Latest news with #GiovannivanBronckhorst
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
I warned Rangers not to sack Giovanni van Bronckhorst, reveals former owner Sir David Murray
It's one of a number of revelations from his major sitdown with the Scottish Sun SLIPPERY SLOPE I warned Rangers not to sack Giovanni van Bronckhorst, reveals former owner Sir David Murray SIR DAVID MURRAY has revealed he told Rangers NOT to sack Giovanni van Bronckhorst — and feels the Dutchman got a 'raw deal' at Ibrox. Van Bronckhorst, who was bought and sold as a player during Murray's Gers reign, led the team to the Europa League final and won the Scottish Cup three years ago. Advertisement 5 Former Rangers owner David Murray speaks to Roger Hannah at his Perthshire home 5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst Credit: Getty 5 Giovanni van Bronckhorst with the Scottish Cup Credit: Getty Images - Getty He was sacked less than six months later and replaced by Michael Beale, who lasted just a year in the Ibrox dugout. Now former owner Murray has told for the first time how he advised then chairman Douglas Park and his director son Graeme not to make the change. Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Murray said: 'I met the Parks at the time van Bronckhorst was coming to an end. 'I suggested that they stood still with van Bronckhorst and keep him. Advertisement "It seemed pointless to get rid of him. 'I don't want to seem smart after the event but the Beale exercise did not work and it cost a lot of money. 'There is van Bronckhorst now so highly rated that he's about to become the No 2 at Liverpool. 'He did reasonably well in Turkey and won the Super Cup with Besiktas. Advertisement 'He was one penalty kick from being up there with the greats. I think he got a raw deal. But it's not my decision. I'm only speaking as an observer now.' Van Brockhorst cost Gers £5million in the summer of 1998 and spent three years at Ibrox under countryman Dick Advocaat before an £8m move to Arsene Wenger's Arsenal. Sir Sean Connery's secret £1 MILLION investment in Rangers revealed When he returned as boss to succeed title-winning Steven Gerrard, he led Gers to the 2022 Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville. They lost on penalties after a nerve-shredding 1-1 draw and were denied just a second European trophy in the club's history. Advertisement They then beat Hearts at Hampden days later to lift to the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years. But a poor start to the next campaign prompted the board to axe van Bronckhorst, now linked with a job as Arne Slot's assistant at English Premier League champions Liverpool. Murray, who owned Gers for 23 years, believes the call was one of many decisions that didn't need to be made. He said: 'You had a dysfunctional board. Honestly, when you have directors putting in loans of £2m or £3m, everyone wants a say. Advertisement 'You can't run a football club by committee. 'Whether it's me or whoever, you need one dominant person to be making decisions. 'It's difficult because everything was done with good intentions. 'But it's just not been joined-up thinking. They've not been working as a team. Advertisement 'I looked at the directors' box sometimes and thought 'He's put in £2m, he's put in £5m'. It's like rotating who's putting the loans in. 'Some of the people will need their loans back.' Murray sold the club to Craig Whyte for £1 in May 2011. But Gers nosedived into administration and liquidation and plunged into the fourth tier of Scottish football. Advertisement 5 Douglas Park (left) with John Bennett Credit: Willie Vass The steel tycoon maintains those financial catastrophes were avoidable. Despite invitations, he has never returned to Ibrox since — and isn't sure he'll go back in the future. He revealed: 'I've been asked back but my life has moved on. Life has different stages. 'I was at Rangers for too long — 23 years was far too long. It was a huge part of my life. Advertisement 'Although people remember the difficulty at the end, which I accept, we had some great times as well. 'I've not been back to a game. Yes, I would go back. 'But there's nothing worse than the old guy going back to the place he ran before. It's time to move on. I've got a different life. 'The past is the past and, for me, it's time to move on.' Advertisement Writing in his new autobiography, Murray has apologised for selling Gers to Whyte. He cites the global financial collapse and personal health issues as contributory factors in the decision. 5 Former Rangers owner David Murray speaks to Roger Hannah at his Perthshire home Credit: Andrew Barr But he also believes the hardline stance of HMRC — which later softened — scared off other potential buyers and pushed him into the arms of Whyte. Advertisement He said: 'HMRC paralysed the club. Okay, I'm responsible, I'm in charge. 'But they put in fines and costs for running what they called an 'illegal' tax scheme. 'When we handed the club over, there was a £75m HMRC liability hanging over us. It became greater because Craig Whyte didn't pay the bills. 'But I find it so annoying that the final settled amount — after HMRC finally admitted it wasn't an illegal scheme — was £33m. Advertisement 'If they had been open and honest in the negotiations at the time, we could have handled it. The David Murray files Ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray APOLOGISES to fans for selling club to Craig Whyte 14 years after deal led to collapse My dad took the fall for 'disastrous' deal & was jailed for FRAUD, reveals ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray Inside 007 legend Sean Connery's secret £1m Rangers investment as bombshell details revealed for first time Advertisement Former Rangers supremo Sir David Murray admits his decision to sell to Craig Whyte 'tarnished' his Ibrox legacy 'I still have shards in my leg', says ex-Rangers supremo Sir David Murray as he breaks 50-year silence on car crash hell "I can't do this" - Sir David Murray reveals that he almost sold Rangers for £40million in 2005 Ex-Rangers owner Murray recalls chilling phone call after fatal private jet crash which Scots F1 hero walked away from Advertisement 'They sterilised the club and put people off. 'Are you telling me the squad wasn't worth £33m or the stadium wasn't worth £33m? 'People can blame me all they want but, with the greatest respect, there was a global recession. 'It was so bad the Royal Bank were about an hour away from no money coming out of the ATMs. Advertisement 'Most people who have dealt with me in business still deal with me. 'I'm close to people. When people work with you and they're in the trenches, they know the truth. 'People standing on the touchline and commenting don't know the full story.' - Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops. Advertisement Preorder on Amazon here. Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The National
07-06-2025
- Sport
- The National
Robbie Ure on Rangers dream, Kasper Schmeichel and Scotland
In reality, that unforgettable moment for the young striker, as he opened the scoring against Queen of the South in a League Cup tie on his debut for the club, had been the end result of over a decade of hard graft. 'It was a dream,' Ure said. 'All my family were in the stands, and it came so early. I remember after I'd scored, I was already just so happy, but the game was still going on. It was a great night.' Ure had walked out at Ibrox that evening determined to grasp his opportunity. Though he was just 18 at the time, his upbringing as a Rangers fan and his education in their academy since the age of eight, meant that he was keenly aware even then that such chances are not given lightly. When they come, you have to seize them. 'I'd grown up at Rangers,' he said. 'It became home to me. It wasn't really daunting at first. I just came in, worked hard and enjoyed myself. 'Of course, a few years later when I started to train a little bit with the first team, and being a fan of the club and looking on the pitch and seeing people that I'd usually see from the stands, then it probably became a little bit more daunting to me. (Image: SNS Group) 'But we were like a family. There's a lot of togetherness there in the academy. Everyone is looking out for everyone. It was a really good time for me. Everyone working there really made it feel like a nice place to come and play football. 'And my family, they never put any pressure on me at that young age. It was my dream at the time, to break through into the Rangers first team. But I was also mature enough and realistic enough to know how difficult it can be. 'Look at the last 10 years, there's not many players from the academy that have broken through. I was realistic enough to know that if my time did come, I had to be prepared for it. 'I really want to thank Giovanni van Bronckhorst for the opportunity because he didn't have to give me that chance, and he did. So, I'm forever grateful to him for that. 'When you'd speak to him, he'd have such a presence. It was just great for me and my family that I'd be able to work with someone who was such a good footballer in his time at Rangers, and also a great manager. It was great working with him.' With that knowledge of how difficult it can be for young academy products to sustain a place in the Rangers team, and with his family there to keep a check on him, there was little prospect of Ure getting carried away by his moment in the Ibrox limelight. 'In football, a lot of people will make their debut, but the hard thing is doing it again,' he said. 'The difficult thing is making the second appearance and the fifth and the tenth. 'I knew from the moment that I woke up the next day that I had to keep my head down and keep working. I definitely didn't get ahead of myself. As far as I was concerned, at Rangers, I was still in the same position. 'I had to keep working hard and hope that I do get that second opportunity and that third opportunity. 'I have a great support network around me. My family is so supportive, and my mum certainly wouldn't let me lose my head. She definitely kept me on the ground along with my sisters and everyone else. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group / SFA) 'It was just the same. I came to training every day and I trained and played with the B team, and if I got the opportunity to train with the first team again, I was delighted, and I'd work as hard as I could to impress.' Deep down though, as such opportunities dried up, the realisation dawned on Ure that he may have to leave Rangers to further his career, no matter how big a wrench that would prove to be. In a remarkable display of honesty and maturity for one so young, he also came to realise that at the time, he just wasn't quite good enough yet to nail down a regular place in the Ibrox first team. On top of that was the consideration that in Scotland, B teams play much further down the ladder than in many other European countries. The Rangers B team he was a part of was playing in the fifth tier, and with the greatest of respect to the level, that was also, he felt, stymying his development. So, when Anderlecht came calling, the fact the Belgian giants could offer him a platform to play regular football at a much higher level in their own B team was a major driver behind his decision to leave his Ibrox dream behind and head for the continent. 'That was probably the biggest factor in the decision to be honest,' he said. 'It was a big call. I spoke with my family for a good couple of months, but we all decided that it was probably the best decision that I could make. 'At a club like Rangers, there's a pressure to win every game, and me being a striker as well, I was realistic enough to know that the chances are going to be thin on the ground. 'To be fair, I also knew in myself that I wasn't good enough at that time to play games for Rangers, and I knew that I had to develop elsewhere. I knew that the Lowland League at the time was not doing anything for my development. 'We were patient, and I got an offer from a massive club, Anderlecht. The minute I got that offer, I knew that's where I wanted to be to continue my journey. 'Going from the fifth league in Scotland to the second league in Belgium was obviously a big jump. I could come into a huge club and train hard in a good team. 'I obviously had my eyes on trying to go to the first team and training there when possible, but of course, I would still be developing at a good level in the second league of Belgium. At the time, it was a really good step for me, and I learned a lot and I improved a lot playing at that level. 'It was just me over there. My family came and visited but it was just me, really. The first couple of months I was getting a bit used to it all, doing everything for myself, which I wasn't used to doing! 'But I became used to it, and I grew as a person. I matured for sure, and I ended up really enjoying it.' He would go on to make his debut for the Anderlecht first team, a fleeting but memorable experience. 'It was short lived, but it was good,' he said. 'I remember coming on at Antwerp and the atmosphere was crazy. I really enjoyed that moment. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) 'I thought it was a reflection of how far I'd come in such a short space of time. To get given that opportunity was great. 'I really enjoyed the minutes that I was on the pitch for.' And so thoroughly did he enjoy the overall experience, and so beneficial was it to his development as a player, that he would recommend to any young Scot – as many more are now doing – to follow a similar path. 'I knew when I was leaving Rangers that there was a possibility that I might go abroad,' he said. 'I wasn't fazed by it at all. If the opportunity's there I'd 100 percent recommend it. 'You look at some of the names that have done it and are doing really, really well. Max Johnston obviously in Austria has got himself into the Scotland A squad now. 'The evidence is there that there's a lot of talent in Scotland and they can go abroad and really do well and become a better player. I would really recommend it.' (Image: JOHN THYS) Part of the attraction for Ure was getting to work alongside players of vast experience at the top level of the game, and while there would later be a little friendly football friction between him and one of his main mentors at Anderlecht, he had no hesitation in citing a now Celtic player as one of the main influences on his career. 'I have to say Kasper Schmeichel,' he said. 'He made me feel really, really comfortable when I was with the first team. He was such a nice person, so easy to talk to. He would speak to you about everything. 'He was really good with me, and he would also tell me to keep going and that you've got a real chance here. Just work hard every day and you can see what can happen. 'Kasper was someone that really made me feel comfortable when I was with the group and someone that I really appreciate. 'I sent him a message when he went to Celtic, but I don't want to say what I said! But he just always says, it is what it is! 'But I really appreciated his time. He's such a really good guy and he's got time for everyone. I really appreciate him.' Like Schmeichel though, Ure would soon be attracting admiring glances from elsewhere, and in March, a surprise twist lay in store when Swedish club Sirius shelled out a club record fee of €750,000 to bring him to Scandinavia. 'It was unexpected at the time because obviously it was March,' he said, 'I'm always used to the transfer window being in January and the summer, so I didn't expect anything. 'I went on a call with them and a week later I got told that they're really serious about this and they really want you. 'I didn't think too much about the club record fee and everything else. I just looked at it as a perfect opportunity for me to be playing football at a high level. 'I was ready to come in and I enjoyed actually that I was looked at as quite a big signing. I was really happy when everything came together and when I joined. I'm really happy.' He certainly appears to be, as we catch up while he is enjoying the Swedish mid-season break in Marbella, allowing him a chance to reflect on a more than decent opening to his Sirius career, with four goals in his last five outings. 'Yeah, it's a summer break,' he said. 'The next games are in three or four weeks. They've got 12 games up until June 1st and then there's a four-week break. 'It's taken a little bit of getting used to. After November I've got a four or five-week break and then in January I've got pre-season. But I'm enjoying it. 'I didn't know what the level was going to be. My first game I got two assists, so that was great, but I didn't really find my form after that and wasn't getting a lot of chances. Then it became difficult. 'But I wanted to make sure, and it was important for me, that I was getting the basics of my game right, and from there I could really grow and get into situations where I can score. 'The last five weeks have been really positive for me. I feel like I'm finding my feet more and more and I'm getting really comfortable with the level and what's expected of me from the manager.' What next then for Ure? The obvious questions are whether he feels he can be the next young Scot to muscle his way into the senior international squad, and if he can one day reach a level where he can return to Rangers and finally fulfil that dream of being the main striker at Ibrox. At just 21, time is on his side. If he can maintain his current level of improvement - and with his level-headed nature and dedication, there is no reason to suspect he can't – then it would be a brave man who would bet against him achieving both of those goals. 'If I'm honest, I'm a totally different player to the one who left Rangers,' he said. (Image: SNS Group / SFA) 'I think I've become a lot better technically with the ball and I think that's probably thanks to being at a club like Anderlecht, and an academy like Anderlecht where I was training every single day with 16, 17, 18-year-olds that are incredible with the ball. 'I think that I'm a lot stronger. I can use my body a lot better as well than what I could when I was at Rangers, so I do think I'm a totally different player. 'My ambition is just to improve every day and if these things come then that's obviously great. I'm a young player and my full focus is on Sirius and trying to help them, and trying to make sure that I'm improving myself as a player, but also as a team, and scoring and assisting as much as possible. 'It would be obviously great to catch the eye of Steve Clarke, but as I say, if that came it would be great. 'At the moment I'm really happy here and I'm not thinking anywhere past my next game almost, so when these things come then I'll think more into it but at the moment, I am happy where I am. 'I know myself that I have to keep going, keep working hard and I'll see where that takes me in the future.'
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Can Rangers solve lacklustre starts?
After the derby win at Parkhead before the international break, I was hopeful Rangers would go up to Dens on Saturday and deliver a drama-free evening with a is Rangers, though, and things don't happen like that. Seven goals, 12 Cyriel Dessers shots and a dramatic 93rd-minute winner after looking like a shambles for most of the time I was at Dens we got a late winner under Giovanni van Bronckhorst from Connor Goldson. This time we get one from all fine and well winning a few games in that manner but we can't afford to start matches the way we have been all very lacklustre and lacking in control and intensity and when you throw in a goalkeeping howler it doesn't bode those are things that can be and should be worked on this week prior to facing Hibs. David Gray's side are far better than Dundee and if we start like we did at Dens, the visitors have it in them to pull off a Motherwell-type I will give the players credit is their ability to fight back and dig in. That's a massive improvement and that mentality needs to remain in the dressing room no matter who is in the dugout next for now, we have to try to win at Ibrox on Saturday and continue adding to the confidence before the Europa League quarter-final with Athletic Bilbao comes around.
