Rodgers has earned a transfer warchest for summer says GARY KEOWN… but has he shown he can be trusted to spend it?

Those 95 minutes or so in Munich in mid-February provided all the evidence required that Brendan Rodgers has earned a proper crack at reinforcing Celtic’s reputation in Europe after a decade or more of the club being a laughing stock at that level.

Who knows what might have happened, with the side leading 1-0 against in the Allianz Arena deep into time added on and level on aggregate, had Cameron Carter-Vickers’ attempted clearance not hit off substitute Alphonso Davies and bobbled into the net to give Bayern the jammiest passage possible into the last 16 of the Champions League?

There would have been extra-time, for sure. And the way the game was going, who’s to say Celtic wouldn’t have found a way through?

Celtic went toe-to-toe with Vincent Kompany’s side. They created no shortage of opportunities. It was an exciting, end-to-end encounter that offered plenty to justify Rodgers’ demands to keep pushing and keep adding quality in the search for more.

The league stage had, generally, been good. The 3-1 home win over RB Leipzig, then flying high in the Bundesliga, was the trademark victory in UEFA competition that manager Rodgers desperately needed – particularly in the wake of being trounced 7-1 away to Borussia Dortmund. 

Reaching the play-offs was most certainly progress – even if making the last 16 was where real success, truly showing the side could punch above its weight, lay.

What Celtic delivered in Munich, though, offered encouragement that really getting back to the top table, going back in with the proper elite, is not as far away as many thought.

If Rodgers is to be given a proper crack at taking the great leap forward, though, he has to be given a proper budget. Celtic are rolling in dough. Why wouldn’t they pop open the coffers this summer and really go for broke?

Well, here’s one question to conjure with. Has Rodgers done enough down the years to inspire confidence he can be trusted in spending tens of millions in the market?

Let’s start by looking at the squad right now. Forget about the summer of 2023, when the Northern Irishman first arrived along with the likes of Odin Thiago Holm, Luis Palma, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Kwon Hyeok-kyu, et al.

He was a different character back then, sitting through press conferences with the glazed look of a hostage in a ransom video – mumbling through gritted teeth that was happy to coach anyone the club wanted to sign.

He’s not that same bloke now. He’s back to being The Brodge. Mark Lawwell is off the plot as recruitment chief with Paul Tisdale brought in back in October after Rodgers expressed his contentment with their ‘compatibility’. The guys being bought now, you have to think, are bona-fide Rodgers signings. And some have cost rather a lot of money.

Celtic spent over the odds when recruiting Adam Idah from Norwich City in a deal worth £8.5million after, inexplicably, failing to put an option to buy into the agreement that initially brought the 24-year-old north on loan last term.

Kept as chief support to Kyogo Furuhashi until January, the Irishman’s long-awaited chance to become the main man up front presented itself when management took £10m from Rennes for the Japanese.

Adam Idah celebrates his goal in Republic of Ireland’s 2-1 win over Bulgaria

He hasn’t taken it, though. The first leg of the Munich tie was the beginning of his problems, being removed at Parkhead with Maeda moving to centre-forward and breathing new life into a Celtic side that had gone 2-0 down.

Idah was then benched in Munich and for the 3-2 Old Firm loss at Parkhead. Watching him in the defeat at Hibs the other week – hooked at half-time following a dispiriting display – left you feeling he’s a bloke whose confidence is steadily evaporating.

He might have been giving it the big shushburger (copyright Todd Cantwell) during the week after coming off the bench to score for Ireland against Bulgaria, but he needs to show more.

Same goes with Engels. The 21-year-old midfielder is a good player. Some of the criticism aimed at him earlier in the campaign seemed extreme. Yet, that’s what happens when you arrive anywhere for a big transfer fee and the reality is that he hasn’t really stood out in the way you would expect an £11m signing to stand out. He wasn’t picked for Belgium’s Nations League double-header with Ukraine when Rangers’ Nico Raskin was.

Auston Trusty also arrived in summer for £5.5m. He’s been fine. That’s almost £27m spent on those three guys alone, though. None can be termed failures, but they won’t be troubling the Player of the Year awards.

Kuhn looked, at one point, as though he’d take them all. He has been a sound capture from Rapid Vienna for £3m. However, he has gone off the boil recently and needs consistency and resilience as part of a Celtic side that, worryingly, has taken to forgetting to turn up in Old Firm games of late.

These are only four signings from Rodgers’ second stint, of course. His first is hard to form solid judgment on, though.

He got off to a flyer with Moussa Dembele, largely the work of others, and Scott Sinclair. Odsonne Edouard was also a success for £9m. There wasn’t a lot to shout about other than that.

Celtic signed Moussa Dembele from Fulham during Rodgers’ first spell as manager

Olivier Ntcham, at £4.5m, had his moments. Eboue Kouassi at £3m was a disaster. Other significant fees spent were £1m on Marvin Compper, £1.5m on Jack Hendry, £2m on Vakoun Issouf Bayo and £1.7m on Maryan Shved, whom Rodgers appeared to know little about.

By that point, the bogey was hurtling down the hill at light speed to Terminado Point. Rodgers wasn’t getting the funds desired and the squad had been filling up with all sorts of Youssouf Mulumbus, Oli Burkes, and Daniel Arzanis.

Rodgers did spend big money – and cop a load of flak – during his time at Liverpool, but he was working as part of an infamous ‘transfer committee’ there. It is maybe worth considering his time at Leicester City, though, to see how he handled having big sums to dole out.

In his first summer, the £40m invested on Youri Tielemans worked out, although the Belgian had initially arrived on loan before Rodgers was appointed. Dennis Praet and Ayoze Perez, in contrast, were a waste of £50m.

Wesley Fofana was a big hit at £30m, eventually moving onto Chelsea for £70m. Timothy Castagne was also a solid recruit at £21m from Atalanta.

After that, though, it was nothing to write home about. Jannik Vestergaard cost £15m and fell out with Rodgers. Patson Daka, one goal this term, was £27m. Boubakary Soumare, Harry Souttar and Victor Kristiansen didn’t exactly set the heather on fire.

Defender Kieran Tierney will return to Celtic from Arsenal this summer

Wout Faes, at £13m, should turn a profit, though, and it has to be remembered that the Foxes were cost-cutting before Rodgers left in April 2023.

Sure, no manager gets things correct in the market all the time. Rodgers’ record has its hits and its misses. However, he doesn’t boast a reputation as an arch wheeler and dealer. Idah and Engels, huge investments by Scottish standards, carry question marks. There are also growing murmurs about Celtic’s current strategy.

Bringing back Kieran Tierney on a Bosman and spending £8m to re-recruit Jota – along with that loan deal for Jeffrey Schlupp – could be seen as a move away from buying young talents with a view to developing them and selling them on.

Rodgers wants serious cash to splash in summer and has merited it. The prospect of Rangers finally sorting themselves out after a decade of mayhem should sharpen minds at Celtic too.

CEO Michael Nicholson needs to go big. He needs to lay down a marker. He has little option other than to hand Rodgers a warchest. He’d just be forgiven for having a wee touch of the collywobbles over whether he’s the right man to spend it.  

Clarke should have walked after Euros humiliation 

Another week of recriminations and unhappiness and post-mortems after yet another Scotland disaster under the charge of manager Steve Clarke.

Not that he’ll be losing a lot of sleep. Chances are you won’t hear another peep out of him until these friendlies with Iceland and Liechtenstein in June. We’re at the stage where disappearing acts after bad results are about the only constant in his reign.

Lots of the criticism aimed at Clarke after last Sunday’s collapse at home to Greece in the Nations League play-offs was fair. He is too loyal to certain players. He is too cautious. He isn’t getting enough out of the players at his disposal. The fact he still wants to use Anthony Ralston and Grant Hanley in his defence is fine. They did well in the ill-deserved first-leg win over the Greeks in Piraeus. The problem is that it’s surely tough asking them to turn out in two games in a matter of days when they barely play any football whatsoever at their clubs.

Max Johnston, involved in a battle for the Austrian title with Sturm Graz, and Scott McKenna, a regular for Las Palmas in Spain’s Primera Liga, were there are perfectly solid — not to mention match-fit — alternatives. Anyway, it’s all water under the bridge now. In truth, these are discussions we shouldn’t even be having.

Clarke should have gone after the national humiliation of the Euros last summer. He should have resigned. When he refused to do that, the SFA should have bumped him rather than giving him carte blanche to decide what he fancied doing with his future. For all the talking of the past seven days, that’s the long and the short of it.

Former Rangers, Clydebank and Motherwell winger Davie Cooper is fondly remembered

Cooper left us all with memories to treasure

Over the past week, since the 30th anniversary of his passing, Rangers supporters have been enjoying a very special video tribute created by their club on the life and career of Davie Cooper.

In 12 days’ time, they will gather in the Thornton Suite at Ibrox for a gala dinner held in his memory to raise funds for charity.

Cooper was the first player I ever interviewed face-to-face as a journalist, fresh out of school at 16. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.

He’d had a reputation for being difficult with the media on occasion and it is hard to forget the nerves and trepidation as I prepared to meet him inside the room used by the Motherwell players for their lunch at Fir Park.

Lord knows what he must have made of this child turning up to meet him, with hardly any clue about what he was doing. Yet, the memory of the occasion is one of great warmth and delight, of Cooper’s politeness, endless patience and support.

It is lovely to see Motherwell fans still gather in a stand named in his honour. A delight to know that followers of Rangers still want to convene regularly and enjoy their recollections of his storied career. And long may they all continue celebrating him. A fabulously gifted player, no doubt, but a very good man too.