Ferguson is stripped of captaincy in escalating Ibrox feud
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Your support makes all the difference.Paul Le Guen's turbulent reign as the manager of Rangers took its most extraordinary twist to date last night as he stripped Barry Ferguson of his club captaincy amid reports that he has also placed the Scotland midfielder and Ibrox talisman on the transfer list.
It seems highly unlikely that Ferguson, 28, will have any place in the squad for this afternoon's trip to Motherwell, and may well have played his last match for a club whose youth set-up he joined at 13.
It was announced yesterday that Ferguson's fellow midfielder, Gavin Rae, will take over as captain.
In one sense, Ferguson's axing is not a surprise, because he and Le Guen have been publicly at odds in recent weeks over the importance of the captaincy. Ferguson sees it as hugely important, Le Guen much less so.
Both went public with their sentiments, Le Guen concluding: "He can think what he likes, I'm the boss." But for the Frenchman now to make his point so decisively will cause shock waves around the club.
Rangers could only draw at home to St Mirren on Saturday, having lost at Inverness last midweek. Ferguson's own form has ranged from inspirational, at times, to anonymous passenger, as at Inverness. He is revered on the terraces, however, which makes Le Guen's action all the more remarkable. He will need a rapid and sustained upturn in results - after a probable spate of departures - or face an intolerable increase in the calls for his own head.
"At a time like this, it is a lift we need, not something like this happening to our one class player," said Jim Templeton of the Rangers Supporters' Assembly, of Ferguson's demotion. "I would imagine that 90 per cent of Rangers fans will be behind Barry Ferguson.
"The club need to come out and state why this has happened. If that reason is not acceptable to the fans, there will be trouble ahead."
Le Guen has been under constant pressure since taking over from Alex McLeish in the summer. Rumours of dressing room rifts and lack of team spirit have persisted. Le Guen evidently feels Ferguson is partly to blame, or else his action yesterday would seem to be a dangerous gamble indeed.
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