Steve1872 4 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Players walking out and refusing to play for the new team. Just a dozen or so homegrown starlets to pull on the jersey. And no guarantees which league â?? if any â?? theyâ??ll be playing in. Bruce Rioch knows what Ally McCoist is going through. But the man who led Middlesbrough through their liquidation hell insists Rangers can survive. And he reckons the bonds forged by those who DONâ??T do walking away will exist forever. Rioch told SunSport: â??This situation can do one of two things. It can deflate you or it can inspire you. At Middlesbrough, it inspired us. â??I know there will be some Rangers players who will feel they need to leave because they have wives and children to feed. â??They might be worried about the financial situation. But I know from my own experience that they could miss out on something really special that will stay with them forever.â? Steven Davis, Allan McGregor, Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker, Kyle Lafferty, Rhys McCabe, Sone Aluko, John Fleck, Jamie Ness and Juan Ortiz have all quit the Gers newco. Gregg Wylde and Mervan Celik left long before the club plunged into liquidation. Lee Wallace has joined Lee McCulloch, Neil Alexander and a handful of kids in revealing he wants to stay and fight on. And ex-Scotland skipper Rioch insists theyâ??ll NOT regret sticking with crisis-torn Gers. He said: â??I canâ??t remember any low points because I was just focused on being positive. I just focused on inspiring and lifting other people and I am sure that Ally will be doing the same. â??The players will have a chance to start a new era. With Ally in charge, they have an inspirational leader in their midst. â??We had a band of brothers that pulled us through when times were really tough and Iâ??m certain that will happen at Ibrox. â??I would not say there was a secret to our success. But the factor in the Middlesbrough story of 1986 was the fact that the majority of the players were homegrown. â??They wanted to stay with Middlesbrough and they wanted to play with Middlesbrough and that meant they turned into a band of brothers. It formed a bond of friendship that will last a lifetime. â??Some went off to other clubs which was their right. But they missed out on a close collaboration that the boys who stuck around always will have. â??It was almost unique and that is something that the Rangers players who stay at Ibrox will enjoy.â? More than 25 years after Boroâ??s liquidation hell, Rioch recalls a spirit-sapping summer of fear and uncertainty. It mirrors so much of the chaos and anxiety sweeping Ibrox as Gers get ready for life outside the SPL. Rioch added: â??We released about 20 players at the end of the season and kept just 14 or 15 players. â??The fans rallied round the team when they saw how guys like Tony Mowbray, Colin Cooper, Stuart Ripley, Alan Kernaghan, Gary Parkinson, Gary Hamilton and Gary Pallister thrived in the face of adversity. â??A tremendous camaraderie developed between the players and the coaches and the fans and the consortium that took over. â??There was a lot of speculation about the club going out of existence. That was right from the end of one season until the eve of the following season. â??We werenâ??t allowed to play pre-season friendlies because we werenâ??t insured. The best we got was a closed-doors friendly with Sunderland. â??We didnâ??t have enough players for the second team so we asked players from Billingham Synthonia if they would like to play. â??It was daunting but Tony Mowbray was instrumental in everything we did. He was a good young captain who inspired the other young players. â??We won back-to-back promotions and that provided the foundation for Boro to go on to great things under Bryan Robson and Steve McClaren. â??The club won its first major trophy in 2004 and went to the UEFA Cup Final in 2006. â??No one could have imagined that when the padlocks were put on the gates at Ayresome Park by the bailiffs and we had to train on local parks. That just shows that it need not be all doom and gloom.â? Rioch admits heâ??s been shocked by the demise of Gers. He added: â??It is hard to think that a club of Rangersâ?? stature would not be involved next season. â??Ally is vitally important to making sure Rangers do bounce back from what has been a disastrous and humiliating episode in a proud clubâ??s history. â??I would imagine that they will be inspired to go forward. â??I think that Rangers can come out of this stronger than ever. â??Rangers fans who might be fearing the worst should not be too downhearted. â??I hope, like many people hope, that this situation can be resolved so they start going upwards again after all the trials and tribulations of this year.â? Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4402964/We-didnt-walk-away-at-Boro-my-brave-boys-made-club-great-again.html#ixzz1zELdXyOG 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve1872 4 Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 â??They wanted to stay with Rangers and they wanted to play with Rangers and that meant they turned into a band of brothers. It formed a bond of friendship that will last a lifetime. WATP 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Moon 1,120 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Rioch gives us something we haven't had for a wee while - hope. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Bet Middlesborough didn't have fan groups and explayers calling for ST boycotts and not to buy merchandise, boycott sponsors. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.