Great Article

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

Miller interview

Alot of our young players would do well to heed the thoughts and reflections of CM in this interview.

[Cumbria_blue 51]

Dammit! The link isn't working for me Could someone please post up what it says?

[JR 1,480]

ALREADY, 2007 is shaping up as the year of the comeback. Rangers fans have heralded the return of Walter Smith and Ally McCoist, while Barry Ferguson has come back from the brink under Paul Le Guen. This week, Charlie Miller was the latest old face to be consumed by a sense of belonging at Murray Park.

Turning 30 has been a watershed in the colourful career of one of Scotland's most naturally gifted footballers of a generation. He has been released from his contract after two re-energising years in Norwegian football at Brann Bergen. Interest has ranged from Cardiff City to Gimnastic de Tarragona but a week's training stint at his old club has stirred a lingering sense of unfulfilment.

His appearance in the club training gear has also created a buzz of interest among supporters who would relish the return of Rangers' prodigal son. The decision lies with Walter Smith alone, but as Jeremy Clement said au revoir after seven months, the presence of a slimline Miller at the training complex will surely have roused the manager's curiosity.

continued...

"It felt like going back home, like being reunited with old family," said Miller yesterday. "I was never brought up at Murray Park but I was brought up with Walter, Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant. I have known them a long time and it was a great feeling just to go back and train there."

Having returned to the scene of his greatest achievements a decade on, Smith will decide today whether to offer Miller an unexpected opportunity of redemption. He was the Castlemilk kid with the world at his feet, until, according to popular wisdom, he chose Paul Gascoigne over Brian Laudrup as an on-site role model. Dick Advocaat showed little patience with the midfielder's professional indiscipline and instead of building a legacy, he spent years treading the boards at Leicester City, Watford, Dundee United and Brann.

I did not do it right last time around and would love the opportunity to rectify it

"I am not going to make any rash predictions but I did not do it right last time around and would love the opportunity to rectify it," he said, having undergone a lifestyle adjustment in Norway. "I did not realise at the time because I was young and naive. I had it all too soon and took it for granted. I was at Rangers since I was a kid and you become immune to just how privileged you are. It's strange, because it didn't dawn on me when I went down to England or even when I came back up the road.

"Maybe it's as I've gotten older but in the last few years I have found myself thinking: What have I done?' and What did I let go?' I won medals at Rangers but I see now I could have done so much better. It's not too late."

Miller seemed destined to share centre stage with Barry Ferguson at Ibrox, with the pair having grown up together from youth-team level. It never materialised and Miller has finally accepted responsibility for failing to maximise his true potential. A solitary B international cap against Poland five years ago underlines the wasted talent. He has been depicted as a troublemaker, a bad egg, unprofessional. In reality, he was easily influenced throughout his most impressionable years and, until now, never fully grasped the responsibilities that come with a natural gift.

Of late, Ferguson has had to endure his own turmoil. He was stripped of the captaincy, dropped and described as an "undesirable" during the last days of the Le Guen era but has recently had his authority and first-team status restored under the new management.

"He looks as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders," said Miller. "It was the hardest time of his career and I think he was genuinely shocked by it all.

"I don't know the ins and outs but from the outside it looked as if he was made the scapegoat. I got a phone call telling me what had happened and I said no chance'. I phoned Barry straight away and asked what happened and he told me it was true. He is strong enough to get through it and just needs to keep his head down."

Just as Robbie Fowler has been rehabilitated and reinvigorated at Anfield, so Miller is hoping he can be afforded the opportunity to atone for the lost years. "I will not be doing what I did 10 years ago," he said. "I will not give up the chance again. I am easily fitter than I have been in the last five years. I am also enjoying my football again. They work properly in Norway and I learned a lot of good habits there. I do think people still have the wrong idea of me being a troublemaker and I don't understand it.

"I have spoken to Walter, obviously, but it was general chat about how things have gone for me but we will see what happens. He knows me and knows how I feel about the club but I am a different man to the one I was 10 years ago. It's not in my hands but already you can see the atmosphere has changed to the way it seemed to be at the start of the season.

"I don't know Paul Le Guen and have never worked with him, so it would be unfair of me to comment on his time, but Walter has brought a happiness and camaraderie back to the dressing room. I have enjoyed it, it has been good.

"It's not for me to say I acquitted myself well, that's for the manager, Coisty and Kenny McDowall to say, but I am just grateful to have had the opportunity to go back."

Back for good? Miller would gratefully take that.

[JR 1,480]

Dammit! The link isn't working for me Could someone please post up what it says?

as you requested sir

[cooper1989 0]

Good read. From a 'human' point of view, it's good to see second chances. We'll see. Sounds like he has grown up.

[AmazingWill 0]

Is there any worth in giving him some sort of contract till the end of the season? Im sure hed sign up for very little wages or some sort of pay as you play deal for the chance to prove himself again and now were short in the centre of midfield...

*Stands back and awaits the barrage of abuse!

[Cumbria_blue 51]

Dammit! The link isn't working for me Could someone please post up what it says?

as you requested sir

Cheers Jockney

[JR 1,480]

Is there any worth in giving him some sort of contract till the end of the season? Im sure hed sign up for very little wages or some sort of pay as you play deal for the chance to prove himself again and now were short in the centre of midfield...

*Stands back and awaits the barrage of abuse!

I wouldnt be adverse to that

[BlueSuedeSambas 53,775]

I would take him. He is 30 which means he still has something to offer.

As the article says he has natural talent and that is something that doesn't go away over night.

If he really is as fit as people are saying he could easily be one of the SPL's better midfielders.

He is a Rangers man also.

I think he would be a good, cheap option. But that is not good enough for some Bears.

[Cumbria_blue 51]

I would take him. He is 30 which means he still has something to offer.

As the article says he has natural talent and that is something that doesn't go away over night.

If he really is as fit as people are saying he could easily be one of the SPL's better midfielders.

He is a Rangers man also.

I think he would be a good, cheap option. But that is not good enough for some Bears.

I think he deserves a second chance, just as Ferguson got when he came back from Blackburn. He could be given a 6 month contract with the chance to sign an extension in the summer if he proves himself in the team.

[finzster 0]

Would be very intersting if he got the contract, that's for sure! A bit of an underdog, Rocky 1-esque story!

That said, I met him many times in Glasgow (incl when he was at Utd) and he was a total ned! For a professional footballer to be so regularly hammered is a disgrace! He also smoked heavily, but so does Barry!

[papaguy51 912]

It appears he's going to be offered a deal.

I was in Norway for my uncle's 50th (don't ask, its incredibly random) and from what I got with the people I spoke to, he was head and shoulders above the rest of the league there.

Walter isn't daft, he won't offer Miller a deal if he's rubbish.

[loyalandtrueblue 69]

Miller would be a good addition to the squad at this stage as on his day there wasn't a midfielder who could lace his boots(apart from Beckham who borrowed his!!!) and it looks like he has done a lot of growing up over the past few years.

One of the interesting quotes from that interview gives a good hint at what was wrong at the club under PLG.

"I don't know Paul Le Guen and have never worked with him, so it would be unfair of me to comment on his time, but Walter has brought a happiness and camaraderie back to the dressing room'.

[minstral 5,375]

some want to get back in to the real world if they would accept charlie millar back at the club,he has had his time at ibrox and has been finished for years,and if thats the ambition of our club with the players we have signed so far,we will be chasing celtic for many years to come.

[D'Artagnan 13,319]

Its really good to hear of someone who actually wants to come to the club....wants to play for the jersey.

If he has impressed in training then I would take him.

[minstral 5,375]

Its really good to hear of someone who actually wants to come to the club....wants to play for the jersey.

If he has impressed in training then I would take him.

wanting to come to the club and play for the jersey does not make you a good player, and millar is finished,and i cant understand our policy of signing players who are past it.

[Rohan 23]

I'd be happy for him to sign a short-term contract. It would give him a chance to show how good he is

[minstral 5,375]

he is no good fact.

[JR 1,480]

he is no good fact.

As with any player, i will leave that up to Walter and Ally to decide, and support it either way

[minstral 5,375]

he is no good fact.

As with any player, i will leave that up to Walter and Ally to decide, and support it either way

just ask the everton fans if they would leave it up to walter to sign a player.the duds he signed for them.

[JR 1,480]

he is no good fact.

As with any player, i will leave that up to Walter and Ally to decide, and support it either way

just ask the everton fans if they would leave it up to walter to sign a player.the duds he signed for them.

Regrdless what your feelings on the current management staff at Rangers may be, they are in charge, and they know a damn site more than you or i - no disrespect intended.

Therefor if they judge CM or anyone worthy of a contract, i will respect and support their proffesional opinion.

What happened at Everton or anywhere else is of no concern to me

[bearwhocares 0]

he is no good fact.

As with any player, i will leave that up to Walter and Ally to decide, and support it either way

just ask the everton fans if they would leave it up to walter to sign a player.the duds he signed for them.

Regrdless what your feelings on the current management staff at Rangers may be, they are in charge, and they know a damn site more than you or i - no disrespect intended.

Therefor if they judge CM or anyone worthy of a contract, i will respect and support their proffesional opinion.

What happened at Everton or anywhere else is of no concern to me

I will respect their judgement because they should no more than me,but when they get it wrong they should respect the supporters who pay their wages.

[JR 1,480]

he is no good fact.

As with any player, i will leave that up to Walter and Ally to decide, and support it either way

just ask the everton fans if they would leave it up to walter to sign a player.the duds he signed for them.

Regrdless what your feelings on the current management staff at Rangers may be, they are in charge, and they know a damn site more than you or i - no disrespect intended.

Therefor if they judge CM or anyone worthy of a contract, i will respect and support their proffesional opinion.

What happened at Everton or anywhere else is of no concern to me

I will respect their judgement because they should no more than me,but when they get it wrong they should respect the supporters who pay their wages.

But of course my friend

[blueben_d 40]

I hate it when people write off people without giving them a chance, and I refer more to WS here than CM.

I remember the days of being told regularly that McCoist was finished, but he kept coming back and banging in some more goals

[Leiper 0]

he is no good fact.

As with any player, i will leave that up to Walter and Ally to decide, and support it either way

just ask the everton fans if they would leave it up to walter to sign a player.the duds he signed for them.

Over the past week or so I have seen many articles suggesting Miller is fitter than what he ahs ever been. Everyone knows about his natural ability. So if he is impressing in training why shouldn't we given him some sort of contract?

He has expressed how much he wants to return so he'll play with his heart on his sleeve. I'd rather that, than Clement.