Le Guen loses everything on last throw of the dice

Paul Le Guen claimed last month that the role of captain was more important in Scotland than in France. He wasn't joking. Who wears the armband - and how they behave - is starting to define the 2006/7 SPL season.

Back in October the Hearts captain, Steven Pressley, went public with his concerns on the way the club was being run, and left a month later. Kevin Thomson is no longer skipper at Hibs after boss John Collins finally became exasperated with the ongoing transfer saga surrounding the player. Aberdeen know that hanging on to Russell Anderson is critical if they are to enjoy a successful season. And now Barry Ferguson's demotion - and expulsion from the squad - has triggered the latest sensational events at Ibrox.

Barry Ferguson, of course, is the golden boy at Rangers, the self-professed boyhood fan who wants to be buried in a light blue jersey. He is one of those players who - like Alan Shearer was at Newcastle - embody the club and is essentially untouchable. Just how untouchable Le Guen has just found out to his cost.

After a nervy, somewhat fortunate win against Motherwell on 2nd January, Paul Le Guen explained why he had dropped his skipper. It was one of those interviews that journalists die for. Used to trying to coax titbits of information out of tactiturn football men, the BBC's Chick Young could hardly get a word in as Le Guen passionately defended his actions.

"I have been patient", he said, speaking of the pressure he felt he'd been under for months as Ferguson had continually undermined him. "This is not a whim. I have good guys in the team, and the team is always more important than one player." He then emphasised the point: "Rangers are more important than Paul Le Guen. Even more important than Barry Ferguson."

That last statement was devastating. In Le Guen's eyes, Ferguson had not been acting in the best interests of the football club, and for that reason he had to be dropped. The timing was no coincidence - the opening of the transfer window was "the right moment". If that was designed to make Ferguson feel uneasy, he then acknowledged that his own position was "precarious". There was no doubt what Le Guen was saying - either Ferguson went, or he did. This was his final gamble.

We now know what happened next. Barry Ferguson and his agent John Viola met with the Rangers Chairman, David Murray. Murray then met with Le Guen. Rangers then issued a statement: Le Guen had agreed to leave his post "in the interests of the club".

Le Guen made many mistakes during his 7 months at Ibrox - the briefest reign of any Rangers manager. While he did not have a huge transfer budget, what he did have appears to have been spent poorly, on squad players who seem ill-suited to the rigours of Scottish football. He was then unnecessarily stubborn in selecting these players when it was clear they were struggling. Choosing Leitzi ahead of McGregor, for example, seemed more like desperation to prove that bringing another goalkeeper to the club wasn't a waste of precious resources. He struggled to get his tactics right, and against Inverness on Boxing Day it was clear that Rangers still couldn't defend. Yes, he had injury problems, but his squad still underperformed.

He remained dignified in defeat, though, accepting the pressure that came with the poor results and deflecting much of the criticism from his players. (The charmless Barry Ferguson, meanwhile, had been more than happy to blame other players for lacklustre performances). And Rangers' progress in the UEFA Cup was perhaps a flicker of what Le Guen could bring to the club, given enough time. But overall results have been way below expectations, and he will now need to try and rebuild his damaged reputation elsewhere.

Le Guen's appointment ultimately represents a failed gamble for David Murray, too, and he will be deeply wounded by the events of the past few days. Somehow, Rangers need to rebuild from here, but after a generous financial settlement with the outgoing management team, there is even less money to play with. What is more, if Barry Ferguson now stays at the club, any new manager will know that they are not the real boss.