Rangers sack LeGuen....

(this has been the excuse from the media all season, that Le Guen just doesn't understand Scottish football)

lol@alexrae

(so I can sit back and laugh)

Not Alex Rae, GAVIN Rae. Alex Rae currently clogging his way up the First Division as Dundee player/manager.

I personally rather wished he'd been given the chance to tough it out against Ferguson, if only because it was such an intriguing story.

He was never going to get to tough it out against Ferguson. The way Le Guen was talking last week, I think he knew he was going. The press were reporting it oddly too - usually it would be "Barry Ferguson has played his last game for Rangers", what they were actually saying was "Barry Ferguson has played his last game for Rangers under Paul Le Guen", which would indicate a belief that Le Guen would go before Ferguson did.

I was only kidding about sacking him for having the wrong accent, by the way. I just wanted to introduce the fact that I was entertained by his pronunciation.

Current favourites to replace Pepe Le Pew are Walter Smith (yeah, because Scotland don't have any big games coming up) and Terry Butcher.

Can you train a football team with Sue Barker up your arse?

"Wallie" Walter "Wattie" "Smudge" Smith odd ons with SkyBet and BlueSq. Coral have stopped taking bets on him.

Poor Scotland :(

Would Walter walk out on Scotland?
I suppose we might see a "fall out" with bosses being engineered in the coming days" with the headlines "SFA idiots fail to offer Smith new contract" and now he takes the huff and the Rangers job.
So the press get what they want and a go at the SFA as usual.

Jim Farry for Rangers boss I say!

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42414000/jpg/_42414153_rangers_split203.jpg

I can't see Ally McCoist as manager somehow.

I believe this is what's known as "damning with faint praise"

Le Guen was getting the boot regardless of what he did to Ferguson. Stripping him of the captaincy was one last token act of defiance. It's done fuck all good (except to Ferguson's ego), but I bet Le Guen feels a wee bit better in himself for having done it - given a big public "fuck you" to a guy that's been pissing him off for months.

I think John Barnes should be considered for the job.

It's done and dusted according to reports. Wattie is "grooming" him and may keep his Scotland role alongside picking fleas out of Coisty's hair.

or Jock/Craig Brown.

While I mention diddies of scottish football. Whatever happened to Terry Cassidy?
x-post

Terry Cassidy fell foul of the White/Kelly dynasty. File under scapegoat, I think.

Ally McCoist = the new Eric Black then?

Surely McCoist isn't gonna be manager?

God I wish Accies had Rangers in the cup. Maybe next round if both get through.

(I was joking about the "but seriously, Barry Ferguson rules Rangers" bit upthread. There is no way I think any one player is bigger than any club. I think Murray's mind was made up anyway, before Le Guen decided to make an example of Ferguson)

Why should Murray stand by Le Guen? He's made shit signing after shit signing, and has left Rangers in a rotten state for whoever takes over - probably worse than when McLeish left. The only reason he would maybe have kept him is possibly to make it look like it wasn't Ferguson v Le Guen that was the last straw and that Murray's his own man who makes his own decisions, but can you see him seriously changing his mind over sacking someone completely unsuited to a job just because it might look a bit bad? He's a winner either way. Either he shows that no player is bigger than the club, or he sacks a rubbish manager. And you can bet your bottom dollar that he'll come out of this smelling of roses.

(for the benefit of our non-Scottish readers, "that cunt Keevins" is Hugh Keevins, an inexplicably high-profile journalist who knows somewhat less than bugger all about football, yet somehow continues to get paid to espouse his views in newspapers and on the radio).

xpost

[Walter] Smith, who has 18 months left to run on his contract as Scotland manager, will be appointed in a supervisory capacity such as director of football, while McCoist will be groomed to take over full managerial duties, with assistance from other former Ibrox heroes like Ian Durrant and Stuart McCall.

Can't fail, can it?

Hopefully if Wattie's there in a supervisory capacity he may be able to do the Scotland job part-time as well, at least for the rest of this campaign.

* yes, I know, he's doing that already without the distraction, yeah, yeah...

And he said of Le Guen: "I suspect he didn't quite appreciate the Scottish psyche.

what the hell is the Scottish psychology/psyche? and how is it different from other nations when it comes to competetive sports?

Article here, btw

And another thing that was quite significant was that when he was so successful at Lyon in France he inherited a successful side and it was a maintenance job there.

He also tries (in a Kevin-Nolan-esque bit of self-promotion) to get himself in the frame to get back as Scotland manager if Walter leaves. Dear God, NO!

hardly psychological 'qualities' exclusive to Scotland tho are they? Rangers still look better than most clubs in French top flight (altho as with the Premiership clubs in the same competition, UEFA Cup form is tricksy).

I swear to God, Steve, that's the way they are painting it up here. They are couching it in "psychology" and "psyche" terms, but what they are basically saying "he's not a Rangers man" - i.e. a West of Scotland Protestant. We had all this "Celtic-minded" pish over the other side of Glasgow (and there are still people around who don't like Strachan because he never played for Celtic, or particularly wanted to), but the successful (if woefully shortlived) appointment of Wim Jansen put paid to that.

Smith
McCoist
Durrant
McCall
possibly Richard Gough

perhaps they could poach the Linfield manager?

I did hear on the radio he was struggling with David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature.

"vous êtes un couple des vagins"

oh well

(I was watching some out-takes programme the other day, the highlight of which was watching Ally repeatedly calling Matt Dawson a wanker. I laughed like a drain. I do find him funny as a rule, but I think that'll wear off now if he gets a real job)

He may just, however, have exacerbated pre-existing schisms in the dressing room between a Scottish coterie and the foreign contingent in developing obsessive paranoia about Ferguson being chief among insurrectionist insiders that also included Kris Boyd. This extended to him being convinced he had evidence that Ferguson celebrated St Johnstone's CIS Cup win at Ibrox; that subsequently sidelined doctor Ian McGuinness was writing sick notes to allow Boyd to miss training with hangovers and that Ferguson was deliberately slowing play down to prevent Rangers capitalising on periods of dominance in recent games.

Apart from big Eck? Capucho anyone? Emerson? Ostenstad? Vanoli? Alex Rae? Mladenovic?

Maybe Eck "underestimated the Scottish game"...

If Smith was going to any other club the press and everyone else would be calling him a traitor. Why is he getting off lightly?*

* No need to answer that, we all know the reason.

The reason Smith is not being called a traitor (apart from the obvious) is that he has asked to stay on part-time as Scotland coach, thereby making it look like he still wants to do it. The fact that the SFA have made it clear that it's a full-time job is neither here nor there.

To play devil's advocate, Smith's current position of being both liked as Scotland manager and wanted elsewhere has never come up before, so press reaction is a tricky one to judge (though, yes, I'm surprised not to see more damning of him from the Scottish press. Perhaps it will follow if the occasion to actually damn him comes to pass. At the moment he's playing everything by the book and still making noises about wanting to continue in charge of Scotland, at least until we get the next two games out of the way).

If there was a better candidate for the Scotland job then yeah let smith leave.
But we might end up with Craig Brown back or BIG ECK.

I will feel betrayed however if Smith does leave Scotland in the lurch. But it doesn't seem that the press will feel the same.

Of course is Murray really wanting Smith to do the Scotland job? He knows fine well the SFA wouldn't allow it. He's not stupid.
Rangers can let it drag out as their season is practically over anyway and the Rangers fans can target their anger at the SFA for not allowing Smith to leave to take the far more important job of a club team instead of abusing Mad Murray*.

*That nickname just wont take off will it?

(A) You're right, irrelevant. Contract him as long as you like, he can still resign
(B) Yeah, two full-time jobs. That'll work.
(C) I haven't seen or heard anyone but you blame the SFA for this.

Of course Murray doesn't want Smith to do the Scotland job. Why would he? Why, in fact, SHOULD he?

It says everything about what's wrong with the game here that Rangers is a more attractive prospect to WS than being the Scotland manager. Part time or not.

OTM. I keep not admitting that this is the case. It is though, isn't it?

Willie Ormond, I think.

It says everything about what's wrong with the game here that Rangers is a more attractive prospect to WS than being the Scotland manager. Part time or not.

The stupid amount of money Murray may be willing to throw at anyone who can get him out of the shit may be the elephant in the room here.

As a supporter of a club who constantly sees players bought by said elephant (Kenny Miller and countless others to thread, not least Brown & Thomson) the elephant is URGENT AND FUCKING KEY HERE.

Willie Ormond = pretty much before my time, though I thought he was sacked. Googling shows different.

I agree you'd think money wouldn't matter, but unfortunately (?) it does. If it didn't then mercenary cnuts like, for example, SGE would have no hold - although he was being paid a decent wage for the England job, what's Wattie on?

THAT GRUFF RHYS FUCKER

Doing both jobs isn't feasible. How can he watch players at other clubs when he's in the dug out at Ibrox? Isn't there a conflict of interest if he's giving caps to Rangers players and increasing their value while ignoring players at other clubs?

He's done a (mostly) good job at Scotland and I'd be sorry to lose him halfway through the Toughest Group Ever.

I can't see him getting what he needs to turn Rangers around either so everyone loses, except Walter's bank manager.

Ah, but he'll have ALL THAT MUNNEY.

Plus, if he's the Scotland and Rangers manager at the same time there might be the outside chance Barry Ferguson isn't injured for a Scotland match. (Like any of us want that anyway)

You missed "Glasgow" from between "the" and "media" in yr first sentence there. ;-)

I don't think it's doing two jobs indefinitely that people want Smith to do, it's a "please just motivate your current squad through the next couple of games" sort of interim thing, which is kind of feasible even if, as you say, somewhat conflicting of interests. Saying that, Sir Fergie managed it.

I can't see Rangers being anywhere near as bad next season. I'd say it's impossible for them to be any worse next season than they are just now.

People said that last season. Lest we forget, as Mad Murray reminded us countless times in defending Polly, 15 out 22 "top" "pundits" tipped Rangers for the title this season.

(btw, other point made on Off The Ball was the pillorying of David Taylor, the heid yin at the SFA, for his appointment of previously-respected-throughout-Europe-soon-to-be-laughing-stock Berti Vogts. As opposed to the pillorying of David Murray, the heid yin at the Rangers, for his appointment of previously-respected-throughout-Europe-soon-to-be-laughing-stock Paul Le Guen.)

Mad Vlad must be pissed off no one gives a fuck if he pulls that stunt.
Apart from Vlad himself who loves being in the papers.

*dies laughing*

What if Walter stays and Scotland get fucked off Georgia?

Funny that the press had stated that The Cardigan was locked in talks with Minty hours after PLG walked away despite no "official" approch to the SFA until the weekend = TAPPING UP

Indeed. I explained why it wont ever happen.

What if Walter stays and Scotland get fucked off Georgia?

He's not staying though.
And if that did happen people would blame it on his heart not being there etc and it was wrong to stop him joining his beloved Rangers.

If he wasn't allowed to be Rangers manager I wonder if any Rangers players would ever be available for Scotland again.
And would any Scotland manager have the balls to enforce the 5 day rule.

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He's going back for money. Simple as.

(xxxpost to Stevem)

Duh, you think? I was countering your foundation-free example with another one. Which is not a terribly sophisticated way of arguing, I know. Sorry.

Remember pretty much no one wanted that job.

Was anyone offered it except Smith? I know others were in consideration, were any of them in a position to say "no thanks"?

Who next for Scotland? Craig Levein, Billy Davies, Davie Moyes, Strachan? Who else is likely to be linked? I'd like Moyes, but I don't really foresee it (lure of the Premiership and that, innit?). Strachan would be an excellent appointment too. IN A FEW YEARS WHEN HE'S READY FOR THE POST.

(haha erm ive no reason to care i suppose, but it is super lame to watch all the same)

I think Everton might pay Moyes a tad more than the £5k a week Walter Smith is reportedly on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/6204818.stm

The Scottish Football Association will now take legal action against him "for breach of contract" and against Rangers "for inducement to break the contract".

I hope they take him and Murray for everything they've got.

-£24M?

Walter Smith for Rangers, ergo Craig Brown for Scotland? Stop giggling at the back there...

Some internets rumours say that McGuiness was giving players sickies from training when they turned up with hangovers. I won't mention players' names as Kris Boyd is already considering legal action against PLG for comments made about the Ibrox "drinking culture".

Craig Brown is touting himself but no-one is agreeing, AFAIK. It's going to be Alex McLeish, I imagine.

SMITH YOU JUDAS BASTARD.

"If you're saying that there's only one person who can manage the team and that's me then you've got a problem," he said.

Smith handily points out David Murray has a problem.

New Rangers manager Walter Smith claims he would still be in charge of Scotland if he had been offered a contract extension by the Scottish FA.

"I was asked if I wanted to enter into discussions about a new contract.

"I said I was happy with the situation the way it was, but that did not stop them from offering me one.

"If they had chosen to offer me an extended contract and I had signed it then I would not be leaving now. It's as simple as that.

"If I had signed an extension then I couldn't have walked out. In my eyes, that would have been wrong."

Smith believes that, instead of threatening court action, the SFA and president John McBeth should be grateful to him for easing the pressure on them after the often chaotic Berti Vogts era.

Right. So they offered you the opportunity to discuss a contract extension, and you turned it down, so it's their fault for not forcing you to renegotiate? Prick.

That rumour was mentioned in the SoS thing I linked to upthread.