Two Steps Murray

David Murray - Still two steps ahead of Celtic
Written by Michael Dolan
Sunday, 12 November 2006
For some it has been an embattled and bitter week for Glasgow Rangers. The smallminded pockets of bigoted supporters left a windswept Ibrox last Wednesday evening wailing and gnashing their teeth at Rangers supremo David Murray. Murray however has always set himself apart from the sordid spite of sectarianism that still surfaces from time to time under the guise of supporting the Govan club and which now seems to have clocked him as being the undermining influence to their petty agendas.



Murray himself has all too often cursed privately the jingoism dressed up as half time entertainment blasted out on Rangers matchdays. For him it’s not about the sash or the fenian blood, it’s about the cash and the football. A man who presides over an institution which prides itself on dignity has acted as a true dignitary at the helm, even more so in the wake of the unfettered howlings at his managerial appointment of Paul Le Guen.



And with quiet predictability Murray this week shunned his deeply held principle of not pandering to the public limelight by giving a selfless round of interviews with various media factions.



I was lucky enough to be afforded a private hearing with Murray after all the usual pundits had long since gone and their copy was winging its way to Anderston Quay.



Murray, gentleman to a fault, beckoned me in to his plush hotel suite for a private audience.

Nervous by the thought of being in Scotland’s greatest modern businessman’s company he sensed that very emotion in me and put me at my ease by uncorking a few of his popular choice of wines. A couple of bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon red filled the room with a youthful, yet vigorous aroma. The legs of the wine rolled richly down the sides of our glasses as a fire crackled warmly in the suite.



‘Ah, the youth of a good wine is probably how I’ve arrived at my view of Rangers.’ Murray reflected. ‘Gone are the days of a full bodied team, we now need to focus on the fledgling grapevine of youth but with a bit of old age thrown in.



‘In previous years I bought in my fine wines, I paid top notch for beautiful wines from around the world, but now my passion is steeped in my vineyards in France. Here I can watch the youthfulness of the grape growing and I can develop and nurture that youthfulness through my own winemaking.





‘I see the same plan for Rangers. At one time I was spending upwards of £12million on players like Tore Andre Flo. I took Celtic on and said I would spend £10 for every £5 they spent. I’m not sure why I said it but there you go that’s what put me in the spotlight, reluctantly I have to say. But whatever anyone says I outspent Celtic. I’m a reluctant spender but it had to be done. I claim no credit for it. Unfortunately from the bank’s perspective it was all credit so sadly that had to end. But even back then I was being innovative by massaging the value of Ibrox stadium to a ridiculous level. Some people accused us of trading while we were insolvent and the revaluation was a ruse to hide that. That may be the case but when you want to keep two steps ahead rules need to be bent.





‘But now my passion is for youth in the side. We have young players like Stevie Smith. I don’t want the likes of him or Alan Hutton to go to Bristol Rovers. England may be big but I want these young Scots to stay and play for Rangers regardless of how ordinary they are. You see Celtic have done this already. They now play more Scots than in previous years but for every Scottish player Celtic play I’ll play two Scots. Gavin Rae, Burkey, Kris, even Barry who is past it will play on until he’s 38, 39, who knows 40. Gordon Strachan has picked older players and stood by them but I can tell the Rangers support that I’ll pick more older players than Celtic have ever dreamed of seeing in one of their jerseys. We spoke with Peter Beagrie in the Summer. Amazingly he’s still playing at 41. We thought we had him on the dancefloor and virtually signed but it just didn’t work out but if we can get older players like him I’ll do it because I think its right for Rangers. Institutions don’t change easily and we don’t simply follow the latest fad. We are built on solid foundations so change is often slower than we would like. So we’ll have younger players than Celtic youngsters and older player than Celtic’s older players. I don’t want to sound overly confident but just watch this plan unfold. I don’t mind if I don’t get the accolades. Really.



‘And it’s no coincidence that our latest managerial appointment was appointed because of his age. Yes, I’ve read all kinds of nonsense on fan websites and in the press about la revolution and Paul’s pedigree as a top European coach. All of it is nonsense. I picked him because of his age. Celtic had a relatively young coach and they’ve done reasonably well under him but I thought to myself that an even younger coach would do even better. So if Celtic change their manager and replace him with a younger coach Paul knows he will be asked to consider his position so that I can get an even younger coach in. We must do everything to keep ahead of Celtic in every facet of what we do. And if Celtic get an old manager in I already have Bobby Robson’s mobile phone number. Times may have changed but I like to think we’re still two steps ahead of Celtic.



‘Take their youngsters for instance. They have some promising young teenagers but Murray Park is littered with talented kids. I haven’t bothered the support with tales of this talent but I can assure you we could put out a team of sixteen year olds tomorrow that would take the SPL by storm. Why don’t I do it? It’s because it would knock the competitive element out of Scottish football and no one wants that. That’s the message from the largest club in Scotland to the rest of Scottish football. No egotism or feeling of superiority in those views.



‘I know that on the park things haven’t gone to well so far this season but in part that’s a deliberate ploy of ours. We don’t want the rest of Scottish football to cotton on too quickly to what we’re doing. Again this is two steps ahead thinking from us.’



Murray gives a strong sense of having both Rangers feet on the ground as another bottle gets uncorked and he moves into full flow.



‘Take my press briefings in the past day or so. There will be cynics in there. They’ll pick up on my Captain Mainwaring don’t panic plea and probably ridicule it. But let me tell you I’ve had all the DVD’s of every series shipped down to the South of France and the analogy of Rangers with Dad’s Army is uncanny I can tell you. Private Frazer is alive and well at Rangers imploring us to believe we’re all doomed. I also see in myself the character of Private Walker, the loveable rogue doing shady black market deals in ladies stockings and mince. My days as a Walker are over though, not least because we don’t have Graeme Souness around in the English Premiership to help us shift the dodgy stuff on.



‘I guess many of your readers will be able to make the connection with other members of the Dads Army cast and I’m glad to have sowed the seeds at my press briefings. Godfrey, Sgt Wilson, Pike, they’re all in there at Rangers, you know.’



We finally turn our attention to the issue of the much maligned moonbeams which Murray heralded in the Summer.



‘Ah yes the moonbeams.’ He mulls over the issue. ‘What I wanted to do was to set a bit of a trap for those who have been spiteful to Rangers and myself in the media. We knew who they were and we still know who they are. They swallowed the concept of moonbeams hook, line and sinker because they wanted to desperately believe that I just make things up to appease the support.



‘While they were grappling with the concept of moonbeams what I was really trying to do behind the scenes was to reduce the turnover we have at Rangers. If I believe that we were spending too much in the past, which I now do, it’s only right that we spend less going forward. Less, less, less should be our new mantra. In fact I’ve seen Celtic’s accounts for last year and they are now making the mistake of spending far more than we do. I thought to myself if Rangers can spend less than Celtic then we will be two steps ahead of them in a financial sense.



‘So there the press were, writing stories about the JJB millions but deep down I knew that it was a mistake to spend that kind of money. If I can reduce all levels of income at the club we will be able to spend less. I know it sounds incredibly simple but usually the best ideas are simple. In fact, simply the best!’



Murray chuckles to himself at this last comment knowing the place the Tina Turner classic holds in the hearts of the supporters.



I am no businessman but the sincerity of Murray’s words and the precise nature of his plans seem to be so firmly focussed I ponder with him whether such radical ideas for Rangers will not push him much further than two steps ahead of Celtic.



'Oh I think two steps is just fine for me for the time being,' he retorts, as we drain our glasses one final time.