With the start of the football season in Scotland, the time has come to reappraise the Rangers under Paul Le Guen.
Questions that have been posed are:
1. Why has Le Guen been a success in French Football but a failure with the Rangers?
2. Was Le Guen to blame for his problems with the Rangers or did the Rangers undermine his leadership and his plans for the team?
The first question may have been easier to answer since the BBC Website was negative in its assessment of Le Guen and the French Football Association Website painted him as a brilliant manager.
An attempt has been made to communicate with Mr. Le Guen via the Paris St. Germaine Website. The Rangers have also received a set of questions from Roberto in their website. In order to understand Le Guen and the Rangers, a biographical and professional report on Le Guen is in order.
His Life and Playing Career
Paul Le Guen was born on the 1st of March 1964 in Pencran, Brittany, France. He started his career as a player with the Club AS Brest in 1982. He continued his playing career with various clubs such as Stade Brest 29, FC Nantes Atlantique, and Paris Saint Germaine FC. He retired from playing football in 1998 after his team in Brittany finished in a draw against Cameroon.
During his time as a player, he won 17 caps for FC Nantes Atlantique and Paris Saint Germaine and made 17 appearances for the French National Team.
He was also victorious for the Paris St Germaine FC in the French Cup 1993, 1995, and 1998; The French League Cup 1995 & 1998; and The Cup of Cups in 1994. Mr. Le Guen was also a finalist for Paris St Germaine in Cup of Cups and the SuperCup of Europe in 1997.
Mr. Le Guen’s 17 appearances for the French National Team were between the years 1993 to 1995 which was marked by ten victories, two losses, and draws out of seventeen games. Mr. Le Guen’s appearances for the French National Team were also marked by injuries and missing out on the opportunity to play in the World Cup 1994 in the USA.
Managerial Career
Rennes
Mr. Le Guen started his career as a Manager with the Rennes Football Club. During his period with Rennes from 1998 to 2001, he signed unknown players such as Shabani Nonda and El Hadji Diouf and developed them into talented players. His period of Rennes ended in 2001 after a clash with the board of Rennes
After leaving Rennes, he took a one year sabbatical leave to recharge his energy and think about his future.
Olympique Lyonnais
He returned in 2002 from his leave of absence to become manager of Olympique Lyonnais. In the beginning, Olympique Lyonnais won three out of their first nine games but eventually were able to obtain three consecutive championships and reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Championship League. After winning the fourth consecutive championship league for Olympqie Lyonnais, Le Guen resigned as Manager in 2005.
Again, Mr. Le Guen took another one year leave from managing football clubs. He refused offers from Benfica, Lazio, and Paris Saint Germaine.
Rangers
On the 11th of March 2006, David Murray announced that Le Guen would replace Alex Mc Leish as Manager with a three year contract. Murray talked about a “massive moonbeam of success”. What happened appeared to be a “kiss of death” for the Rangers and Le Guen. Le Guen could not repeat the success he had in France. There were conflicts with Rangers Management and Supporters.
The Rangers under Le Guen suffered from inconsistency with elimination from Scottish League Cup by St. Johnstone and qualification for the UEFA. St. Johnstone eliminating the Rangers was a historical first in Scottish League History since a Lower League Team eliminated Rangers in their home base.
The Rangers had their worst performance in the 2006-2007 season under Le Guen with clashes between Le Guen VS Ferguson, and Le Guen VS Rangers supporters being the order of the day.
Finally, things became heated when Le Guen removed Ferguson as Captain on the 1st of January 2007. The Rangers FC Supporters were enraged and protested during the away match at Motherwell on the 2nd of January 2007.
Le Guen finally had enough and announced his resignation as manager on the 4th of January 2007 before the end of the 2006-2007 season. Murray announced that the departure was by mutual consent.
After leaving the Rangers, Le Guen accepted the post of First Team Coach at Paris Saint Germaine on the 17th of January 2007
Conclusion
Le Guen refused to be interviewed by Roberto. Whatever opinion Roberto might have about Le Guen will be left for the readers to decide based on Le Guen’s attitude.
The Rangers did not answer Roberto’s Invitation for an Interview. Regardless, there was a personality conflict between Le Guen and the Rangers. For Le Guen to force Rangers to his way of thinking and discipline was a recipe for disaster. Le Guen should have studied the Rangers culture before embarking on a job with them.
The Rangers [like all Football Clubs] have a responsibility to study the lives and times of the people who are going to be their managers. The same applies if a person wants to take over the football club. It is always better to be safe than to be sorry.