Smith joins Man Utd

Johnny_the_fox

from the bbc

Manchester United have named Walter Smith as assistant manager until the end of the season.

The former Everton and Glasgow Rangers boss fills the position vacated by Carlos Queiroz when he left last summer to take over at Real Madrid.

:eek:

SheroN

I thought you meant alan smith.

zAbbo

Sorry but the first thing that comes into my mind is "huns"

Johnny_the_fox

Originally posted by bazH
Sorry but the first thing that comes into my mind is "huns"

I thought the same thing....

When he joined Everton - they had green carpets around the stadium... he forced them to change them to Blue... i wont say any thing else....

Draupnir

Well he is an old friend of Ferguson so it may work out well for them,

Michelangelo

Dont know much about this guy. Is he any good?

James R

He was very successful at Rangers. Won the title in all his six years at the club and something like 3 Scottish Cup wins. Hadn't the best of spells at Everton but still never got them relegated or anything (which was an achievement in those days ) and lasted four years.

He comes across to me as an experienced guy who knows a thing or two so regardless of his background I think it could be a good move for Utd.

If Martin O'Neill had his record of winning six titles in six years at Celtic a lot of people around here would be declaring him the best manager in the world

eirebhoy

Originally posted by Johnny_the_fox
I thought the same thing....

When he joined Everton - they had green carpets around the stadium... he forced them to change them to Blue... i wont say any thing else....

i wonder what he'll think of Miller or how he will get on with Keane.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

kida

When he joined Everton - they had green carpets around the stadium... he forced them to change them to Blue... i wont say any thing else....

This rumour was flying around at the time. Someone show me a link or source that backs it up.

The Muppet

Originally posted by eirebhoy
i wonder what he'll think of Miller or how he will get on with Keane.

Some people said fergie was the same when he got rid of some of the Irish players when he arrived. That proved to be unfounded and I dont think he would let anything like that happen at the club.

Maybe Fergie did it just to wind up M & M.

Scottish

Walter Smith doesn't have a sectarian bone in his body. That was always accepted in Glasgow, even when he was in charge of Rangers. He is a decent, fair man who sometimes places too much faith in his players.

If he did have the carpets at Goodison changed to blue, may I remind you of the colour of their kit?

tinofapples

I think it's a measure of how great a club we (Utd) are that we can attract top people to our club like Walter Smith .




p.s I'm being sarcastic , I'm reminded of Andy Goram's arrival a couple of seasons ago. Smith didn't have an awful lot of competition in Scotland at the time .

cournioni

I'm not too fond of the Rangers connection myself, but hopefully he'll do the job and then feck off at the end of the season.

Washout

Smith is the kind of manager who scares the **** out of players in the dressing room.

He has a shorter temper than Sir Alex and is prolably brought in as a short term measure to give the Utd players a good arse kicking and hope they get into gear

As a long term candidate for the job I cant see it happening. he is totally the wrong man for a number 2 role.

scoobysnacks

bad choice.. Hes too old and its only a jobs for the boys exercise...
He should have given it to someone up and coming instead of a "hasbeen"

donhughberto

With Ferguson chasing race horse fees, he might be more than a bit part!

Big Chief

Originally posted by bazH
Sorry but the first thing that comes into my mind is "huns"

erm need i remind you that alex ferguson was a rangers player back in the day aswell?

now you have 2 bluenoses in the man u dugout...

and im just thinking out loud here, but i bet all of those ppl that boo "rangers or ex rangers" players at lansdowne road also support man utd :rolleyes:

Draupnir

Good god man, bluenoses? Thats utter ****e. Read Alex Fergusons autobiography, the son of a Protestant father and Catholic Mother, descended from 4 generations of mixed marriages, his father was a Celtic fan who refused to join the Orange order when he recieved a sash from his grandfather in his will. The man is no bluenose, so much so that Rangers treated him as an outcast from day one really, because he is married to a Catholic. In fact, I dont think he cares what religion anyone is.

Walter Smith has always been known as a rather middle line bloke, never to bothered by the sectarian crap and very much not involved, consider the fact that he signed more Catholics for Rangers than any manager before or since.

phenom

its football religion doesnt matter:rolleyes: . to be perfect honest i couldnt care less what religion ,colour the person is . what really matters is the football side . get over it.

donhughberto

Originally posted by Draupnir
Good god man, bluenoses? Thats utter ****e. Read Alex Fergusons autobiography, the son of a Protestant father and Catholic Mother, descended from 4 generations of mixed marriages, his father was a Celtic fan who refused to join the Orange order when he recieved a sash from his grandfather in his will. The man is no bluenose, so much so that Rangers treated him as an outcast from day one really, because he is married to a Catholic. In fact, I dont think he cares what religion anyone is.

Walter Smith has always been known as a rather middle line bloke, never to bothered by the sectarian crap and very much not involved, consider the fact that he signed more Catholics for Rangers than any manager before or since.

Great point as i also read the book! No matter who joins Utd others will slag them, a job is a job and he may add to the coaching side at utd, which is obviously needs a change of direction at the moment, Amuruso once said W Smith was a good defensive coach and improved his game, acc to a friend who is a celtic fan so i look forward to having him till summer !

TwoShedsJackson

If his appointment annoys United supporters it is a good appointment

_blank_

Originally posted by Big Chief


and im just thinking out loud here, but i bet all of those ppl that boo "rangers or ex rangers" players at lansdowne road also support man utd :rolleyes:

I would say this accusation is totally unfounded in fact.

The people who boo rangers and ex-rangers in lansdowne are not fans of one particular club, apart maybe from Celtic fans.

ZENER

ts football religion doesnt matter . to be perfect honest i couldnt care less what religion ,colour the person is . what really matters is the football side . get over it.

Here here !! Well said phenom.

tinky

crowl

I thought you meant alan smith.

Heh, so did I:)

James R

Can't believe so much has been made over his background. Discrimination based on beliefs/religion is rascism and is just as bad as black players getting abused which has so often in the past been put down on these boards.

Bungalow Bill

I think the players will be scared shi*less of walter smith. He's just being brought in to try and reinvigorate man utd's season. The fact that he used to manage rangers couldn't possibly bother me in the slightest. After all, he's only the assistant manager, nobody normally pays any attention to them, why should you now?


"Can't believe so much has been made over his background. Discrimination based on beliefs/religion is rascism and is just as bad as black players getting abused which has so often in the past been put down on these boards."

The catholic/protestant issue is a sensitive one here in Ireland. You shouldn't blame these people for feelings of contempt for him. Some people feel we have been purged by these people for centuries and it isn't IMO as extreme as other forms of racism.

JippoKelly

Originally posted by Bungalow Bill
....."Can't believe so much has been made over his background. Discrimination based on beliefs/religion is racism and is just as bad as black players getting abused which has so often in the past been put down on these boards."

The catholic/protestant issue is a sensitive one here in Ireland. You shouldn't blame these people for feelings of contempt for him. Some people feel we have been purged by these people for centuries and it isn't IMO as extreme as other forms of racism.

You're right in that the catholic/protestant issue is a sensitive one here in Ireland, but tbh it is a sad reflection on society that this is still the case. We are living in a very different Ireland today - a more cosmopolitan Ireland with ppl of many different nationalities and creeds that should all be integrated as much as possible into Irish society. I find it ridiculous that ppl still get hung up about this religious divide these days.

Nothing bugs me more than hearing lapsed Catholics who haven't seen the inside of a Church since their Confirmation ****eing on about Proddy Rangers-supporting scumbags, Huns etc. etc.

It's still racism. It's still retarded. The booing of the Danish player at Lansdowne Road a while back was moronic and reminded me of places like the Den in the 1980's. There's no place for that **** in modern football.

The guy plays for Rangers. So what? And he wasn't even Protestant apparently.

Anyway more on topic, I think Walter Smith is another shrewd signing as Asst. by Fergie. Did very well for Rangers in the SPL and didn't do too bad for Everton either. He's got good motivational skills which is just what United need if they want to stand a chance of catching up with Arsenal. They're far too lethargic and lazy atm.

Rant over.

P.S. Anybody reckon Mr. Smith thinks he will follow Carlos Queiroz's career path after leaving United? The next Real Madrid manager maybe?! Doubt it!

Bungalow Bill

What i'm saying is that it's almost inbuilt in our DNA!
I mean why do we always want England to lose in everything!?
I agree that they shouldn't have a problem with a protestant taking over an ENGLISH club but for some reason I think that it's not as malicious as other forms of racism.

JippoKelly

It's just as bad. Like all forms of racism it's irrational. Especially in a country where an increasing amount of young people are turning away from religious belief every year.

It's not built in our DNA. It's not in mine.

I'll take your point on wanting England to lose every game. But the only two England teams I like to see lose are the soccer team --> That's because the British Media hype them up so bad b4 each major finals that it's funny to see them fall flat on their faces and have the media turn on them, and the Rugby team --> That's because I always thought Clive Woodward and Martin Johnson were arrogant twats even when Woodward was only coaching London-Irish.

Any other England teams I couldn't give a **** about. And at this stage I'd say that kind of rivalry with England is more a sporting, friendly rivalry than anything else. Although the last soccer friendly that was abandoned between them at Landsdowne Rd might shoot that idea down.

crowl

I mean why do we always want England to lose in everything!?

Sorry but i think having a competetitive sporting relationship with a neighbouring country is slightly different to giving out about someone because of their asscoiation with a certain religion.
Less of this ****e please.

woosaysdan

the sooner smith gets into the dressing rooms and shakes united up the better.

Bungalow Bill

"Sorry but i think having a competetitive sporting relationship with a neighbouring country is slightly different to giving out about someone because of their asscoiation with a certain religion.
Less of this ****e please."

Had you actually read my posts you would see that I was also condemning this. You and I both know that it runs deeper than neighbourly competition. I mean most Irish want to see them lose at everything even if we aren't involved at all.