The sight of Kenny Miller wheeling away pounding the four leaf clover on his chest will never be forgiven in the eyes of some Rangers supporters.
Yet, despite this, it was hard not to feel that the weekend’s victory over Hearts was something of a turning point in Miller’s Rangers career at the ripe old age of 37.
“There’s Only One Kenny Miller” has rarely, if ever, been chanted so emphatically by the light blue legions. It was almost as if this was the final act of forgiveness and acceptance from the Rangers support towards Miller as a true Rangers great. Maybe a Rangers legend.
Cast aside by Pedro Caixinha it looked like the career of Miller as a Rangers player had come to a premature end, and with it a reputation tarnished with the recent dressing room leak accusations pointed at Miller and being sent to play with the reserves. Credit to Miller, by all accounts he remained professional and dedicated to the Rangers cause throughout.
Regardless of age, Miller had a less than impressive start to the season. It seemed as if the Mark Warburton era had left a burden on Miller’s shoulders which had crept into his playing style and mentality. In a team that so often lacked leadership and real fighting quality last season Miller often was the one spark that looked like he wanted to play for the jersey, the one guy who had felt like he had to do the job of 3 or 4 players as well as his own.
The frustration had been building with Miller throughout last season and it still appeared evident in pre-season during one of his press conferences discussing where he felt Rangers would be in terms of a title challenge. Not wishing to leave egg on his face, Miller refused to commit to where he felt Rangers would be, only that he wished for them to be more competitive. The previous campaign had been littered with silly comments and outbursts from players within the Warburton regime which were never going to materialise. You can be sure that Kenny Miller believes that Rangers should be good enough to challenge for the title. After all, he has been around for a lot of the triumphs in the past 17 years as well as the lows.
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At the start of the season it looked like Kenny Miller expected the rest of his team to rely on his leadership and goals to win games, on Saturday it looked like the team DID look to Kenny Miller for his leadership and goals to win the game. Something changed on Saturday at Murrayfield though. Maybe it was the connection of that kid who scored against Monaco 17 years ago reminding us that this is a Rangers man who played at the highest level for us during the glory years. Or maybe it was the pain and humiliation suffered by Miller more recently which struck a chord with the fans, the BetFred cup Semi Final being the latest of big occasions which the support had fully expected to win yet left deflated again. Or maybe it was simply the fact that Miller was not a part of that disappointing result nor the draw with Kilmarnock on Wednesday night which spared him the criticism which the majority of the team had deserved and allowed him to return as the hero.
Hero? Yes. But can we really categorise Kenny Miller as a Rangers legend though? A term which gets thrown around far too often in football, a legend would be someone who has significantly contributed to the success of this football club consistently and in the big moments.
No one can argue the legendary status of guys such as Ally McCoist and Andy Goram, both of whom cemented their place in the Rangers hall of fame with their consistent match winning displays against Celtic. Who can forget ” The Goalie’s” penalty save against Van Hooijdonk during the 9 in a row season and also THAT save to deny the same player only a year or so earlier from 6 yards out. Ask any Rangers supporter born before the 90’s their favourite memory of McCoist as a player you could guarantee their would be 10 different answers from 10 different supporters, such was the impact and memorable moments provided by Super Ally.
Little more than a squad player under Dick Advocaat in his first spell at the club, you could argue that Miller never lived up to his potential and was not good enough for Advocaat’s multi talented squad of 2000 which certainly for me was the most talented and best footballing side to watch at Ibrox in the last 25 years. Apart from a 5 goal salvo against St Mirren and a Champions League strike against Monaco there’s not very much that fans would remember about Miller’s first spell at the club which only lasted the best part of 18 months.
It would be 6 and a half years later before Miller would be back in a Rangers strip again although this time he had a mixture of experience and baggage. For some supporters the fact Miller played with the green and white half of Glasgow seemed to be enough for any form of criticism and blame to be attached to Miller no matter how great or poor he was. Brought back to the club by Walter Smith within months of his side reaching the Europa League Final in 2008, Miller was instrumental in helping Rangers win their first league title since the helicopter changed direction in 2005. Miller was instrumental in the following 2 seasons, once again scoring a double to complete a key victory over Celtic in the first Old Firm game of the Season and scoring the winner in the League cup Final after Rangers had been reduced to 9 men. By January the following season Miller had scored 22 goals and finished as Rangers top scorer for season 2010-11 despite being sold to Bursaspor the same month.
Miller’s double at the weekend bore some resemblance to the first Old Firm derby of the 2008-09 season. For different reasons and under different circumstances, Miller was thrown into the lion’s den. Large sections of his own support not convinced of his value and worth to the team. It was no more of a surprise on Saturday Miller would score a double to what it was 9 years ago when he tucked 2 goals past Artur Boruc. Those 2 goals plus a continued reign of Old Firm goals continue to change people’s minds about Miller, but it has almost always been an unwritten rule for the fans to sing so loudly of their support for him. It is like we know this guy has done something bad but no matter how good he tries or becomes it will never outdo the bad that was done.
3 league winners medals hardly equate to Rangers legendary status. Nor does playing a part in “Completing the Journey” equate to legendary status. When the dust settles and Miller finally plays his final game in a Rangers jersey, the dream ending for him and all concerned with Rangers at heart would be to win the Title. With father time battling against him, Miller will know himself that this season may be his last to firmly cement his place in the hearts of all Rangers fans and etch himself into the history books as the man who led and inspired Rangers to stop Celtic’s pursuit of 10 in a row.
If Miller is to end his career at Rangers a legend he will need to lead this team to the title come next May, you can be sure this will be driving him on between now and then. Whether he and the squad are good enough to do so remains to be seen.