There you go two short sentences (in impeccable English too) but what a way to kick start and emphasise your authority in your new job. Way to go Mr Le Guen. And just to put the tin lid on matters we then read the following;
“A senior player said: "It was Fernando just being Fernando. The manager was livid. But we have been told not to comment. The boss has been very strict up until now. He told us last night that Rangers come first - ahead of everyone."
I mean, who needs Escort or Razzle when you have a Rangers manager who acts like this?
Although I think he has been singled out and harshly treated by the authorities down through the years there can be no getting away from the fact that Fernando Ricksen at times has been his own worst enemy. That it looks as if this particular blot on our landscape might well be jettisoned off the pay roll by the time you read this makes me one very happy bear. In my opinion he is third only to Flo and Prodan in being a severe drain on our club's resources. That's some serious company to be in.
Who knows maybe the manager rates Ricksen and intended to give him one last boot up the ‘Charles Bronson' but he then came away with the following classic; “I think I may have played my last game because I don't know if I can work with a manager who treats me like that. I would have accepted a fine but to be sent home is just ridiculous.” Can you hear the drums Fernando? They're sending out your marching orders methinks.
Rangers managers have always seemed to have been of a mixed variety in terms of how they have been perceived discipline wise. William Wilton was thought of (and probably still is) of being the ultimate gentleman.
Bill Struth on the other hand is thought of as the ultimate disciplinarian. We reverted back to the ‘softer touch' with Scot Symon and Davie White carried that particular torch for another two years in the late 1960s.
Most people I have listened to regards that period in Rangers history thought White was too lax and a firmer hand was needed and it came in the shape of Willie Waddell and then there was Jock Wallace. The biggest irony is that the man who took over the reigns from Wallace (John Greig) will forever be remembered for his true grit on the park and being something quite the opposite as a manager. The rest as they say is modern history.
I think we all loved how DA imposed himself on the players at the start; (as we once again perceived that Wattie was ‘too saft') fining them if they turned out late and so forth. Yet it turned out to look pernickity and altogether too stuffy when across the road O'Neill got a bunch of players walking through brick walls (and diving) for him. There is a fine line between cracking the whip and breaking the camel's back it would seem.
The last time I can remember there being such a public spat between a Rangers manager and a high-profile player was 18 years ago (my how time flies) when Souness binned Graham Roberts to the reserves after a nothing incident at the end of a nothing game.
There is a world of difference this time around however. Back then that particular decision split the Rangers support down the middle. Whilst some were happy to see the manager have the last word with regards to in-house discipline just as many people thought Souness went way over the top and might even have been jealous of Roberts' cult status amongst the support.
With regards to the Le Guen versus Ricksen bout in the here and now? It is an absolute no contest, the manager has the support of everyone. I also think there is a crucial difference. Souness to my mind thought he was as big as the club and made decisions for his sake. Paul Le Guen comes across already as someone who wants to do things first and foremost for the good of the club. Just my opinion.
I don't know if it is a measure of how lax we thought the Alex McLeish regime was (and remember he was nae mug as a player) or how desperate we have become as a support but the image of a Rangers manager taking an early summer jog across a desert is a powerful one. The self discipline required here takes us way off the map and makes the thoughts of Wallace's Gullane sands look like a stroll in the park.
How good is that we have a manager who will strive to make sure his players are as fit as he is and just as importantly expects his players to behave like normal human beings on an aeroplane?
Vive le Revolution,
The Govanhill Gub.