All hail Walter Smith

I was working on Tuesday night, so I missed out so I missed out on the Old Trafford Drama Society's re-enactment of the Alamo. Am I right to think it was simply a case of 90 minutes of United knocking the ball about and completely failing to find a way through a pack of blue shirts? Thought so. Not all that bothered I missed it then.

But this just confirms the suspicion that the greatest Scottish coach of the last decade was in one of the dugouts in Manchester. No, not Alex Ferguson, the other bloke.

Just to get things straight, I have no love for ultra-defensive, anti-football tactics. But anyone who feels Rangers were obliged to turn up on Tuesday playing attractive open football needs a serious reality check. Needs must.

Who would have thought it back in the late nineties, when nine seasons of domestic dominance by Rangers, coupled with a catalogue of continental humiliations, came to an end? In my memory, it was a pretty dark time. Scottish football was more predictable than an Iranian election result; Celtic were a shambles that nearly went out of business, and the other sides spent stupidly (remember Aberdeen spending a million on Paul Bernard?! Exactly) yet couldn't compete the cash being splashed by David Murray. Rangers bludgeoned everyone at domestic level, yet barring that one season where they were robbed of a European Cup final spot by the cheats of Marseille they failed to make even the slightest impression in the Champions League. Not only that, but a regular feature was a tactical naivety which seemed to constantly cost the Ibrox side in crucial games.

Compared to now, it's like night and day. I was rather unsure about Walter Smith's appointment as Scotland coach in 2004, as I thought he lacked the nuance to organize us into a team that was difficult to beat. How wrong I was. And his return to Rangers led to a spectacular UEFA Cup run built around sturdy defensive efforts away from home, as well as further league titles. His side have the flexibility to play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 in the league, or 4-5-1 (and even 5-4-1 as on Tuesday night). I can't think of many other Scottish, or even British, sides as versatile.

So I salute you, Walter Smith. Even if I couldn't stand Rangers then, and I still can't really even stomach them today, I have no qualms about you. Don't suppose you might want to pass along a few tactical tit-bits to our current Scotland manager? Please?

L.