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Latest NewsWeek Beginning 2 August 1997
9 August 1997 Erik Bo Andersen seems set to join French side Nantes in a £900,000 move and will fly there on Monday to finalise his personal contract and sign a four year deal. Italian side Lecce are also trailing the striker but the lure of the UEFA Cup and French First Division football appears to have swung it in Nantes favour. Walter Smith said, "If any players are unsettled here, it is not my policy to makethem stay. If they no longer want to play for Rangers then we will doeverything possible to help them achieve a move elsewhere." Paul Gascoigne wants Rangers to fulfil their potential and qualify for the Champions' League. He said, "we talk every year about Europe and we haven't done so well. This year I hopefully won't be sent off and we can go out and perform. The gaffer has brought in a lot of good players and everyone is fighting for their place. Now we want to go out and qualify for the Champions' League. We have to, the fans deserve it and we want to do it for them. I think we can do really, really well this season. We always talk about it but we have to put our words into action." Rangers may be set to call off next Sunday's Premier League game against Kilmarnock. They could have Jonas Thern, Joachim Bjorklund and Staale Stensaas away on international duty for World Cup qualifiers. Laudrup was also set to be missing until he was struck down by illness this week. The club have blocked STV from even showin highlights of the European home leg against Gothenburg. Ticket sales are still believed to be under the 30,000 mark and now they are hoping that a TV blackout will create a rush for tickets. Rangers will try to sell the match with a major advertising campaign saying, "the big game won't be on the small screen. The game will not be shown live or as highlights on any TV channel. The only way to see this game is to buy a ticket for the match." An STV spokesman said, "we discovered that we cannot even show highlights of the home leg. We are able to broadcast the first one because Gotheburg have the rights to that one."
Walter Smith said, "I'm just pleased to be through to the next round because Hamilton were very tough and defended well. It was a bit of a slog for most of the game. Ally McCoist brought a bit of brightness to the match and made a pleasing contribution." Hamilton player Stevie Thompson said, "I am disappointed because Rangers were definitely there for the taking tonight. I was almost away celebrating when that effort hit the bar and it all could have been so different if we'd had the luck. We definitely deserved something from the game and have to be encouraged with our performance." Boss Sandy Clark said, "we worked very hard and I have to give credit to the players. At the end of the day, Snelders had more saves to make than our 'keeper." Scottish Television have decided not to screen either of Rangers crunch games with Gothenburg. STV have refused to show next week's first leg clash from Sweden because Rangers banned cameras from the second leg. They will now show live coverage of Newcastle's tie against Croatia Zagreb instead. An STV spokesman said, "Rangers want a full house at Ibrox for the second leg and did not give us permission to show the match. As we are not going to see the return we thought it pointless to show the first leg." Vitesse Arnhem coach Leo Beenhakker was at Fir Park last night hoping to see Peter Van Vossen in action before making a £1 million bid for the player. Van Vossen only managed a place on the bench and Beenhakker said, "I was only looking, watching and thinking. I'm keen to strengthen my squad and I'm in the process of looking at new players." Rangers are determined that they won't be hit by the same sort of contractual wrangles which have hit their rivals. David Murray said, "I sat down with Brian this week and we've agreed the bonuses for the next two seasons. Every league game, Scottish Cup tie and Coca Cola Cup match has been covered. We've also talked about the tie with Gothenburg, but we won't talk about the Champions' League yet." "It's all down in black and white. There are no grey areas and it covers other parts of their life with Rangers such as flights and medical arrangements. I've put in all the contracts that they will not be renegiotiated unless it's at our instigation. That way there can be no doubts in anyone's mind."
Rangers opted to protect their big name players for the forthcoming match with Gothenburg and opted instead to send out a reserve side to face Hamilton. Only two players survived from the side which won the league opener on Monday, Alex Cleland and Staale Stensaas. The only goal of the match came in the 63rd minute. Ally McCoist ran from the halfway line after the ball skidded off the head of a Hamilton defender. His pace did not take him away from the Hamilton defenders and he was forced to cut inside Martin MacIntosh. The Rangers veteran was first to the ball and gleefully slotted the ball high into the net. The side created numerous other chances but Erik Bo Andersen missed a few sitters and McCoist was guilty of the same. Hamilton could have snatched the equaliser they deserved 15 minutes from the end. Gordan Pertic was short with a pass back and allowed David McFarlane in but Theo Snelders blocked the shot with his knees. The ball broke to Stevie Thompson who tried to lob the stranded Snelders from 25 yards. It looked as if it was going in but rebounded back off the bar. A fairly dismal performance. Walter Smith was justified for thinking that the reserve players would raise their game with the prospect of getting a game against Gothenburg next week. That didn't happen and none of the players took their chance. From this performance I certainly wouldn't make Rangers favourites to win the Reserve League West this year.
Rangers Snelders 5 Cleland 5 Stensaas 3 Bollan 4 Petric 5 McInnes 4 Durie 5 Miller 4 Andersen 4 Durrant 4 Gattuso 5 McCoist 5 (Sub)Man of the Match: Rino Gattuso Falkirk Follower
Rangers play Hamilton Accies at Fir Park tonight and Walter Smith is likely to rest his stars before next Wednesday's Champions' League showdown with Gothenburg. Jonas Thern and Joachim Bjorklund are on international duty with Sweden while Italian defenders Sergio Porrini and Lorenzo Amoruso are injured. Negri is also struggling. Added to the list are Jorg Albertz, Tony Vidmar, Craig Moore, Antti Niemi, Seb Rozental and Ally McCoist. Walter Smith said, "we'll have to shuffle the pack but it also gives other players a chance to show what they can do. There are problems in changing the team and deciding who to leave out. We have an important tie in Gothenburg coming up next week and I don't want any more injuries for that." The 1997 Deloitte and Touche annual review of football finance says Rangers are the second most profitable club in Europe. English champions Manchester United lead the way with a £16.7m profit, followed by the Ibrox side, who cleared £7.1m. Rangers have a wage bill of £11m, while Celtic's stands at £6.3m. But their salaries are a drop in the ocean compared to that of AC Milan's, which is a staggering £31.4m. A spokesman said, "Scottish clubs are hampered by a domestic TV deal which is very small in European terms. The entire Scottish game receives only £4m per annum for their league matches,about one third of the revenue received by AC Milan. The wage bills of the top Scottish clubs are among some of the best-controlled in Europe. Only Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Brondby had a better ratio of wages and salary costs to income than Rangers.
"For most of the first half we were solid and well organised and Rangers hadn't created a lot of opportunities, then within a couple of minutes we were two goals down and the match was practically over. This is the strongest squad Rangers have assembled for years and although I desperately want Hearts to win the league, I think they will make it 10-in-a-row." Scotland coach Craig Brown admitted he was very impressed with Rangers performance on Monday night. He said, "Negri was lively and bright and took his second goal brilliantly. He has the double assets of good physique and a good touch. I'd never seen him before, and he looked so sharp. It would be great if he was Scottish." "Thern was outstanding. It was an excellent display. He sees a player in midfield or behind him with the ball and he runs into space. He's also brilliant at closing down opponents. I only hope when Sweden play Belarus later this month he doesn't hit the same form." "I wanted to see Gordon Durie in action, but he was only on the bench. But there's no use complaining. I can only urge our home players to try hard enough to make sure they're at least in the squad. Alex Cleland is a prime example, he might have to drop out when Lorenzo Amoruso is fit but he's making a case to keep his placeboth by his display and the goal he scored. I never discount McCoist, but he'd have to be getting games for Rangers." Gothenburg coach Mats Jingblad was also at the game. He said, "They are a team with no weaknesses. But sometimes a weaker team can win a match and we have to hope for that. If not this year but certainly in the near future they can be one of the best in Europe."
"Antti has plenty time to come in and he'll get the experience in a few games this season. I'm pleased with my goalkeeping situation at the moment which is a lot better than last year when we had to bring in a loan 'keeper. It's not going to be easy for any goalkeeper to take over from Andy Goram here but when he gets his chance I'm sure Antti will be ready." Hearts boss Jim Jeffries once again blamed the match officials for his team's defeat last night just as he did in the corresponding fixture last year and the 1996 Coca Cola Cup Final. He said, "my players are adamant that the ball never crossed the line. I don't know how the linesman could tell it was accross the line with the amount of bodies there were around there. There must have been four or five bodies in front of him, so how could anyone have possibly seen it from 50 yards away? I even asked the TV people and they said they watched it tima and time again but still couldn't tell." "That was disappointing because if we'd gone in at half-time at 0-0 we maybe would have gained some confidence as there were signs of frustration from their players and fans. I looked at the clock when it said 38 minutes and Rangers were struggling to break us down and it was really two crazy mistakes. We didn't play particularly well but I didn't think Rangers did either (he really needs to up the dose of those intelligence pills - ed). They struggled to break us down and their new boys will take time to settle but I can't hold my hands up and say we were totally ripped apart." Alex Cleland revealed the reason he enjoyed last night's third goal so much. He said, "that was my first goal at Ibrox and that is why I was so happy. I've been trying for this for three seasons and I couldn't believe I hit it with my left peg either! Our captain Brian Laudrup presented me with the match ball afterwards and I thought he was winding me up. But he said it was because I'd scored with my left peg. It's been a long time coming but it's here at last." Walter Smith paid tribute to Jonas Thern's performance against Hearts. He said, "Jonas really plays for the team and does his defensive duties well along with playing and passing in more forward areas. He'll be an important player for us, especially as he was struggling tonight. He says he's got a touch of the 'flu and wasn't feeling too well." New Rangers recruit Jonattan Johansson is being tipped for the top. The 19 year old Finn will complete his £500,000 switch from Flora Talinn this week and boss Teitur Thordarson, who also manages the Estonian national side, is sad to see him go. He said, "I know Jonatan will be a major success in Scotland. He is extremely fast with excellent technique and he is also capable of scoring goals. His speed can frighten defenders but he is also exceptionally skilful and has an excellent goalscoring record. He is young and has wonderful talent, with qualities to cause any team problems."
A terrific performance by Rangers saw them leapfrog Motherwell and go to the top of the table in the first week of the season. If they can maintain this sort of consistent form then it would be hard to see any team touching them over a 36 match league campaign. It is put into pertspective when you consider that Rangers still have players like Amoruso, Gascoigne and Rozental to add to the line-up. The team remained patient throughout and never resorted to throwing a long ball up the park. Hearts on the other hand seemed content to get a toe to the ball and launch it towards the Rangers half - hardly conducive to good football. Marco Negri broke the deadlock in the 39th minute. Hearts 'keeper Gilles Rousset fumbled a downward header from Sergio Porrini from a Stensaas cross. The ball rebounded off the post and Negri bundled the ball home from close range. The Hearts players complained that the shot had not cossed the line but the goal was given. Just a minute later Negri scored his and Rangers second. Jonas Thern played a through pass towards the big Italian but Neil Pointon took his eye off the ball when he seemed certain to intercept. Negri collected the pass and made towards the Hearts goal, looked up, spotted Rousset off his line and from 18 yards sent an exquisite chip over his head and into the net off the underside of the bar. For most of the second half Rangers seemed content to keep possession of the ball and deny Hearts any opportunity to get back into the game. The Hearts players became frustrated by their inability to get the ball and a total of six players were booked in the match. That is not to say that Rangers did not create any chances. Negri hit the bar and missed numerous other chances which were far easier to score than his earlier goals. Laudrup too was unlucky not to score in the second half, most notably in the 80th minute after he was picked out by a 40 yard Gattuso pass. Five minutes from time Alex Cleland sealed the three points. Hearts failed to shut him down as he moved down the right hand side and he cut inside before unleashing an unstoppable left foot shot which cannoned in off the inside of Rousset's post. Colin Cameron scored a consolation for Hearts in the last minute. Staale Stensaas was beaten on the left by Neil McCann who crossed for Cameron to volley home. Another good performance from Rangers. All of the new imports showed their ability to play a nice passing game and the existing players rose to the challenge. The pick of the bunch was Thern who was first to every loose ball, a skill which has let Rangers down badly in the past.
Rangers Goram 7 Cleland 7 Stensaas 7 Porrini 8 Moore 6 Bjorklund 7 Thern 9 Ferguson 6 Negri 8 Albertz 7 Laudrup 7 Gattuso 2 (Sub)Man of the Match: Jonas Thern Falkirk Follower
Rangers will be missing Paul Gascoigne for tonight's match with Hearts through suspension but Sergio Porrini and Brian Laudrup have both recovered from injury and will play. Antti Niemi will retain his place between the sticks even though Goram played in a reserve outing on Saturday. Seb Rozental could return within a fortnight after his knee ligament operation in February. It seems former Rangers captain Richard Gough appears to have taken a leaf out of Paolo Di Canio's book. He was give 10 days leave for a family vacation by his club Kansas City Wizards and was due to return yesterday to face Dallas Burn. Gough failed to show and this has renewed speculation linking him with Graeme Souness at Torino. Gough is known to be disappointed with life at Kansas City where crowds average under 9,000, a far cry from the 45,000 average he has become accustomed to.
IFK Gothenburg have broken the Swedish transfer record to solve their striking crisis. Coach Mats Jingblad signed highly rated Halmstads striker Robert Andersson an hour before UEFA's signing deadline. Jingblad was forced to act quickly after recognised front-men Johnny Ekstrom and Emmanuel Tetteh sustained injuries. 26 year old Andersson is a full international and rated the best player Gothenburg could buy in Sweden. The £400,000 fee is a record between Swedish clubs. Archie Knox will tell the Rangers players to prepare for a British style of game when they meet Gothenburg a week on Wednesday. He said, "Gothenburg play a very British style game. I watched them draw 2-2 with Dergerfors last week and it was clear they like to get the ball forward quickly to their strikers. They aren't a typical continental style team, they are much more direct. Even at this early stage the Gothenburg tie is our biggest game of the season because it opens the door to the Champions' League. It's unfortunate that so much hangs on this game yet it comes so early in the season, when our new signings are still finding their way as a team." Rangers are resigned to losing Lorenzo Amoruso for the first leg against Gothenburg on 13 August. The Italian defender sees a specialist tomorrow in a bid to cure a troublesome achilles tendon injury. Archie Knox said, "we will reluctantly have to rule him out of the first leg against Gothenburg. But he should be okay for the second leg on 27 August." Celtic were beaten 2-1 by Hibs at Easter Road today. Lee Power and Chic Charnley were the scorers for Hibs and Malky Mackay scored Celtic's consolation goal.
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