Home > Football > Paul Le Guen leaves Rangers in wake of Ferguson storm
by Graham Smith on 04 January 2007
Email this Article (9) Comments
It has been a turbulent season so far at Ibrox, with Rangers off the pace in the Scottish Premier League, unrest in the dressing room and a lack of confidence from the fans - and now finally it has taken its toll. Paul Le Guen has left his job as manager by mutual consent and returned to France, just seven months after arriving.
Le Guen appeared in the SPL to a great fanfare of excitement and hope, with a superb record as manager of Lyon, consistently helping them to punch above their weight both in France and in Europe. It was hoped this trend would continue with Rangers, as he looked to improve on the recent poor showings in the Champions League and UEFA Cup and restore their dominance in the SPL from Celtic.
He had fans and pundits alike drooling over the possibilities. Chick Young of the BBC said at the time of his appointment: “Me? I am prepared to push the gamble button and suggest to you that the persuading of Paul Le Guen to succeed Alex McLeish at Ibrox will win the title.” Sadly, things did not go according to plan for the Frenchman.
Le Guen was dogged by controversy right from the start as he removed several key players from Ibrox like Fernando Ricksen and Peter Lovenkrands, and replaced them with relatively unknown Frenchmen (Gerard Houllier, anyone?) like Clement and N’Daiye who have failed to fill the gap left by the departing men. He has also proved poor at communicating his thoughts through the press, which has made many feel uneasy about his motivation, tactics and decision making.
Comments (9)
by Kenny on January 04, 2007
It has been a disappointing season for us so far but allowing PLG to leave is the biggest mistake. The reason for the bad season (we are 2nd in the league !!!) is down to our chairman, Sir David Murray. PLG had no cash to build the squad, £3M on 11 players, and I believe he would have turned our team around given time and real cash. As for Barry Ferguson, IF he thinks he is Mr Rangers then he has to go NOW, no one man is bigger than the club. I hate the current state of my beloved club but will never stop them being in my blood. A Rangers man does not choose, we are chosen. WATP.
by Christine on January 04, 2007
What a mess. Ferguson is a disgrace. Cannot believe the manager has been let go.
by laura on January 04, 2007
haha paul le guen got da sak point n laff ally mcCoist be my heroe n become rangers captain plzz : )
by William Cairns on January 04, 2007
Please be advised that under the reign of Alex Mcleish Rangers where the first Scottish club to reach the nockout stages in the champions league and as far as uefa cup compettion goes this season Rangers are unbeaton so where are the poor results in Europe ?Please reseach your articles clearer as mis information may offend.
by drew hind on January 04, 2007
hey paul le guen i think you took it too far with over powering barry ferguson he is got alot of skills and fans unlyk ursel in my point a view is that you should have left ages ago and i dont think you are good enough for rangers s0oo you should of not even been picked to be the manager of rangers . you are crap git a grip & life hehe bubi now !!!!!!!
by Graham on January 04, 2007
Reaching the knockout stages of the champions league once in its history does not count as a decent record, and I did mention this season's UEFA Cup run- but apart from that the recent record is poor.
by Ian on January 05, 2007
What a sad course of events. It seems like I was one of the minority who was prepared to stay the course with Le Guen in the hope that his undisputed talents as a modern european coach with a desire for entertaining, attacking football would eventually win through. Parochialism and player power has won the day, and what a sad day it has turned into.
by esteban on January 09, 2007
they obviously did offend,,and you must be completely dyed in the wool gers fan, if you cant even admit that the once mighty Rankers,,,have been rankin the joint out for decades, only Celtics inablility to finish things off recently gave you the benefit of a leadgue win. Lets face it Murray and co have squandered the clubs money for a shot at 9 in a row,,,,sad to say the true gers fans deserve better, however, they have been short changed,,,,
The mans right, the club should have stood by him,,,in 3 years time LeGuen could have had a very good team,,,,,Now that Rangers have signed Dowall,,the celts should go for LeGuen as a reserve team boss
Add your comment here
PERSONAL ABUSE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
First Name
Display your favourite sport or football team badge with your comment.
Last Name
Sport
Email
League
Heading
Team
Comment *
Please enter the text you see in the picture into the textbox below. *
Carter class too much for battling Boks as All Blacks prove they're the world’s best
Rafael Nadal's firepower to outgun the Swiss movement of Roger Federer
Shoaib Akhtar's return is great news for cricket - but for how long?
Name: This is simply to give the editors a general idea of what the article is about and will not appear on your published version.