Brendan Rodgers blamed for Celtic superstar's problems

Celtic have had a lot of issues this season. That is the reason why we have seen a treble-winning side from the previous campaign struggle to win games convincingly against even relegation contenders. Their recruitment is a major reason behind that, as most would agree that the squad has been weakened since the summer despite making plenty of signings.

It is not just down the recruitment issues though. It is undeniable that Rodgers' style of football has had a negative impact on this squad as well.

Barely any players have improved since Rodgers' arrival. On the other hand, some of Celtic's best have been struggling for form all season.

The biggest name in that regard is Kyogo Furuhashi. The Japanese forward was hailed as Celtic's best player since Henrik Larsson last season, as he scored 34 goals across all competitions. Those numbers have dipped considerably even though he continues to be a man for the big occasions, having scored in both Glasgow derbies as well as against Atletico Madrid and Lazio.

Rodgers blamed for Celtic superstar's problems

Kyogo's dip in form can be directly linked with the change in system under the management of Rodgers. The forward quite simply is not getting the chances that he was last season and the slower build up play does not make use of many of his strengths.

As reported by GIVEMESPORT, Dean Jones said when talking about Rodgers and Kyogo:

"I think it'd be an easy way out to say Celtic didn’t back Rodgers in the transfer market. I think a lot of the blame lies with Rodgers as to why Celtic are in this position. I think you can look at various examples of things that have gone wrong, but, for instance, Furuhashi has about half the number of goals he had at this stage last season. I think Rodgers should be looking at ways to optimise his output.

“Honestly, it’s not even Furuhashi who's fallen away in that sense and is not playing at his best level. Other attacking figures at Celtic are just not producing their best ability. Sometimes, it looks like the reasoning for that is because of their positioning in the team and the general team setup. I think this is when Rodgers needs to take this criticism on the chin and find fixes rather than excuses."

Kyogo is not the only top player who has struggled since Rodgers' arrival. It has been a pretty similar story for Reo Hatate as well. Yes, the midfielder has spent the majority of the season out injured but even when he has featured, he has looked nowhere near his best.

Daizen Maeda, Alistair Johnston and Greg Taylor are similar examples. And one could argue that the ever-consistent captain Callum McGregor has not been at his best either.