The Lions of Barcelona

[tenthreeleader]

Author's notes:

This story will be played using FM09, which is presently winging its way across the Atlantic to me even as I write. I will be using all the active leagues and nations presently active in "Rob Ridgway's Rat Pack" when the game arrives.

This story will be written and posted at a much slower pace than the "Rat Pack". It will also not be written in a daily diary format. It is based on BobBev's Lisbon Lions Challenge, though with a twist I haven't seen on this board. Since the challenge says it can be played with any Scottish club, I will attempt the challenge with Rangers.

Again, the names of all non-public characters are randomly generated and are not intended to represent actual people.

I hope you enjoy "The Lions of Barcelona".

tenthreeleader

9 December 2008

[tenthreeleader]

Of all the places my travels have taken me, I like Govan the best.

The shipyards on the western side of Scotland’s largest city have appealed to me from the beginning – as has the football club that calls this area home.

Not many native-born Americans get the opportunity to ply their trade overseas in this game, though the number is growing each year. That said, it appears there are more players who prefer to outclass lesser opposition at home in MLS than who want to come to Europe and get their heads down. I wasn’t one of the players in the former group.

My name is Phil Sharp. I was the kind of player born to play the game in the old-fashioned way.

I stand six-foot-four and weighed 191 pounds during my playing days, and that got me a lot of attention. It also earned me a role as a center-half that placed me at the heart of some very good defenses.

I also earned a reputation for being what the Scots - and the English, for that matter - call “a hard b*****d”. My job was to get in the middle, get physical, win the ball and shut down the other team’s high-scoring players. I did it very well, and made a good living for myself in the game while playing 68 times for my country’s national team.

I did it after growing up in a home situation that was half American and half Scottish. As a boy growing up in the States I listened to my dad, born and bred in Glasgow and a onetime Rangers trainee, talking about the “famous Glasgow Rangers”. From the way he described them, it was clear to me that Ibrox Park was the be-all and end-all of any footballer’s life.

My dad taught me the game and I grew to love it. Eventually, though, there was only one place on the pitch I could play due to my physical size and strength– the heart of the defense.

There were certainly central defenders more talented than I was. There were a very few central defenders stronger than I was. But few of them put the package together like I did, which is why I lasted as long as I did.

The teams for which I played during my sixteen seasons overseas –Brentford, Portsmouth, Manchester United, Hamburg SV and finally, Rangers, fulfilling my dad’s lifelong dream – all had reputations for hard work and serious coaches.

But it was with the Govan team in Glasgow that I found my football soul, and found it independently of my father.

The last five seasons of my playing career were spent here. The first seven years of my consequent coaching career came here as well – as youth assistant first for the Dutchman Dick Advocaat, then as assistant manager for Alex McLeish and finally, demoted, as youth boss for the Frenchman Paul LeGuen. I then stayed as part of the backroom staff, as a first team coach for Walter Smith’s return to Ibrox.

This morning the retirement of one of the club’s iconic figures was announced, and the call from the chairman’s office to my home had been quick.

“Please meet with the board at nine o’clock,” I was informed, and was then told that Smith had decided to leave Ibrox for the second time.

Smith was brought back to remove a perceived culture of softness at the club under the Frenchman LeGuen that had helped our arch rivals, Celtic, assume the ascendancy in the Scottish Premier League. During LeGuen’s tenure, Edinburgh-based Heart of Midlothian had also passed us into second place in the league. Both happenstances, to us, were galling.

LeGuen’s well-publicized bust-ups, first with defender Fernando Ricksen and then with his captain, Barry Ferguson, sealed his doom. He stripped Ferguson of the captaincy and then, in a surprising development, Paul decided that for the good of the club, he should be the one to go. And so, he did.

Smith, for his part, corrected both issues to a point, but couldn’t overtake Rangers’ great rivals on the other side of Glasgow.

As I drove in to the club’s legendary home at what’s now Ibrox Stadium, I was half-expecting the sack, as part of Smith’s backroom staff. Surely the new manager would want to bring in his own people. And since I had a real good idea of who the new manager would be, I wondered if he, or the board, would really pull the trigger.

Things haven’t gone the “Ranger way” for a few seasons now, and as part of the coaching setup I was expecting the worst as I reported for my mandated meeting with the board.

# # #

I wore my best dark suit as I was shown into the boardroom to see nine unsmiling faces greeting me.

The walk up Ibrox’s famed marble staircase seemed especially long. And knowing full well what was at the top of the stairs – the famed Trophy Room, the equally famed Blue Room, the manager’s office and my destination, the board room – I had a sense of disorientation as I climbed the stairs.

I wasn’t optimistic. I entered the room and Sir David Murray, the club chairman, motioned me to a chair in front of the board. Puzzled, I sat, and faced him.

“Phil, you are aware of this morning’s developments,” I was informed, and I nodded in reply.

“It’s time for some changes,” he said simply, and I nodded, accepting my fate. “For Rangers FC, there is a certain standard that must be met. You surely know that, having played for us and having helped this club win trophies.”

“I do,” I said. I counted fifteen of them – eight championships, four Scottish Cups and three League Cups as a player and coach. “I understand the reasons for the board’s decision.”

“You haven’t heard what it is yet,” he said, and I tried and failed to hide my shock.

“We’ve watched closely over the last year,” Murray continued. “And we’ve noticed, because it’s been easy to notice that some highly successful parts of our organization over the last seven years are the ones you’ve either run or helped run. Therefore our purpose in calling you here today is to discuss the possibility of you succeeding Walter Smith.”

I nodded, my feet underneath me again. “I am at your disposal,” I said.

“Excellent,” he replied, and the mood of the board changed markedly. It seemed quite odd, but if they weren’t quite ready to sack me yet, I didn’t mind.

They were all business. They wanted to know what my philosophies were, what my training thoughts were, how I believed players should be handled, and what my thoughts were upon obtaining the coveted UEFA Pro License, which I earned last year.

But I soon learned that it all boiled down to one question and I suspected my future employment would depend on the answer I gave.

“Do you think this squad of players can win?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” I said, “provided they’re given self-belief, and are made to work within a system which fits their abilities. I liken it to what Manchester United went through a few years ago with Chelsea – they were a superb side that couldn’t break through. If you asked them if they could win the English Premier League, of course they’d say yes – but they needed to believe it after a three-year dry spell. This club is the same. These players can absolutely do it. They just need to work hard and they need to believe both in the cause they’re working for as well as in themselves.”

Murray paused for a moment, writing down my answer. Finally, finished writing, he looked at me and we locked eyes across the board room table.

“Now, for a slightly more difficult question: do you think it can win with all Scottish players?”

# # #

[Kewell08]

Another tenthree story! Can he keep two on the go, that is the question I am asking...

I hope so!

Edit: And also another tall American former centre-half...

[tenthreeleader]

Thanks for the good wishes, Kewell. As for the character of Phil Sharp, I'd offer this: Dick Francis wrote mystery novels and every one had something to do with horses. I tend to like to write about Americans trying their hand in the big-time of Europe. In fact, if you read carefully during the character development process, you will notice other similarities that I have built in.

___

I raised my eyebrows at the question. Rangers, like Celtic, has relied on a mix of home-grown talent as well as the imported variety. Yet when part of the public image of both clubs is to be as Scottish as possible, it was an intriguing question to ask. What had changed in the board’s outlook?

I thought through the eleven and picked out the first Scottish names that popped into my head. McGregor. Alexander. Broadfoot. Weir. Dailly. Thomson. Ferguson. Whittaker. Boyd. Miller. The prodigiously talented youngster John Fleck. I smiled.

“I see no reason why not,” I replied.

# # #

I knew a little bit about motivating players, at least from UEFA’s point of view. As I just mentioned, last winter I completed work on my UEFA Pro License, the most coveted license in managing. It allows me, among other things, to manage in the English Premier League, which requires the Pro License as a prerequisite. Unless your name is Gareth Southgate or Glenn Roeder.

So why is a youth and assistant manager spending thousands of dollars (or pounds) getting the UEFA A and B licenses and qualifying for the Pro, when he’s third in the pecking order at his own club?

It’s simple - I won’t be third forever. I do want to manage, and eventually at the highest levels in the game. That is my goal. Yet as the board dismissed me from the meeting, I knew what the inevitable rumor would be regardless of how well I interviewed. As I drove home, I heard it just like I thought I would.

# # #

BBC Glasgow was succinct. “Turning to sport, manager Walter Smith has announced his retirement from Rangers,” the presenter said. “The club has finished behind rivals Celtic for the last two seasons but finished last season with a League Cup and Scottish FA Cup double while reaching the finals of the UEFA Cup. Early speculation on a successor links the club with Rangers assistant manager and club legend Ally McCoist.”

If you had to pick two legends at Rangers FC and you couldn’t pick Bill Struth as one of them, Big Walter Smith and Ally McCoist would top most people’s lists. One was leaving and the other seemed to be on his way in.

As a competitor for the job, that’s basically too bad for me. I was a teammate of Ally’s, and we both played for Walter during the heart of Rangers’ most dominant period in its history. Together, they helped the Scottish national team, the famed “Tartan Army”, recover from the disastrous reign of the German, Berti Vogts.

Everyone knows what Walter Smith did during his time here. And everyone knows what McCoist did as well – he scored 355 goals for the club in 581 games from 1983 to 1998 and redefined the term “Ibrox Legend.”

And why not? Ally is good at what he does. Right now, Ally is thought of as the heir apparent to Walter and that’s understandable. His nickname of “The Judge” came from sitting on the bench due to his conflicts with then-manager Graeme Souness – and now people are speculating his bench work will come as the manager.

In the meantime, I’m sitting here waiting for my shot. I have to admit – as much as I admire what Walter and Ally have done, if Ally is hired I’ll seriously consider asking to leave by mutual consent.

That’s not because I’m ready to leave Rangers. I am not. I don’t want to leave. However, I am ready for my shot somewhere and I’ll go look for it if that chance doesn’t come here. As much as I‘d hate to leave, it’s time to try something on my own.

# # #

[gavrenwick]

Great start tenthreeleader.

[nette000]

Your threads were already detrimental to mine being updated (though my laziness it the main culprit), so I am happy to see a new one started.

[Geordie 09]

Quality start 10.3. As always when reading stories on here i am tempted into trying one myself, maybe one day i'll get my arse into gear and try it.

[Wegason]

When I read this,

"This story will be written and posted at a much slower pace than the "Rat Pack"."

I thought can the pace of the story be any slower without becoming boring? Then on second reading I realised you mean you'll be posting this more slowly.

Glad to see another 10-3 story!

[tenthreeleader]

Gentlemen, I'm glad you like the start so far. I'm going to be in background for a bit yet so I hope you continue to enjoy...

___

I know Walter Smith well. He was my old boss. He brought me to the club. In 1993-94, Walter signed me from Hamburg and told me I was there to do a job.

The previous spring, Rangers had nearly equaled Celtic’s feat of winning the European Cup, winning the domestic treble on the way to reaching the European Cup semifinals. They had beaten English champions Leeds United on the way to the big matchup against France’s Olympique Marseille, but bowed out over two legs.

Marseille was later found guilty of bribing opposing players to lose matches in this tournament – leading Smith and every Gers supporter to wonder what might have been had they faced a different opponent in the last four. I was brought in to provide the final link in defense and I did the very best I could.

I took part in that great domestic run, as Smith extended Souness’ winning streak from three straight titles to an amazing nine. It was an unbelievable time to be at the club. We won four titles in my five years there as a player and I got to watch Gascoigne’s brilliance from the pitch after he arrived at Ibrox in 1995.

But in 1997-98, we didn’t win. We lost the league for the first time in nine seasons, as Rangers equaled Celtic’s feat of domestic dominance from the 70s and 80s. Smith left for Everton in the English Premier League and I was suddenly left without a club.

# # #

PSV Eindhoven manager Dick Advocaat was next in line, as the first non-Scot to hold the post of Rangers’ manager.

He didn’t want a giant central defender, and told me so when he arrived. He did suggest, though, that I might want to consider a coaching career. Having seen me play and having seen my natural leadership tendencies, he offered me a spot in his back room.

That was gracious. And at age 34, when most players begin to slow down, I could feel it happening to me.

I was unusual for a few important reasons when I played. Central defenders – or footballers, for that matter – over six feet tall are comparatively rare, and at 6’4”, I was a rare one indeed. They are rare because, as a rule, bigger men lack the pace so important to succeed at the highest level.

I also played at just over 200 pounds and that was very rare at this level. I was quite physically imposing and even boasted a 26-inch vertical leap at the peak of my powers.

This made me a force in the air, and my body size allowed me to physically dominate forwards who I could match in pace. That led to my two cartoon-character nicknames while I played: “The Hulk”, by the English media, and the one I far preferred, “Spider-Man.”

When I “climbed the ladder” to go for a header during the overwhelming majority of my career, I knew I could generally head the ball wherever I wanted. Most players couldn’t stop me without fouling when I was in the air and that enabled me to command the defensive penalty area pretty much as I chose. Teams weren’t going to be able to enter our area through the air when I was out there so many of the sides we played against had to change their tactics to provide service to their forwards.

Yet by the time Advocaat arrived, my legs were giving out and I knew it. Wanting to go out on top – knowing that once my physical gifts were gone my fall from top competition would be obvious - I accepted Advocaat’s offer to coach, and announced my retirement from the game.

Dick then brought me on as his youth boss, and proceeded to make himself quite popular with the supporters by spending vast amounts of money on players. It was a heady time at the club, which appeared poised to finally make the jump to the “next level”.

Unfortunately, being Dick Advocaat’s youth boss was frustrating. Advocaat was there to spend Rangers to the top, and while he was immensely popular with supporters and to a large extent still is, his failure to deliver in Europe after all his spending resulted in financial hardship that still affects the club today.

The sides were good – very good, in fact. Dick opened his tenure with the domestic treble followed by a double the following year – but then everything collapsed.

I watched more than a few home matches from the bench and directors’ box at Ibrox as a member of the staff, but I never traveled with the team. Reports of dissension in the dressing room coupled with Martin O’Neill’s arrival and ascendancy at Celtic spelled a difficult stretch ahead.

Players did disagree in that dressing room, but if there was a huge split I didn’t see it. All I know is the players didn’t perform for Dick like had been hoped – but then that should have been no surprise given the league tables. They simply did not jell as a team and that was that.

That does happen in football. My relationship with Dick was a mixed one – he got me into coaching and I will be forever grateful to him for that. But at the same time, when he got me in, he didn’t utilize me and that hurt. I might have been able to help because there were a lot of former teammates still in that room who might have listened to me.

I did what I could behind the scenes and studied hard for my UEFA coaching badges, but out of obedience to my boss I didn’t go where I could have gone – that would have usurped Dick’s authority and led to anarchy. That would have killed everything.

In 2001, Dick left and was replaced by Alex McLeish. His situation was odd – and soon mine became even odder.

When hired, he was a Scotsman with no ties to Rangers, and in the fiercely parochial world of Scottish football that put him under suspicion from the beginning. He had played for Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen, in fact. And since Aberdeen is only slightly below Celtic on Rangers’ list of domestic rivals, he had trouble with some of the supporters. He had also managed at Motherwell and Hibernian – neither of which were Ibrox in the eyes of the Gers faithful.

However, the first thing he did in the back room was elevate me to assistant manager, and gave me a voice in the boot room. For the first time I handled team talks and did my best to help Alex along.

McLeish was the manager for Rangers’ 50th league championship in 2002-03, when a win at Motherwell allowed us to beat Celtic on goal difference. 2003-04 wasn’t a good season but 2004-05 was the most satisfying campaign I’ve ever been a part of, ending with the famous “Helicopter Sunday.”

On that day, Motherwell scored twice in added time to beat Celtic 2-1 while we defeated Hibs 1-0 to snatch the title by one point. The SPL trophy, which was on the way to Fir Park by helicopter, was diverted in mid-flight so it could be presented to us in Edinburgh.

But then, like Souness before him, McLeish was gone in a difference with the board. No one ever found out why – but Murray’s professional respect for Paul LeGuen, the manager of French powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais and former manager of the French national team, was well known.

Alex was out, Paul was in, and I was back in the youth setup to make way for a new assistant manager, Yves Colleu. It was a demotion and frankly it stung.

LeGuen didn’t fare well in his only season here. We won only six of our first seventeen league matches, were dumped out of the Scottish Cup 3-0 by Hibs and then we lost 2-0 at Aberdeen four days later. We finished third, behind Celtic and newly resurgent Hearts.

Some of the players I had helped bring through the youth setup – Chris Burke, Alan Hutton and Steven Smith among them – were making their mark. But LeGuen just couldn’t win over the supporters and results weren’t good enough to help him.

Smith then returned, winning the League and Scottish Cups in his second season back at the helm, but was unable to overtake Gordon Strachan on the other end of the city. So now he has retired.

That is the history of this club in a nutshell, and now I have been interviewed to perhaps become the new manager of Rangers FC.

# # #

[salkster2102]

Amazing stuff 10-3. I don't know how you do it.

[tenthreeleader]

Salkster, thank you very much ... glad you are enjoying the read!

___

I reached my home on the northern side of town and sat down in my den to watch television.

I lead a very quiet life. Most of that is by choice, but some of it rankles just a bit. At age 41, I haven’t married and even though it is long past time I settled down, I just haven’t had the time (or, frankly, the luck) to do it.

If I leave Rangers, though, it would appear my time is my own. And that may not be the worst thing in the world, even as much as I love the club. I’ve now been a part of eight Scottish league championships – four as a player and four more as a coach. Whether I will be allowed to try for a ninth as manager sure isn’t up to me.

It being July, there isn’t a heck of a lot of football on, so I watched some cricket on Sky Sports. That’s a sport I never really could understand. I would rather have been elsewhere.

As I watched, my phone rang. It was a stringer from The Scotsman, a national newspaper based out of Edinburgh.

He spoke with the thick brogue that had taken me a full year to learn to understand. I think he said something about knowing I had been interviewed – he said something about how “I knaw ye talked wi' David Murray today”, and I took a moment to process what he was saying.

“I can confirm that,” I said.

“Care tae comment?”

That meant the same thing in just about every language. “The board have seen fit to interview me,” I said simply. “Beyond that, as an employee of the club I cannot and will not comment without the board’s and Chairman Murray’s approval.”

That pretty well sewed things up from my point of view. But I knew the story would be everywhere within hours.

Just for fun, as I tipped back a McEwan’s Scotch Ale I decided to fire up my broadband connection to see how long it would take.

The answer was about 45 minutes. Under the headline “Former Rangers star interviews for post”, first The Scotsman, then the Press Association and finally Soccernet.com wound up posting the following:

The Press Association understands that there is a new contender for the vacant managerial post at Rangers.

Phil Sharp, aged 41 and a former Gers assistant manager under Alex McLeish, interviewed with chairman David Murray and his board this afternoon at the club’s Govan headquarters.

Sharp played for Rangers from 1994-99 and the former central defender has been involved with the coaching setup at the club ever since.

The favorite for the position remains former Scotland and Rangers assistant Ally McCoist. However the introduction of another Light Blue legend into the mix suggests the club may be having difficulty reaching agreement.

Murray would not comment on the club’s coaching or managerial situations this afternoon.

I smiled. Ally McCoist. My old teammate and friend. It will be him and I guess I’m resigned to it.

There’s nothing more tried and true in sports than going to something that has worked before. Ally has been terrific for this club and when you have his past, that’s not such a bad thing.

Rangers are in a situation where a gamble isn’t necessarily the thing you want to take. So it didn’t surprise me to read what I read.

Instead of using the evening to watch television, I brushed up my CV. I won’t be this club’s choice.

# # #

[Dixie Flatline]

Oooh, what a cliff-hanger!

[tenthreeleader]

It was a giveaway, wasn't it?

___

Boy, was I wrong. I am this club’s choice.

The call was as surprising as it was pleasing – would I be interested in discussing terms?

Numbly, I said of course I would, and before the morning was over I was back in meetings with the board.

The negotiations didn’t last all that long. They put out a monetary figure that was a bit on the skimpy side – I’m to be paid £375,000 for this season – but it was almost embarrassing how quickly I agreed.

They liked my answers, they liked how I interviewed and most importantly, they liked how I know the current Rangers setup even while I’m willing to change it.

So they made me an offer. When they asked, I only had one question.

“Am I your second choice?” I asked.

“No, you aren’t,” Murray said without a trace of fatuity. “You’re our first choice. You need not worry in this regard.”

I nodded. It seemed odd to me – what had happened with McCoist? We talked about terms of the contract and then we got down to the heart of the matter.

“We do expect to win – this year,” I was informed. “The supporters expect to win this year.”

“That’s good, because I expect to win this year, and if I don’t, I wouldn’t expect to stay,” I answered. “We understand each other.”

No manager should ever flinch when he’s told his board’s expectations. Everyone – even those who know they’re going to rebuild or who are going to have trouble staying in their divisions – have winning at the heart of their philosophies.

It’s made more pronounced here by the stature of the Old Firm. Celtic and Rangers have won over ninety Scottish titles between them. And it doesn’t matter if Scotland is considered a weak sister to her southern neighbor. You still have to get out there on the pitch and you still have to perform.

Here, I’m expected to win the league and beat Celtic – though not necessarily in that order. Strachan is expected to win the league and beat me – though not necessarily in that order.

So now that the expectations were laid out, Murray was the next to speak.

“Gentlemen, I believe we have a deal,” he said. “We will announce you at noon today.”

“Agreed,” I said, signing the pre-contractual agreement now placed in front of me.

# # #

[JamboJen]

Hmmm, this is a tough one for me, 10/3, but I think I've come to a suitable conlusion...

Phil's Rangers team crumbles and he eventually gets himself the Hearts job, completing the all-Scottish challenge with them

It'll be hard not to be interested in the story though, there's certainly a few current or former Hearts players who could wind up in Phil's team.

I just can't bring myself to want Rangers to win though!!

All my anti-Rangers stuff aside, it's a good read so far

[tenthreeleader]

Jen, I was wondering what you'd write ... thanks for not holding it against me!

In seriousness, an all-Scottish Gers lineup will have some holes that need filling sooner rather than later. That will be a challenge and since I've not yet seen the ratings, I can't even say who I'll be looking to acquire. However, I know there are Jambos who could help considerably.

Just keep rooting for Reading, please

___

“Rangers expected to spurn McCoist”

That wasn’t exactly the headline I wanted to see, but it was the one I got. I’m now at the stage where I am ready to officially quit reading newspapers and web sites.

I expect many of the fans want McCoist. And that’s okay. But a certain number want me to stay too, and made that feeling loud and clear after I was demoted by LeGuen.

I spent the rest of my morning looking for a suit that would fit me off the rack for my news conference. That was a little difficult, but I sure didn’t want to be wearing anything but Rangers colors when I was introduced. I have a forest green suit at home that I will probably never wear again as a result of today’s events.

However, my favorite tailor near the Govan district knows who I am, and when I told him what I wanted he was willing, and able, to oblige.

Within two hours I had a brand new blue silk suit which went well with a white silk dress shirt and my preferred powder blue tie. The Light Blues are the Light Blues, after all.

During matches the manager traditionally wears a wide-striped red, cream and blue tie with a navy suitcoat when weather permits. I think that’s garish but I’m not going to argue with tradition.

I reported back to Ibrox for my introductory news conference and found media everywhere. I shouldn’t have been surprised at this and as it turned out, there were actually more media there for my hiring than there were for the dismissal of LeGuen two years ago.

The secret was out, and the word began to flash around Britain: “American to re-enter Old Firm”.

Americans are accepted in most places in the football world, but the managerial ranks are really the last bastion for those of my nationality. The Europeans who look down their noses at American players soon realize that we are hard-working almost to a fault, good team players for the most part and most of us are best when the going gets roughest.

That was the way I always played. It was the only way. Our players – including former national team captain Claudio Reyna, who played here for five years – put up with enough as it is.

He was the poor guy who got to watch someone in a stadium corner waving his arms like a crashing airplane in our first match after the 9-11 attacks. Players like Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, who now plays here, Maurice Edu and countless others benefited from the strength of players like Claudio Reyna.

I took my share of it too. Even though most Americans don’t often have a dog in the Old Firm fight, I was a special target for some of the Hoops supporters. However, it’s part and parcel of being involved in the world’s greatest footballing rivalry.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Those who have seen the Old Firm in action simply laugh at Americans who think they have sports rivalries.

They don’t even come close to this. I myself watch and laugh as ESPN seems to think the entire world comes to a halt whenever the Red Sox play the Yankees. Compared to Rangers/Celtic, that’s nerdball.

In fact, all the world’s greatest football rivalries – Rangers/Celtic, Manchester United/Liverpool in England, Inter/AC Milan/Juventus in Italy, Barcelona/Real Madrid in Spain, and the white-hot Boca Juniors/River Plate superclasico in Argentina – dwarf anything American sport can throw out. And for at least the next 200 years, they will continue to do so.

Even the great old venues have special names that you don’t often see in American sports. Yes, the old Yankee Stadium was “The House That Ruth Built”. But Old Trafford in Manchester is known as the “Theatre of Dreams”. Boca Juniors plays in the wonderfully named “La Bombonera” – literally translated as “The Chocolate Box”. River Plate plays in “El Monumental”. If you ever played under “The Twin Towers”, you knew you were at the old Wembley in London. I played there once, winning an FA Cup medal with United.

But being around the Old Firm rivalry is exhilarating. I have played a modest part in it – I took part in 19 Old Firm league matches during my five years in Scotland since the teams generally play each other four times during each SPL season, as well as nine Cup matches against Celtic. So I’m a veteran of the emotions that come with playing in this fixture 28 times. Wherever it’s contested – Ibrox, Parkhead or Hampden Park for a major Cup-tie – it’s like playing football in a blast furnace.

I also scored a few goals during my career. My specialty as a central defender was shutting down the other guy’s top scorers, but I was quite useful in the penalty area due to my height. I was also happy to possess what the English call a “thunderous” right foot, that made me a threat from distance throughout my career.

In 16 seasons I scored 64 goals in league play and another twelve in cup competitions, very large scoring totals for a defender. Many of those goals came from the penalty spot, which artificially inflated my count, but I enjoyed every moment of my offensive forays as well. I was known as an excellent passer and distributor of the ball, which made me valuable – more than just a big donkey in the box.

I was good from the penalty spot - but don't tell my father that. As part of my upbringing he would drill me and drill me from the spot -- and seemed like I could never beat him. It was frustrating, but his forceful coaching made me a better player.

Five of my goals came against Celtic and three more came in cup play against them. Considering I played against them only 28 times, that figure is a phenomenal statistic, especially for a defender. Supporters just don’t forget moments like those, and the players who make them.

So this time, when I walked up the marble staircase, I had a completely different feeling. Now it was one of history, that I was about to join.

History is everywhere in this place. The main stand, like so many in the grand cathedrals of the game in Britain, was designed by the great Archibald Leitch. So before I headed to the Blue Room for my formal introduction, I headed down the corridor for a silent look around the Trophy Room. There, the history of this club is present for all to see.

# # #

[Spav]

A fine introduction to your new story, tenthree. I tried the challenge with Hearts on CM01/02 and it really makes for great playing.

Regarding your 'Updated for Spav' comment at the bottom of the last post - if that is the reference to penalty-taking against your father then I thank you for including that little snippet in what I'm sure will be another excellent story-telling effort.

[tenthreeleader]

Great catch, Spav ... yes, the snippet about penalties was a small tribute to Olympiakos !

___

For Rangers FC, the winning started early. The club played only two matches in its first season, which was actually 1872. The first was a goalless draw against Callander FC on Flesher’s Haugh, on Glasgow Green. The other match was an 11-0 rout of Clyde, which sort of set the tone for things to come, if you want to look at it like that.

Rangers’ first international player was one of the club’s founders – Moses McNeil, who with his brother Peter joined William McBeath and Peter Campbell in putting the club together. Moses played for Scotland in 1876 against Wales.

Rangers’ first match against Celtic came in 1888, and the club’s first trophy – the 1894 Scottish Cup – came after two semifinal losses in 1877 and 1879. From that point forward, Rangers have won 108 more trophies in 113 subsequent seasons. That’s not bad.

Rangers even played in the English FA Cup, and nearly won it, falling to Aston Villa in the 1887 semifinals. Now, let’s be honest – can any American sport even come close to this type of tradition? Baseball possibly, but even the Grand American Game wasn’t organized to this level, with the National League’s foundation in 1876 starting my favorite American sport on a professional level.

Rangers won its first League Championship in 1899, and were prepared nicely to enter the 20th Century. But in 1920, the club’s original manager, William Wilton, died in a boating accident. The man named to replace him was his assistant, a man named Bill Struth.

# # #

Wilton did a wonderful job in building Rangers but Bill Struth turned them into a Scottish powerhouse. Struth came to Rangers in 1914 aged 39, to assist Wilton. He left in 1954, after forty years of service that had made the club pre-eminent in the country.

What he did was extraordinary. In a 27-year managerial career (the Scottish league took hiatus from 1939-40 through 1945-46 due to World War II), he won the league 18 times, including 14 times in the 19 years of his tenure before World War II. He also won ten Scottish Cups, won Scotland’s first league and cup double in 1928, and Scotland’s first treble (League, Scottish Cup and League Cup) in 1949.

Struth was a taskmaster, a disciplinarian to the end. The story goes that he insisted his players wear collars and ties – while training. One story went that he would watch the players’ arrival at Ibrox for training from an upstairs window, and if he saw a player arrive with his hands in his pockets he would make the player retake the walk into the stadium with his hands at his sides. He believed in looking the part – all the time.

Bill Struth retired in 1954, having already been named to the club board. He passed away two years later, and the main stand at Ibrox now bears his name.

# # #

[copperhorse21]

We've got our own history on this forum board, starting way back in "Calcio". I liked Calcio. I'm really enjoying "Rat Pack", but the opening few posts of this story really take the cake and show me that like your "Seaside" short story, you can really capture the essence of "tradition" in narrative form.

I'm delighted with this effort so far.

[tenthreeleader]

Copper, your comments are kind as always. Nothing like a little backstory to help move things along .... especially while I wait for the game to arrive

___

Scott Symon replaced Struth and continued the string of firsts in Scotland for the club. Under his guidance, Rangers won the Treble in 1964, and in 13 years won six titles, four League Cups and four Scottish Cups. In 1961 he made Rangers the first British team – not merely the first Scottish team – to reach a European trophy final, but lost the 1961 Cup-Winners-Cup to Fiorentina. They also lost that same final in 1967, but by then something remarkable had happened.

In 1967, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup thanks to its famed “Lisbon Lions”. At this time Rangers were under the management of Davie White, the only Rangers manager until LeGuen who didn’t win a trophy.

Willie Waddell succeeded White and gave Rangers its only European triumph to date with a 3-2 win over Dynamo Moscow in the 1972 Cup-Winners-Cup final at the Nou Camp in Barcelona. There was a pitch invasion after that game, which resulted in two things: first, Rangers receiving the trophy in their boot room, and second, the club being barred from defending its trophy.

Governing body UEFA ruled Rangers could not defend its title, initially suspending the club from European competition for two years but later reducing to one year on appeal.

There was plenty of drama in that Cup run. It started with a 6-6 two leg aggregate draw against Sporting Lisbon in which a penalty shootout was held – and lost by Rangers – before the match official realized that Rangers had won the tie on away goals. The result of the match was then reversed and the penalty result annulled.

There followed a 3-1 aggregate win over mighty Bayern Munich at the height of its powers, including a 2-0 triumph at Ibrox over a team that featured legends Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner, the great Sepp Maier, Gerd Müller, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck and a young Uli Hoeness. Nearly half that Bayern side would go on to help West Germany win the 1974 World Cup.

To make matters even more interesting, FC Barcelona, archrivals to Franco’s favored Real Madrid, were ready to invite Rangers back in 1974 to take part in their pre-season tournament. It never happened, but Franco died the next year (and yes, Chevy Chase, he’s still dead) so we’ll never know what might have happened had Franco’s rivals invited Rangers back to Spain while El Caudillo was still living.

So, Celtic has its Lisbon Lions. Rangers has its Barcelona heroes of 1972. You might call them the “Lions of Barcelona.”

# # #

[gavrenwick]

Makes me wonder how you can forget the away goal rule. Good stuff as always tenthree.

[sherm]

10-3, stunning stuff so far, shows why you fully deserved your quadruple at this years awards

[tenthreeleader]

Gavrenwick, thank you for your kindness ... and Sherm, you flatter me. I appreciate your support as always!

___

After this European success, Waddell resigned to move to the boardroom, and Jock Wallace took over the club.

He ended a string of nine straight Celtic championships in 1974-75 and then won the inaugural Scottish Premier League title the next season. That was another Treble season and Wallace turned the treble trick again two seasons later before resigning unexpectedly in 1978.

1970s captain John Greig took over from Wallace, and was unfortunately remembered for his teams’ inability to knock Celtic off its perch. He was in turn re-succeeded by Wallace, lured home from Leicester City in England. By then the challenge was somewhat greater – the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers was now competing with the so-called “New Firm” of Aberdeen and Dundee United.

Aberdeen was managed by a man named Alex Ferguson. He was a former Rangers striker and in later years refused the call of his former club to instead move to Manchester United in 1986.

# # #

In its 100-plus year history, Rangers had never had a player-manager. That changed in 1986 when former Liverpool legend and Scottish international Graeme Souness was brought in to turn the club around.

He did, in the midst of a storm of controversy over his fiery conduct that saw him sent off in his first appearance in the uniform, but in a season that also saw Rangers win the championship for the first time in eight years. That season also saw the arrival of David Murray, who bought the club for £6 million and brought in some big players.

One of those players was Paul Gascoigne, the talented but highly erratic English midfielder who would become a club legend. Souness’ Rangers won the league in 1989, the first season with Murray in charge as chairman. They won the next two years as well, capping the run with a last-day win over Aberdeen at Ibrox to win the 1991 championship. Then, Souness resigned.

It was shocking, it was unbelievable, but it happened. And Walter Smith was waiting in the wings to continue the club’s greatest ever string of success. That brings me full circle.

# # #

After being formally introduced to media in the Blue Room, our news conference was held on the pitch at Ibrox, which I thought was very nice. I stepped out onto the pitch in the middle of a large gaggle of media and it was though I had never left as an active player.

The Bill Struth Main Stand loomed in the background. Facing the Govan Stand to the north with my back to the main stand, I looked to my right and saw the Copland Road stand, which replaced the legendary “Derry” terraced area. To my left I saw the Broomloan Stand. Virtually the entire stadium has been redone since the 1971 Ibrox disaster, and it is now one of 29 stadia in Europe listed as “five-star” by UEFA.

This means Ibrox is one of two stadia in Scotland that can host European Championship finals, including the Champions League final. It’s the only club stadium in the country – the national stadium, Hampden Park, is the other – that can be so utilized.

# # #

Like many of the older stadia in Europe, Ibrox has changed over the years. Originally comprised of the Main Stand and a massive bowl area surrounding the pitch, the old Ibrox set the still-standing crowd record for a league match in the British Isles, when over 118,000 fans packed the place for a match against Celtic in the “Ne’er Day” derby in 1937.

But two tragic incidents have haunted the old place. On April 5, 1902, Ibrox hosted a match in the old Home Championship between Scotland and the “Auld Enemy” – England. The place was jammed to the rafters, and during the match, a section of old terracing in what is now the Broomloan Stand collapsed, sending hundreds of people on a four-story plunge to the pavement below.

Twenty-six people were killed and over 500 were injured. That led to structural improvements at the stadium but sadly, that wasn’t the worst disaster to befall the stadium.

On January 2, 1971, Rangers hosted Celtic at Ibrox. With one minute to play, Celtic took a 1-0 lead and many of the supporters got up to leave.

But then Colin Stein equalized in stoppage time, sending the place into bedlam. At that moment, in what is now the Copeland Stand, Stairway 13 was filled with people trying to leave the ground.

Barriers on Stairway 13 then gave out, resulting in a chain-reaction crush of spectators. Sixty-six people, many of them children, were killed. It ranked alongside Heysel and Hillsborough as the greatest disasters in the history of football.

The sadness was overwhelming. The club chairman at the time insisted that Rangers representatives, including players, were to attend every one of the 66 funerals that resulted.

But from that sadness came a new commitment to rebuild Ibrox as a truly modern, all-seater stadium. That led to three new stands, and a home that was years ahead of its time in terms of safety. Unfortunately, the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters – both of which were caused in part by the use of terraces now banned in the higher English leagues – happened before the rest of the world learned the harsh lessons of Ibrox.

But that was long ago. Today, the media stood on the hallowed pitch of the new, modern Ibrox in a semi-circle around us. I stood next to Murray and the chairman began the proceedings.

# # #

[FM BEAR]

Great story mate. A fe little innacuracies but nothing to write home about.

Can I just say that with regards to The Disaster in 1971 the barrier on stairway 13 gave way a full ten minutes after final whistle.

Colin Stein's goal was not a contributing factor. I mention this as it is a contentious issue falsely reported at the time by the Gutter Press and a stigma wrongly attached to Stein for many years after.

[tenthreeleader]

FM Bear, thanks for the comments. I've done some research into the 1971 disaster and in my own defense I should point out that the mention of Stein's goal was not intended to say it was responsible for the crush, but rather to intimate the conditions inside the stadium at the time of the disaster. I know if it were me, I would have a very hard time living with that stigma so I have tried not to attach one to anyone else. I appreciate your reading the story and bearing in mind that Sharp's history is a synthesis of several different works plus the opinion of the character, I hope I do not stray too far afield. -- my best, ttl

___

“Thank you for being here today,” he said. “I want everyone to know that our search for a manager to replace Walter Smith has gone well and I am very comfortable introducing Phil Sharp as our new manager this afternoon. Phil is of course a former Rangers player, a coach in our setup for the last seven years and has had a chance to learn his trade under Dick Advocaat, Alex McLeish, Paul LeGuen and Walter Smith. He holds the UEFA Pro License.”

“But most importantly, he knows how to win and he knows the Rangers tradition. He has the full backing of our board and our supporters know him well. Big things are expected of him, but then big things are expected from anyone selected to run Rangers FC. I am proud to introduce Phil Sharp to you now.”

I stepped forward, we shook hands, and he handed me the famous Rangers “RFC” crest on a pocket card, which I put into my suit pocket. He also handed me the manager’s necktie, which I swapped with my own powder blue tie to much fanfare.

“Thank you for being here,” I began when I was again fully dressed. “I am happy to accept the position as manager of this great club. Over the last eleven years, I have grown to love this club and have been privileged to serve it both as a player and as a coach. Now it is time for me to take the next step in my involvement with Rangers, leading the club back to where we believe it belongs.”

“We have a lot of work to do. As hard as it may be for our support to hear, Celtic has set a standard we have to match. Last season, we nearly did. Despite Walter’s hard work, that job isn’t finished yet. We’ll start back in right away.”

I gestured around me. “The song says ‘follow, follow’ but in order for our supporters to follow, our staff and players have to lead. We haven’t done enough of that at this club in recent years and it’s high time we started. The talent we need is right here and with the right infusions I think we can take solid steps forward right away.”

“That said, the goal of this club is always, and must always be, the championship. I want to instill a culture of winning at this place again. The club on the other side of Glasgow has won a lot of matches the last few years and it’s time we challenged them again. This team will play hard until the very end, it will work to create chances, and it will do the small things well. Small things done well lead to big things done well and big things done well lead to matches won. We won’t be outworked. That I promise.”

The first question didn’t take long.

“Why not Ally?” Murray was asked.

# # #

[Kewell08]

Ooh.

And what will they say when they learn about the squad composition?

[tenthreeleader]

I guess we'll soon find out, Kewell!

___

Why not Ally, indeed?

For years he has been looked upon as the heir-apparent to Walter. You can’t find a bigger living legend in the eyes of many supporters. So why not?

“As you know, we want to win with Scottish players,” Murray informed me after the news conference in response to my question. “We asked both of you about winning and how to accomplish it. We liked your answer better than we liked his. When we heard his answer, we realized the whole idea of asking him about winning with Scottish players wouldn't fly.”

“So how did he take the news?”

“Ally is a professional who is a part of this club,” he answered. “Whether you retain him or not is up to you.”

Of course, it’s not up to me. The man who sacks Ally McCoist will have to answer to some angry people. That person isn’t going to be me. I have to go to Ally, or he has to come to me, and we have to figure it out.

Win. And win Scottish. That’s my mandate.

# # #

The best way to handle that sort of conflict, in my mind, is head-on. I called Ally’s mobile phone after the news conference was over and asked to see him.

“In the manager’s office?” he asked, and I wondered if there was a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

“No,” I answered. “Actually, not on the grounds at all. Let’s go have a pint.”

That seemed to take him by surprise, but my former teammate agreed. “Where?” he asked.

“Red Lion?”

“Done,” he said. “I’ll see you there, but you’re buying.”

I couldn’t disagree with that. And I could nearly walk from the stadium to the pub, which is under a mile away down Paisley Road West. Only my desire to avoid gawking kept me from getting my afternoon exercise.

I hopped in the car and made the short trip. The new manager walking into the pub caused a bit of a stir, but one of the things about Glasgow is that you can go into carefully selected places and meet world-class footballers simply walking around. It’s a bit different from the States, where if you bump into a major sports star in the supermarket you’ll have had to go through his bodyguard first.

I was shown to a back table, accepting congratulations as I went, while I waited for McCoist. My first McEwan’s of my tenure as manager tasted wonderful, but I wondered how long he would keep me waiting.

The answer was not too long, as less than ten minutes after my arrival Rangers’ all-time leading scorer made his way into the place. I waved to get his attention and rose to greet him.

“Phil,” he said, extending his hand. “Congratulations.” I could tell from the look in his eyes that this might be a difficult conversation.

“Ally,” I said. “Please, let’s sit down. You and I need to talk.”

He ordered an ale and we sat down to talk. “Well, what are you goin’ to do with me?” he asked, by way of opening.

“Ally, it’s not that way and you know it,” I said. “I know you wanted to manage this club more than anything and believe me, I understand the feeling because I wanted the same thing. Some things transcend club, though. You’re a legend here. I’m not.”

“Only one of us could have it,” he said, stating the obvious. “And the manager of this club, if he’s not a complete clot, can certainly become a club legend.”

“I can’t argue that,” I said. “Look, Ally…”

He interrupted me. “I wanted the job, yeah,” he said. “But I didn’t get it. You did. So now you have to decide what to do with me.”

His reaction was understandable. As Walter’s number two first with Scotland and then with Rangers, he was obviously the heir apparent – but everyone thought he’d take over the reins when Walter recaptured the SPL title. That didn’t happen, for reasons that vary depending on who you talk to.

The fact remains – Ally was being groomed for success that never came. So when it came time to succeed Walter, the board felt they could look past the existing regime.

“I don’t want to do anything with you,” I said. “That wouldn’t be right and it wouldn’t be fitting for the club’s all-time leading scorer. And what’s more, I think you know that.”

“Look, Phil, I didnae come here to play politics,” he said, taking a long pull from his glass. “I want to know what your plans are for the squad and if I fit with them. There are people all over Europe who made a name with one club and then managed another. I’d be no different.”

“Ally, you’re a Scotsman through and through,” I said. “You know as well as I do that the board’s goal is to get back on top and to start winning things again.”

“Isn’t it always?” he asked.

“Of course,” I said. “But now there’s a new twist – and I do need your help.”

He frowned. “Why would you need my help?”

I told him of Murray’s plan. He almost dropped his glass.

He thought it through for a minute. “All right, I’ll help,” he said. “This club means too much to me. But I will tell you this, Phil: what you agreed to try is going to be very, very difficult to do.”

I smiled at him and raised my glass. “Then here’s to the attempt,” I said. “And here’s to the next manager of Rangers, Ally McCoist, if we fail.”

# # #

[Spav]

That situation with McCoist was handled very well. Anything except appealing to his nationalistic pride would have seemed like a feeble way to have sorted out the issue, especially if Sharp's intention was keep McCoist as his assistant manager. Well written.

[tenthreeleader]

Spav, thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words. That was a difficult conversation to get to a point where I thought it was right -- I'm glad you agreed!

___

Driving home from the Red Lion, I thought about McCoist and the feelings he had both toward me and toward his beloved club.

Plainly, he had chosen club over personal ambition. That was more than likely a very difficult choice for him to make. I couldn’t imagine his situation – having been groomed for so long, and having been mentioned repeatedly in national media as the heir apparent for one of Scotland’s two largest clubs.

For a man with ambition, a simple stroll through the Trophy Room would be enough to make Rangers an attractive target for a prospective manager. And to have Ally’s history with the club could only have sharpened his his appetite to run the show.

I always got along well with Ally when he was my teammate – but then it would have been difficult for anyone banging in goals at the pace he was to have been anything but popular with his teammates. I found him to be a first-class guy but right now he’s hurting quite a bit and I need to give him a little space.

I can’t remove him from his post. That would be unthinkable at this club, yet I’m not sure if he really wants to remain a number two after all this time. My appeal to his sense of national pride seemed to pay dividends but that might last as long as the first training session, which is a couple of weeks away.

I can’t help but think he’s wondering if we will succeed in our task. Winning with Scottish players might be quite difficult and he knows the support would demand he succeed me if we don’t have success.

And the way we define success at this club is no different than it was when Struth was here – winning the championship. Yet, there are fans who want us to do better in Europe and that would certainly place my name in club lore. 1972 was quite a season here – and perhaps Sir David wants that repeat as well.

I had a lot to think about as I drove to my home in the Hyndland area of the city near Govan. I have a new contract as manager of this great club and I have responsibilities I couldn’t even have imagined a couple of weeks ago. I have an assistant manager who says he’s ready to help me but who I have to make sure is loyal to my cause as well as the club’s. That’s a lot to think about.

I entered my home and flipped on the light in my den. The place was quiet. I thought back to my time here as an active player and frankly preferred being alone.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

I have a reputation both within the Rangers family and without as a loner, a quiet man who much prefers the company of a good book and a quiet night in front of the television than a night in the clubs with a posse in tow.

In fact, I was a very difficult interview to obtain during the latter part of my playing days. That’s because I was at home, for the most part.

Professionally I was as happy as I could be - playing for a great club in a beautiful city, even if the climate isn’t always what I would like it to be. Personally, I was not happy at all, and I didn’t tell a soul.

While playing at Manchester United I met a wonderful young woman named Paulina Fuller. She was (and still is) a fashion model, a strawberry blonde with a marvelous figure. Unattached at the time, she soon gave me what I thought every footballer needs – a faithful, beautiful companion who was devoted in every way.

We dated for a year and decided we would be married. But then, a week before the wedding, disaster struck.

Weeks before, a third party had told Paulina that I was unfaithful. It wasn’t true, but after a lengthy discussion she decided to believe the stories. At that time, someone showed me proof that Paulina was doing what she accused me of doing. I was devastated.

Not only did I lose someone I thought was a wonderful woman; my reputation was shattered in one stroke. It affected me – like it could have done anything else – and it eventually led to my departure from United to Hamburg SV. The whole issue came between my manager, Alex Ferguson, and me, and I believe it led to me being shipped out.

I found it more than a bit ironic down the years, as Sir Alex grew up in Govan and supported Rangers as a boy, eventually playing for them. His decision to sell me to Hamburg eventually put me into the setup here and led to my managing his boyhood club.

To this day he won’t talk with me about the circumstances surrounding my departure, and I’m told he doesn’t have the highest opinion of me as a person. For me, that’s really too bad – and his reported feelings regarding me hurt quite a bit. I really enjoyed United a lot, and learned a lot from the man now known as Sir Alex. Yet in this game some things just are not meant to be.

So I did the only thing I could do to heal, and to bring my game to the level it should have been at – I withdrew and devoted myself fully to my football. The result was that when I went to Rangers two years later, the club was getting a cultured player who was completely in tune with his game. I was described by that time as a model professional after spending two years in my living room rebuilding my image.

That was hard enough. But Paulina had really destroyed me. While I was pursued from time to time by lovely young things, like most footballers at an elite level are, I just wasn’t interested for a long time. I wanted to heal and rebuild.

I finally started dating again two years after I joined Rangers, but never met anyone I really wanted to consider settling down with. The closer I got, the more memories of Paulina flooded back into my mind. By that time she was a real A-list model who was linked romantically with a number of movie stars.

It hurt to read, it hurt to see her in People magazine on some schlep’s arm, and as I saw about a half dozen different women over the next nine years as a player and coach, I just never did find the right fit.

Meanwhile, she had a child out of wedlock, stayed on the A-list, and was generally having the time of her life in Hollywood. She never badmouthed me publicly, but then her pronouncement that I was unfaithful did all her talking for her. With her access to Hollywood and the marketing people, it cost me in more ways than I could have imagined.

It cost me a great deal, both in terms of endorsements I didn’t get due to supposedly having a tainted personal life, in addition to the emotional cost of losing a loved one. But then, I told myself, if she planned to behave that way as a matter of practice, then I wouldn’t have wanted to marry her in the first place. It was a purely defensive reaction and today it’s not one I’m proud of having.

Mostly, I was mad at myself. I hadn’t done it right and I was paying the price for a bad relationship. So in a way, I punished myself by not getting back out there and trying to make myself happy. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[tenthreeleader]

I have also placed pressure on all of us, in a strategy I never employed with the youth setup in the past. I want it known that I have expectations for this club and if they aren’t met, then we will all go down together.

I gave an interview to the Mail today, my first on my own since being named manager. And I was honest – more honest, in fact, than I probably should have been.

Mail: Much has already been made of your charge by the board to win the Premier League this season, but there isn’t a lot of money for players and you are being told to do it in essence with what you have. What are your thoughts?

PS: First, there’s money. Let’s make that clear. I do have the ability to buy players if I feel I need to do so. However, I do, like most managers, have to do so with a sense of fiscal responsibility. It does mean, though, that we’ll need to be creative in how we do things and take advantage of the quality we know is in our squad.

We’ve got good players. They just haven’t performed to standard over the last couple of years and we need to get them back to the level they were at before this slide began. Some will accuse me of whistling past the graveyard, I know, but I’ve seen these players in training every day for the last seven years and I know what they can do. It’s my job to get them out there doing it.

Mail: Do you feel you have the best team in this league?

PS: Of course. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think so. Making them into champions, though, will require a lot of hard work and effort. I believe it can be done, but there is a long way to go before we can say we’re where we need to be.

Mail: Gordon Strachan was asked about your assessment earlier today and he said you were “optimistic”. Your thoughts?

PS: You have to be a little daft to stick your head into a pileup to stop the opposing team’s strikers, so maybe Gordon has a point. I’m looking forward to meeting Celtic so we can get an idea of how far we’ve come.

Mail: Do you have the date circled?

PS: No, but I expect a lot of supporters on both sides do. It’s natural. We will be as ready for that match as we’ll be for every match we play. We hope to put on a show.

Mail: Any news on new players?

PS: None that I can share with you. But I will say that we’re looking to strengthen in a couple of areas where we don’t have the numbers we once had, and I believe the strengthening will be done with quality players.

Mail: What do you say to the Light Blues fans who are starting to despair of catching Celtic?

PS: Hang on. Help is on the way.

# # #

[LiamMFC]

Wow this story's pretty gripping! Congratulations tenthreeleader !

[stoehrst]

You have a good base to do all this with just Scottish players, you know. You already have a premier striker in Kris Boyd, a midfield general in Barry Ferguson, a great keeper in Allan McGregor, the most talented Scottish youngster in the game in John Fleck...move in for McFadden and see if you can possibly raid some Celtic Scots, maybe? I know its unlikely for a player to be moved between the two Glasgow clubs but FM has a tendency to ignore things like that...

Anyways this is just as riveting as Rat Pack, great stuff!

[salkster2102]

Nice interview 10-3 but I do have a question. You said that you won't be playing in the Champions League but you start off there in the second qualifying round in my save. So does that mean you have been knocked out and in the uefa cup in your save?

[gavrenwick]

As good as ever mate, the writing reads so easily.

[tenthreeleader]

Nice interview 10-3 but I do have a question. You said that you won't be playing in the Champions League but you start off there in the second qualifying round in my save. So does that mean you have been knocked out and in the uefa cup in your save?

Salkster, brilliant catch. Some of the notes for this story have been in my computer since FM 2007, when Rangers entered the new version of the game as the third placed team in the SPL from the LeGuen season. Obviously that was a change I did not make -- thanks for catching it!

___

I had not counted on this happening.

I attended a performance at the King’s Theatre in downtown Glasgow this evening as part of an upscale event for club sponsors and am now trying to decide how smitten I am by one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life. For me, given my history, this is an extraordinary thing to say.

The answer is getting a little scary, but it’s the first night so I have to try to calm myself down. Writing at 2:00 in the morning is one way to do this, as I try to journal myself to sleep.

There’s nothing like a good theater production to merge football and art … or so the club fathers thought, I guess. Some of the strikers we play against turn simulation into an art form, but that’s about as good as it gets.

We went to see a production of the off-Broadway hit Wine and Roses, which is a good thing since Glasgow is about as far off Broadway as I am ever likely to get. And since our hosts at the King’s Theatre have a marketing arrangement with Rangers for upscale season-ticket holders, it was hosted there.

The play’s plot is one not unfamiliar to me, though the main character is female. Paulette Highfield is a regular housewife who is very much in love with her husband Jack, but is led to suspect him after finding a letter packed in his luggage after he returns from a business trip.

The story details Paulette’s sadness and her efforts to learn the truth. It’s not a terribly happy presentation for the most part, though it is poignantly funny in more than a few places.

As I watched, I found my attention being drawn more and more to the play’s female lead, a strikingly beautiful blonde woman. I was sure I knew who she was. I could place her face easily – she was certainly a fine actress and I smiled as I thought to myself that she was very easy on the eyes. Then it hit me and I almost hit myself for being so stupid.

I looked down at the playbill when the lights came up at intermission. Heather Middleton, I read, confirming what I had finally figured out. I have seen her many times, enjoying her wonderful looks in many movies and television shows. I then took a moment to read through the biography, next to a black and white picture of a very attractive lady indeed:

Heather Middleton has performed on the stage, in television and movies in a career spanning nearly twenty years.

Middleton, 39, has appeared in over twenty movies and television series. Her other film credits include 2004 thriller “Brightstone Manor”, in which her portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Barbara Prestwick won her a long-overdue British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for Best Actress.

In her spare time, Heather enjoys reading, and is a lifelong football fan.

The play resumed. I tried to concentrate on the story but instead found myself staring at her face. She reminded me of someone, and it hit me like a cold slap in the face when I realized that facially, she looked an awful lot like Paulina.

“Don’t even go there,” I warned myself. “Don’t wreck this evening.”

I sat back and, sadly, found it much easier to concentrate on the play after having had that thought.

Happily for her, Paulette manages to keep everything together, Jack Highfield proves his innocence, and the final scene shows the husband’s relief at his doing what I could not – hanging on to the one he loves.

I enjoyed the play a lot. I also wished my own life had come out the same way. The main players got lengthy ovations and the final curtain call belonged to Miss Middleton.

Instinctively, I stood as she took her bow, and I didn’t know it but I led a standing ovation for her. Some lucky guy got to walk onstage to give her flowers and kiss her cheek, and I stood in awe as she took her bow and the cast left the stage.

The crowd began to disperse and I was immediately collared by a member of the Rangers PR staff. “Phil, there’s a reception afterwards with the cast and you’ve been asked to make an appearance,” Troy McManus said. “The reception was set up by the club for the sponsors.”

I smiled. “I understand, Troy,” I answered. “Just tell me where I need to be and when.”

“Thanks, Phil,” he smiled, with a tired grin. It seemed this was his night to organize and he was sweating details in a big way. He was under stress. “If ye’d just go tae the foyer and maybe nab a wee dram, I’ll be right with ye.”

[tenthreeleader]

I did as he suggested, accepted a whiskey and seven from the bartender, and wondered why hardly anyone I knew from the backroom staff was in the building. I realized there are things the manager has to do in the community to stroke the club’s sponsors, but when the night is designed for fun like this one was, it seemed a waste that more people couldn’t enjoy it.

What did happen, though, was that supporters got up the nerve to approach the boss, and that was a very good thing indeed. In no time, sponsors and fans large and small surrounded me, and everyone wanted to know how we’d fare in the coming season.

“I’ve said it before,” I told them quietly. “We’re ready to break loose. Have a good time tonight and enjoy the season.”

One of the sponsors, a representative from the Carling brewery, whose logo adorns both our shirts and Celtic’s, was pretty direct. I thought he might have consumed a little too much of his company’s product, but he left things in no uncertain terms.

“We’re ready to win in Blue Glasgow,” he informed me, using a term I hadn’t heard before but liked. His next words, I didn’t like so much. “Otherwise your scalp will wind up on the wall next to LeGuen’s.”

I nodded, and remained diplomatic. “That is the life of a manager,” I said, sipping my drink. “I’ll look forward to seeing you at Ibrox.” How soon they forget – at the risk of hubris, the gentleman was speaking to a person some consider a near-legendary figure at this club – but I wrote his direct manner off to booze.

With that, McManus returned to escort me to a new meeting, and perhaps a new phase in my life.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

I wasn’t sure what to do with my drink, so I downed it. That might not have been such a good idea – what I saw made me want to have that drink back.

The bitterness of the whiskey burned its way down my throat as I walked into the VIP area. The cast of the play was waiting for us for a mixer and I watched men gravitating to the female lead like she was a magnet.

She looked wonderful. She wore her final costume of the play, a blue knee-length dress that really flattered her. She wasn’t tall, but she was vivacious, lissome and devastatingly pretty. Men noticed in a hurry.

I sighed, admired her from afar, and began to work the room with McManus. I met people the club needs to succeed in business – who are also people I need to be patient while I do the business with the footballing product. It was good to meet them on more than one front.

So I met people - captains of industry, business owners, bankers who might someday partner with the club or wind up on the board, and financial people who make things tick all over Glasgow, the second-largest city in the United Kingdom. They are good people to know, and they all had the same message: we’re tired of finishing behind Celtic.

I know – for crying out loud, I’m tired of finishing behind Celtic too, and I’m in the freaking coaching setup. But in my case, all I can do is nod my head and smile. They’re the supporters, fifty thousand of them show up nineteen times a year to watch Rangers play in the league and again in cup ties domestic and European, and they do have expectations.

And when they were done rounding on me, they went to the cast, their drinks in hand, and told them how wonderful they were. I felt like a second-class citizen.

I made the rounds and finally it was my turn to greet the cast members. I thought that was nice, considering what I had gone through to get there. I shook hands with them all and then it was finally my turn to speak to the lady in blue.

I shook hands with her co-star, British actor Tony Driscoll, and then it was my turn to meet her. I smiled at Heather and she seemed to look right through me. I had never had anyone look at me like that before and it felt nice.

She has green eyes, wide and perfectly shaped for her slender face. I extended my hand and she gently took it.

“Heather Middleton,” she said happily, as we shook hands. “And I already know who you are.”

“I’m flattered,” I said. I motioned around me to the growing displays of bouquets that made the reception area look like it’s own little Garden of Eden. “But I don’t have any flowers for you.”

“That’s all right,” she said, with a dazzling smile. “I’d rather have a standing ovation, and you were the one who gave it to me. What a nice gift!”

I blushed brightly. “Well, you did a wonderful job,” I said. “You deserved it.”

I noticed there were people behind me in line and I knew I had to move on. She sensed my sadness at this, and tried to make me feel better. She motioned me to her and she put her slender, pretty lips next to my ear.

“The manager of my favorite football club shouldn’t have to move along the line,” she said. “If you like, let’s talk after these people come through. As nice as you were to me tonight, I’d like to repay your kindness.”

That was the nicest thing anyone had said to me all night, and I told her so. “You just tell me when you’re ready,” I said, and she nodded as discreetly as she could. But I wasn’t finished yet.

“And since Rangers are your club, this is the least I can do,” I said, removing the five-starred club crest lapel pin I wore from my suit and handing it to her. It had a diamond chip at the top.

She grinned. “You can put it on me,” she said, offering the collar of her dress. I swooned at the thought of touching her, and tastefully affixed the pin to her wardrobe.

“Perfect,” I smiled, and she took my hand again.

[tenthreeleader]

With that, I went to a corner of the room to again be accosted by more friendly supporters wanting my head if we didn’t win. No pressure, eh, boss?

Sighing to myself, I knew I would much rather have been in the gracious company of the lovely blonde woman who was now the apple of every man’s eye.

She moved so easily, so comfortably, and had the reception audience under her sway in no time. I envied her. She commanded the room, yet with a nature that seemed to make everyone her friend.

Not everyone was mean to me, in the meantime. While I tried to engage people, many of them were receptive to talking with me. Yet while I met people, I kept sneaking glances at the front of the room, hoping to catch a pair of perfect green eyes. From that distance, though, I realized it wasn’t possible.

I started to despair of seeing her, when the line somehow got still longer and finally the evening came to an end. For the first time in far too long, I felt an empty feeling in my stomach. I knew what that feeling meant. It was no stranger to me.

I wanted to be around someone and couldn’t. I loved and hated the feeling at the same time, and sank in to the all too familiar – and all too comfortable – feeling of self-pity I’ve wallowed in for years. At least she had a gift from me.

She retired to the dressing room with the cast and I thought that was that. I prepared to leave, but as I did, the ever-present McManus returned with a note tucked in an envelope.

He looked about done in, and I thanked him for his trouble. “Not done yet,” he said with a weary smile. “This is for you.”

I opened it, and pulled out a note from inside.

I haven’t forgotten if you haven’t. Sorry I couldn’t get to you – please call if you like. I’d love it if you would!

- Heather

I noted she had left her mobile number at the bottom of the note. I put the note back in the envelope and put it in my suitcoat pocket, trying not to let McManus know I was bothered. He had enough to worry about already.

Her gesture was sweet, but at the same time I felt like I had been brushed off. I liked someone – at last – and felt like I had been shot down before getting a chance to start.

I took my leave for the evening but couldn’t help a few thoughts as I headed to my car.

“I like her,” I said to myself, not even trying to try to convince myself of any truth. “I really do like her. I just wish she wasn’t so busy.”

[tenthreeleader]

I spent a good part of the evening wondering what I was going to do. Heather’s note was burning a hole in my pocket and once the work of the day was done I sat in my living room trying to figure out what was happening to me.

I wanted to see her. But I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else just being nice to me. The women I had dated since losing Paulina had all wanted the same thing and it wasn’t what I was after.

They wanted a sugar daddy. I wanted someone to appreciate me, which is the opposite of some of the relationships I witnessed while in the game. I certainly saw enough players who felt that way during my time in Europe – if it wore a skirt their thoughts were somewhat less than gentlemanly.

I was a little more sedate than that. And I took more than a little ribbing in the changing rooms where I played for actually wanting to do it the right way. The young bucks around me were in it for their libidos and with the money some of them were making, it was no wonder.

I relieved unpleasant memories for a few hours and finally, I decided to take the chance. I picked up my phone and had the number dialed in three times before I finally decided to push the “talk” button.

Then I almost hung up. But then I realized that would be sophomoric and reminded myself that despite my woes, I am better than that. At least, I think I am. So I waited, nervously, for her to answer.

She did. “Hi, this is Heather,” I heard her say in her happy little voice. I thought for a moment I had reached her machine. “Who’s this, please?”

“A man you asked to call on you,” I said, with a smile in my voice in return.

“Phil?” she asked. “Is it you?”

“Well, that’s a nice surprise,” I replied. “Yes, it’s Phil. Thanks for asking me to call.”

“I was just about to head to bed,” she said. “I was hoping you would take my note seriously.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, unfortunately knowing the answer. But she couldn’t know that. The answer was within me.

“Because, to be blunt, I know what happened to you,” she said.

Or, maybe she could know, I thought. I blushed, and felt ashamed.

[stoehrst]

Excellent as always, 10-3, I like it already and you haven't even gotten to the football yet

Say Tenthree, I was wondering if I could make a proposition to you concerning a collaborative story effort. I was going to see if I could bring Copper into it as well. I'm not sure if it's something that has ever been done on this forum (though according to the mods, EVERYTHING has been done) and to be honest I'm a bit excited by the idea. Drop me a private message with your email if you don't mind and I'll give you some more details. I'll send you mine. Even if you don't feel like participating, I'd like to know what you think of the ideas anyhow, maybe bounce a few writing ideas off of you. Thanks!

[tenthreeleader]

“I was worried you would think I was brushing you off after last night,” she said. “Nothing could have been further from the truth.” I supposed there was nothing like getting right to the point.

“Well, that’s kind of you, Heather,” I responded. “There are people who remember what happened to me, but I have to be perfectly honest and say no one except you has ever brought them up to me.”

“I didn’t mean to offend,” she offered immediately.

“No offense taken,” I assured her. “It’s just that after all this time, nobody really seemed to care. So I thought it was time to move on.”

“Well, some people don’t forget how others are treated,” she said, and I was struck by the warmth of her words. “In case that matters to you at all.”

“Actually, it does,” I said. And then I got an idea. I communicated that idea and was immediately scared for having done it.

“But this kind of conversation isn’t the one I expected yesterday when you said I was manager of your favorite club,” I said. “If you aren’t attached, would you be interested in resuming this conversation over dinner sometime?”

She laughed, and I thought I had blown everything. “Okay, I was to the point so it’s fair that you are too,” she said. “No, I’m not attached and yes, I’d love to have dinner with you. The play is in Glasgow through next week and then we head back to London. Is there any chance?”

I thought it through, as my heart seemed to start beating again. “Sure,” I said. “We’re in training this week with our friendly schedule coming up but we don’t leave Glasgow for any of them. So there’s time, if you would like to see me.”

Her voice now softened. “I think I’d like that a lot,” she said. “If you don’t mind my speaking frankly about something much more positive.”

I smiled. “I don’t mind at all, Miss Middleton,” I said, but she simply smiled in reply.

“It had better be Heather from here on out,” she said. “Please. And if you don’t mind my calling you when I know my schedule, let’s please make this happen. I’d like that a lot.”

I smiled. Something finally seemed to be going right. And since she had said not once but twice that she wanted to meet me “a lot”, I had reason for a little optimism on a front not related to football.

# # #

[minisav]

I really like this. So much detail and effort. Have you even got the game yet?

[Kewell08]

I believe he got it on Christmas Eve. Not sure if he's started this game yet thought.

Great stuff as always tenthree.

[tenthreeleader]

Gents: Yes, the game arrived on Wednesday afternoon and I've been organizing my new save ever since. Herewith, Phil Sharp's first observations on the "new" Rangers ...

___

Stepping out onto the training pitch at Murray Park has always been enjoyable for me. Sir David had the place built during the Advocaat years and it’s a state-of-the-art facility, arugably the best in Scotland and one of the best in Europe.

Other clubs have noticed – Celtic has since constructed its new complex called Lennoxtown, though you’d never catch anyone over there admitting they were chasing us at anything. Also, Falkirk is training in a new academy built in cooperation with Stirling University.

It’s all about making Scottish football better. Not a thing wrong with that.

However, as I walked onto the training pitch today, to welcome the squad to training for the coming season, it struck me that doing what Murray wants done – winning with Scottish players – is not a reachable goal, at least early in the season.

That’s because so many of our Scotsmen are injured.

The old joke about the training area being a M*A*S*H unit may well apply here. Whether it’s the Rangers and Scotland captain, Barry Ferguson, taking treatment on his surgically repaired ankle, Steven Naismith taking treatment on his surgically repaired knee, the ever-injured Steven Smith now having his injured ankle worked on, or other injuries, there are a pile of players on the sidelines. Chris Burke is also out with strained ankle ligaments and will miss about four months, so you see what I’m up against.

It could be worse, though. Falkirk already has nine senior squad players on the injured list with just over a month to get them healthy. We’re in bad shape, but John Hughes has it even worse than I do.

Allan McGregor is also recovering from the ankle injury that forced him to miss the end of last season, but his return is expected soon so we’ll get a candidate for the Scotland number one job back in fairly short order.

Unfortunately, right now there aren’t two healthy Scottish central midfielders on the team, so right away I’m going to have to make some adjustments. My preferred formation is 4-4-2, which should fly well here – one of the big complaints by the harder-to-please fans regarding Walter was his playing so much 4-5-1 last season.

Of course, you have to play to the strengths of your squad and that meant the prodigiously talented Kris Boyd was on the outside looking in for much of last season. As a lone striker, Kris has limitations – but working with a pacy counterpart, he can be the SPL’s ultimate impact player.

This means I’m the lucky guy who gets to figure out what to do with Kenny Miller. He’d have been a tremendous pickup outright were it not for the fact that he has also played for Celtic, which is a considerable problem among some members of the support. When he left Rangers to go to Wolves a few years back, he then made the trip across Glasgow to play for our rivals – and scored against his old club.

This gives me a public relations problem. For me, I personally don’t care what he did in the past – he’s here now, and if he can make amends against Celtic or anyone else I’m okay with it. We can put ‘paid’ to that old issue when he finds the net for us.

I can see why Walter brought him back. He’s a great foil for Boyd, his record for Walter with Scotland was very good, and he is anxious to get back onto the pitch after a lost season with relegated Derby County in England.

Those are all pluses. However, we’ve got a lot of strikers and if I’m looking to trim the squad I feel I should start there.

Andrius Velicka is on our reserve team and Hearts already wants him back. I can’t see keeping him under those circumstances and the idea of a loan-to-buy arrangement is already starting to take shape. The veteran Jean-Claude Darchville, he of the sweeping bow goal celebration and rather stupendous physical size, is another who might wind up elsewhere.

American winger DaMarcus Beasley is also on the injured list after recent knee surgery, but the Scottish-now philosophy will make him second choice to the talented but erratic Charlie Adam.

The injury situation is so bad, in fact, that if I’m to be true to the chairman’s direction, I need to look at either loaning in Scottish players or shelling out transfer fees to pay for them. The Bosman market for Scottish players is practically non-existent for players who can help us, so that means I have to be creative.

I’m also going to have to sell before I can buy. The set transfer budget for me is just £1 million, which won’t feed the bulldog at this level. That in itself doesn’t bother me – I do feel that the squad is too large and we’re going to have to address that, particularly at the striker positions – but reinforcement will be an issue since I’ll need to buy Scottish to do it.

The sale of Alan Hutton to Spurs last season resulted in a bonus for the club coffers, but it hasn’t been reflected in my transfer budget. Spurs are still paying in installments for the player and we get more money when he plays 22 more times for them in the Premiership. But that helps my own bottom line not at all.

So while McCoist took training today, I went to my office to finish some business. I’ve been on the phone today.

# # #

[eyeh8you]

Dunno much about scottish football but this makes me such the internet

Top Stuff

[Kewell08]

Agree with your sentiment. I know -nothing- about Scottish football (except that they still have very old-style kit; the news showed Scott McDonald scoring the winner for Celtic in the Old Firm derby) but this is top writing and you get me interested.

[tenthreeleader]

Gentlemen, thank you very much! I'll admit to a certain fascination with Scottish football so this is really a pleasure to write.

___

“Well done,” Murray said, as I reported my day’s work to him. “We’ll spin some cash from this.”

I handed him a revised fixture list for our friendlies, after a bit of rearrangement by the new manager. “I should say so,” I answered. “We’ve got time before the opener and if we hadn’t thought of something like this before, well, let’s just say now we have.”

Only two friendlies had been scheduled – home ties against AS Nancy of Ligue One and RSC Anderlecht. That’s not nearly enough for me to evaluate players and also not nearly enough to bring in cash the club wouldn’t mind having.

So within the hour, stories were posted on the club website and released to the press regarding the two glamour fixtures I arranged today –and it made our fixture list a lot more aggressive:

High-profile opponents headed to Ibrox

Rangers supporters will get two new mouth-watering pre-season friendlies in preparation for the 2008-09 SPL season!

The club announced today that the pre-season friendly list has been expanded to read as follows:

Sat 19 July AS Nancy

Tue 22 July Barcelona (new!)

Sat 26 July AS Roma (new!)

Fri 1 August RSC Anderlecht

The visits of Spanish power Barcelona and Serie A stalwart Roma are sure to draw intense interest to Ibrox, as the giants of European football arrive to take on Phil Sharp’s Rangers side. Get your tickets while they last!

“We’ll bring in some money, even with the guarantees to the visitors,” Murray said.

“I estimate about £1 million,” I said. “Win or lose.”

“Win would be good, but I get the idea,” Murray replied. “Your evaluation of the squad?”

“Early days,” I said. “Obviously, I’ve seen them through the years but now that it’s my show I know I’ve got some work to do. I needed more friendlies anyway and we might as well put the players under a bit of stress to evaluate them.”

“Understood,” the chairman replied. “Best of luck.”

# # #

There are areas where I know I’m going to need to strengthen and I need money, of course, to do it. We have received an offer from FC Nantes for Brahim Hemdani, who was Walter’s European specialist in the holding midfielder position. The offer was for £775,000 and it’s not enough. I’m willing to sell the player, but I’d like to be able to use a little more of the money for my own purposes.

In short, the offer meets the club’s valuation but not the manager’s. Hemdani has also drawn interest from four or five Premiership clubs including Wigan, Fulham and Bolton, so I’ll wait for a better offer. I instructed our contracts and financial department to communicate with the French club. If they want to come back with a better offer, they’re certainly welcome to try.

Murray has made sixty percent of transfer fees available to me. Part of that is due, I’m sure, to the economic situation and the absolute need for the club to be able to balance its books. Yet I’ve got priorities and if I don’t meet them, the club will be able to save money on my salary. So there you have my issue.

# # #

[Kewell08]

Barca! This I want to see...

[tenthreeleader]

The question now becomes who I can bring in with £1 million and whatever I get for Hemdani.

Or perhaps more than just my Algerian holding midfielder. I also got an offer today from Bolton for Kevin Thomson. The offer was for £3.3 million that I could use. However, Thomson has two things going for him in terms of continuance of his Rangers career. First, he’s got skills. Second, he’s Scottish. So he’s not going anywhere.

The first meeting I had today after training was to tell Thomson that I rate him for reasons he can’t even fathom. Well, okay, I didn’t tell him that last part. But he isn’t going anywhere unless someone offers silly money and Murray decides it’s time.

Two players from Hearts interest me. Midfielder Michael Stewart, who understands how Kenny Miller feels in that he’s played on both sides of the Edinburgh derby between Hearts and Hibs, is one.

The other is Christophe Berra, the central defender, Hearts skipper and onetime u-21 Scottish international. He has some growing to do but if it has to happen, I’d prefer that this growing happen in our shirt. He has the ability to be a good central defender but the thing I like about him is that he can also play the left side.

My options on the left and right sides of defense are pretty slim at the moment in terms of Scottish players. Sasa Papac, one of the few successful imports from the LeGuen era, holds down the spot currently but even changing his name to McPapac wouldn’t help him at the moment.

That means Steven Whittaker, a purchase from Hibs two seasons ago, leads the parade, while 34-year old Christian Dailly holds down the right. Kirk Broadfoot can also play the position, but in my all-Scottish alignment I need him in the middle partnering David Weir.

Madjid Bougherra, Smith’s import to replace fan legend “King” Carlos Cuellar, obviously isn’t Scottish either. So my options are pretty slim there as well. I need to bring in players, and those players need to fly the Saltire.

I’m also wondering when the media is going to figure things out, once the transfers start to happen. That isn’t my worry, though. I plan to refer those questions upstairs, to the board room.

# # #

I finished up my day’s work, did a interview for the club website, and got ready to go home. As I did, my Blackberry beeped. I was getting a text message. It contained three words:

“Woohoo! Barcelona! - Heather”

I grinned, and patted my phone as I put it back in my pocket. We did talk after training and amazingly, she still wants to see me.

Woohoo, indeed!

# # #