Traynor on Smith

[Super_Ally 0]

If Walter Smith wins cup final they should give his portrait pride of place on wall of fame

By jim Traynor on May 26, 09 06:23 AM in

Georgios Samaras had nothing to do with it.The big Greek had no say in the destination of the SPL championship.

 

His contribution for Celtic throughout the league campaign veered between minimal and non-existent and although his claim Rangers would be unworthy champions was noted at Ibrox, the real truth is he did nothing. Especially for his own club.

 

The chief architect of Rangers' triumph secured at Tannadice on the last day of the season was Walter Smith. He is the man who dragged the club and fans from the depths of despair. In fact, he is probably the only person who could have achieved such a remarkable feat.

 

Who else could have brought order to a lawless dressing room dominated by a few swollen egos empowered by the belief they had forced the resignation of the then manager Paul Le Guen? Who other than Smith could have hauled the factions together and reminded them the club is bigger than any of them? And who else could have achieved this within weeks?

 

When he returned to Ibrox for his second stint he inherited a team in disarray. It was a job that didn't merely demand a good manager, it called for one who had Rangers in his DNA and who instinctively knew where the problems lay.

 

That dressing room could only have been tamed by a person with exactly the correct mix of experience, knowledge, class, respect and a toughness that comes from a proper, working-class background.

 

Only a manager who had learned from Scotland's best and who had to work hard for a living long before the days of super salaries could have gone into that environment with any hope of succeeding.

 

David Murray was smart enough to realise that Smith, who was busy transforming a bunch of mostly ordinary players into Scotland heroes, would be strong enough to cope.

 

But many of Rangers' fans didn't agree and right up until Sunday when Celtic's dominance was brought to an end they were still unwilling to accept Smith. They had always believed it folly to try to turn back the clock.

 

Rangers, though, had to risk returning to their past to find a way into the future. And they did.

 

Smith delivered and it wasn't just the late afternoon sunlight glinting on the league trophy on Sunday that displayed the wisdom of persuading him to come back. The manner in which his team stood together in their hour of need also offered strong evidence of Smith's abilities, as well as his qualities as a man.

 

Before his return, Rangers' first-team squad would never have shown such unity, yet the way they exploded from the Tannadice dug-out when Kyle Lafferty scored Rangers' first goal was a wild and noisy demonstration of just how locked into one another they have become.

 

Only Smith could have pulled all the strands together and created a tight knot of desire, belief and pride.

 

He seems to have a sixth sense in that he can press the right buttons at the right times with the effect of bringing players back into line or making them look at themselves and resolve to become better.

 

Kris Boyd, who had already told the SFA he wouldn't play for Scotland while George Burley was manager, was in danger of retreating into his shell and also took being left out of Rangers' starting line-up badly. After failing to warm up properly before a match and then slumping in his seat in the dugout during it, he was summoned to the manager's room.

 

Smith sent Boyd home to think again about his ambitions and about his attitude and character. The striker returned a better player and his work-rate against Dundee United on Sunday won him another nod of approval from Smith, who probably knew sending him home for a few days would bring him to his senses. Only vast experience of footballers and their less than humble ways can allow a manager to take such a risk but Smith did it again when Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor were men behaving badly, only without the humour.

 

Boozing all night while on Scotland duty then flickingVs at Scotland's fans during the match against Iceland brought a dreadful punishment down upon them. They were banned from playing for their country but that wasn't what scared them into making apologies. It was the wrath of Smith.

 

That was when Rangers players saw Smith's dark side, his Mr Hyde, emerge.

 

Ferguson was the skipper and fans' hero and McGregor was first-choice keeper. The championship was on the line but Smith didn't hesitate. Doing the right thing might prove costly and damage the club's finances but in Smith's mind standards typify Rangers.

 

Ferguson was stripped of the captaincy and he and McGregor lost their places in the team.They were also fined and suspended and knew their careers were in serious jeopardy.

 

There are only a few managers bold enough to take such stringent action in such a crucial season - Rangers could not afford to let Celtic claim the title and Champions League riches again - but Smith had to lay down the law. Players had to understand it wasn't Le Guen they were dealing with this time.

 

This time Rangers had a manager tougher than Ferguson, McGregor, Boyd and all of them put together and one who holds proper values.

 

So in Smith the Ibrox club had a man who wouldn't flinch from difficult decisions and who wouldn't hide even when it looked as though the grand plan was falling apart. Dignity is a major part of Smith's strategy and it would be upheld at all times.

 

So he suffered press conferences even in the darkest moments with a courtesy that one or two other managers should think about copying but then again, he might be something of a throwback.

 

His kind bear the pain of defeat with a stoicism of another time and just as he can disguise the full impact of losing he can camouflage his feelings when victorious. He never mocks or gloats because he knows the line between success and failure is thinner than AmyWinehouse.

 

Last season he watched his team let go of what would have been a massive haul of trophies, both domestic and European. He lost the UEFA Cup Final then saw the SPL championship fall into Celtic's hands on the final day of the season.

 

That dire experience might have been one of the reasons Rangers were so fired up against Dundee United on Sunday but what we saw was a team, a unit, with every player willing to go the extra yard for their mates. And their manager.

 

Even Ferguson, a second-half substitute, was different. He was first to leap from the dugout when Lafferty scored and he appeared genuinely delighted for every one his team-mates.

 

Ferguson was actually leading more than he'd done when he wore the armband and when he says he wants to stay and be given another chance you know he means it.

 

No one other than Smith could have engineered such a change in a club and its individuals and if he wins the Scottish Cup on Saturday his picture on the Ibrox wall of fame, which holds all the faces of their managers, should be given pride of place.

 

Another Hampden triumph would mean Smith will have delivered four of the six domestic trophies available to him in his two full seasons back in charge.

 

And, remember, the league was only lost on the final day of last season and Rangers also reached the CIS Cup Final only to lose to Celtic.

 

That is success in anyone's language or league and it can also be argued that Smith is already more successful this time around than first time when he was able to buy and rely on some of the best players not only in Britain but in Europe.

 

Yet there he was yesterday, going through the motions with the press and talking not about the pleasure of winning the title but about the pressures that had been weighing heavily on him. Had Rangers not won the league then more of the behind-the-scenes jobs might have been lost at Ibrox and Murray Park but the numbers can now be maintained for a bit longer.

 

So, too, can the manager and perhaps that rather than a Champions League cheque is the real value in Rangers' 52nd league triumph.

 

http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/jimtraynor/2009/05/mister-rangers.html

 

Cal certainly will welcome such a peice. :spl:

[Frankie 8,552]

Fair enough article... Not much to take issue with if we're honest.

[biggordy 0]

It might be true to say that Traynor is a fan of Walter Smith.

[Cotter 0]

Retard in Peice Containing Truth shocker.

[Jon 0]

Thought that was a great read......

[Norris Cole 0]

I think Traynor's one of the better football journos in Scotland, but the fact is he is a Murray lapdog.

[Gazza_8 233]

Smith does deserve huge praise for the way he turned around our fortunes. That's obvious.

 

Now he needs to turn around the style in which we play.

[ascender 352]

You really can't argue with that article, makes a good read and summary of the last while. Its been a strange season though in terms of our up & down performances. Look at the Ferguson & McGregor thing for example, was that a blessing in disguise given our results since they were dropped?

[pete 2,499]

You really can't argue with that article, makes a good read and summary of the last while. Its been a strange season though in terms of our up & down performances. Look at the Ferguson & McGregor thing for example, was that a blessing in disguise given our results since they were dropped?

 

Yes it certainly was in Ferguson's case. McGregor or Alexander wouldn't have mattered i don't think. Alexander deserves the glory for biding his time and being a true professional. McGregor should learn from him.

[John Barr 0]

I'm so pleased Smith is getting the plaudits he so very much deserves AT LAST.

 

Well done Walter Smith.:spl: