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Latest NewsWeek Beginning 13 September 1997
20 September 1997
Joe Lewis, the man who invested £40 million in Rangers, is poised to buy Greek club AEK Athens for £8 million. Lewis is also believed to be attempting a take-over of Bulgarian side Levski Sofia. He has already paid £2.4 million for a 29.9 per cent stake in Italian side Vicenza. It is believed that Lewis aims to have major holdings in five clubs, and he wants them all to be part of a European Superleague by the year 2000. The deals would widen the interests of Rangers chairman David Murray who has a stake in Lewis's investment company ENIC. Murray is also helping billionaire Mark McCormack with a takeover of Strasbourg. When the deal is concluded he plans to forge links between Rangers and their uropean opponents.
"With the ability throughout our side, we've got to give more than we gave in Strasbourg. We defended well enough, but just gave the ball away too often. The one shining light was the result itself, but the performance was worse than the result. We're confident we can get through this tie, it's just that the performance in that first leg was terrible. We had a chat in the dressing-room afterwards and we all agreed we have to take a long, hard look at ourselves. We have to fight to do better. That kind of performance just cannot be tolerated. Still, the match might provide just the kick up the backside we need." "We were beaten by a team that didn't create a lot, I don't think Theo Snelders had a save to make. We know we can be 100 per cent better. We now have to pull together and we have to look at ourselves individually because we know we can do so much better. The defence wasn't a major problem but we couldn't keep hold of the ball or make chances. Thankfully the one bright point is that the performance was much more disappointing than the result. I'm sure we can pull this one back at Ibrox in two weeks but that game in Strasbourg was just terrible." "We're all in this together. I've never felt there were any cliques among us or that we were miles apart from each other. At the end of the day, it's up to us to battle for each other. That's what we have to get back to. In Strasbourg, we just looked like a bunch of individuals. Because of the criticism we've had recently, fired at the gaffer, at everybody else, we have to stand together. Rangers have been through difficult periods before in my time here, but the pressure is more intense now. I have to say that this is probably the greatest pressure I've felt in my six years at Ibrox. But we've just got to come through it." Walter Smith denied losing faith in Marco Negri by leaving him out of Tuesday night's match in Strasbourg. He said, "Gordon Durie is an important player for us because of the good movement he gives. Negri will come back in for the home game against Strasbourg and he'll be back for Saturday." Smith refused to use the number of injuries his squad have sustained in recent weeks as an excuse for their slump in form but admitted that it is causing him some problems at the moment. He said, "the Strasbourg match was an awkward one for me for a number of reasons and it was made more difficult because we were playing against a team who also did not have a settled formation so we didn't know what to expect from them." "I am expecting the team not to be at top form just now because of the setbacks we've suffered, but I still think we should have been better than we were in Strasbourg. It's a difficult period for the club. If you try to make the number of changes in your playing staff that we are and then are hit by injuries you have double the problem. It was disappointing to lose in Strasbourg, although I know we can play better in the second leg and that should be enough to see us through." Alex Cleland and Staale Stensaas will return to the Rangers team for Saturday's visit to Perth. Goalkeeper Andy Goram should recover from a groin injury in time to face the French in a fortnight but Jonas Thern looks likely to be out for a month with inflamed knee ligaments which he first sustained in Gothenburg and show no signs of recovery.
Walter Smith said, "we came here looking for a result which would give us a chance of qualifying for the next round and we have got that. We have a good opportunity to go through but our possession at Ibrox will have to be far better. We gave the ball away too easily. When we got back in the game early in the second half we did not control the game in a manner we should have. We sat back and allowed too many free kicks around the box and it was a mix-up between two of our players which led to their second goal. The first half was a bit scrappy too and I was disappointed at losing a penalty so close to half time." Strasbourg boss Jacky Dugueperoux said, "I'm happy we've found the quality of play we've been lacking in recent times but I'm still worried about the return. There will be 50,000 at Ibrox and I'm concerned about that. Losing a goal at home in Europe is not ideal and we will be under a lot of pressure. My team lacks experience of playing in that kind of atmosphere and this will be a very good lesson for them." Jorg Albertz picked up his second European booking of the season in Strasbourg and will miss the return leg. Marco Negri, Gordon Durie, Alex Cleland, Sergio Porrini, Paul Gascoigne, Stuart McCall, Rino Gattuso, Ian Ferguson and Joachim Bjorklund are all walking suspension tightropes on one booking.
Rangers Snelders 7 Porrini 6 Petric 5 Bjorklund 6 Vidmar 5 Albertz 5 Gascoigne 4 McCall 7 Gattuso 4 Durie 5 Laudrup 5 Miller 2 (Sub) Andersen 1 (Sub)Man of the Match: Stuart McCall Falkirk Follower
"Stuart McCall has played four games now and he is looking really good. Gordon Durie and Joachim Bjorklund are both okay and Gordan Petric is back in contention after recovering from an ankle injury. Alex Cleland is out and Craig Moore is very doubtful, but Ian Ferguson and Goram will need late fitness tests." Tony Vidmar wants to do well in tonight's match to take some of the pressure off Walter Smith. He said, "it's not just the defenders who owe something to Walter over here, the whole team owes him. It's not fair just to blame the defence for what has happened so far this season because defending is a job for the whole team to do, it starts from attack. It has probably taken longer than the manager thought it would for us to settle down and that's caused some concern. But hopefully we can plug the holes and get a good result over here." "We have had problems because we have so many new players. Defence is one of the areas wher you can be found out if you haven't played together for a long time. I have not even contemplated defeat. We are confident we can get the result, despite the problems we've had. We are here to get a result that will give us a chance of completing the task at Ibrox. All we need is a bit of luck as we haven't had that recently. But when you come up against a team you don't know anything about, you're always a bit wary. And we know we will have to be a bit wary." Walter Smith remains concerned about his defence. He said, "some of the lapses in defence against the likes of Aberdeen and Gothenburg have been worrying. You hope when you bring in new players that the more games you play, the better the understanding between them. But, because of injuries, we are probably worse off now in that respect than we were when the draw was made. However, Strasbourg will be saying the same things we are. They have been blighted with the same problems this season. I don't expect them to be the same tight unit Gothenburg were. But we are concentrating on our own team as that is as big a concern as the opposition." Brian Laudrup admits he cannot wait to get back into European action with Rangers. He said, "I was disappointed to miss out against Gothenburg and I want to make up for it now. I definitely feel a lot better now and I hope Gazza and I can be a big influence against Strasbourg. They may not have anyone in the French international squad, but there's no way we will treat them lightly." Rangers will have to seek special permission from Terry Venables to allow Tony Vidmar to play against Strasbourg in a fortnight. The Australians have an international friendly against Tunisia the same night and under FIFA rules Rangers may have to release Vidmar to play for his country.
In his absence Strasbourg were represented at Ibrox by manager Bernard Gardon. He said afterwards, "it was very unusual to see the Rangers defenders struggle when the ball was played in the air or into the box. This is normally where British sides are so strong, but the Rangers players didn't look very good when they were in their own penalty area. I know Joachim Bjorklund was missing and is a very important player for them, but maybe this is something Strasbourg can use to our advantage. After watching them twice I feel that we have an excellent chance to go through to the next round." "Rangers played a lot better than they did against Dundee United in the cup when they were poor in midfield. Against Aberdeen they looked dangerous when Paul Gascoigne had the ball, but they need a worker alongside him. He was asked to do too much and didn't seem to have the energy to last the full match."
Smith said, "we'll have to assess things because we allowed Aberdeen to get back in twice and some of our defending was horrendous." But he defended his decision to substitute Paul Gascoigne who looked the most influential player on the park. He said, " Paul was tremendous for England in midweek and I was concerned there was tightness in his muscles." Strasbourg coach Bernard Gardon who watched the game said, "if we play as we have in the league then we have no chance. We must look to do what Billy Dodds and Mike Newell did and move their defence intelligently." Walter Smith has warned his side not to take Strasbourg lightly. He said, "the fact people don't know much about them doesn't make them easy opposition. They have quality players. We were the better team in the first half in Gothenburg and in the whole game at Ibrox but we were the ones who lost goals. Pascal Nouma is a big awkward player and very dangerous. Zitelli being out definitely limits their scoring potential and that's good news for us. We'll be looking to cause them problems but the main thing is that we don't have to chase the game when we get back to Glasgow for the return." "We let ourselves down collectively, rather than individually, against Gothenburg. We have to make sure that doesn't happen against Strasbourg because we've watched them three times and know they are a very capable side." John Collins is waiting for a call from Walter Smith so he can give the Rangers manager the lowdown on Strasbourg. The former Celtic player who now plays for Monaco said, "if Walter wants to call me then I'll be happy to fill him in on Strasbourg, even though I have yet to play against them myself. I was injured when we met them last season, and missed our other fixture because of World Cup duty. But I've been picking the brains of the Monaco lads just in case Walter calls. Rangers should be too strong while Nice are certainly no better than Killie." Former Falkirk and Strasbourg player Simon Stainrod has warned Rangers to beware of his former side. He said, "Strasbourg are regarded as a middle of the road side in France despite winning the league cup last season. They do have money though. Their budget for the year is £12 million, not much less than Rangers have just spent. That's what they get to buy players and pay wages, and anything they take in through the gate or through sponsorship is theirs as well." "I know Rangers played in Auxerre last season, but Auxerre is a little country ground compared to Strasbourg's Meinau stadium. It's a magnificent ground, as good, if not better than Ibrox. It can be quite an intimidating place for other French clubs to go, because the stands are right on top of the pitch and if they're playing one of the better sides they get close to their 40,000 capacity. If Rangers were playing Metz they'd get murdered. But I'd be very surprised if Strasbourg knocked them out." Staale Stensaas admits he was a bit overawed when he joined Rangers because it was his first stint at full-time football. He said, "I know it's hard for prople to understand in Scotland but this is the first time I've been able to really concentrate on playing football. And under the eyes of the trainers here I can only become a better player. Then there's the bonus that instead of racing to work from the training ground I can spend time with my family." "I was nervous at first at Rangers but I've been happy enough with the impression I've made early on. I'd heard of David Robertson and knew all about his influence. Now, after starting well hopefully I can go on to show the fans I can fill that job."
Rangers Snelders 4 Cleland 5 Stensaas 6 Porrini 6 Moore 5 Vidmar 5 Gascoigne 8 Ferguson 7 Gattuso 6 Negri 6 Laudrup 7 Albertz 5 (Sub) Miller 3 (Sub) McCoist 2 (Sub)Man of the Match: Paul Gascoigne Falkirk Follower
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