of years of experience of the English game, I'm expecting the former
Falkirk, Millwall, Sunderland and Wolves man to make his presence felt, to
see to it that Rangers win more than their fair share of 50-50 challenges
and hold on to the ball once the get it.
Of course, Alex has a reputation of putting himself about and this was
evident from the reception he got from the home crowds in the pre-season
games at Fulham and Newcastle. And just in case anyone missed the point, he
spoke to our friends in the Press about 'putting my foot in'and they, true
to form, focussed on that particular line big-time. I'll bet he wishes he'd
been a bit more guarded with his comments.
The Hack Pack's reaction to his brief spat with CSKA's Dadu on Tuesday may
have surprised Alex but that merely shows how little he has seen of the
Scottish Press in action in recent years. When he came out of the incident
without so much as a yellow card, I just knew those reptiles would be quick
to grab the moral highground, splash close-ups of the clash all over the
back (and front!) pages and once more leave a Rangers player wondering what
the Hell is going on. Get used to it, Alex, this is the way these scumbags
work and they¹ll undoubtedly have a few more dirty tricks up their sleeves
as the season unfolds.
Don¹t get me wrong, I¹m not portraying Alex Rae as being whiter than white
here. He was reckless to go in so hard when a player¹s head was so close to
be ball, even more so because it was in the non-threatening area of the
halfway line. But Dadu wasn¹t too bright either, maybe even trying to be
clever by shielding the ball with his coupon, putting the onus on the
Rangers man to pull out of the challenge. But he didn¹t shirk it and, as he
reflects on events, Alex will probably agree he would have been better to
stay close to the man on the ground, make sure the ball didn¹t get out of
the melee, then leave the ref to decide that the Russian was guilty of
dangerous play.
To the referee¹s great credit, he was right on top of the incident, whistled
immediately and gave a free-kick TO RANGERS!!! He brushed Russian hysteria
aside, got the game restarted straight away and, had it not been for
Scottish media outrage, it probably would not have occurred to CSKA to make
more of the issue. But prompted by the tone of questioning at the
after-match Press Conference, the Russians saw an opportunity to deplete
Rangers ranks for the return leg, stories of Dadu suffering from concussion
began to circulate and UEFA are now involved.
Alex Rae has presented the Hack Pack with a gift, an early opportunity to
put the pressure on Rangers and, regardless of how UEFA react, he is already
walking a tightrope for the trip to Breezeblock Boulevard on August 29. The
Rae-Lennon battle was always going to have a significant influence on the
outcome but, in the wake of recent events, I feel Alex is now at a distinct
disadvantage.
He and Lennon may fill similar roles but the tone of coverage of their play
is very different. Last season Lennon, despite leaving his foot in tackles
more often than not and being involved in numerous unsavoury incidents, was
largely portrayed as the victim, being on the receiving end of Oracist
abuse¹ from fans and having a wee bit of graffiti daubed on his street.
Meanwhile, Alex is being slaughtered for his over-zealous approach, with
words like Ovicious¹ and Othuggish¹ being used unnecessarily.
All of which is no surprise whatsoever. It was very interesting to read the
Daily Rebel¹s list of ¹Ten Other Stars Caught On Camera¹. Five of the
incidents involved Rangers players (Ricksen, Big Dunc, Moore in the Piggery
tunnel and Amo twice) while Thompson and Douglas v Moore and Balde
clattering Fenwick were the Sellick players mentioned, although Hartson¹s
booting of Berkovic at West Ham and Lennon (the victim again!) getting
sorted out by Alan Shearer were included. Are our players really so
undisciplined or are they just subjected to different rules from the rest?
Draw your own conclusions from the Rebel¹s list.
No Rangers fan will be surprised by anything our Septic-minded media men
produce and Alex Rae is now surely similarly minded, wise after the event
unfortunately. No doubt, sometime in the next week of two, the self-same
Hacks who have shit on him this week will expect Alex to appear at an
after-match Press Conference to help them fill their notebooks and they will
go all indignant when the wee lassie who liaises between Rangers and the
Press tells them he is not avalaible. Tough!
It has crossed my mind that, had Tuesday¹s episode occurred in an domestic
game, Alex Rae would now be sweating, not about a UEFA kangaroo court but
about Procurator Fiscal involvement inspired by an anonymous complaint from
Oa member of the public¹. That is what you are up against, Alex. As things
stand, I fear that UEFA will seek to make a point and by hammering Rae they
will get to send out their message without any repercussions because our
club will accept their judgement meekly, while so many others, including FC
Semtex, would get in there and make noises with an indignant appeal.
It is high time our club got its act together in this area. A positive
strategy must be adopted, Rangers¹ good name and the reputations of players
AND fans must be protected and those who pursue a blatant anti-Rangers
agenda, whether journalists or football legislators, must do so in the
knowledge that they will be taken to task for their unbalanced approach.
I won¹t hold my breath waiting for it to happenSmeanwhile Alex Rae, like so
many Rangers players before him, has been hung out to dry.
LITTLE BOY BLUE