Mark Allen Interview.

[Davie Mr Magic Cooper 515]

2 hours ago, Laudrup1984 said:

I think a lot of people understandably are sceptical of the director of football role as it can potentially undermine the manager and cause conflict and division. However the huge benefit of having one has meant that even before Gerrard came in we had already done the groundwork on a number of players and it seemed it was just a case of Gerrard giving the acquisition of certain players the nod. Without Allen being here Gerrard, as good as he may be, he would have been so far behind in the recruitment process and we may have missed out on some players. Therefore even if the manager changes having Allen here keeps that consistency and we avoid missing out on certain targets.

Allen has completely revamped our scouting process and was also instrumental in bringing in Gerrard. On paper he seems to be doing a really good job and IMO deserves credit especially as many have been wary and critical of his appointment. In fairness to him the timing of his appointment meant he was always going to struggle to make an immediate impact as he was appointed after Pedro when it should have been the other way round. Pedro then seemed to have full reign of who came in without any influence from Allen. Effectively he was working with one hand tied behind his back.

Now he fully has his feet under the table I think we seem to be seeing the benefits a decent director of football can bring. Without him I don't think we would have been as prepared in our recruitment process and ready for our European run. We may have lost out to guys like Arfield, Katic, McGregor etc although there is an element of guesswork on my part. However if you're not aware of free transfers like Arfield early you'll lose them to other teams as they'll not be short of options.

So far nothing has been achieved. It will depend on where we are at the end of the season but I think certainly we look far more capable this season and understandably we're all a tad optimistic. We've had a rough few years and it's good to have a few glimpses of the real Rangers being back. As soon as one game is finished I just can't wait for the next. 

Brilliant post. Can't argue with any of that and I feel exactly the same regarding being desperate for the next game.  

Cheers for that Gogzy. I think we're fortunate to have Allen. You can debate as to who was responsible for bringing in this player, or that one, but the bottom line is that we at long last have players on the park who are playing as a TEAM and the same goes for the backroom staff. Loving it!

[GersInCanada 7,775]

After the McInnes shambles the board realised they knew nothing about football matters and handed the whole thing over to Allen.

Thats why we are where we are today. Went to the board and recommended Gerrard. King met Gerrard and was delighted to rubber stamp the appointment.

Allen handles all scouting, contracts and negotiations leaving the coaching staff to concentrate on what they do best. It is the model of choice at all top clubs which is why timmy does not follow it.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Anybody who is watching “All or Nothing-Man City” on Amazon and still claims we don’t need guys like Mark Allen in today’s modern football world is off their trolley. 

Best example would be Stevie himself who will tell you Mark Allen is indespensable to everything that’s happens at Rangers, the fact Pedro was employed before him is one of the biggest mistakes our board and The Club have ever made. 

[BlueSuedeSambas 53,854]

3 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Anybody who is watching “All or Nothing-Man City” on Amazon and still claims we don’t need guys like Mark Allen in today’s modern football world is off their trolley. 

Best example would be Stevie himself who will tell you Mark Allen is indespensable to everything that’s happens at Rangers, the fact Pedro was employed before him is one of the biggest mistakes our board and The Club have ever made. 

In a footballing sense, I think it might honestly be biggest mistake we have ever made, certainly in my lifetime anyway.

Yes, we’ve signed some garbage players and a few appointments have been misteps but everything about Caixinha screamed failure from the moment he was linked but we went on ahead with it and it played out exactly like the majority expected that it would, it cost us an entire season and millions of pounds too.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Just now, DBBTB said:

In a footballing sense, I think it might honestly be biggest mistake we have ever made, certainly in my lifetime anyway.

Yes, we’ve signed some garbage players and a few appointments have been misteps but everything about Caixinha screamed failure from the moment he was linked but we went on ahead with it and it played out exactly like the majority expected that it would, it cost us an entire season and millions of pounds too.

Backed him to the hilt before it dawned on me, what a mistake it was. 

Too many harsh words in here over the muppet with good Bears as well. 

[BlueSuedeSambas 53,854]

4 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Backed him to the hilt before it dawned on me, what a mistake it was. 

Too many harsh words in here over the muppet with good Bears as well. 

I think we just became so used to the mediocrity that it became the norm. Foderingham is another great example. Until a few weeks ago I’d have argued with anybody that he was a top keeper who could make us a lot of money but it’s only since McGregor came back that I’ve realised how poor Foderingham actually was.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

12 minutes ago, DBBTB said:

I think we just became so used to the mediocrity that it became the norm. Foderingham is another great example. Until a few weeks ago I’d have argued with anybody that he was a top keeper who could make us a lot of money but it’s only since McGregor came back that I’ve realised how poor Foderingham actually was.

3-2 game at Ibrox finally nailed his coffin for me. 

I agree mate it doesn’t take long for mediocre players to become the norm and we just accept it, hoping it will get better. 

[To Be A Ranger 4,032]

4 hours ago, tannerall said:

So what exactly does Mark Allen do ?

Reading between the lines I suspect he was not the most instrumental in identifying Gerrard initially.

The article couldn't be more clearer. Read it again and you'll see what he does. Don't know how you missed the Gerrard stuff though.

[Lloyd 10,756]

47 minutes ago, DBBTB said:

In a footballing sense, I think it might honestly be biggest mistake we have ever made, certainly in my lifetime anyway.

Yes, we’ve signed some garbage players and a few appointments have been misteps but everything about Caixinha screamed failure from the moment he was linked but we went on ahead with it and it played out exactly like the majority expected that it would, it cost us an entire season and millions of pounds too.

Scary to think that we almost repeated that mistake a few months later till Mcinnes shat himself.

[simplythebest 11,453]

48 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Backed him to the hilt before it dawned on me, what a mistake it was. 

Too many harsh words in here over the muppet with good Bears as well. 

I always found it bizarre how quite a decent number of people seemed to have affection for Pedro even just after he left but I suppose there was an understandable desire to have something to try and believe in 

[Dickie 12,905]

11 hours ago, gogzy said:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6072699/Mark-Allen-helping-Steven-Gerrard-rebuild-revitalise-Rangers.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

 

 

Mark Allen is a veteran of interviews. There is the one with the Bank of Wales where he became a graduate trainee, or the time he was helped over the line at a television company because of his background in football, or that occasion when he turned up for an interview with MTV in a shirt and tie only to find his interrogator had long hair, a beard and torn jeans.

His most significant, though, were conducted informally with unspoken questions being answered by the presence and actions of an opposing coach on an opposite sideline. The subsequent chats convinced him that his one-time adversary could become a substantial ally.

Allen, director of football at Rangers, first encountered the man he subsequently helped to recruit as the club's manager in under-age matches on pitches across England.

The recruitment of Steven Gerrard is a key indicator of how Allen works and what he values. It is the perfect starting point for a discussion with the Welshman who may be a veteran of interviews but is giving his first one-to-one since arriving at Ibrox a year ago.

'I was tasked with trying to identify the next manager of Rangers Football Club,' says Allen of the imperative after the dismissal of Perdo Caixinha, the Derek McInnes affair and the Graeme Murty and Jimmy Nicholl interludes.

'It became clear to me that you could look at win ratios, you could look at facts and figures, but the reality is that three words stuck out: leader, winner, character. These are characteristics a Rangers manager has to have. He also has to have that ability to cope with the good and the bad.' Allen believes he found all this and more in the lean figure of a youth coach at Liverpool. Allen was head of the academy at Manchester City and unwittingly discovered the manager of Rangers in the opposite dugout.

'I stood on the sidelines with Steven on the other side and I was very impressed with the way he carried himself, how much he had taken aboard and understood about being a manager/coach,' says Allen. 'There are lots of things that go on, on and off the pitch, that you have to deal with and I had the sense that he knew that.

'I was really impressed with his attention to detail. From my academy background, I know how much information has to be retained and how much detail there is now. Coaches are there to impart knowledge.

'They are there to build the stars of the future and it was obvious Steven had taken time to learn that side. That was significant.' The recruitment process was straightforward. 'We got to speak on a number of occasions after matches,' says Allen. 'He was always there in the back of my mind. When we went through the process, I went to the board and said: "Look, my recommendation is this based on these factors".' Permission was sought to talk to Gerrard from Liverpool. 'He was super professional. We sat down and talked through the philosophy, what it was built on, the strategy and the plan and the vision. He was excited by that and saw it could be a perfect fit,' says Allen.

He adds: 'The final meeting was with the chairman and I think at that point with Steven it was clear. It was a case of: "Yeah, I want it".' So what is this philosophy, this strategy, this vision? Can it be distilled to a very essence? 'Winning,' says Allen. 'This is Rangers. I found out quickly that is what it is about here. I shared that passion to win. I love winning.'  

This is made even more obvious by his simple laying out of his aims. 'What is success?' he asks, before briskly answering: 'Short term? Become far more competitive than we have been. Medium term? Win the SPFL. Long term? Getting back to being the benchmark team.' This all seems distant from Allen's first immersion at Ibrox. He watched the match against Progres Niederkorn that was followed soon by elimination in Luxembourg from the Europa League and his manager conducting debate from a bush.

Did he ever baulk at the size of the task? 'It sounds arrogant but I guess I have learned you have to be a little patient. I did not rush in within a month of my tenure but waited a year to be really sure what we had to do,' he says.

He points out: 'For me, that night against Progres at Ibrox was crucial. It was: "Wow I have joined a big club". The passion of the fans was amazing. I saw it as an exciting opportunity to get Rangers back to where we belong. And we will do that.' The footballer, who became a businessman, who became a coach, who became a director of football did his due diligence. 'I did my homework before I made my decision,' he says. 'There were certain things I needed to know, needed to ask, be sure of, I got assurances and all of them have been met and more.' His first year was tempestuous. A manager gone early, regular defeats at Ibrox, a humiliating exit from Europe, the beatings by celtic, the ultimate failure to secure second place must have piled pressure on a character whose principles are built on solid rationale rather than as a response to the maelstrom of crisis.

How difficult was it? 'You go in with your eyes wide open. Nothing surprised me in the size of the challenge,' he says. 'But if you are to suggest a way forward you have to be absolutely confident and conversant with what are the issues. You must understand everything. My first period here was always going to be one of observation,' he says. 'Not going in after a month and saying: "This needs to change, that needs to change, we need to do this better".' 

He adds: 'I definitely put last year down to a learning curve in becoming more familiar and understanding Scottish football.' The lessons have been painfully obvious. Rangers were highly vulnerable at Ibrox - losing seven times at home in the league - and the Caixinha recruits were largely unable to adapt to the realities of the Scottish game.

Allen will make no comment on the previous manager or his recruitment but says: 'This year, hopefully, we have started to put plans in place that address some of the shortcomings of last season.' What were those shortcomings?

'You have to have a real understanding of what is required here,' he says. 'When you looked at the league and you looked at our squad, my interpretation was that we needed to be bigger, stronger, faster. We had to be more athletic to compete.

'You have to win the right to control a game, let ability take its turn after that. But you have to earn the right first and to do that you need certain characteristics and traits in players.' Again criticism of individuals is avoided but Allen points out what he believes is crucial to future success. 'Don't underestimate the Ibrox factor,' he says. 'Playing in that arena you have to be mentally tough. I learned a lot last year, particularly in the value of physical and mental strength.. This year Steven will improve on that.' 

Allen's journey to Ibrox has been unusual. A footballer released by Swindon Town at 19, he went on to take up a sports scholarship to university in San Diego where he graduated with a degree in accountancy and business management. He played in the Welsh semi-pro league until he retired at 28 after the birth of his twin daughters. 

Now 55, he can reflect on a series of interviews and opportunities that have led him to Scottish football. 'Football is the thread that runs through all of my life,' he says. The graduate trainee job at the Bank of Wales was ended when he was interviewed for a job at HTV, the Welsh television company.

'I put my football career on my CV and when I got the job I asked the personnel manager why she had hired me. She said her husband was a football executive and she had to interview me when she saw I had been in the game.' In 1993, he made another move. 'I was asked if I would be interested in joining a company called MTV,' he says. 'I turned up in shirt and tie and found a guy in long hair, beard and torn jeans sitting across the table. My initial thought was: 'I have to equalise'.

'So I ripped off my tie and said: "Thank God. I thought I was coming to a stuffy outfit".' Allen specialised in setting up sites and facilities and stayed for 13 years, eventually setting up his own consultancy business.

Manchester City then called. 'The link was purely fortuitous,' he says. 'Man City then were just about to undergo changes with Sheikh Mansour. The finance director who I worked with at MTV became the chief financial officer at Man City and the club was in transition and looking for execs. They were looking for someone who could drive their academy system and had a business background. I fitted that specification.' 

He also became a UEFA qualified A coach at the club but the reason is intriguing. 'I don't want to be a manager,' he says. 'It was effectively a way of earning your spurs. It neutralises a certain kind of criticism too. It shows I am a football guy.' Eight years at Manchester City ended with the move to Rangers after he was identified by head hunters. 'It was an opportunity I wanted to take,' he says simply.

But he emphasises that the work with banks, television companies or academies has always had an underlying principle. 'My leadership philosophy has always been based on football, on how you run a team, how you motivate individuals, how you get people to do certain things. I have always been football-minded. I grew up being a team player, I grew up being captain of a team.' 

Last season was 'frustrating' but he was consoled by his experience in other arenas. 'I knew I wasn't coming into Man City in terms of where the club was at. It takes time. Where Man City are now is different to when I started eight years before. MTV was different when I left to where it was 13 years before. I would like to contribute to a different Rangers than what the club was even a year ago.' Asked to pinpoint what has been brought in by the new regime, he answers: 'Real belief.' It is the final word. The case has been made. It now goes for judgment before the court of sporting action.

I buy the daily mail on a Saturday ( only paper I do buy) and I find it a very pro unionist paper and it usually gives Rangers a good write up when deserved. The difference reading real journalists asking real questions and the usual red banner leckie crowd is astonishing.

[TMB 14,167]

3 minutes ago, simplythebest said:

I always found it bizarre how quite a decent number of people seemed to have affection for Pedro even just after he left but I suppose there was an understandable desire to have something to try and believe in 

I can understand getting rid of a manager if there's a better option in place, but there wasn't'.  Maybe the board felt certain they could land McInnes but that turned out to be a fuck up as well.  Giving Murty the rest of the season should never have happened.  The entire situation was a complete clusterfuck.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

13 minutes ago, simplythebest said:

I always found it bizarre how quite a decent number of people seemed to have affection for Pedro even just after he left but I suppose there was an understandable desire to have something to try and believe in 

We all wanted it to be the right choice and win something, you want it that bad that you become blind to the failings. 

[Amokachi 3,050]

1 hour ago, DBBTB said:

In a footballing sense, I think it might honestly be biggest mistake we have ever made, certainly in my lifetime anyway.

Yes, we’ve signed some garbage players and a few appointments have been misteps but everything about Caixinha screamed failure from the moment he was linked but we went on ahead with it and it played out exactly like the majority expected that it would, it cost us an entire season and millions of pounds too.

Just such a crazy appointment in so many ways.  

Got the Herald in front of me here from 14/03/17 where Robertson is standing outside Ibrox with Pedro.

His quotes are truly mind numbing.  

“ sometimes it can happen quite quickly and you just think ‘I like the cut of this guys jib’ , I can’t remember exactly how long into it , but certainly his passion came through right away and hopefully you’ve seen that here today. It wasn’t minutes, it took maybe half an hour or so. But then you have to back it up with references and independent views on him. We did a lot of that”

A complete shambles & embarrassment period in our history.  

 

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Thank fuck that the board finally let Allen pick the manager. 

[simplythebest 11,453]

1 hour ago, TMB said:

I can understand getting rid of a manager if there's a better option in place, but there wasn't'.  Maybe the board felt certain they could land McInnes but that turned out to be a fuck up as well.  Giving Murty the rest of the season should never have happened.  The entire situation was a complete clusterfuck.

Don't need to convince me on how bad Murty was but the Caixinha experiment had to end, it should never have started in the first place 

[ForeverAndEver 71,563]

Caixinha should never have been appointed and should been out of the job less than two months later, somehow lasted until October. Baffling.

[Bears r us 30,810]

I have been wary of Allen's appointment and if it had not become clear it was him who wanted Stevie G then I would probably still be the same.

It was interesting reading that interview and finding out more about him, I hope he continues finding and securing players that SG wants to add to our squad in this window and then for January.

It seems a D of F might be what we need after all. 

[Rum Ham 2,060]

5 hours ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Anybody who is watching “All or Nothing-Man City” on Amazon and still claims we don’t need guys like Mark Allen in today’s modern football world is off their trolley. 

Best example would be Stevie himself who will tell you Mark Allen is indespensable to everything that’s happens at Rangers, the fact Pedro was employed before him is one of the biggest mistakes our board and The Club have ever made. 

Always said he needs 2-3 years until we can judge him. 

Mental the amount of posters on here who were sure it was a waste of money by November last year, three months after the guy had started the job, then were happy with the amount of low risk signings in January he brought in, then went back to saying he's a waste of money when they didn't really work out. 

Hopefully it won't be the same for a long time, because that will mean we are continuing how we have started the season. 

 

 

[bornabear 6,205]

4 hours ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Thank fuck that the board finally let Allen pick the manager. 

First decision this board have got right.

Maybe MA told them McInnes was wrong man for the job too.

 

[Rum Ham 2,060]

2 minutes ago, bornabear said:

First decision this board have got right.

Maybe MA told them McInnes was wrong man for the job too.

 

First decision they got right was appointing him. 

Before bringing him in, and for the time before that from 2012, it was businessmen making football decisions, hopefully this is the start of us starting to wisen up. 

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

1 hour ago, bornabear said:

First decision this board have got right.

Maybe MA told them McInnes was wrong man for the job too.

 

Honestly don’t think he had a say in McInnes, maybe Allen told him that and that is why he said no. 

[Hadron Collider 30,996]

So happy we never got McInnes. Everything that’s going on now is brilliant. We have class now with SG. Whoever decided on this gets loads of kudos. Can’t wait to see what SG does against oily face at the scum dome.  

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

Mmm - strange how he was allowed time to settle in, make mistakes, evaluate the situation, take time to get it right. That’s the difference betwen his job and the managers but let’s hope he continues to get it right and SG does as well and that they form a great team for years to come. 

[gmcf 34,303]

47 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

Honestly don’t think he had a say in McInnes, maybe Allen told him that and that is why he said no. 

I'm pretty sure I read an interview with MA shortly after the McInnes fiasco , where he said he offered the board different options depending on the route they wanted to go down .