14 years since Le Guen arrived

[Numan5]

Has Le Guen ever said much about his time at Rangers? Did a quick s search but didn’t really see anything.

 

[Disraeli]

We got one good season out of six from Ricksen. Let’s not rewrite history. He was largely a waster at Rangers.

I’d also agree with the assessment that Le Guen was one of many people in this life shafted by David Edward Murray.

Ricksen had no one but himself to blame for being booted out that summer.
His behaviour on the flight to South Africa was unacceptable for any Ranger. Had it happened under Walter’s watch I have no doubt he’d also have booted him out the club.

 

[GranvillusClutterbuckus]

LeGuen's period always leaves me in a strange place of remembrance.

On the one side, I saw a manager who just wasn't knowledgable, skilled, or adaptive enough to understand and be able to manage cultural differences enough to even begin to make a difference, and on the other side, I saw a group of players disrespecting club hierarchy and authority in favour of press grievance.

Both equally were wrong and should never had darkened the club door again. IMO naturally.

 

[Loki]

Heard from someone who knows someone connected with the club Mcleish and le guen worked on buttons and Walter only got money to spend Cos he refused to come back with no money to fix the mess we were in

 

[Business_Bear]

“We did a good game”

The players behaviour was good.

 

[Business_Bear]

I remember that exciting summer of rumours. Elmander was one that would have been a very good signing but instead we got Sebo.
Like others I don’t think Le Guen did his homework on Scottish football and his career since has been awful.

A few rumours of guys lile Sidney Govou and Kim Kallstrom I'm sure. Not so much from credible sources but I used to visit the Rangers Loyal website and took it all at face value, I was 15/16 at the time!

 

[ICA_86]

I always remember that first game at Fir Park.

The result looked like it was a tight game, but we played some absolutely phenomenal stuff and Buffel should have scored four or five.

Was so hopeful after that.

 

[Battlefield.Blue]

Some of the football we played in the early games in the league was genuinely better than Dick A’s team....

We just couldn’t defend leads and then the pressure got too much for all involved

Strangely enough I kind of felt it wasn’t going to work after the 0-2 game at Parkhead

Apparently Le Guen tried to resign the week after that defeat but Murray persuaded him not too.

Given the size of Murray's ego, it would have been seen as a colossal embarrassment after pulling off what seemed a massive coup in getting him here in the first place then to see him walk less than 2 months into the season.

 

[VGM]

Some of the football we played in the early games in the league was genuinely better than Dick A’s team....

We just couldn’t defend leads and then the pressure got too much for all involved

Strangely enough I kind of felt it wasn’t going to work after the 0-2 game at Parkhead

For all the optimism at the end of July, by the first OF game in September we were fearing a scudding. Such a strange time.

 

[Haining84]

I genuinely thought we were getting a young Arsene Wenger.I ended up counting down the days til he was punted.

 

[Haining84]

Some of the football we played in the early games in the league was genuinely better than Dick A’s team....

We just couldn’t defend leads and then the pressure got too much for all involved

Strangely enough I kind of felt it wasn’t going to work after the 0-2 game at Parkhead

i really wasn’t mate.

We looked good first game v Motherwell but at no point did it come close to Advocaat’s football.

 

[jayd1872]

We also played Linfield pre season IIRC? My first of many trips to belfast

 

[Inspector Blake]

Seems longer that 14 years ago.

 

[JMCK]

I genuinely thought we were getting a young Arsene Wenger.I ended up counting down the days til he was punted.

We might well have had a young Wenger, but what we didn't have was a Tony Adams to buy into Le Guen's ideas. Le Guen has been vindicated, much of what he desired is now common at Aucnenhowie. Hindsight is a wonderful thing at times, Le Guen could have done much worse than have Richard Gough as part of his set up; I think he and Le Guen would have been on the same page.

 

[HandsomeHead]

I think Murray absolutely shafted him.

There is no way he signed here to then have Sebo etc as his transfer targets.

I suspect he was doomed to fail, but I also strongly suspect he was deceived on his transfer budget by Murray.

We went from trying to sign Sidney Govou, Johan Elmander and Steve Mandanda to instead signing Sionko and Letizi on frees and Sebo.

Keep in mind that Celtic also signed Venegoor of Hessalink for nearly £4m that summer - more than we spent on virtually an entire new team.

I’ve always felt Murray shafted him too, despite Le Guen saying at the time he was happy with his budget and refusing to bad mouth him since.

As others have said, he didn’t get any of his big targets that summer and was left with guys who would have struggled for a place in Pedro or Murty’s sides.

He offered to resign just two months into the season. I don’t think you’re doing that if you feel completely backed and supported.

At the same time, it’s obvious he was simply not up to the job and the result would probably have been the same even if he had got all his top picks.

At Lyon he benefited from a Barcaesque infrastructure that had delivered titles before he arrived and continued to do so after he left.

At Ibrox he was effectively charged with trying to create that type of infrastructure from scratch without any real commitment from a jaded and disinterested Murray.

Add to that a failure to understand the Scottish game is completely different to the European one - something that has worrying echoes in Gerrard and Beale’s approach today - and it was a perfect storm really.