Evening Times Article on Walter Smith

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http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks-ignore/walter-smith-needs-assurances-if-success-is-to-continue-1.1026091

 

 

Analysis by Darrell King

 

Share 0 comments 7 May 2010

 

Walter Smith will receive the silverware this Sunday, but will he get the answers?

 

The weekend ahead promises to be one of the most crucial in Rangers� history, as a behind-the-scenes search for clarity on the future goes on, against the backdrop of the club�s first home SPL trophy presentation day in seven years.

 

Smith is becoming an increasingly frustrated figure, and justifiably so. None of us, try and probe as we might, are likely to find out the full extent of the fires he�s been fighting in the past year or so.

 

But the clock is now ticking on the most important issue at any football club ââ?¬â?? just who is the manager going to be?

 

Unless Smith is given guarantees in the next few days that there will be funding to repair a squad that has been hacked at and systematically downsized over recent transfer windows, then he is almost certain to walk.

 

And who could blame him? He has been happy to operate without a contract from the end of January until now, just in case a new owner arrived and didn�t fancy him, thus removing any compensation bill to bring in a new man.

 

But isn�t Smith entitled to now put himself first over club politics? After everything he�s given to Rangers, over many years and not just this second spell, he has earned the right to be treated in a far better way than this.

 

He knows the problems and the issues. In fact, he is the man who has brought many of them into the public domain.

 

More than that, Smith has continued to drive the message in bold red warning letters to the heart of the supporters ââ?¬â?? many of whom still appear to be in denial ââ?¬â?? much to the annoyance of faceless men who have barked orders behind the scenes that he should be silenced.

 

He was one man they could not control, and they dared not push him too far given the chaos that would have ensued had Smith departed during Rangers� title defence.

 

But his patience is now being tested. And if he does go as a result of more financial restrictions being imposed ââ?¬â?? and as of yet budgets have still to be agreed between Rangers and Lloyds ââ?¬â?? then there could be an almighty backlash from a support which holds him in as high esteem as they have done at any time in his two tenures.

 

For instance, last Friday ââ?¬â?? after a week in which the club was again rocked by in-fighting in the wake of revelations that a tax investigation was being conducted with regard to payments made into playersââ?¬â?¢ off-shore accounts ââ?¬â?? Smith met the press to reiterate the need for investment and a plan to take Rangers forward.

 

Almost as he was speaking, Sir David Murray was announcing to the BBC there would be a ââ?¬Ë?limitedââ?¬â?¢ budget for players, which was in stark contradiction to his successor Alastair Johnstonââ?¬â?¢s revelations days before that they still had to meet Lloyds to discover what the business plan would be, a process that will begin next week.

 

With those kind of mixed messages, what chance does Smith have? He has pencilled in 16 players for next term, including the injured Andrius Velicka, two goalkeepers, and two kids in Danny Wilson and John Fleck. He knows that will simply not do.

 

The business plan must identify what will happen to the Ã?£55,000 per week that would be freed up from the possible exits of six out-of-contract players ââ?¬â?? Davie Weir, Kirk Broadfoot, Kris Boyd, Nacho Novo, Stevie Smith and DaMarcus Beasley.

 

Smith knows he needs at least six new players. Does he get that money? Does he get hard cash for transfer fees? And how much? What level of player is he pitching at? These are the issues he must have resolved before any call can be made on what he does next.

 

In the midst of all this, Smith also had to cope with the revelations attributed to would-be buyer Andrew Ellis, who was forced to break cover when the content of his chance meeting and blether with a Sky TV presenter ended up becoming public knowledge.

 

Smith would be offered a new three-year deal, Ellis said in a hurried public declaration, adding that he would offer a life presidency title to Sir David should he gain control ââ?¬â?? which he hoped would happen in three to four weeks.

 

Clearly irked, Smithââ?¬â?¢s response to this was that ââ?¬Å?maybe the chap concerned should speak to me first before speaking about meââ?¬Â.

 

Given the men have never shared a conversation, just what was Ellis thinking about?

 

That episode has only added to Smith�s frustration. But there are two key situations at Rangers right now.

 

Firstly, the immediate future of the manager and the budget for next season with, as we have revealed, senior figures inside the club still fearful of what conditions the bank will try to impose when Johnston meets them face-to-face at the start of next week.

 

Secondly, the ownership issue, which is no further forward. As we stated last week, there are many inside Ibrox who simply do not believe Ellis will follow his interest through, unless there is some hidden business going on behind his proposed takeover that has yet to be unearthed.

 

Time will tell on that, but he has no plans to meet Johnston in the immediate future according to his people, which does appear strange. As does his lack of urgency in calling Smith.

 

Ellis, in fact, is close to being bracketed in the ââ?¬Å?put up or shut upââ?¬Â category that was outlined by Murray in reference to other interested parties last week. But will any of them?

 

The ownership issue, however, is of less immediate concern to Smith. Assuming the budgetary issue is resolved to his liking, then the matter of finding a new owner would be no more than a sideshow, a bearable distraction.

 

It would have no material effect on his day-to-day running of the team, as long as he has the appropriate financial plan laid out, guaranteed, and is allowed to manage without interference.

 

Smith simply wants to know what Rangers 2010 will look like ââ?¬â?? then he can make a decision.

 

While he wants to see the club�s long-term future resolved as much as anyone, it�s what he will have to play with in terms of his team for next season that holds the key right now.

 

Undoubtedly, people like Johnston, chief executive Martin Bain and the supporters want to see Smith given the resources to rebuild and strengthen a team that has won six trophies in three years.

 

Unfortunately, they don�t hold the key to that. The bank do. And given their actions over the past 18 months, will they sanction what Smith needs?

 

If they donââ?¬â?¢t, things may be about to get a lot messier ââ?¬â?? and the most important man of all could be lost in the fall-out.

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King is a class A fud who gets the fanny ready in the mornings, Rangers survived well enough before Smith and will survive after him, no man is bigger than the club, though some like to think they are.