Scottish Mag 3 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Barry Ferguson has been stripped of the Rangers captaincy and BBC Sport understands that he has played his last game under manager Paul Le Guen. A statement from Rangers said: "Paul Le Guen has confirmed he has chosen, on this occasion, to drop Barry Ferguson for tomorrow's game. "And the captaincy will be given to Gavin Rae." Le Guen is not expected to expand on his reasons until after the match against Motherwell at Fir Park. The sensational move follows a row with Ferguson after Saturday's disappointing 1-1 draw at home to St Mirren. Le Guen and Ferguson had also had a recent disagreement over the importance of the club captaincy and matters came to a head at a meeting on Monday. The latest news comes after more pressure mounted on the Frenchman with Rangers sit third in the Scottish Premier League, 17 points adrift of city rivals and reigning champions Celtic. The manager obviously knows that, by taking such a decision, he has put his neck on the line Jim Templeton of the Rangers Supporters' Assembly And the signings made by Le Guen since taking over from Alex McLeish in the summer have failed to make a positive impression. But, despite league results unacceptable to many Rangers fans, Ferguson has been in excellent and inspirational form. There have been increasing rumours of a personality clash between the captain and manager and of splits between the club's Scottish and French players. It is the second time that Le Guen has shown that he does not accept anyone questioning his authority. On-loan Manchester United right-back Phil Bardsley had a training-ground disagreement with the former Lyon boss in October and did not play for Rangers again. But dropping his captain comes with greater risks for Le Guen. Ferguson is lauded by many Rangers fans, who are already questioning the Frenchman's management credentials. Jim Templeton, of the Rangers Supporters' Assembly, told BBC Sport: "At a time like this, it is a lift we need, not something like this happening to our one class player. "Paul Le Guen could not have picked a worse time and I would imagine that 90% of Rangers fans will be behind Barry Ferguson. "The manager obviously knows that, by taking such a decision, he has put his neck on the line, so the club need to come out and state why this has happened. "If that reason is not acceptable to the fans, there will be trouble ahead. "Making Gavin Rae captain is as strange as dropping Barry Ferguson. "I know he has had injury problems, but making someone captain who has been unable to hold down a regular first-team place makes no sense whatsoever." The 28-year-old Ferguson came through the young system at Ibrox before moving to Blackburn Rovers for £7.5m in 2003. But, after two injury-hit and homesick years in the Premiership, he won a return to his boyhood heroes in January 2005. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6703 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 tbqh I'm rather glad we didn't go, as some people wanted us to, for Le Guen as our manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 22622 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 tbqh I'm rather glad we didn't go, as some people wanted us to, for Le Guen as our manager. Hindsightastic. If Rangers give him time, he'll come good I reckon. Personally I hope they don't though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jusoda Kid 1 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 tbqh I'm rather glad we didn't go, as some people wanted us to, for Le Guen as our manager. Aye he sounds a bit dodgy, souness like chip on his shoulder maybe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31656 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Why have Rangers been so shite this season? Given Le Guen's reputation I thought they'd give Celtic a real challenge this season but instead have fallen further behind than they were under Mc Leish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Maul 0 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 He's always been canny ruthless. Didn't he make his Lyon team train naked and ride to work on bikes rather than their flash cars after a poor result? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asprilla 96 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 tbqh I'm rather glad we didn't go, as some people wanted us to, for Le Guen as our manager. Hindsightastic. If Rangers give him time, he'll come good I reckon. Personally I hope they don't though. Roeder > LeGuen. You know it's true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 22622 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 tbqh I'm rather glad we didn't go, as some people wanted us to, for Le Guen as our manager. Hindsightastic. If Rangers give him time, he'll come good I reckon. Personally I hope they don't though. Roeder > LeGuen. You know it's true Rubbish. And you wouldn't have been saying that if you were at Goodison on the 30th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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