Prso to Leave, Rangers Drop Points

[Danny 9]

Due to the international break of the past week or so, there has been very little happening down Ibrox way of note. Indeed, the Scotland fixtures, while always big games and highly anticipated, do rather interfere with club football, so it was with a sense of major relief to get the SPL resuming on Saturday.

However, prior to the ICT game at Ibrox was a sad piece of news emerging. It has been officially confirmed that Dado Prso will leave Govan at the end of the season. This is a really disappointing state of affairs, although inevitable. The predictability of his days being numbered does not outweigh the despondency at losing such a talismanic figure.

Signed in summer 2004, Prso arrived alongside the Frenchman Jean-Alain Boumsong, and both of these signings were heralded as two of the greatest Bosman signings that summer, and certainly two of the best in Rangers’ history.

Prso in particular was a signing which just about beggared belief – this was a Croat superstar, currently plying his trade in the rich climes of Monte Carlo for a Monaco side who made it to the previous season’s Champions League final. He had featured in that that summer’s European Championships and had scored a wonderful goal against the mighty French.

When news had filtered through a few months before this that Rangers were interested in signing this highly-regarded international who had scored 4 goals in a single game during the Champions League match against Spanish giants Deportivo la Coruna, it is safe to say the majority of the fans were excited.

Prso himself had been quoted as saying his favourite ground in Europe was Ibrox after his Monaco side had visited the ground on CL business. The home fans singing Simply the Best had stood the hairs on the back of his neck up, and he was thoroughly taken by the occasion. So when, a year or so later, at the end of his contract with Monaco, Rangers became publicly interested in securing his signature, he did not have too many doubts about joining up.

However, his start in Glasgow was slow – indeed, for the first few months all the hope and hype seemed to be doused as he struggled to impose himself. Then, slowly but surely, he began to click, and the fans began to see the true quality they knew he had. Over the next few years he produced plenty of stellar performances, including several goals against Celtic, and in the CL – not least that wonderful goal against Famagusta in the qualifiers.

Unfortunately, Prso was beset by injury problems – Rangers signed him at the age of 28 and throughout his career he had suffered knee problems. Regrettably they got worse, and by the time he was 30, he was regularly having to take time out to recover.

It is a crying shame that, as Ally McCoist said, Rangers did not sign the player a few years earlier – we got a lot of change from the capture, but not as much as we could have.

In saying all of the above, one thing that cannot be forgotten whenever discussing Prso is besides his raw ability, his sheer love for the club was incredible. The fans adored him, regularly singing his name, and he is one of the foreign imports embraced truly as a Ranger and who genuinely seemed to understand what it was to be one of us.

It is therefore with so much heartache that it was mutually decided it would be best if he moves on at the end of the season. His body cannot take the rigours of the SPL any more, and while there was discussion of him becoming a coach at Ibrox, he clearly feels his playing days are not completely through. He will depart to a lesser club and a lesser league which is less demanding on his tired body so he can still play.

And no Rangers fan will begrudge him that, and will universally wish him well and good luck with his post-Rangers career.

Getting back to immediate matters, however, and there was the small issue of a home match against ICT to contend with. With Celtic having slipped up in Dundee and dropping yet more points, the onus was on Smith’s side to exploit it and regain some more of that lost ground.

And after 15 minutes, it looked to be going according to plan. ICT defender Dods crudely dumped Boyd to the ground when he was clean through, earning himself a red card and conceding a free kick – Adam duly dispatched it powerfully into the net, and it seemed that down to 10 men and one goal shipped would lead to a capitulation. It did not.

ICT put 9 men behind the ball, Rangers struggled to play fluidly, and criminally, created very few good chances. And even more chronically, the few decent ones which came the way of predator Boyd did not find themselves nestling in the back of the net.

It was then with horrible predictability that one good ICT attack would lead to the equaliser, with help from some poor defending twixt a mix up between Papac and Murray, followed by McGregor failing to stop an average shot.

1-1 it finished, to a chorus of derisory boos from a half-empty Ibrox stadium, where thousands of fans had already abandoned their seats in droves throughout the second half.

A thoroughly missed opportunity, Rangers’ worst performance since Smith took over in the SPL, and a disgruntled support.

Not a good day at the office at all.

If only we had 11 Prsos.

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