Andrei blasts Rangers
By JOHN SHIELDS
ANDREI KANCHELSKIS last night launched an astonishing attack on his former Rangers team-mates, branding them ‘Dutch duds’.
Kanchelskis also slaughtered former Ibrox gaffer Dick Advocaat, claiming he had turned Rangers into little more than a refuge for players from Holland.
In an amazing outburst Kanchelskis claimed Ronald de Boer is past his best, and accused the striker of being given preferential treatment by countryman Advocaat.
Kanchelskis also took swipes at Dutch stars Michael Mols and Fernando Ricksen, accusing them of lacking in profile and international class.
And the 34-year-old also aimed a fierce broadside at Advocaat, saying he always picked Dutch players during his reign as Gers boss regardless of their fitness or ability.
Rangers paid Fiorentina £5.5million for ex-Manchester United and Everton winger Kanchelskis in 1998.
But his Ibrox career waned after Advocaat’s arrival and he left after three years at Gers, having brief spells with Manchester City, Southampton and Saudi
Arabian club Al Hilal. He has recently been training with English Second Division club Brighton in a bid to make a playing comeback.
Rangers won the Treble last season with much of their Holland contingent still at the club, including first team coach Jan Wouters.
But as current Ibrox gaffer Alex McLeish battles to sign players on the cheap with the club having massive debts of £50million, Kanchelskis is convinced Advocaat’s time at Ibrox did Rangers lasting damage.
He said: “I call Dick Advocaat my Dutch uncle, and he tried to create a Dutch colony at Rangers. According to the dictionary a Dutch uncle is someone who judges and criticises others harshly, even if their intentions are good. The term describes our relationship pretty well.
“The crisis at Rangers in the 2000-01 season had its roots in the season before. When we won the Treble, the chairman David Murray was so pleased he gave Advocaat free rein to run the club as he chose.
“I don’t claim my demotion from the first team was the reason for the club’s lack of success in my last two seasons there — but it was one of several links in the chain. Advocaat started to sign lots of Dutch players. I think he was trying to copy Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, who basically imported the whole Ajax team to the Nou Camp.
“But the best Dutch players were all beyond Rangers’ budget. Arthur Numan and Giovanni van Bronckhorst were reasonably high-profile stars with international pedigree.
“But you couldn’t say the same about Michael Mols, Fernando Ricksen or Bert Konterman.
“Then there was Ronald de Boer. In his day he was undoubtedly a world-class talent, but that day had passed and he couldn’t get into the Barcelona side when Rangers signed him.
“Advocaat tried playing him up front, but he only managed one goal in seven games. Then he tried him behind the front two, and finally he took my place on the right wing.
“In short, various players served their time on the bench, but de Boer always played. Gabriel Amato — an absolutely superb forward — played only three games, and sat out the rest of his time in Glasgow as a sub.
“He must have asked himself why he bothered leaving sunny Mallorca. We ended up with no less than 10 Dutchmen at Ibrox — six players and the various people behind the scenes. It became more usual to hear Dutch in the dressing room than English, and inevitably we ended up with a clan culture.
“Advocaat even brought his own doctor over from Holland. This guy had never worked in football before, and the number of injuries suddenly rocketed.
“Advocaat blamed the pitch and said the groundsmen were to blame — but Ibrox was one of the best surfaces I ever played on.
“De Boer’s signing was for me the final proof of Advocaat’s double standards.
“Rangers originally wanted to sign John Hartson. Our Dutch doctor looked at him, and said the situation with his knees was hopeless. OK, he did have temporary problems with his knees at the time.
“But just look how well he’s done for Celtic and Wales since. So we signed de Boer instead, when everyone under the sun knew that he has a long-term and serious problem with one of his knees.
“I’m totally convinced the fact he was Dutch was more important than the state of his limbs.”
Kanchelskis’ bitter attack comes as Gers prepare for the game that could shape their whole season — the Champions League qualifier against FC Copenhagen.
Ibrox fans will be stunned by the ferocity of the Ukranian’s attack — and born again striker Mols will be desperate to ram Kanchelskis’ taunts down his throat by dumping the Danes tomorrow
By JOHN SHIELDS
ANDREI KANCHELSKIS last night launched an astonishing attack on his former Rangers team-mates, branding them ‘Dutch duds’.
Kanchelskis also slaughtered former Ibrox gaffer Dick Advocaat, claiming he had turned Rangers into little more than a refuge for players from Holland.
In an amazing outburst Kanchelskis claimed Ronald de Boer is past his best, and accused the striker of being given preferential treatment by countryman Advocaat.
Kanchelskis also took swipes at Dutch stars Michael Mols and Fernando Ricksen, accusing them of lacking in profile and international class.
And the 34-year-old also aimed a fierce broadside at Advocaat, saying he always picked Dutch players during his reign as Gers boss regardless of their fitness or ability.
Rangers paid Fiorentina £5.5million for ex-Manchester United and Everton winger Kanchelskis in 1998.
But his Ibrox career waned after Advocaat’s arrival and he left after three years at Gers, having brief spells with Manchester City, Southampton and Saudi
Arabian club Al Hilal. He has recently been training with English Second Division club Brighton in a bid to make a playing comeback.
Rangers won the Treble last season with much of their Holland contingent still at the club, including first team coach Jan Wouters.
But as current Ibrox gaffer Alex McLeish battles to sign players on the cheap with the club having massive debts of £50million, Kanchelskis is convinced Advocaat’s time at Ibrox did Rangers lasting damage.
He said: “I call Dick Advocaat my Dutch uncle, and he tried to create a Dutch colony at Rangers. According to the dictionary a Dutch uncle is someone who judges and criticises others harshly, even if their intentions are good. The term describes our relationship pretty well.
“The crisis at Rangers in the 2000-01 season had its roots in the season before. When we won the Treble, the chairman David Murray was so pleased he gave Advocaat free rein to run the club as he chose.
“I don’t claim my demotion from the first team was the reason for the club’s lack of success in my last two seasons there — but it was one of several links in the chain. Advocaat started to sign lots of Dutch players. I think he was trying to copy Louis van Gaal at Barcelona, who basically imported the whole Ajax team to the Nou Camp.
“But the best Dutch players were all beyond Rangers’ budget. Arthur Numan and Giovanni van Bronckhorst were reasonably high-profile stars with international pedigree.
“But you couldn’t say the same about Michael Mols, Fernando Ricksen or Bert Konterman.
“Then there was Ronald de Boer. In his day he was undoubtedly a world-class talent, but that day had passed and he couldn’t get into the Barcelona side when Rangers signed him.
“Advocaat tried playing him up front, but he only managed one goal in seven games. Then he tried him behind the front two, and finally he took my place on the right wing.
“In short, various players served their time on the bench, but de Boer always played. Gabriel Amato — an absolutely superb forward — played only three games, and sat out the rest of his time in Glasgow as a sub.
“He must have asked himself why he bothered leaving sunny Mallorca. We ended up with no less than 10 Dutchmen at Ibrox — six players and the various people behind the scenes. It became more usual to hear Dutch in the dressing room than English, and inevitably we ended up with a clan culture.
“Advocaat even brought his own doctor over from Holland. This guy had never worked in football before, and the number of injuries suddenly rocketed.
“Advocaat blamed the pitch and said the groundsmen were to blame — but Ibrox was one of the best surfaces I ever played on.
“De Boer’s signing was for me the final proof of Advocaat’s double standards.
“Rangers originally wanted to sign John Hartson. Our Dutch doctor looked at him, and said the situation with his knees was hopeless. OK, he did have temporary problems with his knees at the time.
“But just look how well he’s done for Celtic and Wales since. So we signed de Boer instead, when everyone under the sun knew that he has a long-term and serious problem with one of his knees.
“I’m totally convinced the fact he was Dutch was more important than the state of his limbs.”
Kanchelskis’ bitter attack comes as Gers prepare for the game that could shape their whole season — the Champions League qualifier against FC Copenhagen.
Ibrox fans will be stunned by the ferocity of the Ukranian’s attack — and born again striker Mols will be desperate to ram Kanchelskis’ taunts down his throat by dumping the Danes tomorrow
