The curious case of Marco Negri....

Coza

Well-Known Member
Someone with a far better grasp of the nuances of ex footballers is going to have to explain Marco Negri to me.

Signs from Perugia in the summer of 1997 for £4m or so. One of the Italian connection bought to fire us to 10 in a row.

Plays half a season scoring goals a plenty including 5 in one game versus Dundee United. All the time celebrating his goals like he has just buried a family member.

Then a freak squash injury* at Parklands gives him an eye injury that means he doesn’t play again for us that season. (*Amoruso punches him for shagging Porinnis wife allegedly).

Then the next summer the Advocaat revolution begins and Negri is nowhere to be seen in match day squads. This leads to a loan deal to Vecenza in 1999 and many rumblings in the Italian press that Negri hates Scotland and doesn’t want to come back to Rangers.

The loan deal with Vecenza ends and he comes back to Rangers but all the noises from the training staff suggest he has no future at the club as he isn’t showing enough in training. Out of the blue Advocaat, in his third season as manager, mentions his attitude has improved and he starts to get the odd sub appearance including a CL away game versus Strum Graz where he ironically comes on for Sergio Porinni. Again he drops completely out of contention after some lack lustre sub appearances.

In 2001 he signs for Bologna and returns to Italy with a grand total of 33 games or something for Rangers in 4 years. The entire 4 years looking like a man that would rather be anywhere else in the world. Being honest I had personally consigned him to the what could have been bucket and someone who clearly had no affinity with our club.

Fast forward 5-10 years and suddenly Negri is a regular for rangers in all the legends tournaments etc. He writes a book with a lot about his time at rangers (I think although I might have made that up). His social media profile almost out of nowhere also becomes very pro Rangers and he starts to become a regular(ish) face at rangers supporters events.

While I always like to see ex players with an affinity to the club stay involved and continue to be ambassadors for the club, I have always found the Negri situation utterly bizarre. Then I go on twitter tonight and see he is in Zante with Novo and Docherty having a party......all very odd.

So that rant over. What’s the script with the bold Negri?

The cynic in me wonders if he’s a skint man tapping into the blue pound from our very loyal fan base? The purist in me hopes that with time and maturity he realises what a club he once played for and because he never rung that experience dry at the time he is making up for lost time.

Anyone in the know?
 
He scored more goals than Morelos before Xmas.

Unbelievable.

I would love to know if he really did pump Porrinis Mrs:))
 
He disappeared, nobody heard a word then he came out with a book and a lot of fans acted like he was a legend, he makes it pretty clear in the book that he didnt enjoy Rangers, complaining about the doctor,certain team mates, growing a big beard just to annoy Walter, etc his attitude was terrible couldn't wait to leave , he hung up on David Murray when he was asked to play, he tried to claim he didn't want to be here because of the weather but admitted he signed on a very wet and grey day.

Now he is everywhere, weird...
 
He disappeared, nobody heard a word then he came out with a book and a lot of fans acted like he was a legend, he makes it pretty clear in the book that he didnt enjoy Rangers, complaining about the doctor,certain team mates, growing a big beard just to annoy Walter, etc his attitude was terrible couldn't wait to leave , he hung up on David Murray when he was asked to play, he tried to claim he didn't want to be here because of the weather but admitted he signed on a very wet and grey day.

Now he is everywhere, weird...

So I’m not alone seeing him everywhere thinking WTF? He hated it here. Phew.
 
True story.

You offering?
I’ll let you have a little go on my tits :)

True what you say though. I don’t have any answers. Whether he enjoys getting his ego massaged now or he’s just mellowed with age or the moody thing was a persona I dunno.

I actually remember meeting him outside the ground during his “injured” period and he seemed pretty friendly.
 
You're not alone on this; I found it odd when he appeared and everyone accepted him like he due a second testimonial. Baffling!
 
Met him a few times via the “legends” circuits, actually brand new and down to earth guy. Was my hero for 6 months. Can’t really hold it against the guy if hes wanting to make a bit of money.
 
I remember a sub appearance in 2001 at dens or east end park.

Was a hazy night. It was a cup game I am sure.
 
I was thinking this myself a few months ago OP.

Think he has joined the bandwagon as he knows we have a big support base but who can blame him i guess.
 
£4m in 1997 was like £20m nowadays, probably more since there were fewer UK sides in a position to pay that equivalent cash back then.... and still loads of signings at that level were absolute flops.

Thats for us, for Celtic a wee bit later once they had got their act together a bit, for countless English sides.

Aberdeen paid a £1m fee (easily £5m in todays money) for a guy who was generously, looking back, a so-so to decent-ish player.

Amazing when you think about what we spent then for what we achieved.
 
£4m in 1997 was like £20m nowadays, probably more since there were fewer UK sides in a position to pay that equivalent cash back then.... and still loads of signings at that level were absolute flops.

Thats for us, for Celtic a wee bit later once they had got their act together a bit, for countless English sides.

Aberdeen paid a £1m fee (easily £5m in todays money) for a guy who was generously, looking back, a so-so to decent-ish player.

Amazing when you think about what we spent then for what we achieved.

When you think we paid 12m for Flo nearly 20years ago!
 
A weapons grade piss taker but you will get folk defending him because he turned up for a couple of charity events.
I criticised him exactly the same on Facebook years back and he sent me a private message saying he didn't choose to be injured and wished things turned out better.
I genuinely think he's a decent guy who knows Rangers were his pinnacle and it was unfulfilled. He's on Italian TV and doesn't need to trash us for the Scottish media £ like so many ex players.
 
IIRC he got quite a bad injury to his bone in the leg aft one point that kept him out for some time.

I heard that the squash thing did happen and he didnt pump sergios mrs(I prefer men) and he went in the huff as we knocked back a bid from Real Betis(who were spending on Denilson that summer) just after xmas.
 
£4m in 1997 was like £20m nowadays, probably more since there were fewer UK sides in a position to pay that equivalent cash back then.... and still loads of signings at that level were absolute flops.

Thats for us, for Celtic a wee bit later once they had got their act together a bit, for countless English sides.

Aberdeen paid a £1m fee (easily £5m in todays money) for a guy who was generously, looking back, a so-so to decent-ish player.

Amazing when you think about what we spent then for what we achieved.

Let's put it in context.

We paid £500,000 more for Negri than Leeds paid for David Hopkin and £250,000 more than Bolton paid for Dean Holdsworth that same season.
 
Someone with a far better grasp of the nuances of ex footballers is going to have to explain Marco Negri to me.

Signs from Perugia in the summer of 1997 for £4m or so. One of the Italian connection bought to fire us to 10 in a row.

Plays half a season scoring goals a plenty including 5 in one game versus Dundee United. All the time celebrating his goals like he has just buried a family member.

Then a freak squash injury* at Parklands gives him an eye injury that means he doesn’t play again for us that season. (*Amoruso punches him for shagging Porinnis wife allegedly).

Then the next summer the Advocaat revolution begins and Negri is nowhere to be seen in match day squads. This leads to a loan deal to Vecenza in 1999 and many rumblings in the Italian press that Negri hates Scotland and doesn’t want to come back to Rangers.

The loan deal with Vecenza ends and he comes back to Rangers but all the noises from the training staff suggest he has no future at the club as he isn’t showing enough in training. Out of the blue Advocaat, in his third season as manager, mentions his attitude has improved and he starts to get the odd sub appearance including a CL away game versus Strum Graz where he ironically comes on for Sergio Porinni. Again he drops completely out of contention after some lack lustre sub appearances.

In 2001 he signs for Bologna and returns to Italy with a grand total of 33 games or something for Rangers in 4 years. The entire 4 years looking like a man that would rather be anywhere else in the world. Being honest I had personally consigned him to the what could have been bucket and someone who clearly had no affinity with our club.

Fast forward 5-10 years and suddenly Negri is a regular for rangers in all the legends tournaments etc. He writes a book with a lot about his time at rangers (I think although I might have made that up). His social media profile almost out of nowhere also becomes very pro Rangers and he starts to become a regular(ish) face at rangers supporters events.

While I always like to see ex players with an affinity to the club stay involved and continue to be ambassadors for the club, I have always found the Negri situation utterly bizarre. Then I go on twitter tonight and see he is in Zante with Novo and Docherty having a party......all very odd.

So that rant over. What’s the script with the bold Negri?

The cynic in me wonders if he’s a skint man tapping into the blue pound from our very loyal fan base? The purist in me hopes that with time and maturity he realises what a club he once played for and because he never rung that experience dry at the time he is making up for lost time.

Anyone in the know?

I find the whole thing utterly confusing.

We pick up a goal machine out of nowhere, he knocks in a load of goals and then falls out with everyone before sinking without trace.

How that secured him some kind of celebrity status 15 years later is anyone’s guess and it genuinely does bother me.

The life of an ex-Rangers player in the right circles looks like a great time though.
 
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