Muff Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Thomas Buffel has watched a Rangers side inspired by the craft of Pedro Mendes return to the pinnacle of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and lamented the fact Walter Smith did not afford him such freedom of expression. The Belgian is in the process of rebuilding his reputation at his hometown team, Cercle Brugge. Pragmatism prevents him from holding a grudge against the Rangers manager but having been marginalised by a policy of tactical conservatism last season, and eventually having the final year of his contract at Ibrox terminated, Buffel cannot help but think what might have been. In an exclusive interview with The Herald, Buffel expressed his frustration at Smith playing Barry Ferguson out of position rather than giving him a chance to flourish and told why he is driven to proving Rangers wrong by earning a move to one of Europe's most glamorous leagues. advertisementIronically, at a time when Rangers have profited from a more attractive style of play, cultivated by the Portuguese midfielder and the emergence of John Fleck, Buffel is serving his second suspension of the season in the Jupiler League and lamented the heavy handedness of Belgian defenders and leniency of the referees. Buffel's slight frame and enigmatic skills were quickly disregarded by Smith as a luxury Rangers could not afford after the wreckage of the Paul Le Guen era. Yet the Belgian made an instant impact after his £2.3m transfer from Feyenoord in January 2005. He helped Rangers win the title, won the supporters' player of the year award and attracted a £4m bid from Galatasaray that Sir David Murray, the Rangers chairman, made great play of rejecting. The knee problems that had hampered him from his youth flared-up soon after Le Guen took over and a move to Hannover 96 in January 2007 collapsed when Buffel decided to undergo surgery in order to prove himself again at Rangers. Opportunities became scarce upon his return to fitness but a move to Cologne was rejected in January last year because Cologne were unprepared to make a loan payment to Rangers, leaving the club with no opportunity but to pay him off last summer and save his wages, in the region of £15,000 per week. "Obviously, I could have stayed another year at Rangers because that is how long was left on my contract and when you see the way the team are playing now, you do wonder if things might have been different," he said. "The problem I had was I was out for so long with injuries, Rangers were winning with a different style and there was no opportunity for me to come back in and regain my fitness gradually. There was no margin to test players last season." None the less, Buffel's frustrations were exacerbated by the manager's decision to play the captain in a more attacking role, one Buffel coveted and, indeed, believes he was more suited to play in. Now, Mendes has been given the responsibilities to create while Ferguson struggles to recapture his best form after a serious ankle operation. "It is a bit annoying because he Mendes is playing in the position I wanted to play," said Buffel. "Last year, Walter Smith chose to play Barry Ferguson in that role. Personally, I think he is more of a central midfielder, a guy who can lead the team. "I always enjoyed playing with him but the trainer decided to push him one position further on and I think I was more effective in that position. I did not get an opportunity to show that but I don't think he was the player for that position." Mendes is now, indisputably, the man for that position but Buffel maintains Rangers could have saved themselves a lot of money by showing renewed faith in him. "I am only 28 and hope that if I continue to improve, I will make that big jump," he said, with his former partner, Peter Lovenkrands, now a regular starter with Newcastle United. "Maybe then Rangers will say maybe we made a mistake and should have given him a chance'. I rejected a move to Hannover because I wanted to be fit and maybe that's another reason I didn't get a chance, because I didn't leave when there was the chance to. I never had much luck but I never complained. The manager maybe had more of a feeling for more physical players than technical players. I came in for the CIS semi-final against St Johnstone with no real preparation and scored a good goal that was cancelled by the referee. That was the kind of luck I was having. I still don't know exactly why I wasn't given the chance but it has gone now and there is no point in looking back." Rangers have not looked back since the transfer window closed without the vaunted sale of one of their remaining key assets. Buffel was surprised the club would even contemplate selling their habitual top goalscorer but, having retained many friendships in Scotland, soon became aware of the club's brittle financial state after being knocked out at the Champions League qualification stage by FBK Kaunas. With Boyd scoring regularly, and Mendes working his magic, Buffel is confident Rangers can end Celtic's domestic domination. "Celtic were eight points clear at one stage so it shows that Rangers have had to play really well to pull it back and go top," he said. "Kris Boyd is the type of player every club would love to have because he scores goals. That is the only way to win games. He might not be the nicest player to watch but if you have his talents then you have to play a style that suits them. "That means playing someone who can work well alongside him and Kenny Miller has done that with his work rate. I was surprised they agreed to sell him to Birmingham but after being knocked out by FBK Kaunas, I had heard from friends in Glasgow that there were financial problems at the club. Now that they are top of the league again Kris becomes a very important player." Buffel has helped Cercle overcome a calamitous start to the season and push into European contention. They are in seventh place and have also reached the semi-final of the Belgian Cup. Buffel is the biggest name in the squad but having returned home for the first time in 13 years, he quickly realise reputations count for little. He made headlines for shoving the referee, Luc Wouters, for failing to punish a series of challenges he believed were designed to injure him during a 2-1 defeat to Dender. Remarkably, he only received a yellow card. "I had a few nasty tackles and I was just back from two serious operations so I wanted the referee to show more protection," he said. "I got frustrated because the guy tried to injure me and the referee did nothing. I should not have touched the referee but he only gave me a yellow card, which showed to me he realised I was right." http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines...des_has_had.php
simplythebest Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel was clearly a skilled player we couldn't seem to fit into our team especially with the football we played last season, in his previous two seasons i thought he did well when not injured. There's no doubt he should have been used near the end of the season when injuries and suspensions were kicking in, but instead Smith would put the likes of Whittaker and Dailly in midfield.
papaguy51 Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel was clearly a skilled player we couldn't seem to fit into our team especially with the football we played last season, in his previous two seasons i thought he did well when not injured. There's no doubt he should have been used near the end of the season when injuries and suspensions were kicking in, but instead Smith would put the likes of Whittaker and Dailly in midfield. Can't argue with that.
AGM_72 Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Yeah, I never really had a problem with Buffel. I thought, providing he stayed fit, he was a class act and made a real impact when we signed him in 2005. It's a shame it never really happend for him when Walter took over, particularly considering we were 'crying out for a creative player' he seemed to fit the bill but was never given the chance, perhaps because Walter thought he was too injury prone to risk playing and triggering the financial payment clause of 250k or whatever it was. I don't remember him being too injury prone, maybe just a little too unable to compete physically where as Mendes certainly can compete physically.
chris_glasgow Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel was the perfect player for the 4-2-3-1 formation him in the central attacking 3 playing behind the strikers. Shame Smith never gave him a chance. Agin big and strong over small and skill full mentality the sole reason scotland is miles miles behind most European countries
FlippinEck Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he?
Carsons Dog Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 What a game he had on Helicopter Sunday
chris_glasgow Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he? Lovenkrands mate
simplythebest Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 I'd say Buffel was a very rare good Alex McLeish signing.
FlippinEck Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he? Lovenkrands mate im sure he laid off quite a lot for boyd aswell, v hibs at easter road? v hearts at ibrox? boyd scored about 15 goals in that period and lovenkrands wasnt far behind for the season, someone had to have set them up
papaguy51 Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Smith made a major mistake by not using Buffel more near the end of last season. Now I'm not saying that it cost us the league before anyone starts greeting about it, I'm saying that playing Whittaker/Adam/McCulloch as attacking midfielders when we had Buffel in the reserves was nothing short of a ridiculous decision. Imagine a Buffel/Cousin combo up front in big games
Jiggaman88 Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Crazy stuff, from rejectng a 4 millon pound bid to paying him off. Can hardly blame them though they obvously never knew he'd recieve injurys and whatever else.
simplythebest Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Smith made a major mistake by not using Buffel more near the end of last season. Now I'm not saying that it cost us the league before anyone starts greeting about it, I'm saying that playing Whittaker/Adam/McCulloch as attacking midfielders when we had Buffel in the reserves was nothing short of a ridiculous decision. Imagine a Buffel/Cousin combo up front in big games Buffel and Gow should both have been used when injuries, suspensions and fixture congestion were starting to take it's toll, fresh legs couldn't have done any harm.
StewGer Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 He would have been better in the role they asked Barry to play and would have allowed for Boyd being the lone striker, I said it often last season and I for one thought we sold our best player when he left.
AGM_72 Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Yeah, the money we could have gained by using Buffel outweighs the small amount of money we'd lose because of the transfer clause.
RangersAndy Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel was a good player and probably had more quality than the tired legs we were constantly puting out on the pitch towards the end of last season. why walter didnt realise this is beyond me
chris_glasgow Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Smith made a major mistake by not using Buffel more near the end of last season. Now I'm not saying that it cost us the league before anyone starts greeting about it, I'm saying that playing Whittaker/Adam/McCulloch as attacking midfielders when we had Buffel in the reserves was nothing short of a ridiculous decision. Imagine a Buffel/Cousin combo up front in big games fcuking amazing. they would absolutely pump the league
chris_glasgow Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he? Lovenkrands mate im sure he laid off quite a lot for boyd aswell, v hibs at easter road? v hearts at ibrox? boyd scored about 15 goals in that period and lovenkrands wasnt far behind for the season, someone had to have set them up meant the inter game
FlippinEck Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he? Lovenkrands mate im sure he laid off quite a lot for boyd aswell, v hibs at easter road? v hearts at ibrox? boyd scored about 15 goals in that period and lovenkrands wasnt far behind for the season, someone had to have set them up meant the inter game yer I know that was lovenkrands
simplythebest Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he? Lovenkrands mate im sure he laid off quite a lot for boyd aswell, v hibs at easter road? v hearts at ibrox? boyd scored about 15 goals in that period and lovenkrands wasnt far behind for the season, someone had to have set them up meant the inter game yer I know that was lovenkrands Boyd wasn't even signed yet.
brissybear Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel was a good player and probably had more quality than the tired legs we were constantly puting out on the pitch towards the end of last season. why walter didnt realise this is beyond me One of the major reasons we lost the league last season. The blame lies 100% at the door of Wattie. How Dailly was getting agame before him was incredible, just 3 more points we would have done it.
TexasGers Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 I always felt Buffel got a raw deal the last year or so at Ibrox, I hope he reestablishes himself in Belgium.
Boab Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel - our best Number 10/Trequartista since Ronald De Boer. Shockingly under-used last season.
delparlane Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Feel sorry for the lad. We were all shouting for him to be brought on at the end of last season, and I truly believe he would have made a big difference in the way things turned out. Spilt milk and aw' that, but still very frustrating.
FlippinEck Posted February 24, 2009 Posted February 24, 2009 Buffel and the striker wether it was boyd or lovenkrands were fantastic in that 6 month period, we all remember that pass against inter but the various other games they had, buffel was laying up chances galore for both players wasnt he? Lovenkrands mate im sure he laid off quite a lot for boyd aswell, v hibs at easter road? v hearts at ibrox? boyd scored about 15 goals in that period and lovenkrands wasnt far behind for the season, someone had to have set them up meant the inter game yer I know that was lovenkrands Boyd wasn't even signed yet. yes he did, he signed in january of the year we got to the last 16
Recommended Posts