EVERY OTHER SATURDAY: Barry Ferguson Won?t be Having Nightmares About Gravesen
September 8th, 2006 by Fraser CampbellThere?s quite a funny Photoshop gag doing the rounds just now, featuring Rangers skipper Barry Ferguson tucked under his RFC duvet having nightmares about his impending clashes with new Celtic signing Thomas Gravesen.
Despite the fact that the 63 times capped Danish international hasn?t kicked a ball in anger for the Parkhead side thus far, many of their fans have convinced themselves that he is the hard but creative catalyst who will power Celtic to the title ? in short, a perfect replacement for the departed Stilian Petrov.
There can be no doubt that Gravesen is a quality player. The beating heart of Everton?s best season in recent years, the Dane made a surprise move to Real Madrid in January 2005, bought in the last flailing days of Wanderley Luxemburgo?s disastrous tenure at the Bernabeu.
He was then inexplicably played as a holding midfielder, despite being more used to a creative role. Gravesen played more consistently under Luxemburgo?s successor L?pez Caro, but still featured in a defensive role in a disintegrating side who failed to shine both domestically and in Europe.
His arrival at Celtic seems him finally get a chance to play an attacking role in a side expected to compete for titles.
But why Barry Ferguson should be worried about his arrival is beyond me.
Ferguson has done far more in the game than his older counterpart.
While Gravesen has failed to win anything in his career Ferguson has won four championships including two trebles, one of which he led from the front as Captain.
Ferguson has also been Scottish writers and SPFA player of the year.
Much has been made of Ferguson?s ?failure? at Blackburn Rovers, but a lot of people seem to forget that he spent most of his time there out of action with a snapped knee cap, in spite of which he was still made club captain and was only allowed to leave after Ferguson himself pleaded with them to let him re-join his boyhood favourites.
Ferguson?s admission that the Premiership wasn?t all it?s cracked up to be in comparison to playing at Ibrox was seen by many as a failure in terms of the man?s ambition, but all Rangers fans know the irresistible pull of the club. Those who follow other teams could never truly understand.
It can certainly be said that Ferguson has not repeated the form he showed in 2003 since his return, where he played consistently like a man possessed, despite carrying a longstanding hip injury.
But he?s still capable of bossing the very best, as last season?s showdown with the illustrious Juan Roman Riquelme proved.
If Ferguson comes back into the Rangers team finally injury free (and I?ll admit that?s a big if) he will be justified in fearing no-one.
Certainly he has no need to be overly anxious about facing former SV Hamburg man Gravesen, although he?ll no doubt show him requisite respect.
The euphoria exhibited by Parkhead supporters over the impressive captures of Gravesen and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink may soon be tempered by the realisation that they have replaced two players worth around 40 goals a season (Petrov and Hartson) with 2 who have so far averaged just over a dozen each term.
Meanwhile, as Rangers fans prepare to welcome back our skipper on Saturday against Falkirk, maybe he should be talking to the kit people at Ibrox about making sure they fit his shorts with a back pocket big enough for every other midfielder in the country.
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September 8th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
….you mean the way he kept Maloney in his pocket last season? This should be fun.
September 8th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
talk him up why dont you …
wetting myself at your fawning over Bazza …
September 8th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
And where does the wunderkid Bazza ‘Square Ba’ Ferguson fit into in PLG’s revolucion? Come on, when was the last time he had anybody in his back pocket? The 1st derby of last season. He certainly did not have Maloney in his back pocket in the other derbies that followed. In fact, you better check Roy Keane’s skyrockets at Sunderland to make sure Bazza still ain’t hiding in there after his non-appearance in the 2nd game at Ibrox last season
Save your bluster until after the 23/9. Enjoy the fireworks display (even though Fernando’s gone!).
September 8th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
Petrov and Hartson worth 40 goals a season?
September 8th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
i notice how the author of the pieces name has changed from Alan “something - possibly Hynds” which it was 5 minutes ago when I posted my first comment .. to “Fraser Campbell” now..
was it a joint piece then?
did it take 2 off you to invent that tripe you call impartial journalism?
is this in actual fact a rankers forum OR is it a generic football news site?
September 8th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Hardly a major conspiracy laughable, Fraser writes the Rangers column here, I edit the site and posted it under my username by mistake.
If you’d bothered to have a look around the site it would be quite clear that it’s for fans of all clubs. Did the green and white colour scheme not give it away that it wasn’t just a Rangers site?
September 8th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Your arguments regarding Ferguson’s are somewhat diminished by the comparison between the leagues the respective players have played in. These may however be explained by the clear placement of your head up your arse. It may be difficult for you to recognise a player through the lining of your colon, however your “traditional” songs will sound nicer with the echo.
September 8th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
looking at the site makeup and links I assumed it was generic .. it certainly appears so ..
but the content was so overly fawning it could be miscontrued as being a RFC specific site .. not exactly impartial as I said before ..
September 8th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I resent the word ‘generic’ by I know what you mean
Each columnist is a fan of their respective team, I think we all hear enough politically correct, fake impartiality from so-called journalists so with the club columns on SOTG I encourage the fans to write it the way they see it, club blinkers on or not and then we can all discuss the points raised after it.
With the Barry Ferguson piece above, Fraser gets his say and in these comments and on the forums (http://forums.stateofthegame.co.uk) you are all more than welcome to sign up and have yours in return.
Would you rather we got fence sitters with splinters in their rear ends to write nice, cosy balanced pieces because to be honest I wouldn’t bother reading that myself, never mind expecting anyone else to.
September 8th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
In answer to Laughable 1st of all I wrote the piece and am a Rangers fan - my brief here at SOTG is to write Rangers related articles, so no I?m not impartial and have never made any pretence of being impartial.
I?ll try to answer the other points, which all seem to relate to Ferguson?s performance last season ? he was injured. That?s all really. Let?s see how he does fully fit, if that ever happens.
As for Petrov and Hartson being worth 40 a season, well, ok maybe that?s going a bit over board but it?s not far off.
Petrov scored 64 goals for Celtic in his time there. Gravesen has scored 28 in his entire club career.
Hartson scored 109 for Celtic in 5 seasons, one of which he lost to injury ? VOH has scored 132 in 10 seasons.
Celtic appear to have lost goal threat as a result of the transfer window ? that?s all I?m saying.
Like I said this is a column, an opinion piece ? it?s not supposed to be a statement of fact. I know Celtic fans won?t agree with a word of it, but that?s the magic of the game eh?
We?ll see who?s right come the end of the season.
Nice accusation of bigotry by the way smcc1967, despite your complete lack of any evidence. It’s amazing how quickly some people decent into personal insult on message boards isn’t it?
Not my chairman warning of complacency this week on that matter - I believe it was yours.
A combination of having little to actually say and the safety of anonymity I suppose.
Fair point about the comparative leagues in one regard, but it’s an easy out for you. Whenever a player does well or is praised the weakness of the SPL is always trotted out by rival fans as the reason for his success.
However the same argument would diminish the achievements of players like Petrov and Larsson so it cuts both ways.
September 8th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
what is NOT laughable is the fact that “laughable” is still supporting his beloved hoops, a few days after the revelations about Jock Stein covering up child abuse at Celtic park
September 8th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
ah right .. if its from the perspective of a rangers fan then fine .. im all for “supporters views” as opposed to sanitised journo’s views ..
BUT it should be “flagged as such” dont you think?
that would probably have been a wise move ..
else people have to assume its a standard journo piece .. and would question the content for leaning towards/favouring an RFC supporters point of view.
If there was a huge banner at the top saying this is an RFC page then fine …. but there isnt.
September 8th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Well the column is called “Every Other Saturday” - I thought that might have given it away…
September 8th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Lets not try to turn this into a holier than thou slagging match eh “Finbar”? Let’s try to stick to football.
September 8th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Well said Fraser, and in particular Barry Ferguson and the threat of Thomas Gravesen in the SPL this season.
Let’s try and stay on topic here folks.
September 8th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
Amazing that 15 post later there is till no sensible comment added to the piece. I really don’t see how anyone can argue about Ferguson’s credentials. My worry about him is his return to fitness as he has never seemed truely free from injury since he went to Blackburn and had a horrible injury to his knee. I think he is what is missing from the team so far this season. With such an array of youth on display the team needs someone who has been there in the SPL and knows what its all about with teams fighting for every blade of grass when they play Rangers. Prso is the only veteran in most line ups so far so the addition of Ferguson might just bring the extra cutting edge to the play. As for the ‘big’ Celtic signings - too early to tell if they will strengthen or weaken the team from last season but would not grudge Celtic fans their excitement. Me - I’m happy as PLG is with the team Rangers have but also have the patience to wait till they reach their peak which may not be this season. A wee run in UEFA could be great for the younger players in the team and hopefully speed up their development.
September 8th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Couldn’t agree more Hammertime - PLG is our biggest and best signing when you boil it all down.
Of course Celtic fans should be happy about getting in quality players - but they seem to have forgotten it’s been at the cost of losing Petrov and Hartson, who were both proven entities.
September 8th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
a would just like to post in response that it was a good article to read, to say Barry Ferguson would be fearing anyone when he’s been at the biggest level of football playing against the likes of Parma, Bayern Munchen is rediculous by others thoughts.
Barry Ferguson is not going to fear anyone. As for last season, Barry Ferguson was injured, he played the full season on an ankle injury that turned out quite a mess. If thats how Barry Ferguson performs with an ankle injury he’s certainly going to be a threat on any side when 100% fit.
Be Great to see Barry back 100% fit raring to go, and with the full support behind him, we’ll see Barry back at his best. Besides, he’s only going to be an addition to the strongest team on paper in Scotland.
September 10th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Im sorry, this article is just ridiculous. The basic premise seems to be that because Ferguson has won a lot of Scottish league honours (a 2 horse race at the best of times, with any impact on a European level being fleeting and inconsistent) that he can claim to be better than Gravesen. Now im not even going to go into an argument about who’s the better player, thats a very relative-view debate, but the rationale being used here is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. By this formula, someone who’s won 10 titles in a row at Racing Tsiblisi in the Georgian League (ok, i admit to making that name up, but u get the point) can claim to be the greatest player in the world. The only way u can compare players are in like for like situations. At an international level Gravesen has played in World Cup and European championships with distinction, Ferguson hasn’t. At a Premiership level, Gravesen has far outshone Ferguson. At a european club competition level ferguson has a bit of an edge given last year’s success, but other than that there ’snothing. Overall i know where my money would be given the opportunity to sign either player. And whats with the sly dig at SV Hamburg btw, they’re in the Champions League and Rangers aren’t mate.
September 10th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
So European club level is meaningless then? You’ve argued your way out of a point there I’m afraid. If Gravesen fans can point to his World Cup and Euro Champs experience why can’t Ferguson fans point out his experience in the CL for Rangers?
As I’ve been forced to point our more than once, Ferguson didn’t exactly get a chance to shine in The Premiership did he? A small matter of a snapped kneecap for the majority of time there.
Even if the SPL is a 2 horse race ( and what, the Premiership isn’t a one horse race?) you still have to beat the other horse. Ferguson led a team to the treble against a Celtic team that included Larsson, Petrov, Hartson, Sutton etc and was managed by Martin O’Neil - while injured. That’s more than Gravesen has ever done in my view, but that’s all it is of course - just my view.
As a Rangers fan I recongnise and respect Gravesen as a player but as I pointed out at the very start of the column, I’m pretty sure a guy like Barry Ferguson will be relishing rather than worrying about the challenge.
No Dig at Hamburg by the way, I just popped them in there to be factual.
September 11th, 2006 at 8:03 am
Also, and I hate to look pedantic here (but I am) if Barry Ferguson’s league honours aren’t worthy of inclusion ( which I’d argue - it’s a tough league to win) then Gravesen ain’t exactly going to eclipise him is he? It’s as much as he can do to match Barry’s record, unless you’re willing to wager Celtic will do something extra special in Europe.
I never at any point said that Ferguson was a better player than Gravesen - just that he has nothing to fear from him and that he has done more in the game. That’s just a fact - “show us your medals” as they say.
As for Ferguson’s international record - Bertie Vogts was hardly his fault eh?
Let’s put it this way, Walter Smith rates him as the best Scottish midfielder - he’s said as much and that’s good enough for me.
I suppose the upcoming Old Firm game will begin to give us some answers.