Rhys McCabe Explains Why He Quit

[Tiebreak54 151]

Rhys McCabe recently unpacked his belongings in a new flat near Sheffield Wednesday's training ground, and there is still some furniture to be bought. Yesterday afternoon was spent buying a suit for matchdays, although he first had to check what colour would be most suitable. The chores are mundane, but they bring a welcome bustle to a life that had become marked by anxiety.

For several weeks during the summer, McCabe trained with his friends and their local team in West Calder. To make sure that they understood he was not messing around, he wore his heart monitor and worked at the same intensity as he would have done at Murray Park with Rangers. There was an element of therapy in the physical work, particularly the six or seven-mile runs at 11 o'clock at night to clear his head.

Having taken the decision to object to his contract being transferred over from Rangers Football Club plc to Sevco, the company set up by Charles Green's consortium when it bought the business and assets of the club and was waiting for permission to change its name to The Rangers Football Club, McCabe was effectively a free agent. At 19, the circumstances were deeply unsettling and his parents noticed that his mood was more sombre than usual.

There ought to have been a period of satisfaction, but breaking into the starting line-up and controlling the midfield in games against the likes of Hearts and Celtic coincided with Rangers being in administration. The squad agreed to take pay cuts so that non-playing staff would not lose their jobs, with McCabe and the other youngsters losing 25% of their wages. He made do by sharing petrol costs with his friend and team-mate, Darren Cole.

Even then, he did not envision a sudden break in his relationship with Rangers, where he had played since he was nine. There was no dialogue from anybody at the club during the summer, however, until a letter arrived one week before pre-season training began informing him that if he accepted his next pay packet, and returned to work at Murray Park, that would constitute agreeing to the transfer of his contract. Under employment law, all Rangers staff had the opportunity to object, and depart, which McCabe took because he felt he was being railroaded into a decision he wasn't clear about. There were too many uncertainties.

"I never wanted to leave," he says. "[Rangers] were waiting on the SFA getting back to them and votes being held. Would it be first division, second division, third division, having a team at all? So we thought we'd wait to see what would happen. I'm still a Rangers fan, I still check on the results every week. We were here [at Hillsborough] doing a charity day when Rangers played Brechin and I went into one of the boxes to watch the game on television. It all happened too quickly and there was a lack of communication, so I had to make a decision."

Had somebody from the club met with the player, outlined what might happen and discussed his options, he could have considered a different choice. Unlike other players who left, he had no release clause and his contract ran to 2015.

No footballer in Scotland is oblivious to the hold the game has on supporters. McCabe understands that fans were frustrated, and he is only speaking about his decision now, for the first time, to recall it from his perspective. While the likes of Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker and Jamie Ness were signing for new clubs, McCabe and his advisors had yet to speak to any teams and he was training with his school friends, waiting for developments at Ibrox.

"I was doing my off-season programme," he says. "And every day I was checking the news. We thought about if the club was in the first division, that would be more appearances, getting noticed. In the third division, it's three or four years and I'm 20 now. What if I have an injury? It could be 26 before I played in the top flight again. It was better to play at a higher standard, so I had to make a decision for myself."

McCabe believes he owes a debt of gratitude to the coaching and playing staff who helped him at Rangers, in particular Bobby Russell and Alan Kernaghan, who worked with him at a critical age. His family intend to show their gratitude to all the individuals who influenced his career. His father, Kevin, is an outgoing, unabashed personality, while Rhys is more contained. There is a quiet self-assurance that suggests he also possesses a single-minded purpose.

After being granted full clearance to play for Sheffield Wednesday last Friday, he hoped just to make the squad for the opening game of the season against Derby County. Yet McCabe played all 90 minutes and was widely considered to be the best player on the pitch in a 2-2 draw. He might have joined Everton, but was more comfortable with the surroundings, and the opportunities, at Hillsborough,

"Going to a club wasn't about how big they were," he says. "It was the fact they showed an interest in me. Having played for Rangers, it would mess with your head to go to a Premier League side in England and not be playing."

There has been much to rationalise in recent months, but McCabe will always value the nine games he played for his team. A career awaits, but he would never rule returning to Ibrox. "I'll keep supporting them," he says. "Maybe one day I'll get to go back."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/rhys-mccabe-might-have-left-rangers-but-they-have-not-left-him.18643107

[bufforbero 128]

Why, oh why do these people have threads started about them here?

I care nought for their whining excuses.

Just fuck off and never darken our door again. Rangers fan my arse.

[Wilbert 416]

Sick of reading about these so called Rangers men and their sob stories about why they left, fuck all of them and they should all never be welcome back at Ibrox in my opinion

[simplythebest 11,453]

Quite a few of them are coming out the woodwork recently.

Guilty consciences?

Well they can take their explanations and stick them you know where.

[TheKingObv 10,646]

Fuck sake. Basically his excuse was he felt he was being forced into having his contract transferred over, when there was a lot of uncertainty with the club.

Load of cunt

Would it have been that hard just to hold off for a few weeks until things settled, then decide whether there were "uncertainties"? But no, he just fucks off down south at the first chance.

Won't be missed by me.

[davekerrthebear 124]

I'm still a Rangers fan, I still check on the results every week.

you're not a Rangers fan, i'd would prefer it if you never mentioned our clubs name again.

[Misteral 2,932]

He bottled it, stupid bastard. If he had transferred over he'd either be playing with us these days (if Div 3 was okay for him, personal choice so no problem there) or another team like SW and we would have got a fee. I'll say it again. stupid bastard. His life, his regret.

[Coplandbear11 1,087]

Fuck him. He's no Rangers man.

[SuperAlly. 9]

Someone has realised he's made the wrong decision..

[Non_Sucumbi 876]

Rhys -- not interested -- you ran away like a coward so piss off.

[GOAT 30,449]

I'm sure the captain of one of the biggest countries in the world wants to play in the third division of Scotland, and I'm sure he'll be off before the end of the transfer window, but unlike you and the other little treacherous bastards of pals, I'll wish him all the best because he transferred over,, he done the right thing and now we will at least make some money off him.

It's a shame because I rated you far higher than Ness, you could have been at the heart of Rangers midfield for years. But you've fucked it, and just like the rest you can all go to fuck.

[Right_To_Censor 1,951]

[TheKingObv 10,646]

About time you had a shower then

[Skol 401]

Am I going soft? I find myself empathising with what he had to say there.

It's much easier in retrospect.

[DronganExile 84]

I think in a few months he'll realise he's made a wrong decision. Middling around the championship while his old colleagues played in front of a record breaking crowd has put it into perspective. Wednesday are going nowhere and rangers are on the rise, for a rangers fan that's all the harder to miss out on. His loss, unfortunately too late for him to see that.

[KBOO72 4,372]

Fuck off ya wee dick . Deserter , traitor , bastard cunt .

If you think you could ever come back you are sadly mistaken . You had your chance and you threw it away and I along with many , many others will NEVER forget that .

[tango 341]

There has been much to rationalise in recent months, but McCabe will always value the nine games he played for his team. A career awaits, but he would never rule returning to Ibrox. "I'll keep supporting them," he says. "Maybe one day I'll get to go back."

Fuckin wee diddy a career waited at Ibrox but you ran away even though you claim to be a supporter,if we had fans like you we would be finished, just stay away and don't darken our door again

[JCS 649]

I just wonder why these lads feel the need to make such statements to the press.

Fact is no one is remotely interested any more. He left - with indecent haste I should add - and has made his career elsewhere, and that's fine.

I don't wish the lad any ill will, and I trust he will be sucessful where ever he goes and whatever he does, but please spare us the platitudes and the justifications.

[broxibear87 129]

Who?

[A.T.G 10,773]

[scottyc06 6,915]

I don't care what any of the deserters say about uncertainty etc one look at jig, Wallace little and co they were certain they wanted to play for Rangers and that's all that mattered!

[ps95v7 387]

FUCK OFF, STILL SUPPORT RANGERS "MY ARSE" enough of these threads please

[77amurai 258]

Am I going soft? I find myself empathising with what he had to say there.

It's much easier in retrospect.

I know what you mean. All to easy to think of them as treacherous dicks but We don't know all the facts.

When the chat about no contact was coming out I have to admit concern, must have been worse for these players.

I just can't get past the leaving on a free though. That'll keep me pissed off.

[hellofollow 1]

Be fair to him guys. He was so poverty stricken he had to share a car to work. It's like a fucken third world country here.

[sillybilly 151]

He followed the advice of his agent. Instead of doing the decent thing like his best mate Darren cole and transferring over, assuring the club who nurtured him from the age of 9, who gave him his first big break, would have earned some much needed money if he insisted on moving on. I hate to say it, but I hope you regret your decision for the rest of your life.