wished for a better send-off. A week after clinching the flag, the Gers
completed the Treble in the Cup Final and the Dutchman bowed out with a
medal haul of three League, three League Cup and three Scottish Cup, a
Treble-Treble if ever there was one. Nice work.
He now intends to take some time out, to be with his bird and the kid she is
expecting and all Bears will wish him well. Numan came to Rangers with the
reputation of a class act. He served us well, lived up to all expectations,
maybe even enhanced his image, and he always seemed to appreciate the value of our support so I will certainly remember him as one of us.
Arthur's move from PSV to Rangers was done and dusted even before Tricky
Dicky had officially succeeded Walter. We'd never properly replaced David
Robertson (Staale Stensaas/Tony Vidmar? Gimme peace!) and there was a
distinctly unbalanced look to our defence prior to his arrival. The sight
of his caped crusader romp around the Piggery after his first trophy
success, the League Cup Final v St Johnstone in 98, was a joy to behold.
A lot of happy times appeared to be on the cards but injury intervened, he
missed out on the clinching of the Caat Man's Treble and there were doubts
about him returning to the side. However, he made a full recovery and, with
Amo injured, he was the man who skippered the Gers on the
never-to-be-forgotten Orange Day celebrations. Little did we know 22 months
would pass before we were partying again.
It is to Arthur Numan's credit that he was still around when events once
more turned our way. He didn't toss the rattle out of the pram when it all
went sour. He stuck to his task, got on with the job calmly and
efficiently, went about his business with the minimum of fuss - and that is
how I'll remember him. He was no Flash Harry, not the sort of player to
land the team in trouble or to demean opponents by embellishing things.
It is therefore a great pity that he has had a bit to say for himself in the
wake of his departure. So Bain shifted the goalposts while negotiating a
new deal? Well, that is exactly what we would expect from such a shifty
character. But what purpose was served by running to the Press Gang? Bain
doesn't have a good name to lose so the only reputation on the line was that
of Rangers, the club which paid Arthur handsomely, even during his lengthy
lay-off through injury.
Arthur now intends to go into the travel business and plans to return to The
Brox on a regular basis. On those visits he is sure to be invited to many
supporters' gatherings and it strikes me that these functions would be a
better platform to voice his gripe with how things didn't out. He would
confirm that he hoped to stay with the Gers, only for Bain to do his Del
Trotter impersonation, maybe the story would leak to the Hack Pack, but by
then Big Eck would have things sorted out for the season ahead and less
damage would be done to the club's image.
I'm sorry Arthur chose to break the story now but I'm even more sorry that
petty penny-pinching has cost our club the services of a top quality player.
Perhaps Michael Ball is at long last ready to give us a shift and fill the
Numan role on the left side of the defence. I certainly hope so and,
bearing in mind his ever-growing role in the break-up of the Treble winning
squad, Martin Bain should also be losing some sleep over how it all might
pan out.
LITTLE BOY BLUE