PLG On Rangers!

[biotechnology 2]

I dont care what anyone says, I believe he is & will be a TOP CLASS MANAGER.

My time with Rangers was a great experience, says Le Guen

PAUL Le Guen said he would look back on his seven-month stint as manager of Rangers as "a great experience" and rebutted attempts to describe his time in Scotland as a failure. Speaking on a sports chat show on French television, he admitted to having to take gambles in the transfer market because of the limited resources available to him at Ibrox: "Some of the gambles paid off, others less so."

Barely 10 days after turning his back on the Scottish club, the Frenchman was taking on a new challenge with Paris Saint-Germain.

Le Guen, who had been contacted by half a dozen clubs since leaving Scotland, was sitting comfortably at home last weekend watching his former team lose, dismally, at home to valiant Valenciennes, the only club in the French first division who had failed to record an away win till then.

That 2-1 loss saw PSG, where Le Guen won the French championship, three French cups and the now defunct European Cup Winners' Cup as a player during the 1990s, slump to 17th place. Ten minutes later, the phone rang.

"Hello, it's Alain Cayzac," said the PSG chairman. "Are you ready to talk?"

Over the following 24 hours, Cayzac convinced Le Guen to replace incumbent Guy Lacombe and return to the club where he was an emblematic captain and beloved of demanding fans in the French capital. On Monday morning, Le Guen travelled from Rennes to Paris accompanied by his faithful lieutenant, Yves Colleu, and by mid-afternoon had completed a press conference and met the players. Supporters at PSG's training centre welcomed his return with unbridled enthusiasm.

Cayzac declared: "Paul has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, but I hope he stays here for 10 years! His first job is, of course, to make sure we don't get relegated.

"But after that we will look long-term, and Paul is the right man to turn this club round. I think he was always destined to be manager of PSG one day. That day just came sooner than we expected."

Did Cayzac contact Le Guen while he was still with Rangers? "Nothing was premeditated - I only took the decision to call Paul after the Valenciennes match," Cayzac said. "We played so poorly I just knew I had to react, even though I didn't relish the idea of having to get rid of Lacombe."

With PSG languishing just above the relegation zone, Le Guen has jumped out of a Glasgow frying pan into a Parisian fire. The difference is that he inherits a club that he knows inside-out, and senior staff sure to see his arrival in a positive light.

One reporter wanted to know whether Le Guen had felt the need to "bounce back after the failure in Glasgow". He responded with a withering look, and these comments: "I certainly don't feel like I have to bounce back in any way at all. My time with Rangers lasted only seven months, but if it had been a failure in my mind, then I would gladly admit it. But as far as I'm concerned, it was a great experience.

"We were second in the championship when I left - too far behind Celtic, I admit - but we finished top of our UEFA Cup group. My record is not fantastic, but it's not something to be ashamed of either.

"And, I assure you, seeing the means I had at my disposal at the beginning of the season, I'm not ashamed of what we did. It was not a formidable success, but I do not feel like I have to bounce back after a failure. If it had really been by a failure, I would have been affected, hurt, and I think I might have needed time to recover from it - I might have taken a break until next season. But that's not the case.

"When Alain Cayzac called me on Saturday night, I said I was ready to discuss the situation with him. But I'd had other contacts during the week, and I'd told those people the same thing: I was open to offers.

"I felt ready to take on a new task, not at all depressed by what some might consider a failure. Anyway, I'd taken a year out, a sabbatical, before going to Glasgow, and I didn't want or feel like I needed to take some more time out."

Wanting to look ahead rather than over his shoulder, Le Guen was reluctant to rake over his time in Scotland. But knowing that his new team were about to play against Toulouse must have touched a raw nerve. In attack for Toulouse was Johan Elmander, a Swedish international striker who Le Guen had wanted to sign for Rangers from Brondby, only to be told that the 25- year-old was too expensive.

"With Rangers we didn't have the chance to do the kind of recruitment we wanted," Le Guen said. "We were obliged to take some gambles."

[THEFISH 0]

Magumba !!! (beer)

[Coopermania 1]

I have no hard feelings towards PLG, it just didnt work out. I wish him well and I believe he will be successful in France.

[rfc72 0]

Hes gone and he was a failure for Rangers and he underestimated the SPL he came here thinkin it would be a walk in the park but he soon got found out and he lost to a 1st division team in the cup aswell which was embarrasing!! a wish these threads on PLG would stop who cares what he does now we have a new management team in place who have came into try steady the ship and need OUR support so even if u dnt like whos in charge there is 1 thing that we can all do and thats support our team

[CanadianGer 1]

I have no hard feelings towards PLG, it just didnt work out. I wish him well and I believe he will be successful in France.

Well said, Coop. I agree with you 100%. Rangers fans should be bigger than to wish ill will to him, IMHO.

[BlueIsTheColour 35]

He may think he wasn't a failure but it is clear that he was. Failure at this club is different from failure at any other club. Another aspect of our game he failed to pick up. I don't wish ill of him, i wish him luck with PSG but i do not have much respect for the way he conducted himself in his final days at Ibrox and how he used our captain as a way out and tried to permenantly try and tarnish his name.

Good luck PLG but good riddance.

WATER SMITH'S BLUE AND WHITE ARMY.

WE ARE STILL THE PEOPLE

[scott316 2]

I in no way wish PLG any luck in where he goes as he had no regard for our club as a whole when he decided to drop his best players. The Barry Ferguson incident was a pre-meditated "get me out of here" solution to what became a nightmare for him, for the simple fact that he did not have a clue. Tactically inept, couldn't spot a decent player if it bent over for him and totally poor in conducting himself to the media; all contributed to his demise. He knew the PSG post was coming up for availability, so he showed no respect to our club by farsically ripping the heart and soul out of a dreadful team in order to get a release from his contract by a chairman who shows a lot of loyalty to his managers. Good riddance ! Enjoy life in the French 2nd division, with his talents I can't see him being the big saviour their fans hope for.

[Canadaready 9,437]

He was a man that didn't respect Rangers and his time here was a failure.

[minstral 5,375]

He was a man that didn't respect Rangers and his time here was a failure.

[nvager 498]

Simply put he is better in France and we and RFC are MUCH better now that he's gone.

To the PLG lovers out there - you were all sadly mistaken.

Will PLG succeed in Paris with a struggling team - going by recent RFC experience - I just dont think so, but who knows and WHO CARES?

Was it a mistake to post this thread - yes - LET's MOVE ON!

Le Goner is in France - forget him.