GAME LOSES A TRUE GENT
Scot earned respect from all sides
IN AN interview just before he left Everton, I asked Walter Smith what was the best piece of advice he’d ever received in football.
His brow furrowed briefly, then his face lit up with that warm smile that made him such engaging company.
“I’m not sure you’re going to believe this,” he said.
“Alec always used to say, ‘Don’t go looking for trouble, because as a manager it comes and finds you often enough anyway.’”
He was talking about Sir Alex Ferguson, his long-time friend and twice boss.
It showed Walter’s sense of humour, even amid his impending dismissal from Goodison, which we both knew was coming. Perhaps, too, it highlighted his own philosophy.
He rarely gets credit for it but Walter Smith wrote the modern template for managing the millionaires who these days make up a football team.
He did it deftly with Rangers, to such astonishing success that he won seven Scottish titles in a row, and probably would have won the Champions League, too, had they not been thwarted by a Marseille side who were later found guilty of match fixing that season.
Smith was perhaps the only manager who could effectively handle Paul
Gascoigne and his quiet, resolute style was the perfect foil to the team of stars Rangers were able to attract.
Walter’s comment about Ferguson was undoubtedly true. For all Sir Alex’s combustible nature, he knew when to pick his battles. And in part, he learned that from the counsel of Smith.
It was a recurring theme throughout a managerial career that touched on greatness in Scotland and won deep respect everywhere he went. Smith was the man football people took advice from.
On the news of his death yesterday, age 73, it was notable the number of players and managers who revealed they went to him, even during his illness. Current Rangers boss Steven Gerrard was one of them: “He’s been right behind me since day one.
“I had many lunches, dinners, coffees, chats and private time with him in my office. He was honest, he was genuine and he’s made me a better person.
“I’ve been a lucky one, to know him and spend time with him.
“So have an awful lot of other people who will have their own special memories of a great man.”
Smith was a tough competitor but he was also a generous and kind person who listened to people.
He had a sense of humour that in this reporter’s experience was unmatched in football.
He maintained an air of serenity, even after experiencing the cauldron of Scottish football and the intense rivalry with Celtic for so long. It speaks volumes to his personality that the Parkhead club were touching and sincere in their tribute to him.
Smith won 21 trophies in his two spells with Rangers. Ally Mccoist, his star striker for so many years, summed up the great man’s character best.
“He was my boss, my coach, my second father and then turned into one of my best friends. He was the best husband, father, friend, everything you want from a man.”