sherm Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 May 21st, 1996 Outside Ibrox Stadium... Mick Stanton turned for the final time to look at his home of the last 9 years. Aged 32, he had enjoyed a stunning playing career - Since signing in a £20,000 deal from Falkirk, in 1987/88, he has won 8 Scottish Premier Division titles, Three Scottish Cups and Five Scottish League Cups, and in 284 games, he bagged 116 goals from his central midfield position. 54 caps for his country, and a glittering career has come to an end. One of the true heroes of the club, many fans are sad to see him go, and they believe it will be a long time till they find a midfielder of such skill again He burst onto the footballing scene aged 18, in the 1984/85 season, when he helped his Falkirk side to a Scottish Cup Semi-Final, including a 3-1 victory over Celtic in the Quarter-Final, and his move to Rangers was not unexpected. There, he established himself as one of the best midfield players in the modern era, and not just in Scotland. Many feel he showed his loyalty when, in the summer of 1991, after a prolific season, he turned down a £500,000 deal to Arsenal. He hung up his boots fittingly, with victory in the Scottish Cup final, a sparkling performance allowing his side to win 2-0 against old rivals Celtic. A standing ovation, from both sets of fans, saw Stanton leave the field with tears in his eyes and applauding all corners of the ground... -- June 30th 2006. A silver Mercedes pulls into the elected spot, which has a freshly painted 'MANAGER' sign on. A tall, broad man stepped out of the drivers seat, adjusted his tie so it was straight, brushed dust off his new suit, and headed through the executive entrance. As he walked through, he was greeted by a smaller, grey haired man, who had a similar size, but younger looking man next to him "Michael, how lovely to see you again. Thankyou for coming" "My pleasure David. How are you?" "Oh you know, business is business. I believe you know the gentlemen to my right?" Stanton turned to face the other gentleman, his face carving a broad smile, and the men embraced as if they were long lost brothers "Mick Stanton, you sly old sod. It's bloody good to see you" "How are you Ally? Glad to be back where you belong?" "Oh you bet. David told me that one of the conditions of the job was to have me as your number 2 - how could I say no to a man that made half of my goals eh?" "Gentlemen, I'm sorry to be a nuisance, but we must attend the press conference" David Murray led the two men into the new Press Room, with camera lights flashing as soon as they entered. What followed was an engaging 45 minutes, with Mick Stanton expressing his delight at being back at his favourite club, aswell as having his old friend Ally McCoist as his number two. It was all a distant memory from a week before... -- Game played on FM07, 7.0.2 patch. The Lisbon Lions challenge still is a favourite of mine, and I fancied giving it another go - how we will fare? Well, we shall have to wait and see... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthreeleader Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Good luck at Ibrox, Sherm. I think it's better to try this challenge with FM07, due to Rangers' injuries and lack of funds in 09. Will be following along! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottleeSV Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Good luck with this. That's quite a playing career to try and eclipse! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Cheers lads. 10-3, I still haven't got into 09, there's just something I don't like about it. Scott, I'll try my best --- As Mick Stanton sat in his new office, his name above the door, he realised just how much work he had to do. One of the conditions of his taking the job, not that it mattered, as he would have taken the job if he had to chop off an arm, was that any signings he made must be Scottish - aswell as selling any non-Scottish playing staff. He had immediately thought David Murray had gone off the boil, but once the chairman had explained to him why he had this vision, it all made perfect sense Over the next few days, before he actually met any of the squad, he had placed several of the foreigners on the transfer list - this, unfortunately, meant a severly depleted squad, and although the departures of Dado Prso, Thomas Buffel, Stefan Klos, Sasa Papac and Brahim Hemdani brought in almost £9 million, it meant that a lot of work would need to be done to bring in some Scottish talent - and not just any either, but the best available. With almost £22 million in the bank, bids were made quickly, and with the team to face four more pre-season games before their opening game, time was running out -- The Glasgow Times Influx at Ibrox Rangers manager Mick Stanton today announced the signing of four players to his revolution, and it seems to confirm the intent of the plan that David Murray has indicated, to bring in the best Scottish talent to the club The most notable was the £5.25 million capture of Hearts' international 'keeper Craig Gordon. The fee is a record between SPL clubs, but it is an ideal signing for Stanton, as Gordon is ready to establish himself as number one for club and country for several years to come. There was also an arrival from the Premiership, as midfielder Nick Montgomery made a £1.75 million switch from newly-promoted Sheffield United. The tough tackling international will add some extra bite in the midfield, and his ability is undoubted, as is his willingness to 'get stuck in' Dundee United midfielder Barry Robson is another new addition to the ranks, and his forward thinking mentality should see some added firepower, aswell as the fact he can play on the wings if needed, and at £300,000, it is a bargain for such a versatile player. Scotland under 21 international Robert Snodgrass also joined, for £35,000, and he plays either on the left hand side of midfield or alongside a striker partner. Livingston rate him highly, but they didn't stand in the way of the youngster and his 'dream move' However, many expect much more action in the transfer market over the next few weeks, as Rangers try to build a squad capable of competing while full of Scottish talent... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 While Ally McCoist travelled with the team to face Virton in a friendly, Mick stayed behind to secure some more signatures for the team - and some of the signings he was very excited about. Aberdeen goalkeeper Jamie Langfield joined for £775,000, while it took half a million to prise the highly talented Kilmarnock winger Steven Naismith to Ibrox. Naismith had been spotted the season before, a season in which he had bagged 19 SPL goals, and his ability to play in midfield or up-front meant it was a good signing. Following Naismith and Langfield into Ibrox were two central defenders, who commanded a combined fee of just under £750,000. Dundee Utd's Garry Kenneth was, despite his tender age, an experienced performer at this level, but it was St Mirren centre back Kirk Broadfoot who Mick expected to be pushing for a place in the starting line-up. Broadfoot was a big, powerful lad, with a brilliant leap and this led to his prowess in the air. -- The Boxing Day Battering, the infamous 6-1 derby win at Parkhead on Boxing Day 1993, in which Mick Stanton and his Rangers side destroyed the then League leaders Celtic, McCoist bagging a hat-trick, while Stanton himself grabbed one and made four. It is a day that lives long in the memory for Rangers fans, many calling it their 'greatest derby victory of all time' Stanton opened the scoring, latching onto Gordon Durie's pass and firing home into the bottom corner, before McCoist scored twice in seven minutes to send his team 3-0 ahead after just 27 minutes. The home side pulled a goal back, but right on half time, a stunning cross from Stanton found 'Jukebox' Durie, who headed past the helpless 'keeper. Everything went right that day, and two more goals in the second half, one each for the strike pairing of McCoist and Durie, both made by the precise passing of Stanton, saw their biggest away day victory of the season, and set them on their way to overhauling Celtic's lead at the top of the table -- The pre-season game, although not the most skilful or technical of matches, saw five goals, all of them coming in the first half of the match. Blancke put the home side ahead after just five minutes, latching onto a long ball and deftly flicking the ball over Allan McGregor. Nacho Novo volleyed home an equaliser, and although he should have had a hat-trick, it took until the 37th minute for the lead to be gained for the first time, Belgian youngster Jeroen van den Broeck curling home from the edge of the area. Three minutes later, Virton were level again, Lorenzon thundering home a header, but on half time, Gavin Rae, who had been at fault for the opener, made amends when he latched onto a loose ball, rounded the 'keeper and slotted into the empty goal The second half saw 9 changes over the course of the 45 minutes, and though they never looked as threatening as they had in the first half, it was always comfortable, and the 3-2 win was fairly simple - although Mick felt some of the defending could be seen to, according to McCoist's post-match report Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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