Gough article

[maineflyer 0]

Rangers legend Richard Gough has told the powder-puff Ibrox side to do their fighting on the park.

 

Madjid Bougherra and Kenny Miller had to be pulled apart during a training ground bust-up last week as we revealed yesterday.

 

And nine-in-a-row skipper Gough insists it's time Gers showed more battling spirit in games. He said: "Looking at the last two games against Stuttgart and Aberdeen, Rangers should show more fight on the park.

 

"Maybe this will bring something out in them.

 

"Maybe Davie Weir will tell them 'let's not fight with each other, let's fight other teams more than we have done.

 

"In the past two games, Rangers haven't laid a glove on their opponents. That will be a worry for Walter Smith."

 

Miller and Bougherra scrapped after the Scotland star criticised the Algerian World Cup ace for returning from international duty late.

 

Gough insists he understands Miller's grievance - but reckons he should not have slated him publicly.

 

He added: "It's funny because, in my time, there were a lot of fights that didn't get into the press.

 

"It seems this was only a wee flare-up but it got out.

 

"Obviously, a couple of things have happened.

 

"Bougherra has come back late and a couple of lads have criticised him publicly.

 

"That wouldn't have happened in my day, either.

 

"These things normally happen when you start to get put under a bit of pressure - and Rangers are under pressure because they are not playing well."

 

 

 

Alexander Hleb helped Stuttgart cover themselves in glory at Ibrox.

 

What Richard Gough can't stomach is that the Belarussian star wasn't covered in bruises.

 

Rangers legend Goughie could barely believe what he was watching as his old club crashed to their latest Champions League defeat.

 

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Hleb didn't so much run Gers ragged last Tuesday night. He strolled it.

 

Gough thinks back to the nine-in-a-row days when opposition players really had to earn their Ibrox wins.

 

Now he reckons they're being gifted them - with Hleb and others given far too much respect.

 

Gough said: "We had a core of very strong characters and I think that's why there were bust-ups as, mentally, they were strong.

 

"The Hateleys, McCoists, Gorams, John Browns, Stuart McCalls, Ian Fergusons - a lot of nasty people in the best possible way.

 

"I think that is what Rangers are sometimes missing right now. A few nasty pieces of work.

 

"I read a great quote after the Stuttgart game that I would have stuck up on the wall.

 

"Hleb was their best player and he came off the park saying he didn't have a scratch on him.

 

"I'm surprised Walter Smith hasn't got that up on the wall. I know the game has changed in terms of referees clamping down.

 

"But when he comes out and actually says he expected a rough, tough physical game and didn't get a scratch, it's a surprise.

 

"That should stick in the defenders' minds.

 

"That should be an alarm bell, a light going off in the heads of the defenders.

 

"When I was defending, I would say that if people are going to come into our area of the pitch then they're going to get hurt and we'll see how brave they are.

 

"That was our job. If they wanted to come into our penalty box, they were going to find tough people.

 

"Sometimes I feel that is not happening. It was too easy for Stuttgart to tip-tap their way around." Gough reckons the reaction of the fans to the recent defeats is what's most worrying of all.

 

These days he believes they accept second best.

 

He added: "I feel there is a dearth of quality.

 

"But I was at the Stuttgart game and even the crowd weren't their usual selves.

 

"They weren't getting on the team's back because they maybe realised it simply wasn't there.

 

"It was a really strange atmosphere at Ibrox that night, like an acceptance. I was sitting with my friend and saying if it was 10 years ago, we'd be getting booed off the park.

 

"There is a lack of something and maybe it just comes down to quality.

 

"Stuttgart are near the bottom of the German league, yet played very well. The thing is, though, you can only play as well as you are allowed to.

 

"It looked like men v boys last week and that was a disappointment.

 

"It's funny because with the difference of three or four players - guys like Cuellar, Darcheville, Cousin and Ferguson - that team got to the UEFA Cup Final.

 

"But having four or five players of higher quality in the spine of your team can make a huge difference."

 

Gough has heaped high praise on Davie Weir in days gone by. Now he sees an ageing veteran beginning to look his years.

 

He added: "Davie was going well, but then I saw him saying he was starting to feel tired. That happens when you lose a few games, though. It's okay when you're winning.

 

"I was back here to see the Scotland matches against Macedonia and Holland, when he made a wee mistake. I think that has knocked him.

 

"He seems a bit more tired than this time last year.

 

"But he's 39 now and he shouldn't even be playing for Rangers when you think about that. He has done a remarkable job."

[Zappa 0]

Gough probably likes Lee McCulloch then....

[Bluedell 5,329]

Difficult to argue with anything Gough says. Walter should take it on board.

[bmck 117]

"It was a really strange atmosphere at Ibrox that night, like an acceptance. I was sitting with my friend and saying if it was 10 years ago, we'd be getting booed off the park."

 

telling comment. there have been quite a few players (and even the manager) who have bemoaned either subtly or explicitly the fans getting on their back. at least some players are motivated by the fans desire for excellence. i think his next line was unfortunately correct - they have to bemoan it because its not there

[maineflyer 0]

I understand completely why many will disagree but I'll stick with what I've said for years and start measuring Richard Gough for the manager's jacket.

[bmck 117]

I understand completely why many will disagree but I'll stick with what I've said for years and start measuring Richard Gough for the manager's jacket.

 

He never really set the proverbial Heather alight at Livingstone, did he?

[maineflyer 0]

He never really set the proverbial Heather alight at Livingstone, did he?

 

I don't know who Heather is but I thought he did a very good job at Livingston but I'm not sure that is the issue, nor was it ever going to be a meaningful assessment of suitability for the Rangers job.

 

Scot Symon managed Rangers for 13 successful years. He came to the job without relevant experience of management elsewhere and it disadvantaged him not a jot. Who will question Jock Wallace's managerial pedigree, did it hold him back? We currently have one of the most experienced managers in the game and that isn't exactly establishing a strong correlation between experience and ability either.

[bmck 117]

Heh, didn't realise I capitalised the 'h' in heather there.

 

Hmm. All valid points, but I don't think he's going to bring the kind of mentality we need. I'm not sure we need another 'lets get stuck in and battle it out' manager, harking back to the good old days of nine a row. If we're going to go forward I think we need someone with either the will or, preferably, the experience of bringing through youth players and with a decent knowledge of cheaper footballing markets. Maybe I'm still indulging the dream that if we started properly doing this youth thing, and producing our players we could be like Ajax and eventually come to hold our own in europe. Maybe given that that's folly, someone like RG may be ok.

[maineflyer 0]

Heh, didn't realise I capitalised the 'h' in heather there.

 

Hmm. All valid points, but I don't think he's going to bring the kind of mentality we need. I'm not sure we need another 'lets get stuck in and battle it out' manager, harking back to the good old days of nine a row. If we're going to go forward I think we need someone with either the will or, preferably, the experience of bringing through youth players and with a decent knowledge of cheaper footballing markets. Maybe I'm still indulging the dream that if we started properly doing this youth thing, and producing our players we could be like Ajax and eventually come to hold our own in europe. Maybe given that that's folly, someone like RG may be ok.

 

I agree strongly that Rangers need to be talent producers. Frankly, I don't know Gough's attitude to this but I think he will base whatever he does on pride and motivation, without which no one will succeed. I think he would bring a togetherness upon which all sorts of things could be cultivated. See your point though.

[alexscottislegend 2,059]

While I always thought Gough was manager material, I cannot agree with his suggestion that we need a few 'nasty' characters. I don't see how John Brown or Ian Ferguson would improve our current side; in their day they had ball players like Laudrup and Gazza to supplement their aggression. what we lack now is artistry and class - like the aforementioned Hleb. And we have big Lee to represent the street-fighting ingredient.