ascender 352 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 .... why don't you say what you really think about PLG! http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=why-le-guen%2Ds-got-to-go%26method=full%26objectid=18344203%26siteid=66633-name_page.html 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Quite a long piece RANGERS BOSS ON THE ROPES Ropey Rangers are worse off now than they were under Alex McLeish Two ICT defeats show consistency.. they're consistently not good enough He signed too many duds like Sebo and Sionko who just swan around Levein has done more in six weeks than PLG has done in six months His poor grasp of English means he can't communicate with his players Murray should beg Walter Smith to come back and rescue his old club.Jim Mclean IF I were Rangers chairman David Murray I would be on the phone to Walter Smith this morning asking for his immediate return to Ibrox. The time has come for Murray to show Paul Le Guen the door because Rangers are now an absolute shambles. The French boss has brought no improvement whatsoever to the club in the last six months and is overseeing a team in a worse state now than at any point under Alex McLeish. I reckon Walter would return because surely even he must realise there isn't much further he can take Scotland. The standard of the Scottish game isn't good at the moment, youngsters are not being given the chance to develop and, with one or two exceptions, I'm not convinced the quality of coaching they are receiving at their clubs is especially high. All of that has a knock-on effect for the national team, which is why I'm sure Walter would think long, hard and seriously if he were ever offered the chance to work with his own players again at his former club. The impact Le Guen has made at Ibrox compared with, for example, Craig Levein at Dundee United is night and day. Levein has been in the job only a matter of weeks and already I reckon United are certainties to finish in the top six this season. The transformation in the fortunes of my former club has been significant and equally telling is that it's the same group of players who failed to perform for Craig Brewster who are doing the business for their new boss. The changes at Tannadice are remarkable and there is absolutely no doubt it is down to one thing and one thing only - a good coach on the training ground working his players on the areas he knows need improving most. United couldn't keep the ball out of their net a couple of months ago and now they are one of the hardest teams in the league to beat and it's all because Craig clearly understands the first rule of modern football is not to concede goals. United have turned their season around in weeks while Le Guen continuesto stumble from one catastrophe to another and tests the patience of his chairman and the fans. Le Guen has had long enough in the job to create his vision for the future but his ambitions are fogbound and Murray must be seriously swithering between acting now or at the end of the season, which is as long as I give the Frenchman in the job unless there is a miraculous turnaround in fortunes. I was excited by his arrival in the SPL as the French game has ruled the roost in the last decade and its coaches have enjoyed outstanding success at club and international level. Le Guen arrived with an outstanding pedigree but he struggled in his first game at Motherwell on the opening day of the season and has continued to struggle since. At least losing twice to Inverness Caley Thistle shows consistency - it shows the team are consistently not good enough and I can only feel for the Rangers fans. I've stood with them outside their supporters' club in Kissimmee in Florida on my holidays, waiting for the bar to open at 6.45am so we could all head inside and watch an Old Firm match. I think of them now and the standard of football they are being forced to watch as their arch-rivals from Parkhead stretchover the horizon in the SPL - and it's not even as if they are light years ahead on the pitch. Celtic are doing well at the moment but that's all they are doing. That's no criticism of Gordon Strachan, whom I rate highly, but pounds, shilling and pence dictate quality and the current Celtic side are nowhere near the standard of the Lisbon Lions or even the team of Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton. Several things about Le Guen surprise and disappoint me and the first is the quality of his summer transfers. He has signed too many duds, such as Filip Sebo and Libor Sionko, and although it's a ridiculous statement to make he would now be as well going with kids. Too many of his players have done nothing but swan around. Le Guen would have been better targeting Steven Pressley-types than supposedly outstanding players from abroad. He is also failing to communicate a message because his interviews are shocking and he should not only be trying harder to improve Rangers but also his grasp of the English language. That is a handicap and I wonder how well he is getting his message over on the training ground because the Rangers performance at Inverness was of a standard that was absolutely and utterly ridiculous from supposedly international-class players. The Rangers defence was dreadful and poorly organised and was all over the place as Caley Thistle equalised. Karl Svensson stood at least two yards behind the rest of his rearguard and played the home team onside. Any successful football team is built on strong units and a solid and confident back four is a must but Rangers lack badly in that department. Le Guen is also guilty of talking a load of crap when he downplays the significance of the captain's role in Scottish football. A manager can motivate so much from the sidelines but it is far better to have someone in the middle of the park urging on his team-mates. Rangers sorely lack the influence of a player in the mould of John Greig, who had a keepy-uppy record of three - all involving opposition players. I wonder about the effect of the manager's comments on Barry Ferguson, who is not playing well because he is trying to do the job of everyone else around him while neglecting his own responsibilities. Ferguson is trying to cover every inch of grass but his influence would be better served standing still in the middle of the park and pulling the strings from there while laying into those who are underperforming. The manager must be brave enough to give the captain his head and, with it, the confidence to inspire his team with his drive and desire. Alex McLeish thought I had a bee in my bonnet about Rangers when I criticised his side so openly but no one was more excited than me at the arrival of Le Guen on these shores. That excitement has now given way to despondency as a reign that promised nothing but positives gives way to minus after minus, with Inverness the final straw. I don't know if Walter Smith's phone will ring any time soon but, as another barren season looms, it might turn out to be the best 10 pence Murray ever invests in his club. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I actually think its a great article with some spot on points. But I also think Le Guen has more to offer Rangers if he can get a bit more support. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekont 0 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I don't think he is a million miles from the truth, but it's crazy to be demanding that Le Guen be sacked. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyharley 5 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 It is a good article but i do sometimes feel that Jim takes every opportunity to get stuck into the old firm, sometimes unfairly. Small man/club syndrome or something perhaps. I think Le Guen needs more time but from what ive heard, if Le Guen is to leave it will be his decision, not Murrays. Think his family isnt settling too well in Scotland 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightball 0 Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Pretty hard hitting article! But there is an awful lot of truth in what he says... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 There's been rumours around for a while that PLG would be the one to decide when to quit/move on and this was before the story that was run in some of the papers. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest loyal and blue Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 It will require at least four quality players in january to turn things around and if the yard stick is his previous buys then God help us 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,416 Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 It will require at least four quality players in january to turn things around and if the yard stick is his previous buys then God help us Aye, and there's about as much chance of that happening as us stealing the SPL, again 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I will say "Never Walter Smith again " If Craig Levein is so good let's get him. I still want to give PLG another season but i admit his signings have been pretty crap until now. As Eck also spent a million on a dud the question must be is there really good players at that price? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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