“We owe no loyalty to the new club.
There is no history there for us.”
There is no history there for us.”
– Steven Naismith, 24th June 2012.
If ever a Rangers players went
from hero to anti-Christ in one fell swoop, Steven Naismith is him. No other
ex-Rangers player is held in the venomous contempt Naismith is, for an
overwhelming litany of offences against the Ibrox side, most notably the above
quote strongly suggesting, in his opinion, that Rangers FC are dead.
from hero to anti-Christ in one fell swoop, Steven Naismith is him. No other
ex-Rangers player is held in the venomous contempt Naismith is, for an
overwhelming litany of offences against the Ibrox side, most notably the above
quote strongly suggesting, in his opinion, that Rangers FC are dead.
It is worth, however, looking
back to just before he joined Rangers to see a distinctly pre-emptive hint of
his ‘mercenary’ ways. His agent Andrew McCormick said of his protracted move
from Rugby Park to Ibrox:
back to just before he joined Rangers to see a distinctly pre-emptive hint of
his ‘mercenary’ ways. His agent Andrew McCormick said of his protracted move
from Rugby Park to Ibrox:
“He is being denied an opportunity to
better himself and increase his earnings
10-fold. I defy anybody not to become frustrated in those circumstances. It’s like having a winning lottery ticket
in your hand but Kilmarnock’s chairman wants to rip it up and deny him the
chance to cash it in.”
better himself and increase his earnings
10-fold. I defy anybody not to become frustrated in those circumstances. It’s like having a winning lottery ticket
in your hand but Kilmarnock’s chairman wants to rip it up and deny him the
chance to cash it in.”
The signs were there that Steven
Naismith had the loyalty of Judas, and the need for material wealth, but so
desperate for his services were Rangers fans that we completely ignored them.
Instead we lapped the forward up, and spent 4 years waiting for him to get off
the treatment table and onto the pitch, producing the kind of form we hoped he
was capable of. He did manage to become an integral part of the 2011/2012
season, from July to October and suffered ‘that’ injury which derailed Rangers’
season before taking the title away from Ibrox and into the hands of those at
Parkhead.
Naismith had the loyalty of Judas, and the need for material wealth, but so
desperate for his services were Rangers fans that we completely ignored them.
Instead we lapped the forward up, and spent 4 years waiting for him to get off
the treatment table and onto the pitch, producing the kind of form we hoped he
was capable of. He did manage to become an integral part of the 2011/2012
season, from July to October and suffered ‘that’ injury which derailed Rangers’
season before taking the title away from Ibrox and into the hands of those at
Parkhead.
However, from being a hero whose
presence back on the pitch next season following said injury was so keenly-awaited,
Naismith turned into a back-stabbing turncoat following the acquisition of the
club by Charles Green’s Sevco company after administration. He and fellow
deserter Steven Whittaker called a press conference, and the following was one
of the many colourful quotes Naismith uttered:
presence back on the pitch next season following said injury was so keenly-awaited,
Naismith turned into a back-stabbing turncoat following the acquisition of the
club by Charles Green’s Sevco company after administration. He and fellow
deserter Steven Whittaker called a press conference, and the following was one
of the many colourful quotes Naismith uttered:
“I am extremely proud of the actions we
took but I am disappointed and angry that Rangers Football Club no longer exists
in its original form.”
took but I am disappointed and angry that Rangers Football Club no longer exists
in its original form.”
Now, let us keep context and a
cool head here. Naismith, like many others at Ibrox, took a whopping 3/4
paycut. No Rangers fan forgets that, including me. His actions, and that of his
fellow colleagues, helped stabilise the club through administration and delay
liquidation of the old company long enough that Green’s consortium could take
over and transfer assets. Herein is the problem, however, and it basically
erases that magnificent gesture entirely:
cool head here. Naismith, like many others at Ibrox, took a whopping 3/4
paycut. No Rangers fan forgets that, including me. His actions, and that of his
fellow colleagues, helped stabilise the club through administration and delay
liquidation of the old company long enough that Green’s consortium could take
over and transfer assets. Herein is the problem, however, and it basically
erases that magnificent gesture entirely:
Steven Naismith not only failed
to do the proper thing and transfer his contract over to the new company which
fellow pros like Neil Alexander, Lee Wallace, Maurice Edu, Carlos Bocanegra and
Dorin Goian did, he not only committed the appalling crime of stating Rangers
were ‘dead’, but most egocentrically of all he made the whole ordeal about him.
to do the proper thing and transfer his contract over to the new company which
fellow pros like Neil Alexander, Lee Wallace, Maurice Edu, Carlos Bocanegra and
Dorin Goian did, he not only committed the appalling crime of stating Rangers
were ‘dead’, but most egocentrically of all he made the whole ordeal about him.
Just like at Kilmarnock
it was all about Steven Naismith. Back then before his move to Govan how he could not sleep. How he was stressed out. How he was disillusioned with the treatment
he was receiving. Sound familiar?
Here at the press conference in 2012 it was all about Steven Naismith again.
How ‘I’ am proud and ‘I’ am disappointed and angry. On his
Twitter page he ignored/blocked any criticism and retweeted hundreds of fawning
tweets from supporters desperate for attention giving him sympathy. Because it was all about him. No apology to Ally McCoist for going behind his back and
betraying him and certainly no apology to the Rangers fans for deserting them.
Not a hint of any sympathy for the hell McCoist and the supporters were going
through, but instead a ‘me me me’ mentality which made Steven Naismith the
biggest victim at Ibrox.
it was all about Steven Naismith. Back then before his move to Govan how he could not sleep. How he was stressed out. How he was disillusioned with the treatment
he was receiving. Sound familiar?
Here at the press conference in 2012 it was all about Steven Naismith again.
How ‘I’ am proud and ‘I’ am disappointed and angry. On his
Twitter page he ignored/blocked any criticism and retweeted hundreds of fawning
tweets from supporters desperate for attention giving him sympathy. Because it was all about him. No apology to Ally McCoist for going behind his back and
betraying him and certainly no apology to the Rangers fans for deserting them.
Not a hint of any sympathy for the hell McCoist and the supporters were going
through, but instead a ‘me me me’ mentality which made Steven Naismith the
biggest victim at Ibrox.
No Rangers supporter would have
begrudged Naismith the move to Everton if he had done it with dignity. If he had transferred his deal
over so Rangers could get a couple of million for him. However, even Steven
Whittaker, Allan McGregor and Steven Davis do not attract the same level of ire
as Naismith because while they also
did not transfer their deals to the new company, none expressed such poisonous
opinions about Rangers as Naismith did.
begrudged Naismith the move to Everton if he had done it with dignity. If he had transferred his deal
over so Rangers could get a couple of million for him. However, even Steven
Whittaker, Allan McGregor and Steven Davis do not attract the same level of ire
as Naismith because while they also
did not transfer their deals to the new company, none expressed such poisonous
opinions about Rangers as Naismith did.
Sadly, however, Naismith did not
leave with dignity. He left by the back door, his former club getting nothing
for the 4 years they had paid his wages and medical bills. He even had the gall
to say he had loyalty with Rangers, not Sevco.
leave with dignity. He left by the back door, his former club getting nothing
for the 4 years they had paid his wages and medical bills. He even had the gall
to say he had loyalty with Rangers, not Sevco.
We all know about TUPE, about the
rights of employment law. And many could argue Naismith did what was within his
right to do legally. The problem is morally it was corrupt – he might have had
the legal right to walk away but the morality of his actions raped Rangers of
millions of pounds after they had stood by him for 4 years of non-service.
rights of employment law. And many could argue Naismith did what was within his
right to do legally. The problem is morally it was corrupt – he might have had
the legal right to walk away but the morality of his actions raped Rangers of
millions of pounds after they had stood by him for 4 years of non-service.
Now, it must not be forgotten
Steven Naismith is not a complete monster. He does fund homeless charities both
in Glasgow and Liverpool.
The man is not without a heart. However, he does have an ego, and even his
blurb about his charity strikes as self-interested:
Steven Naismith is not a complete monster. He does fund homeless charities both
in Glasgow and Liverpool.
The man is not without a heart. However, he does have an ego, and even his
blurb about his charity strikes as self-interested:
“I am an observant person and I tend to
notice things. It does not take long before you realise there are people who need help.”
notice things. It does not take long before you realise there are people who need help.”
He is absolutely right, and his
charitable actions are to be applauded, but his way with words will always be
his downfall – even this quote sounds a bit like a brag.
charitable actions are to be applauded, but his way with words will always be
his downfall – even this quote sounds a bit like a brag.
The final irony is his dream move
to Everton went sour and Toffee fans dislike him almost as much as Rangers fans
do. As I mentioned in my last entry, the official Everton club magazine
arranged an #AskNaismith hashtag on Twitter, for fans to tweet him questions to
be answered in print in the next issue. It took barely 10 minutes for this to
be completely over-run by Rangers fans slating Naismith. Amusingly, Everton
fans joined in.
to Everton went sour and Toffee fans dislike him almost as much as Rangers fans
do. As I mentioned in my last entry, the official Everton club magazine
arranged an #AskNaismith hashtag on Twitter, for fans to tweet him questions to
be answered in print in the next issue. It took barely 10 minutes for this to
be completely over-run by Rangers fans slating Naismith. Amusingly, Everton
fans joined in.
I know this entire entry sounded
like a bit of a rant, and I accept it possibly was. It could also be deemed as
an irrelevant piece given how long the player has been away.
like a bit of a rant, and I accept it possibly was. It could also be deemed as
an irrelevant piece given how long the player has been away.
That said, with aforementioned
hashtag hilarity plus his brief appearance for Scotland yesterday night, it
brought up a lot of old memories which I feel a lot of fans want off their
chest.
hashtag hilarity plus his brief appearance for Scotland yesterday night, it
brought up a lot of old memories which I feel a lot of fans want off their
chest.
Steven Naismith is not the
biggest bad guy out there, there are many far more malevolent people than he, but
his foolish, selfish, cruel and greed-filled comments at leaving Ibrox make him
quite possibly the most loathed ex-Rangers player of all.
biggest bad guy out there, there are many far more malevolent people than he, but
his foolish, selfish, cruel and greed-filled comments at leaving Ibrox make him
quite possibly the most loathed ex-Rangers player of all.
Did you expect him to play in the third division?
… yes
Toffee here and what totally appalls me about the situation, what really gets my goat about it all and why Nace does my head in. Is when he runs, it looks like he's running on his knees.
no we did not but he should have singed over to new co then left read the thing again and you will see thats all we wanted mr anonymoustim
he was pish a could score in the spl
he couldn't score in a brothel
I don't get this anti-Naismith stuff at all. He took a huge pay cut for the club when everyone was trying to prevent liquidation. But then he saw Rangers assets and business being bought by Sevco Ltd and realised that Rangers was going to be reformed – and felt that this meant the newco Rangers was a new club. We know that the same club lives on in fans' hearts but he was asked to transfer his contract to another company and felt it was no longer Rangers. I can forgive him for that – he served us 100% when he played for Rangers and I still admire him.
Yes but he said that Rangers died when it went bankrupt and its assets had to be sold off to Green's consortium.
That's what fans of other clubs say but as a Rangers player he shouldn't say things like that as well.
Im an Everton fan and dislike him as much as you lot. As a footballer he is crap.
You are spot on mate. And when we are back where will he be?
probably retired by the time you get back there after a long and successful Premier League career 😉
If i were a Rangers fan of which am glad am not .My knifes would be out first for The Gay Gordon Smith .You all seem to forget that he was probably the firstb one to jump ship. In his role he either must have known a lot more goings on or he took the Queens Shilling and kept his mouth shut.
Why Is Whitaker exempt? It was a joint press conference and he said pretty much the same thing. Along the lines he did not know the new company and owed them nothing. Its the Same Footbal Club. They are both beneath contempt.
Lets be honest. U dont get players playing for the jersey anymore. They follow the money.Even McCoist turned down Rangers for more money at Sunderland
While Bocanegra and Goian were clever. They never turned their backs but Rangers never got a penny for them. In fact it has cost £2 million to cancel their contracts.
They should have been told they were required this season and if they had any problems with that they should have been told to find clubs willing to pay the going rate, buy out their on contracts or informed that failure to return would have been a breach of contract. In the end they should be lumped with the other Judas's.
Rangers paid a fee to Kilmarnock for his services, they paid him a handsome wage for a man his age, they stuck by him and still paid him said wage when he spent most of his career on the treatment table, he should be at his peak just now and rangers should be reaping the benefits of that, he owed Rangers more than what he did, he should have allowed Rangers to at least get a fraction of what he was really worth, he will be forever hated for his actions and his arrogance!
Oh get real the villains of the piece are those big shots – Murray and other benighted rogues – who drove Rangers into the wall. How come we don't hear anyone calling for their heads?
What a load of crap. He only said what Davis and the rest were thinking and saying privately-get over it, it is you who are self obsessed.
Steven Davis arranged that some of his signing on fee be paid to Rangers and is a class above the rest mentioned . I'd welcome him back anytime .
Well said
Doesnt matter because one day HE will look back and admit he made the biggest mistake of his life in saying what he did, same goes for hair transplant wannabe whitaker, they left as was their right but they know they done it wrong-i'd love to see the day either of the two of them return to Ibrox as an opposition player,guaranteed full on verbals for the full match that will leave them in no doubt that they will never be forgiven, never-if they dont want to play for our club we dont want them WATP.
To say Naismith's actions "Raped Rangers of millions of pounds" or that his comments were "cruel, selfish and greed filled" is unfair and over the top. What did he say that was "poisonous"? He was entitled to an opinion, was brave enough to offer one and, whether or not you agree with him, he might have had a point. I'd rather that than some of the meaningless, self-serving soundbites that have emanated from Ibrox since his departure.
May he never darken Ibrox again
I totally concur with the original statement. If naismaith et al had stayed and transferred their contracts to the new and then left it would have benefited all. Now Naismith et al will be forever condemned. Their playing career is short, yet their statements and actions will live forever.
I have said it before, I think a plaque should be erected to those players who stayed with the club and helped RFC on the road back to the top of Scottish Football – where they belong.
Unfortunately, the man is a spineless reptile along with all the rest who jumped ship to line their own pockets!
You Rangers are a right bunch of whining fuckers. A footballers career is short,he can't waste his best years in the lower leages of Scotish Football. Martinez will get the best out of Naismith this season, you wait and see,
nobody expected them to play in the lower scottish leagues,but if they had transferred their registrations,the club would have got some transfer monies when it had nothing.
And why would they do that? They were screwed by RFC? They already took a paycut!! And EFC owe no favours to you either, Michael Ball springs to mind
everton lol when you last win the league ?
RANGERS are nothing compared to Everton. How can you possibly boast about winning titles in a 2 team league….. hold on make that a 1 league team now. That's why ANY player who is any good in the SPL heads to the EPL!!! Most players in the SPL would struggle to be 1st choice in the Championship. ADD to that all the racist rubbish thrown between RFC and CELTIC and its easy to see why Scottish football is a Joke!! RFC are now equivalent to a conference team so its easy to see why Naismith jumped ship
I agree with this, don't forget Durrant told us all they refused to train in case they got injured. I hold them all in the same regard.
Hold on a moment, the guy took a paycut to help out when asked, gave you 100% when playing for you (he can't be blamed for injuries), helps out charities and was honest enough to speak his mind with regards to the mess Rangers got themselves into. The man should be applauded for being up front about the whole thing. He can't help the mess the club got itself into and owed newco nothing so why should he be expected to help them out? Surly the paycut was a selfless enough act to save Rangers FC? How much would you personally sacrifice to help out your employer if they were irresponsible and fell on hard times? Judging by the ongoing problems still hampering RFC I would say he made a good, honest call. Imagine it was you, your employer, your life and ask what you would have done. Blame the idiots who put you in the mire, not the ones who were caught up in it and found their way out.
lolol appalling crime of saying rankers were dead bwaaa hahahaha
Everton FC – Glasgow Rangers hasbeens team!
Alex Clelland, Ian Durrant, Trevor Steven, Gazza, Duncan Ferguson…im sure there are more.
Naisy can rot for all I care, but he might be useful in Evertons relegation battle this season 😉
Trevor Steven JOINED Rangers FROM Everton along with Gary Stevens… But hey, don't let the facts interrupt a childish foot-stamping rant!
Trevor Steven played for us first you inbred sweaty!!
hmmm Michael Ball, you took David Weir Back, Mo Johnston, Paul Rideout, Stuart McCall did you forget about those ones did you? Tit to say that Everton are a Rangers reject team is laughable, no wonder your players jumped ship! Shit team, Shit league, Shit country
Shit country?! Soon to be Independant lmfao, and that is going to harm Engurlund in a big way. loool.
You Bears don't half get brought down to earth with a clatter.
EVERYBODY is a true blue hero …until they're not.
I personally couldn't care less about "Naisy"….
But I get really pissed off when people like Sir Minty Moonbeams brongs Scottish Football in general and your Club in particular..to it's knees…
And walks away unscathed….
No wonder you're in the mess you're in….
Can't see the woods for the trees.
A selfish, greedy, self centred footballer who took a 3/4 paycut, gives money to charity and expresses his opinion honestly????? Really???? Come on guys that's the biggest contradiction I have ever heard!!! Blame needs placing elsewhere me thinks. Get over yourselves
naismith left for money and nothing else.
Unfortunately he's not too popular at Goodison either – but looks a better player in pre-season than he did last year.
"Loyalty" and "Footballer" no longer go together.
Good luck to Rangers.
Toffee Jim.
Too many people in denial here. He was asked to transfer his Rangers contract to a new entity he didn't trust. He was within his rights to do so. What we have now is not the original RFC and we should be concentrating on the real villains, especially David Murray, Craig Whyte and Chas Green – a bunch of parasites.
I think the clingon is getting too much airplay. Gone and never to be made welcome at Ibrox ever. Reap what you sow!!!
I wish supper ally would have gone at same time 750.000 grand a year buys some pies and he.s mince tae
Unfortunately he and the others are another part of our recent history that we would rather had never darkened our door. Every time I walk through the corridors of our magnificent stadium I commit to make sure that their photos and International Caps are removed from the walls and returned to them in a cardboard box marked, "No Thankyou – no longer valued here" We will of course be back and he will NEVER be welcome. Far to much to say for such a little man who will soon also be even more irrelevant than he appears to be at Everton!
Made your bed you little rat – enjoy it!
This is a very interesting read, I must say I'm a little confused about the steven davis situation though can someone explain what happened there? I was under the impression he walked away like whittaker, McGregor, naisy etc. Yet we reportedly got money for him and some fans now say he's welcome back.
I was under the impression that he had asked Southampton to give a large chunk of his sign on fee to rangers as a transfer fee of sorts. Not entirely sure though
Thought it might!!
keeps me in remind of the spineless weasle who sneeked onto a lifeboat wi the women in titanic
I'm posting anonymously because any Rangers fan these days that disagrees with the mob mentality is asking for trouble.
Given what has happened with Green since his takeover I really can't blame any of the players who didn't want to transfer to his regime. I'm really sad that they felt the need to walk away but I'd like to think if the club had gone to the Blue Knights they would have stayed and if that was the case then we should all be blaming the sh1tty administrators for handing the club to Green despite the fact they were offered more money by Jim McColl's group.
Bloody hell anonymous (15 August 2013 23:29). Hated for telling the truth.
Who HONESTLY gives a shit???
funny how people are making out that he's in a worse place now when actually he's in a better league, bigger profile, better club, more money.
here was the choice facing Naisy….Tupe over and allow The Rangers get £2M in transfer fee – and sign a four year contract for say 20k a week OR refuse to TUPE, no transfer fee and sign a four year deal prob for circa 30k a week. In other words, put £2M into a new club or have that £2M included in your contract – now for an injury prone footballer with a short career – ask yourself what would you have done?
I think its more important to point out that Scottish football completely pointless and should be forgotten by everyone.
And the EPL is the best in Europe, bwwwaaahhhhhaaaaaa bollox – German, French and Spanish are all better than the over rated and vastly over payed EPL teams/players and managers, boring league and shit international side.
Some of the comments are a bit over the top I think. I'm sure Naismith regrets some of his comments but at least he had the guts to come out and say what he did, he had the opportunity to further his career and took it! If he transferred his contract then who is to say that a club like Everton would have paid a couple of million for him?? He could easily have ended up stuck in mickey mouse scottish league 2 which would have derailed his career. He done what most of the international players at Rangers done, protected their own interests. It's not Steven Naismith's fault that Rangers went bust!! The lad got a lot of unfair criticism last season from everton fans too, it's difficult to take the step up from SPL to EPL, never mind when you have been injured for practically two seasons and getting played out of position. Good to see he is doing better under Martinez this season, good luck to the lad cos he gives 100% on the park every time!
Comments are closed.