I think Mr Green appreciated the fact I did not walk out on the club in the summer. I was the first guy to state I was going to stay at Rangers and play for them regardless of the division we were in. I’d like to think that was a wee reward for my loyalty.
He also encouraged me to buy shares. He gave me a prospectus to look over and, after taking advice, I felt it was a sound thing to do. I bought £25,000 worth of Rangers’ shares in December 2012. That’s not an investment for me, I’m not interested in making money from the shares. That’s something I did to do my bit for the club and also something that my two sons can inherit so that the family will always have an involvement long after my career at the club is over.
Charles Green definitely has substance to him and I think he is great for Rangers at this stage of our development. I’ve been very impressed with how he defends our club to the hilt. I think he is now immersed in Rangers.
MAY
On the 13th the administrators announce they have signed a binding contract to sell the club to a consortium led by former Sheffield United chief executive Charles Green. The Yorkshire businessman travels to the final game of the season, a win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, and introduces himself to the players in the dressing room beforehand.
An SFA appeal tribunal rejects Rangers’ appeal against a £160,000 fine and twelve-month transfer embargo. But on the 29th there is a dramatic twist and the SFA transfer ban is ruled unlawful in the Court of Session following a challenge from Rangers. Duff and Phelps publish Green’s Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposal to creditors.
As one of the most dramatic months in the history of the club draws to a close, SPL clubs take on responsibility for deciding whether ‘newco’ clubs should be admitted to the competition but reject fixed penalties. Rangers’ administrators provide files requested by SPL in their investigation into undisclosed payments.
JUNE
A crushing blow on the 12th when HMRC announce they will reject the CVA offer and force the club into liquidation. But Green tries to make sure it’s business as normal and Rangers newco formally apply to acquire the SPL share of Rangers FC. The SPL agreed to consider the request to transfer the share. After a couple of weeks of deliberation, Rangers newco applied to transfer SFA membership, it being a requirement for a club to be an SFA member to be eligible to participate in the SFL or the Scottish Cup. The SFA confirmed that it had ‘received an information pack from Sevco Scotland relevant to their membership application’.
JULY
The SPL vote by 10–1 to reject Rangers’ application to play in the SPL. Kilmarnock abstained and only the old Rangers club voted in favour. Rangers then apply to join the Scottish Football League and this is accepted with twenty-five of the thirty clubs voting that the club should be placed in Division Three. Rangers are granted a licence by the SFA. On the 29th Rangers newco plays its first ever competitive game and defeats Brechin City 2–1 in the Ramsden’s Cup.
Green warns Ibrox staff the club faces job cuts in a desperate bid to balance the books. The newco chief executive said there would be ‘huge implications’ of playing in the bottom tier of Scottish football and he admitted to employees: ‘There will be job losses.’
FIFA announce Rangers won’t get a penny for stars who quit Ibrox – but they could land an £800,000 windfall for Steven Davis. Green challenged the decisions of Davis, Steven Naismith, Jamie Ness, Kyle Lafferty and Allan McGregor. They all rejected the transfer of their contracts to a newco and negotiated deals elsewhere. Naismith joined Everton, Lafferty signed for Sion, Ness for Stoke City and Whittaker for Norwich. But FIFA have ruled Green is due nothing for any of them.
McCoist faces a hectic dash to rebuild his threadbare squad after Green accepted the SFA’s twelve-month transfer embargo. The signing ban will start on 1 September, giving McCoist just forty-two days to acquire enough new players to take the club through to the January transfer window of 2014. It’s one blow after another and the SPL continue their moves to strip the club of titles. Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray also sneers at SPL clubs alarmed by their finances and insists they’ll be begging for us back within a year.
AUGUST
Sir David Murray denies any cheating took place during his stewardship after the SPL appoint an independent commission to investigate payments.
SEPTEMBER
Rangers refuse to co-operate with the SPL inquiry. The SPL-appointed commission sets a start date of 13 November for a hearing regarding alleged undisclosed payments during Sir David Murray’s tenure.
NOVEMBER
The SPL hearing is postponed. Meanwhile, the tax tribunal allows Rangers’ appeal in principle on a majority verdict and rules that HMRC’s assessment should be ‘substantially reduced’. Murray International Holdings ‘MIH’ welcome the findings, which they say, ‘leaves minimal tax liability and overwhelmingly supports the views collectively and consistently held by our advisers, legal counsel and MIH itself’. A massive victory for Rangers and a huge weight is lifted.
Walter Smith returns to Ibrox as a director of Rangers. Smith will have a non-executive role.
DECEMBER
Rangers are drawn against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup and immediately a war breaks out between the clubs – Rangers announce they won’t accept their allocation of tickets as they back fans’ plan for a boycott. This is after United were seen as being one of the main clubs against Gers getting back into the SPL during the summer.
Meanwhile, Green reveals the Rangers share issue was a big success. Rangers fans buy around £5 million worth. Around £22 million is raised due to an impressive response from institutional investors.
The year from hell ends with Rangers returning to Hampden, where a last-minute goal from Fraser Aird earns a 1–0 win over Queen’s Park.
19
SIMPLY THE BEST DERBY IN THE WORLD
I MISS playing against Celtic. The fact I’ve probably played in my last ever Old Firm game doesn’t sit well with me. That’s the main thing I’ve found from us being in the SFL. I loved the Old Firm baggage. For me, there is nothing better than getting my sleeves rolled up and getting wired in against our main rivals. Our supporters miss the games too. I always had respect for Celtic management and players because it’s only when you have been in the heat of the battles – especially over a period of time – that you can understand and appreciate exactly what’s involved. The Old Firm games brought the best out of me in some games but also made me lose it and the red mist came down on more than one occasion. The worst one was the 2009 League Cup Final when we lost 2–0 to Celtic after extra-time. Madjid Bougherra missed the game through injury so Kirk Broadfoot partnered Davie Weir in central defence. I was given the role of holding midfielder, to help and protect them as much as I could. I will go back to 16 April 2008 to explain the history of what led to the incidents in the League Cup Final.
April 2008 was an SPL game and we lost 2–1 at Parkhead. Shunsuke Nakamura scored for Celtic but we equalised through Nacho Novo. We were reduced to ten men after Carlos Cuellar was red carded for a deliberate handball. Allan McGregor saved the resultant penalty from Scott McDonald. But McGregor had a bad ankle injury and hobbled off. Neil Alexander replaced him. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored the winner in the 93rd minute. These things happen.
But the referee that night was Kenny Clark and I thought he had a poor, poor game. Paul Hartley caught me very late in the 15th minute and was only yellow carded. For me, it was an awful challenge and he should have been given a straight red. He actually broke my foot with the tackle, that’s how bad it was. I didn’t realise it at the time and played on. Knowing fine well it was a bad one, I was surprised Hartley didn’t apologise for it. It was out of character for him not to hold his hand up to a late one. There was no doubt Celtic – who were chasing us for the title and needed to win – used tactics that were to hammer it into us early doors, to put a few markers down. Some of their challenges were well over the top. They could have been stopped, but
the referee didn’t step in that day as we thought he should have.
We can now fast-forward to the League Cup Final in 2009 and Hartley was at it again with me. His challenges weren’t nasty, they were just niggly, and in my opinion definitely late. Every time I released the ball to play a pass, his boot was left in. I knew what he was up to and this time he was sussed, but I didn’t want to risk a red card. As it turned out, I just couldn’t get the opportune moment.
Completely frustrated, I eventually snapped twice that afternoon. The first came at a corner and I was defending our box. He was in the vicinity and I remember shouting at him, ‘Hartley, you’re getting it from me. If I don’t get you today then I’m coming to your house later.’ I had totally gone. Stephen McManus tried to intercept and told me to calm down. I told him to ‘fuck off’ and repeated the threat to Hartley again. Hartley kept quiet. I knew he wasn’t amused but I couldn’t have cared less about how he felt. Yet I’d known him for years. We played football against each other in the Lanarkshire area when we were kids. We came up against each other in our early days in Scotland when he was with Hamilton and St Johnstone and I was at Motherwell.
We lost the game 2–0. At time-up, I sat on the grass extremely disappointed at losing the game and still raging with Hartley. The Celtic team celebrated to my left-hand side, no more than twenty yards away. Walter came over to me and asked if I was okay. I told him I was far from okay. He told me to calm down but I wasn’t for listening to anyone or taking orders. I was my own man. I had unfinished business. I glanced over in their direction and could see them bouncing up and down and cuddling as they waited to climb the Hampden stairs to receive the trophy. Well, that set me off again. The red mist came down.
I got up and made my way over to them. Hartley was in my sights. He happened to be standing beside Gordon Strachan. I confronted him and challenged him to a fight. I said, ‘Come on, right here and now. Let’s get it on. Down the tunnel, wherever you like.’ Strachan stared at me in disbelief. He had no idea what to think. Hartley was stunned. A few Celtic players spotted what I was up to and pushed me away, back to the Rangers end. I regret my decision but I was hurting badly.
Walter came back over and told me not to be so stupid and to calm down. But, deep down, I think he loved it to see that hurt and desire in me. At least, I hope he did. I suppose my anger also stemmed back to that league game when Hartley broke my foot.
Hartley and I are good friends and we laugh about it now. He was a really good player and I’m glad he had a terrific career as a player and looks to be going to do the same as a manager. We were doing our SFA coaching badges at the same time and travelled to Largs together every day for a week in the summer of 2012.
I struggled to sleep before Old Firm games. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement. I couldn’t wait to get up out of bed and get on with it. Old Firm games were usually lunchtime kick-offs. So we’d have our pre-match meal around 9am. Some of the boys would still eat pasta or chicken at that time but I couldn’t do that. I was two slices of toast with a poached egg. I always eat light, back to the days as a young boy at Motherwell. Stephen Craigan used to say that when you are out on the pitch you don’t want too much food in the belly. He cited the example of a lion, in terms of when a lion is hungry it’s on its paws and on the prowl, constantly on the move. Whereas, if it has eaten then it goes somewhere quiet, lies down and falls asleep. So, that thought has never left me. I’ll have coffee, a slice of toast and a wee spoonful of scrambled egg. I only eat the bare minimum, just enough to keep me going. That’s just one of my many superstitions.
I made my Old Firm debut in October 2007. It was at Ibrox in front of 49,000 fans. What I really remember was the wall of noise when I walked down the tunnel five minutes before kick-off. Honestly, it was like something had hit me, the roar was something I’d never heard before in football. It was as if it had the power to knock you off-balance. It was so, so loud. Just another aspect that’s different about the greatest derby clash in the world. It feels totally different from any other game. It is different from any other game. It’s as though it’s a different football you’re playing with and a different set of fans. The whole match-day experience is just incredible.
My first experience was brilliant. We won 3–0. Nacho Novo scored two and Barry Ferguson got our other goal. The only downside was that I had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside, but I was onside. I slotted the ball past Artur Boruc. It jolted me not see that one count. It deflated me. I played on the right-hand side of midfield. I had Alan Hutton behind me and he was good to team up with. He had great pace and energy. I enjoyed beating Celtic, but I always tried to win with dignity and never, ever tried to rub their faces in it if they had lost to us.
During the many Old Firm games I played in I was deployed in several different positions – from wide right to wide left, centre-half, centre-forward and centre midfield. I did score in a 1–1 draw at Parkhead in January 2010. Celtic had the bulk of possession and we sat in, happy for the game to go that way. Celtic did score through Scott McDonald. My dad told me the television cameras showed Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster celebrating the goal. But it was short-lived. We had to come out a bit. We got a corner kick and Steve Davis swung it over. I peeled off Gary Caldwell, charged towards the front post, and headed it into the bottom corner. The goal was at the ‘Rangers End’ and it was special to do it in front of our own fans. I ran away towards them because I knew my brother Wullie and my nephews were in there and I tried to look for them. Next thing I knew Stevie Smith jumped on me, as did the rest of the lads, and I couldn’t see a thing. It was an important goal. We had a nice gap and we knew avoiding defeat was going to see the title stay at our place. That was an experience!
During his previous time in charge of Rangers, in the nine-in-a-row era, Ally told us that Walter used to say, ‘Let Celtic have the ball, they’ll pass it around but they won’t cause too much damage, then we can use Laudrup and Gascoigne and hit them on the counter, one, two, three passes and then bang – a goal.’ Great tactics from Walter. Celtic may well have been more pleasant on the eye, but Rangers won the titles. Bottom line. Walter’s team talks for Celtic games were perfect. He was never disrespectful towards Celtic, that was never his motivation. He used to focus on us and what a result would mean to the club. He’d spend time pinpointing any weaknesses in the Celtic team.
A key part of the build-up to Old Firm games was making sure that the foreign lads were angry and wanted to rip Celtic apart. We had to drum it into them that Celtic were the enemy and losing was just not an option. On one occasion, just an hour or so before kick-off, Daniel Cousin was on his phone playing games. We had to take it off him. I hated seeing a team-mate being laid back. I wanted him charged up, ready to give every ounce to win the game.
Some of the lads would go into a cubicle and be sick. I could hear them throwing up. I took that as a sign of nerves but I thought that was a positive. I’d rather have that than one of the lads filing their nails. That said, the foreign lads did wonder what the hell was going on when it came to our masseur, Davie Lavery. Davie was up at 5am on the day of every Old Firm game. He’d have a room at the hotel all decked out in photos of Rangers scoring winning goals in Old Firm games and there would be Union Jack towels on the treatment table. The treatment room at Ibrox would be the same.
Davie also liked to get involved in team talks before Old Firm games. Walter would emphasise the point not to get caught up in the atmosphere and let our hearts rule our heads. It was hard enough to win an Old Firm game with eleven men, never mind if you were a man down. As Walter came to the end of his talk, big Davie would appear from nowhere and just say his piece. I think he used to get so wound up that he lost the place a wee bit, but I guess it was just his way of dealing with the pressure. He would shout out, ‘Right, lads, let’s get into them and show we are scared of nobody. We must win this game today. Now, get fuckin’ intaaaeee theeeemmmm …’ And he would then disappear out of
the dressing room.
Our kit man, Jimmy Bell, is Rangers daft. He also drives the team bus for Old Firm games and Cup finals. The rest of the time it will be the designated driver from the bus company. When we played at Hampden he’d be there at least seven hours before kick-off. He got there early to make sure we always got the home dressing room. He never failed. The only time he had no control over it was when we played Queen’s Park at Hampden in SFL Three and they were not for being moved even though Jimmy tried his best.
For Old Firm games, he would have his own routine, and on the bus to Ibrox or Parkhead, he would put his own music on with three minutes to arrival. He would belt out ‘Simply the Best’ as we made our way to the front door of Ibrox or Parkhead. The lads all knew to switch their own sounds off and just soak it up. It was a ritual. We all loved it.
I firmly believe a certain type of mentality is required to survive in Old Firm games over a number of years. You need to be able to cope with the pressure on and off the park that comes with the fixture. You need to be able to look your direct opponent in the eye and believe you are going to beat him. Regardless of my opponent, I always felt I could do that and always knew at some point I would have to go in where it hurts to survive the ninety minutes and to help Rangers win the game. I didn’t have a problem coping if things got a bit tasty. The positive is that if I played well then I’d have the chance of becoming a hero. But it’s borderline and the negative, the exact opposite, is never far away, whether that is getting a red card or being short with a pass-back and it costs a goal. Defeat to Celtic is horrible and something you don’t forget in a hurry.
Simp-Lee the Best Page 20
