more than Kris Boyd but, after his superb performance
against Werder Bremen, Daniel Cousin has certainly
given a lot of us something to think about.
Personally speaking, after he'd ambled through the
first 45 minutes of our home game with Lyon and got
hooked at half-time, I reckoned he was working his
ticket. He didn't want to be here, he didn't care who
knew about it and, with his slippery agent mouthing
off about a dozen top clubs being after him, I didn't
expect his feet to touch the ground as Walter whooshed
him through the exit door.
Strangely, for all the talk about 'major' clubs, only
Fulham were prepared to put up the dosh to trigger the
get-out clause in his contract. For £3 million, I
reckon we were doing well to be rid of him.
But our clued-up chief executive, who had brought him
to Ibrox then prepared to cash in, didn't know the
rules, nor had he done his homework. Initial talk of
a 20 minute appearance for Lens back in July soon
became two or three games, meaning that the move to
Fulham would be his third club in the season. Who
would have thought we'd be grateful for FIFA's stupid
wee rule book?
After what seemed like an age, they finally ruled that
the Fulham deal was not on and Walter found himself
with an unhappy player who was badly lacking match
practice. It says a lot about the gaffer's man
management skills that he was able to coax Daniel
round, get him fit again and, lo and behold, we now
have a very highly motivated number twenty-nine who
looks like having a big part to play in our quest for
honours.
He must be a right feckin handful to play against.
When the ball is played towards him, he is all arms,
holding off his marker, rag-dolling them sometimes,
always getting between the defender and the ball and
holding it up superbly as he awaits support. He is
the ideal man for the lone striker role, as strong as
a bull, yet relatively nimble on his feet.
And he can shift a bit too. On several occasions on
Thursday, he showed Naldo a clean pair of heels, and
of course he played a big, big part in our goals.
Only he reckoned the shot was on when he picked up the
ball 35/40 yards from goal just seconds before
half-time and he certainly caught it right, although
the same can hardly be said for the goalkeeper. At
first he thought it was a simple save, only to be
caught out by the pace of the shot, he didn't know
whether to try to catch it or push it over the top and
in the end he did neither. Nice one Dan!
Throughout the half-time interval, we were all hoping
we would test the keeper early in the second half and
Dan the man did just that. He did well to pull away
from Naldo, again he struck the ball well, hammering
it across the keeper who couldn't hold it and Steve
Davis did the rest.
I feel we could have gone on to put the goalie under
more pressure and I was particularly annoyed with
Charlie Adam for failing to get so many corner kicks
beyond the man at the near post. And Lee McCulloch's
late effort looked like a tap-in, only for Naldo to
get back with an amazing last ditch tackle.
But if we'd been offered a 2-0 lead at 8 o'clock we
would gladly have taken it so we should be grateful
for what we've got and look forward to the second leg
with confidence.
Daniel Cousin will surely have a big part to play in
the Weser Stadium. With Darcheville now free of
suspension, Walter can change things and go for JCD's
more explosive pace ahead of Dan's deceptively languid
style. Then again, having seen Cousin give the Bremen
defence such a hard time at Ibrox, he might opt for
more of the same.
With three domestic trophies and the UEFA Cup up for
grabs, Daniel Cousin certainly has plenty to play for
and in his quieter moments I'm sure he is mighty
grateful to old Guy Le Roux for fielding him in a
couple of games for Lens before he came to Rangers. A
relegation battle at Craven Cottage, one in which the
odds are stacked heavily against Fulham, is hardly the
sort of thing to have him casting envious glances
South, wishing his January move had gone ahead.
Given Fulham's plight and the likelihood of them
playing Championship football next season, I hardly
think they are likely to be back rattling Walter's
door this summer...nor is Big Dan inclined to be
rocking the boat either.
LITTLE BOY BLUE