FFers everywhere and rightly so. You don’t get to be the captain of
Marseille if you can’t play a bit and, having checked out a few tapes
of him in action during their run to the UEFA Cup Final a year ago, I’m
convinced he is the sort of player who can make a major contribution to
Rangers.
But you’ll forgive me if I don’t add my voice to the adulation being
showered upon our mutual friend Martin Bain. Despite signing a four
year contract, Hemdani’s long-term Ibrox future is far from certain.
Memories of how Jean-Alain Boumsong arrived, then quickly moved on,
still needle this Bear and, while the impact the cash had on the second
half of our season cannot be overstated, we don’t want to see Rangers
used as a stepping stone on a regular basis. A simple statement to this
effect is all it would take to dispel my fears. Until then, I reserve
the right to be suspicious.
Who knows? Maybe it is all just a dastardly plot to needle the Queer
Fella from the Gherald. What about his petulant piece on Thursday? Hey,
the Daily Retard is no friend of Rangers but, if slipping them a snip
or two gets on Britney’s tits, I’m all for it. But before the Anderston
Quay mob return to type, I’d like to see the Minted One feed a few
lines to the super soaraway ‘we think its all over’ Sun, just to make
sure the Hack Pack knows who is calling the shots. Speirs’ exclusion
from the Tufty Club and his Mammy Daddy response to missing out on the
Hemdani story is a clear sign there is panic at the Gherald. It would
be good to think a calculated stategy is being implemented which will
also keep the Sun and the Retard in line. No harm hoping!!!
Meanwhile, I can’t understand all the ‘where will he play?’ questions
surrounding Hemdani’s place in the team. The guy is a top quality
defender, the spare man operating behind two solid centre-backs, who
offers cover when required then brings the ball out from the back, or
turns defence into attack with one penetrating 50/60 yard pass. And
we’re not talking wild hoofs up the park here, this bloke can knock a
long ball into the path of a team-mate who won’t even need to check his
stride to get the thing under control. In many ways, the new man
reminds me of Bobby Moore, a great reader of the play, strolling
through the game but always there when needed, a bit like a young Frank
de Boer or the sort of player Amo liked to think he was.
Of course, with Rangers sure to dominate the play in the bulk of SPL
fixtures, he will get the chance to venture forward more often than not
so again his passing ability will be a major asset. It may well be that
Big Eck plans to use him in front of the back line, a role I once
fancied for Zurab, making use of Brahim’s excellent distribution a
little further forward. Wherever he is used, he will seek to make
positive use of the ball, rather than the speculative hit’n’hope
approach of many defenders.
So Rangers have got themselves a gem but, while it is nice to hear he
was impressed by the facilities at Auchenhowie and Ibrox, given
Rangers’ ropey finances and Scottish football’s lack of credibility, I
can’t help wondering about what persuaded him to prefer us to clubs
like Betis, Leverkusen or Everton. Here’s hoping it wasn’t the promise
of a lucrative sell-on deal.
LITTLE BOY BLUE