributed to the loss of a true elite football manager – one who had won every one of the seven domestic competitions he had competed in.

But it was the many words and promises of this self-professed childhood Celtic fan that rubbed salt into the wound. Quitting his “dream job” with eight-in-a-row still on the line was seen by many as an unforgivable act of heresy.

Rodgers’ return was announced by the Hoops on Monday following his sacking by Leicester City

The Northern Irishman enjoyed domestic success but angered fans when he left for the Foxes

While the passage of time is always a soothing balm, anyone who suggested that Rodgers was the obvious choice to replace Tottenham-bound Ange Postecoglou just two weeks ago should back off at a safe distance.

Rodgers may have “taken the emotion out” of his decision to leave, but those he left behind didn’t have that luxury. Hell has no fury like a contemptuous football fan.

This was not then “a really easy decision for everyone involved,” as Rodgers put it in a pre-drafted statement. At least not as far as the background is concerned.

Dermot Desmond had to do exactly what Rodgers did when he left.

As the Carnlough man took care of himself then, the billionaire now takes care of his football club.

Regardless of what came before, a series winner like Rodgers was the standout candidate in a weak field. The way he left and the resentment it caused were overlooked. Opportunity won the day here.

A reset of relations between the Celtic fan base and the returning manager may not be a bad thing.

Stung by Rodgers, they were caught off guard by Postecoglou, then he ran into Tottenham’s arms with Hampden’s confetti still in the air.

But Tottenham-bound Ange Postecoglou was also loved by supporters before he left – now a reset of relations between the Celtic fanbase and Rodgers may not be a bad thing

Anyone seeking a semblance of loyalty in football these days had better be patient. The dismissal of Gary O’Neil by Bournemouth and the immediate appointment of Andoni Iraola as manager suggests we have entered a new era.

You may now be shown the door to both success and failure.

No wonder bosses strike when the iron is hot. Rodgers did that four years ago and no doubt will do it again when the time and opportunity are right.

Accepting the inevitability of this would lessen the sense of loss.

Nowadays football clubs’ marriages to managers are increasingly purely marriages of convenience. And, as evidenced by the confirmation of Rodgers’ return, no breakup is so bitter you can’t give it another go.