Alex Mcleish

[reddrock 107]

You say that like it was a minority? everyone to a man wanted him gone and rightly so.

OH and you speak for us all do you !!

[1st_Jan_1994 4,868]

OH and you speak for us all do you !!

I never said that. I'm commenting on everything I witnessed first hand. You must have one fucking short memory if you disagree. Even the biggest McLeish fans knew his time was up and wanted a change.

[gunslinger 270]

So did I.

Especially when we got fucked 7 Old Firms on the trot, finished 3rd to Hearts and went 11 games in Oct/Nov 2005 without a win.

Fantastic football. Reminded me of Barcelona.

that was certaily one snapshot of his more than 4 years in charge.

[Cumbria_blue 51]

But they certainly are over-estimated, by those who insist that McLeish actually did a good job

In the summer after Helicopter Sunday, we didn't sell any first team players, and McLeish was given the funds to sign the captain of Paris St Germain, the captain of Marseille, the captain of Hibs, and the new Gabriel Batistuta (chortle chortle) on loan

In essence, he could've picked a team of:

Waterreus

Hutton Kyrgiakos Rodriguez Smith

Ricksen Ferguson Hemdani

Buffel Prso Lovenkrands

With the likes of Klos, Andrews, FanFan, Murray, Alex Rae, Namouchi, Burke, Novo, Nieto as backup

Is that team really so bad that 3rd place was the best it could do? Or was a title winning squad grotesquely mis-managed by a lucky manager who had outstayed his welcome and had already used up his last bit of luck on Helicopter Sunday?

Lest we forget that Alex McLeish had both a bigger, and a more talented, pool of players than Walter Smith currently does.

There was more to it than that. Rodriguez and Hemdani took ages to settle in, and Buffel, Hutton, Novo and Prso were injured for long spells which didn't help. Also Burke, Hutton and Smith were just youngsters so were a wee bit raw as well, especially Hutton who IIRC got some amount of stick that year. That season we actually came on to a game after christmas, which oddly enough co-insided with our best players coming back from injury. I actually think the biggest mistake that year was taking the captaincy off Ricksen and giving it to Barry. That just caused an unnecessary rift to develop in the dressing room imo

While I partly agree with your point, I just wanted to demonstrate that there was another side to it that season.

[gunslinger 270]

But they certainly are over-estimated, by those who insist that McLeish actually did a good job

In the summer after Helicopter Sunday, we didn't sell any first team players, and McLeish was given the funds to sign the captain of Paris St Germain, the captain of Marseille, the captain of Hibs, and the new Gabriel Batistuta (chortle chortle) on loan

In essence, he could've picked a team of:

Waterreus

Hutton Kyrgiakos Rodriguez Smith

Ricksen Ferguson Hemdani

Buffel Prso Lovenkrands

With the likes of Klos, Andrews, FanFan, Murray, Alex Rae, Namouchi, Burke, Novo, Nieto as backup

Is that team really so bad that 3rd place was the best it could do? Or was a title winning squad grotesquely mis-managed by a lucky manager who had outstayed his welcome and had already used up his last bit of luck on Helicopter Sunday?

Lest we forget that Alex McLeish had both a bigger, and a more talented, pool of players than Walter Smith currently does.

wateraus was ok at very best

hutton was young and broke his leg

soti was and still is a boomb scare

rodriguez was a terrible match for the spl

smith i loved

ricksen was back on the drink and a liability

ferguson was past his best

hemdani was class

lovekrands was working his ticket

bufel was a dud

prsos knees were shot

and finaly ecks time was up it happens.

[1st_Jan_1994 4,868]

There was more to it than that. Rodriguez and Hemdani took ages to settle in, and Buffel, Hutton, Novo and Prso were injured for long spells which didn't help. Also Burke, Hutton and Smith were just youngsters so were a wee bit raw as well, especially Hutton who IIRC got some amount of stick that year. That season we actually came on to a game after christmas, which oddly enough co-insided with our best players coming back from injury. I actually think the biggest mistake that year was taking the captaincy off Ricksen and giving it to Barry. That just caused an unnecessary rift to develop in the dressing room imo

While I partly agree with your point, I just wanted to demonstrate that there was another side to it that season.

Your making a lot of excuses there mate.

I hate the way players and managers all of a sudden become much better than they were after they are away a while.

Perhaps the Rangers job came too early for the man, because now with the experience he's amassed away from Rangers - Scotland job and 3 good years at Birmingham he's be perfect to take over from Walter Smith next season.

I was one of his biggest critics when he was here, but I'd have him back in a heart beat now.

[Cumbria_blue 51]

Your making a lot of excuses there mate.

I hate the way players and managers all of a sudden become much better than they were after they are away a while.

Perhaps the Rangers job came too early for the man, because now with the experience he's amassed away from Rangers - Scotland job and 3 good years at Birmingham he's be perfect to take over from Walter Smith next season.

I was one of his biggest critics when he was here, but I'd have him back in a heart beat now.

Well some of them are valid imo we very rarely had our best 11 available that year, and when we did after christmas the results picked up. I'm not forgetting the farce that was the first half of that season though, I remember the Fanfan at right back experiment, the Lovenkrands on the left fiasco, the Jeffers, Bernard and Maniero panic buys. The funny thing is that season, we actually started that season well, when we beat Celtic in the first OF game I thought we were set, but sadly not.

Overall McLiesh lost the plot in the first half of that season, and the recovery came too late. But I was just trying to show the other side of the argument

[GOAT 30,449]

I don't know why everyones mentioning his last season, 03/04 was much, much worse. Won nothing and were beaten 5 times in a row by the bheggers. Not acceptable.

[gunslinger 270]

yup two great seasons two disasters.

and a good half year as well.

[gunslinger 270]

i find it strange that advocaat gets alot more praise on here despite winning less with 10 times more at his disposal.

he had similarily excellent and abysmal spells.

[1st_Jan_1994 4,868]

i find it strange that advocaat gets alot more praise on here despite winning less with 10 times more at his disposal.

he had similarily excellent and abysmal spells.

Wee Advocaat gets too hard a time imo.

His only mistake was bringing in too many Dutchmen in the end.

People say he spent 70 million, but if you sit and work it all out, the net spend was about 15 million. He got rid of some of the duds again and got the money back aswell and some good profits on players.

Wages would have been sky high, though, granted.

[gunslinger 270]

his team were shit scared of celtc. he has to take the blame for that.

[1st_Jan_1994 4,868]

his team were shit scared of celtc. he has to take the blame for that.

In the end, yeah.

He lost the dressing room in the end, which was a shame, but Advocaat had a footballing brain, but like McLeish - it was his time to go in the end.

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,684]

Big Eck is a good Bluenose fae Baurheid, nae arguments, jist a pity he didnae play faur The Bears in his time. He did himself and us proud wae that Title win, you know that Title win that disnae even need tae be mentioned because it's Legendary. The only reason aberdeen were successful were because of 3 Glaswegians, 2 of them refereed every game and 1 of them was a political animal and a thief. I Hate aberdeen and the east end scum but Big Eck is a Legend now because he won the best Title win ever in my lifetime. Well mibbee no as good as NIAR !

[GOAT 30,449]

Big Eck is a good Bluenose fae Baurheid, nae arguments, jist a pity he didnae play faur The Bears in his time. He did himself and us proud wae that Title win, you know that Tile win that disnae even need tae be mentioned because it's Legendary. The only reason aberdeen were successful were because of 3 Glaswegians, 2 of them refereed every game and 1 of them was a political animal and a thief. I Hate aberdeen and the east end scum but Big Eck is a Legend now because he won the best Title win ever in my lifetime. Well mibbee no as good as NIAR !

He won two of the best championships in my life.

[1st_Jan_1994 4,868]

He won two of the best championships in my life.

But as you rightly said earlier, he gave you two of the worst seasons of your life aswell.

[papaguy51 912]

I think our well earned big-club mentality maybe makes Eck look bad in some people's eyes.

We expect success, so it's not examined as closely when we look back. Yet, finishing third to Hearts will be brought up time and time again as no Rangers side should ever finish outside of the top two in Scotland.

It's the same thing we see when people come on here and complain after a scrappy 1-0 win against dross. Yeah, we won, but that mentality of success and winning things means that we'll always want more.