A number of footballing legends have graced the Scottish Premier League in their time, but this man has perhaps the best record. Walter Smith, arguably the greatest Rangers manager of our time and possibly the greatest Rangers manager of all time, bid farewell to the club on Sunday after clinching a 3rd consecutive title with the Glasgow side. Walter’s will to succeed has cemented his position as a legend at Ibrox and he will be dearly missed by the Light Blue faithful.
When Walter returned to Ibrox in January 2007 no one could have predicted the change in fortune this would mean for the club. After struggling under manager Paul Le Guen Rangers were getting nowhere in the title race and were severely off the pace under the laid back Frenchman. The turn of the year in 2007 was to be a crucial spell for Rangers as Le Guen had transfer listed his captain at that time Barry Ferguson after a bust up and stripped him of the Captaincy. The squad seemed to revolt against the manager and after a run of bad results Le Guen resigned as manager. The club were in a state and there was only one man who could repair the damage.
Walter Smith arrived at the club after previously leading them to 9 Championship’s in a row. This record earned him hero status amongst the fan’s equalling the record of arch rivals Celtic. This was always going to be a risk returning after achieving so much success first time around and given the current state the club was in.
The manager didn’t waste any time on arriving by purchasing veteran centre back Davie Weir from Everton and added much need experience to his back line, and bringing Barry Ferguson back into the side and reinstating him as his Captain. That season Walter managed to close the gap on Celtic and finish as runners up which was incredible considering where the club were. Since Smith’s return he has led Rangers to a further 3 League Championship’s ,3 League cup’s and 2 Scottish cup’s. Walter also went on an incredible run to the Uefa cup final were they lost 2-0 to Dick Advocat’s Zenit St Petersburg.
On the aftermath of an incredible return to the Rangers and an amazing career with the Ibrox men. The manager will no doubt be missed as new manager Ally McCoist takes the reigns and tries to emulate his success. Looking back on the record must be a daunting task for any manager which will ensure Walter will be forever in the hearts of all Rangers supporters.
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walter,a true bear.what a legacy.