Hateley: If Rangers fans want a panto villain they should look to Kyle Lafferty

[ian1964 10,457]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/f...illain-1488998

 

THE former Ibrox striker said he made up his mind to leave five months before the end of last season, ad is now suing for constructive dismissal.

 

STEVEN NAISMITH is a fabulous footballer and, in my experience, a very humble, decent young man.

 

Unfortunately, heâ??s right when he says he canâ??t walk back in through the front doors of Ibrox. Heâ??s no longer welcome there.

 

I take no pleasure in saying such a thing because Steven is a level-headed guy and someone with whom I have at least some level of affinity.

 

Like me, he was lucky enough to wear a Rangers shirt as a player and, like me, he still considers himself a Rangers fan. Probably always will.

 

So it must hurt deep inside to know his reputation is now in tatters with the supporters he left behind when he made his move to Everton in the summer.

 

Itâ??s not just that these guys donâ??t care about him any more which would be hard enough to deal with. Even when you leave Ibrox for the last time you want to go knowing you will at least be thought of fondly and forever considered part of a special family.

 

He gave all that up when he refused to have his contract transferred over to Charles Greenâ??s newco. And he probably realised then and there that his relationship with the club he loves would never be the same.

 

What he might not have realised was just how badly damaged it would be or the level of animosity that would remain among the clubâ??s support.

 

And I feel genuinely sorry for him about that. Iâ??m not sure he deserves to be portrayed as some kind of Judas figure but sometimes life isnâ??t fair. That was the price he paid for his ticket to the Premiership and he will just have to live with it.

 

When he opted to leave Rangers with nothing, the fans who had idolised him felt betrayed. Thatâ??s how fans are.

 

They love their club unconditionally and will not tolerate anyone they believe has let Rangers down.

 

When such passion and feeling is involved, there is no room for shades of grey. Itâ??s black or itâ??s white and that's it.

 

And guys like Steven just have to be big enough to accept it no matter how much it stings.

 

But I do have a bit of sympathy for the guy maybe because as a former player I have an understanding of how these things tend to work.

 

Football players concentrate on playing football. They leave the business side of things to their lawyers and their agents and they get on with doing their job on the pitch and trying to further their own careers.

 

If you wind the clock back to the end of last season, you will remember just what a mess Rangers were in. Steven â?? having just got back to his very best form after two years of injury problems â?? was left in a difficult situation.

 

Everyone realised he would have to leave because his aspirations were soaring just as the club was going under.

 

So he took the advice given to him by his lawyers and agents, whose job it is to look after the best interests of their client, and got his move to Everton.

 

He made the most of an awful, awful situation and I canâ??t put my hand on heart and say I blame the boy for that. But neither can I say that fans should be willing to forgive him when there were others â?? most notably Maurice Edu â?? who went about things differently.

 

Edu was another who was always going to have to leave if Rangers lost their SPL place. But he made sure the club got a fee for him by firstly accepting a transfer to Greenâ??s newco. That was a wonderful gesture. But there are others who will take a more cynical view and wonder what his agent was thinking when he could have made sure all the money went to his player.

 

Edu would be welcomed back by the punters tomorrow but a lifelong Rangers fan like Naismith is emotionally blackballed. The same applies to the other five who chose to cut and run â?? Steven Whittaker, Allan McGregor, Sone Aluko, Jamie Ness and Kyle Lafferty

 

And if the Rangers fans want to make a panto villain out of any of them, Lafferty is their man.

 

Heâ??s a real waste of space.

 

Is it right that just last week this numpty was spouting off in some other paper that he had made up his mind to leave Rangers a full five months before the end of last season? That he and his partner couldnâ??t wait to get out of Glasgow?

 

And yet now we find he is one of three players attempting to sue the club for constructive dismissal. Now Iâ??m no lawyer but is this guy for real?

 

Lafferty has shown himself to be a selfish man and a stupid one. God knows, he wasnâ??t even a good Rangers player.

 

He certainly didnâ??t come remotely close to providing value for the money â?? more than £3million â?? he cost them before heading to Swiss side Sion.

 

He was a self-centred liability then and remains so today.

 

So while I do feel a little sorry for Naismith and others who did give their heart and soul to the club and were also willing to take 75 per cent wage cuts in its hour of need, I have no time at all for Lafferty.

 

Switzerland isnâ??t far enough away.

[Whosthedado 1,523]

Lafferty still isnt the one that annoyed me the most I'm afraid, The wee turncoat at Everton still holds that title

[EDGE 0]

Fuck getting annoyed about such trivial matters. What's done is done.

 

Lafferty got a shit load of grief from the Timothy and some Rangers "fans" too. If he wanted to leave then who can blame him?

 

With Naismith I just can't get annoyed at him. I've met him a few times and he's sound. And I loved how he loved playing for Rangers. I can understand how others are annoyed at him but for me, it's just a total waste of energy and emotion.

[Anchorman 0]

I don't give any of them the remotest thought to be honest. When they leave My Club I'm afraid the newspaper that carries their story is for wrapping my chips in. No interest whatsoever.

Silo mentality? Maybe. Never professed to be enlightened. As the old Lex Mclean sketch goes "can I get in for half price 'cos I'm only here to see the Rangers?".

[gisabeer 409]

why do we need a panto villan?

[EDGE 0]

why do we need a panto villan?

 

Oh no we don't!

[gisabeer 409]

Oh no we don't!

 

Your P45 is in the post

[simplythebest 0]

Fuck getting annoyed about such trivial matters. What's done is done.

 

Lafferty got a shit load of grief from the Timothy and some Rangers "fans" too. If he wanted to leave then who can blame him?

 

With Naismith I just can't get annoyed at him. I've met him a few times and he's sound. And I loved how he loved playing for Rangers. I can understand how others are annoyed at him but for me, it's just a total waste of energy and emotion.

 

Well good for you, but for many anger is a way of dealing with what is seen as betrayal.

[EDGE 0]

Well good for you, but for many anger is a way of dealing with what is seen as betrayal.

 

Thanks.

 

Getting angry wont change a thing. Unless you're going to punch fuck out of him then its a complete waste of energy.

[bossy 0]

To me, Lafferty comes across as being a thick and very self-centred bassa rather than a panto villain