PLAYING WITH FIRE
Barton has the same spark as fans’ favourite Ricksen... but Rangers would need him to channel that aggression, says de Boer
Joey, at 33, can have a huge impact. Look at Maldini and Totti into their late 30s
WITH a personality that burned as intensely as any Catherine Wheel, Fernando Ricksen once ended up in court after setting off fireworks in his back garden at 5am. It was just one of the many escapades that the combustible character got up to in his early days in Glasgow.
Ricksen came to mind yesterday as his former Rangers team-mate Ronald de Boer jetted into Scotland to discuss current Ibrox target Joey Barton; a man who carries more baggage than the average luggage carousel at Glasgow Airport.
Known for his off-field ill-discipline, Barton once stubbed out a cigar in a youth player’s eye at Manchester City. He also spent time in prison for assault and affray in Liverpool in 2007.
Just last week the 33-year-old midfielder was caught on camera mocking Middlesbrough’s wild celebrations for finishing second to his Burnley in the English Championship.
At 33, however, de Boer believes age has mellowed Barton on the pitch, just as Ricksen matured from wild-eyed 24-year-old to the captain of Rangers and Scotland’s joint-Player of the Year in 2004-05.
With his former colleague in mind, de Boer does not feel Mark Warburton risks getting his fingers burned by pursuing a character he feels is likely to add ‘fire’ to Rangers ‘but not an explosion’.
‘When I first came to Rangers in 2000, I was walking on to the training pitch and Fernando tackled me and took the ball off me,’ said de Boer of Ricksen, who, now aged 39, is sadly battling motor neurone disease.
‘And that was me just walking on to the pitch! He was a great player, but he was so hyper all the time. But, with age, he controlled himself better. You get more sensible with age.
‘When you are younger, you do things you would think twice about now. When I was 18 and driving my car fast, I thought it was great fun but now at 46 you look back and think “what was I thinking?”.
‘Likewise, when you are young and you come into the Old Firm environment, then there is a bigger chance you will lose your head than when you are 33.
‘Joey Barton is not the same guy at 33 that he was at 25. He can be an important player for Rangers and a calmer player, too.
‘In my mind, 33 is still young and Joey can have a huge impact at Rangers. Just look at guys like Sammy Kuffour, Paolo Maldini, Francesco Totti, who have all contributed a lot into their late 30s.
‘Rangers need a guy with a little bit of that fire in him. But they will be telling him “we need some fire — but we don’t need an explosion”.’
Scottish football is unrecognisable from de Boer’s stay in Glasgow from 2000-2004. When he won the first of his two Scottish Cup medals in a classic Old Firm Final in 2002, his Rangers team-mates included global stars like Stefan Klos, Arthur Numan, and Claudio Caniggia. They were up against a Celtic side boasting Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson.
Still, as he attended last month’s Scottish Cup semi-final win for Rangers over Celtic, it made for a pleasant walk down memory lane, including a piece of skill eerily reminiscent of the good old days.
‘It was great to watch the Rangers and Celtic game recently because it brought it all back,’ he said.
‘I have great memories of all the Old Firm games I played in — even the losses.
‘The intensity of the games was amazing. I loved to play at Celtic Park, one of the best stadiums in the world. When you have 67,000 fanatical Celtic fans it was amazing to be a part of it. I loved every minute. ‘And when I saw Barrie McKay scoring his incredible goal against Celtic, it made me think of Bert Konterman’s strike when we beat them in the League Cup semi-final (in 2002). But McKay’s goal was better technically.’ Prior to the semi-final, de Boer met with David Weir at Murray Park as the Ibrox assistant outlined his and Mark Warburton’s vision for how Rangers should play their football. A former Champions League winner with Ajax, and ex-Barcelona midfielder, the 69-times capped Dutchman was bowled over by his old club’s ‘modern’ brand of football in action.
‘It was good to see Rangers put their philosophy into place against Celtic,’ he said. ‘The centre-half, Rob Kiernan, was never in a panic, even in such a big match against Celtic. He didn’t kick the ball 50 yards away. He always played it over the ground, calmly.
‘With Lee Wallace and James Tavernier getting forward on each side of defence, it was modern football, like you see from Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, David Alaba and Philipp Lahm.
‘It was great to watch and so was McKay dropping off Kenny Miller. When I was at Rangers, Kenny was our youngest player but now he is the oldest. He was always a goalscorer and a hard worker, but now with his experience he brings something extra to the team. I have a lot of respect for Kenny Miller.’
With the Championship title in the bag, de Boer hopes Rangers can follow their rise back to the top flight by beating Hibs on Saturday. A first major trophy since 2011 would also mean a return to the European arena.
However, just as in his native Holland, he warns the days of Rangers and Celtic dreaming of competing in the Champions League are long gone.
‘It would be huge for Rangers to win the Scottish Cup. Celtic are like the big brother at the moment, so it was a good moment for Rangers to beat them in the semi-final. And if they win the Final on Saturday, it would mean European football.
‘But they have to be realistic. It’s not the same as years ago. Those days have gone, but it’s the same in Holland. Ajax will never win the Champions League again, although maybe I said Leicester City could not win the English title.
‘But Leicester City get £120million every year and Ajax’s budget is £55m — and all the best players are gone from Holland by the age of 20. You can’t compare and it’s the same in Scotland.
‘Times have changed but I’m pleased Rangers are going back to the Premiership next season. I think everyone with a Rangers heart has been dying for this moment.’
RONALD DE BOER was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.