Celtic FC: Our Passion, Our Paradise

Welcome, Ladies and Gents, to my first Scottish story in a long time. A few of you have probably read my Liverpool FC Story, in which Jamie Carragher replaced Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. You could perhaps imagine the two stories to be in the same 'universe', as I enter the persona of Brendan Rodgers and attempt to guide Celtic FC to some of their highest moments yet.

My Liverpool story will also continue - i'm just waiting for my internet to be reinstalled so I can continue with updates on that one. I will run both concurrently, updating intermittently; updates may be less regular, but I hope to continue the quality in both stories, updating with a mixture of news reports and monthly bulletins to keep you fully up to date on the happenings at Celtic FC

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Celtic have today Confirmed the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as their new manager

The Northern Irishman, previously in charge at Liverpool, Swansea, Reading and Watford, as well as having a spell in the Youth and Reserve sides at Chelsea, has signed a 12 month rolling contract to replace Ronny Delia, who resigned at the end of the season.

The 43-year old left Liverpool in October after 3 years in charge of the Scouse side, but having never won a trophy despite coming agonisingly close to the Premiership in his second season in charge. Rodgers was quick to state his commitment to Celtic, telling the press that "I will give everything I can and do all I can to bring our supporters exciting, entertaining and winning football."

"This club has been in magnificent shape in recent years and has collected silverware regularly during this time. My objective now, of course, is to continue this work, to keep us at the top and again make our mark in Europe."

Speaking of his club's new manager, chief executive Peter Lawell was forthcoming in his praise for the Northern Irishman, stating that "Brendan is a highly-sought after manager and we are pleased we have been able to bring such a high calibre individual to Celtic.

""I know Brendan feels privileged to be named Celtic manager and he will bring huge experience, knowledge and ability to the role.

"We wanted to bring one of the biggest and best names to the club to match our own aspirations and those of our supporters - we believe, in appointing Brendan, that we have done this.

"We have appointed a special manager and we are sure he can bring some special times to Celtic."

Don't see many Celtic stories, good luck bro!

Nice start mate, hopefully your side plays with an awful lot of character in the first few games otherwise Brendan won't be happy In all seriousness, good luck!

Beautifullll - lets hope you can live up to the standards of my one last year

Good luck!

Good luck, except when you face Morton. Hope you can have a character filled side who can play with the character and lead you to glory

What stat on FM indicates 'character' haha

Good luck!

Settling: Rodgers has already led Celtic through a tricky pre-season

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As the new season looms, Brendan Rodgers has taken the time to talk to celticfc.net about his side's pre-season, and his aspirations for the club going forwards. In the 4 pre-season games Celtic have played under Rodgers, they have only lost one - a 2-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv, which has been followed by 3 wins on the bounce against ACS Poli, Stade Brestois and Grimsby Town. Of course, these are all games Celtic would be expected to win, but the manner of the victories has been especially pleasing for Rodgers, who has been quick to assert that he's "not here to reinvent the wheel"

"I know a lot of people will be expecting a change in style, and i'm not ruling that out" the Northern Irishman said at the club's press conference ahead of the Champions League qualifier against Vardar, "Looking at our pre-season games, there's definitely something there to be looked at and improved on, and i've got a system clearly in mind - but i'm not going to be reinventing football or anything crazy like that.

"Celtic are a team with a defined style of play, and I can't see us deviating too much from that this season - there are some incredible players at this club and I am eager to get to work with the squad and develop the potential that can be found in the squad.

"If you're asking me if I have a tactical system in mind, the answer is a definite yes - if you're asking if i'm going to radically restructure the squad, that's probably a no: the club have a strict budget and i'm acutely aware of how much I have to spend and the scope that gives me to redevelop here - and it's nowhere near what would be needed for an immediate transformation.

"I think the fans and the board appreciate that in order to get the best out of the squad, it's going to take time - but the results will be worth it."

Great start, looking forward to this as it's different to most other stories. Don't usually see Celtic saves as well in fact!

Really cool start and hoping you can lead Celtic to a new level, getting back into the CL is a must!

Suarez to Celtic?

#JoeAllen4TheHoops