For a while now July and August have felt like fraught months for Rangers. From 2018 and the arrival of Steven Gerrard onwards it feels like we’ve been served up an apparently never ending chore of qualification for the Europa League group stage football.
I remember standing in the Lord Nelson pub on Nelson St in Glasgow when Rangers were in Russia to take on Ufa, with qualification for group stage football in Europe at stake of the first time since the events of 2012.
The game was at a ridiculous time in the afternoon, so I bunked off work early, skipped over the squinty bridge and made my way to the Lord Nelson which had procured a stream of the game.
When said stream typically failed after about 10 minutes, you had a ridiculous situation of everyone in the pub resorting to standing round various peoples mobile phones to catch a glimpse the game which, despite the sending offs of Jon Flanagan and Alfredo Morelos, went Rangers’ way.
I remember one punter turning and saying to me at one point “there is no work getting done in Glasgow today, eh?”. And it was hard to disagree with him, it definitely felt like a hefty percentage of the city’s population was currently crowded around a telly, phone or laptop watching the game.
My personal highlight of those qualification nights was probably against Legia Warsaw when Alfredo Morelos scored an injury time winner at Ibrox – provoking huge scenes of joy within the home support, and pissing off a certain Artur Boric in the away end. A cherry on the cake moment if ever there was one!
And here we are again, back in the fraught, nail-biting arena that are European football qualifiers – but this time for the Champions League against Servette.
Artur Boric has a sense that old familiar feeling again – getting pumped at Ibrox!
The mood is mixed after the win in the first leg was not as convincing as we would have liked. The fact that the game is on the BBC Scotland channel also makes me feel uncomfortable.
As most know there has been some issues between the top brass and reporting staff at Pacific Quay and Rangers Football Club. Personally I find how BBC Scotland has conducted itself in its reporting, content and position on Rangers to be nothing other than absolutely embarrassing – and the thought of having to put up with the likes of Jonathan Sutherland and Rob McLean for 90 minutes is not a pleasant one. Still, needs must!
Sutherland opens proceedings by saying it’s a crucial game for Rangers, which will explain why BBC Scotland has decided to only allocate ten minutes of build up for the game. As I said, embarrassing.
The team suggests that Beale is looking towards a counter-attacking threat, with Raskin and Jack sitting and Sima, Cifuentes and Cantwell providing the ammunition for Danilo.
Rangers do what they always seem to do in these games and start reasonably well and look in control of proceedings, before deciding to totally lose control of things fairly quickly.
Sportscene’s coverage of the game – the less said the better.
The turning point in the first-half is an outstanding save from Jack Butland to deny Timothe Cognat, who was clean through on the Rangers goal. The moment provides further weight to feeling that Rangers have recruited well in replacing Allan McGregor, but it also breathes belief into Servette and their supporters that they can get something from this game – a feeling that is emboldened further when Servette take the lead on 22 minutes thanks to a very decent strike by Kutesa.
The mood in my house is flat at this point as my son and I look on horrified at the events that are unfolding in front of us, events that should have taken a turn for the worse when Souttar is caught trying to play offside, allowing Kutesa to run in on Butland but fail to either score or cut it across to an unmarked team mate in the box. A sliding doors moment in the tie!
Thing are worryingly bad at this stage, made even more so by a shocking open goal miss from Danilo and having to listen to the dulcet tones of Rob McLean and James McFadden barely concealing their absolute joy at the Rangers’ severe discomfort.
It is a relief to go in at half-time just one goal down.
The second-half, however, is a completely different story. Rangers look more composed from the off, and it doesn’t take long before the they have equalised through a very familiar routine.
Nicolas Raskin: different gravy!
Borna sends in another accurate delivery to the box and Tav heads in to give Rangers parity via the much used full-back-to-full-back option. It gives Rangers the foundation and confidence to go an control the second-half.
The main man in that second-half dominance is Nicolas Raskin, who yet again gives a level a performance that makes you believe that if we develop this boy correctly, he could be a star for us before moving on for a decent profit at some point in the future.
We secure the result we need and we move on next to PSV in the play-off – a repeat of last season’s fixture.
We never seem to get the easy route when it comes to qualification for the Champions League, but it is another big night at Ibrox to look forward to and I feel we are looking in better shape now than we were just a week or so ago for such a fixture.
I can’t deny that there is still a nagging concern that we are relying on James Tavernier for goals – and we need the strikers to step up against PSV if we are to have any chance of progression, but there a few more positive signs that the likes of Lammers, Danilo and Dessers are starting to click into gear. Hopefully they can make the difference against the Dutch side.
It’s another huge night at Ibrox and, even though it is undoubtedly a tricky tie, a win on Tuesday puts us in a good position to go over to Eindhoven and get the result we need to qualify.
I just need to confirm if the Lord Nelson is showing the return tie!
As per usual, my Saturday morning starts early with a walk with the dog. I had been our for dinner the previous evening to celebrate my daughter’s 16th birthday, so getting up is a little more difficult than usual.
I find that the quickness of time causes me more and more concern the older I get – I mean, can it really be 16 years since I nearly launched my six week old daughter through the living room ceiling whilst celebrating Lee McCulloch’s goal against Lyon on that famous night in the Champions League? Sixteen years? Really? Time flies!
Friday also brought a nice wee delivery through the post in the form of the programme from the 1979 Drybrough Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic – a game famous for Davie Cooper’s wonder goal where he lobbed the ball over several Celtic defenders heads before dispatching it past Peter Latchford. It is a moment which is part of Rangers folklore – so it is a nice wee addition to the collection.
But back to the Saturday and I have the a couple of options to meet up with mates prior to kick off for a pre-match pint. However domestic responsibilities mean I don’t get into the city until just after 2pm, so it’s a quick pre-match pint on my tod before heading to Ibrox.
Lee McCulloch scores against Lyon – inadvertently causing minor head injuries to my six week old daughter.
Whilst I am enjoying my pint the teams are announced and, again, it looks encouraging. Connor Goldson is out – presumably rested – which allows Leon Balogun to make his first start since returning to the club. Jose Cifuentes also gets his first start, as does the Brazilian Danilo.
Davie Cooper celebrates winning the Drybrough Cup in 1979.
We get off to a great start when we take the lead after just ten minutes, with some great work by Cantwell leading to an opportunity for Lammers to slam home the opener – an opportunity he doesn’t pass up on.
The early goal is good but I always feel that the second goal is the most important goal for Rangers, and it looks like we’ve got it when Cifuentes scores from a corner after 20 minutes.
But VAR rules he used a hand and the so called Masonic conspiracy in refereeing has a seemingly further dent to its credibility!
Rangers then fall into bad habits and, without playing all that badly, give the impression of a side that is making heavier weather of this game than it should be. This results in the usual mumbles of discontent from an element of the crowd.
The second goal comes late but it brings a debut goal for one of the new signings, which will become a theme of this game.
Borna sends over a great delivery into the box which allows Danilo to head in his first goal for the club and secure the three points – as the goal comes in the 78th minute, it also allows for a mass exodus of the Subway Loyal!
Having already introduced Matondo and Sima, the second goal provides Michael Beale with the opportunity to make further changes, bringing on Dowell, Sterling and Lundstram which injects further energy in the side as they go on and score another couple of goals before full-time.
Vroni’s on West Nile St – they do a decent pint of Menabrea!
Firstly, Lima gets his first goal for the club after a bit of a stramash in the penalty box allows him to score from close range. Then Dowell scores an absolute peach right on time to put the icing on the cake.
Overall it is a fairly routine victory and a convincing scoreline.
Four goals, four different scorers (all new signings), Butland looks composed, Souttar and Balogun are solid at the back, Cifuentes looks impressive and Cantwell is lively and involved in everything – that’s not a bad day’s work.
That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement, but those who are saying it’s another sign that Beale and the new signings are all duds are well wide of the mark.
I’m sitting with my mate Keith, who usually sits behind me but he has taken my son’s seat today as his own football career now sees him play on a Saturday for a local amateur side.
This means for the first time in six years he won’t be heading to Ibrox with me on a Saturday. He’s keeping his seat, obviously, but unless it’s a weeknight or a Sunday the chances are he won’t be using it for the foreseeable.
I’m chuffed he’s doing his own thing, and he scored twice on his competitive debut for his new club, but I can’t deny it’ll not be the same him not being there on a Saturday.
On the final whistle Keith and I head to Edmiston House for a pint, but the queue at the bar failing to move so much as an inch in the ten minutes we were stood there provokes us to move to the Rolls Royce Social Club on Beech Avenue – where we get served immediately.
I am hoping to hook up with some of the lads from the Gersnet podcast later but the banter is flowing and time runs away from me. After a couple of hours I head back into city for one final pint in Vroni’s before heading for my train.
I get in at about half nine and pretty much head straight to bed. I have an early rise in the morning as I’m walking a section of the John Muir Way with my daughter – all 25km of it!
I am of course looking forward to it – I just hope my legs have recovered in time to watch Tuesday’s massive game in Geneva!
My day begins with a commute into Glasgow for work. I find commutes to work are always better when you know you have the fitba to look forward after your nine-to-five grind. So the walk from Queen St to my office is a purposeful one that ponders all the opportunity that lies ahead.
It’s Champions League qualifier night, and we are up against Swiss outfit Servette FC – whom I have never seen before, so it’s another club to add to the list of clubs I have watched in the flesh whilst following Rangers in Europe.
These nights are always tense, and have delivered joy and despair in equal measures down the years.
My first real experience of them was in 92/93 against Leeds Utd. I was at Ibrox for the previous round against Lyngby, but that night against the English Champions when we won 2-1 will go down in echelons of Ibrox folklore. The noise when the teams came out of the tunnel will go with me to the grave – and until that fairly recent epic night against RP Leipzig, it stood out as my favourite ever night at Ibrox.
Then there was Parma. The night we shoved it right up the likes of Buffon, Dino Baggio, Ortega and Thuram and served up revenge for them dumping us out the UEFA Cup the previous season. When Claudio Reyna made it 2-0 that night the scenes were ones of absolute hysteria. Another night that will stay with me ’til the end.
But I have also felt the other side of the Champions League qualifier sword, with the night against AEK Athens probably being the sorest I can remember.
Two down from the first-leg, there were high hopes that the new signings Basile Boli and Brian Laudrup would dig us out the hole we had found ourselves in. But it was not to be and a goal by Toni Savevski two minutes from half-time killed the tie stone dead and ensured we were out of Europe’s top competition before it had really got started – and back in those days there was no safety net of falling into the UEFA Cup!
Brian Laudrup: hero, legend – couldn’t save us from AEK Athens.
With work done, I head from my office to a boozer on Queen St for a pre-match pint, awaiting the arrival of my son. When he arrives we chew the fat over Saturday’s defeat, possible team selection and that I had witnessed some bloke get properly lamped by another bloke on Argyle St on my walk to the pub. I don’t want to advocate violence, but it was as deserved a second prize as I’ve seen anyone take – to the point there were a few cheers by the afternoon shoppers when he copped it.
The team news comes out on the official club accounts and it looks better than the eleven selected on Saturday at Rugby Park – out goes Lundstram, Dowell and Sima, in comes Jack, Cantwell and Lammers.
We are slightly late leaving the pub for the subway and as a result we miss the first goal. I actually believe at the time we have contrived to miss two early goals as there are two huge cheers – it’s only when I get to my seat that I realise the first huge cheer was for the penalty claim, the second cheer was for the actual goal.
Despite missing the goal I’m quite happy as the opening stages are encouraging, we look a far better outfit than the one that limped about Kilmarnock and when Rangers go 2-0 up on 15 minutes, thanks to a goal from Cyriel Dessers, all in the garden looks rosy.
We shouldn’t dismiss how good a goal it was either, with great contributions from Souttar and Borna creating the conditions that allowed for the Nigerian internationalist to score his first goal for the club. On a night of few positives, this is one of them.
“Nobody in here can know I’m looking at!”
We then pass up a great opportunity to go three up – and potentially kill of the tie – when Lammers misses a sitter that seemed easier to score. Not taking that chance proves crucial as within two minutes we’re subject to a VAR review for an alleged handball in the box by Dessers. The ref goes to the screen and we all know what is coming when that happens.
Those who know me best know I am not the greatest supporter of VAR, and one of my main criticisms of it is that it is supporters in the ground who are the only ones in the dark over what is happening. As the ref studied the screen, I look around me and see a sea of confused faces wondering what the review is in relation to and relying on texts and messages from mates watching the game at home to get the details. It feels really off to me that the only punters who are out the loop in these moments are the ones who got off their arses and paid top dollar to be at the game. And if that isn’t bad enough, Bedia scores from the spot and suddenly we’re in a game.
The second-half is more of the same huff and puff from Saturday and the crowd becomes restless and the groans and moans start to increase in volume. Even when Servette go down to ten Rangers can’t seem to create enough quality chances to extend their lead – although Mall in the Servette goal does produce several decent saves, and one very good one from a Lammers effort.
Rangers fail to break their Swiss opponents down and the final whistle brings a sense of frustration that we couldn’t extend our lead. A tight scoreline means it’s all to play for next week in Geneva.
Paul Gascoigne: club legend despite a pish start!
The sense after the game is one of disappointment, and even some anger aimed at Beale and the new signings. But I was reminded of a previous Champions League qualifier I had attended 28 years previously to the day when Rangers beat Anorthosis Famagusta 1-0 at Ibrox – a game that saw Paul Gascoigne make his competitive debut for the club.
On the night Rangers were really poor, as was Gascoigne, and after the game there were the usual groans and moans. But we progressed to the group stages that season and Gascoigne went on to win us 8-in-a-row with a hatrick against Aberdeen in that famous game at Ibrox that secured the 95/96 title.
I guess what I’m saying is that discouraging signs early in campaigns aren’t necessarily a sign that the team isn’t going to perform well over the season or win trophies – the same goes for new signings, early struggles are often just that.
My son and I leave the stadium and head for a light refreshment at the Louden Tavern to allow the queue at the underground to recede. I bump into an old work colleague in the beer garden and we chat about old times. When I worked with him I was barely in my 30s and didn’t have any kids, now I’m standing here talking to him with my 18 year old son who is enjoying a pint. He too is an older, more domesticated version of himself with a wife, a kid and all that comes with that. It is a sharp reminder that time flies.
It’s been a disappointing night but nothing has been won or lost yet, and it’s all to play for next week in Geneva. And before that we have the opportunity to get three points against Livingston on Saturday at Ibrox and help get the new players bedded in further.
It’s finally here, the start of the football season. I say ‘finally’ but the reality is that the gap between one season and the next seems to get shorter and shorter every year. It feels odd to be a football fan and complain that there is too much football, but the older I get the more I feel the game has suffered from over-saturation in the Sky era, to the point that I actually quite enjoy the summer break when it comes – no matter how short it is.
My summer break this year was in Cornwall with the missus, daughter and dug. It was nice few days of walks, pasties, sightseeing, listening to Radio 2, watching Wimbledon and the occasional pint of Korev. I can’t say I really missed football or Rangers at any point during my break – and as the final whistled shrilled on Saturday at Rugby Park, it is easy to understand why!
It was largely felt that this would be a summer of change at Ibrox. A season of zero trophies last term necessitated that change had to come. For the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent it felt they had long outstayed their time at the club, for Allan McGregor, a club legend, it also felt like he had stayed a year or two too long. It was time for a change.
So it was a summer of out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new as club brought in a glut of new signings – including Dujon Sterling, Jack Butland, Leon Balogun, Sam Lammers, Kieran Dowell, Cyriel Dessers and Danilo – giving supporters hope that serious title challenge could be mounted this season. Pre-season had not entirely gone to plan, but surely they would be ready come day one at Rugby Park?
My day started early as it always does on a Saturday morning. Up and out with the dug for a 5k walk, then home to some breakfast and a bit of Radcliffe and Maconie. It was then off to catch the noon train to Glasgow and specifically Shawlands to take in Pollok v Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. I arrive about 50 minutes prior to kick-off, which allows me the luxury of a pint and a read of the matchday programme in Loks Bar and Kitchen.
The plan is to take in as much of this game as possible, before leaving with approx. ten minutes to go to allow me to catch a train back home to meet my son and a mate to catch the Rangers game at 5:15pm. It feels like a perfect plan, but a hint is given at the Pollok game that this is not gonna be an enjoyable day of football.
When I leave after about 80 minutes Pollok are 3-1 up and seemingly home and hosed – so I leave happy in the belief that three points have been secured. However by time I get to Pollokshaws East station, a two minute walk from the ground, Twitter informs me that Rob Roy have made it 3-2 and are back in the game. Within two minutes of boarding my train for Glasgow Central it is 3-3, and that is how it finishes. Pollok have someone managed to grab a draw from the jaws of victory, not the result I was looking for and it gives me the fear for Rangers’ visit to Kilmarnock.
My journey back home is interrupted by World Cycling Championship’s in Glasgow. I can’t say I am a huge cycling fan, I mean aren’t they are all just ripped up junkies in ill-fitting lycra always looking for ways to out-cheat the other guy? I could be wrong in that assertion, but that I miss my intended train because of them does not endear me any further to their cause.
Pint and programme
Despite getting a later train than intended, I successfully hook up with my son and mate and we head to a local hostelry to take in the game. The nerves have really kicked in since the teams have been announced and we have all seen that John Lundstram is starting.
Lundstram performed heroically in Rangers’ run to the Europa League Final last year, but it is fair to say he has not reached anywhere near those levels for a considerable amount of time. For most fans he was viewed as part of the problem last season, that we have signed so many new players and we are still starting with him brings a heavy dose of unease, which will be justified by the end of the game. We can only hope that former manager Steven Gerrard comes in with a £40m bid to usher him away to the gold rush that is the Saudi Arabia Pro League – a move that even members of the Rangers LGBT+ community surely wouldn’t protest against!
The first half is a chore. Games at Killie usually are; plastic pitch, their defensive set up…etc, but it does feel that Rangers make these games more of a chore than they should be. After about 20 minutes there are uneasy glances between the three of us – this is starting to feel like a game we have seen many times before.
Ian Ferguson dons the gloves on the opening day defeat to St Mirren in 1989.
No goals at the break and the feeling is that was dire but that there must be a reaction in the second half, but unfortunately that is not the case. Instead we get the same slow tempo, side-to-side football that was served up in the first half – and for long periods of last season.
When the Rangers defence fall asleep at a throw-in that allows Brad Lyons to nip in and give Kilmarnock the lead it confirms the fears all three of us had been contemplating; this might be a new cast, but we were watching the same horror movie we had all seen so many times before.
The new cast huffed and puffed but rarely threatened to get an equaliser, let alone a winner, and the new season had delivered that old feeling of disappointment at the first time of asking. Day one and we are already chasing Celtic.
I have seen Rangers teams lose on the opening day before and then go on to win the title. Graeme Souness lost a couple, once at Easter Rd and another against St Mirren at Ibrox when Ian Ferguson ended up in goals due to an injury to Chris Woods, but the margins or error in those days were far greater than they are now and defeat on the opening day provides Michael Beale with an early headache as he tries to wrestle the title back from Celtic.
Champions League: To be or not to be?
Next up are the Swiss outfit Servette and the challenge of qualifying for the Champions League. As I write this I am hearing Rangers could face PSV Eindhoven in the play-off match if they progress, who we eliminated to reach the group stages last season.
Former Rangers midfielder Malik Tillman is on course to join PSV, which already has me fearing the scenario of him scoring a last minute winner for PSV securing Champions League riches for them and consigning us to Europa League poverty.
Yip, day one and the fear and loathing has started already.
There was a strong and horrible feeling of déjà vu when leaving Ibrox on Saturday afternoon after another miserable showing against our greatest rivals. There can be little doubt that we Rangers supporters have had more of our fair share of black eyes in recent years. Saturday felt like yet another to add to what feels like an endless line of them at the moment.
The scoreline said 2-0, but in all honesty this could have been another mauling akin to the one Celtic dished out to us in April, particularly in the second-half where Rangers were woefully exposed all over the park. Granted Rangers were dealt a couple of injury blows beforehand, but even still the manner of the defeat was hard to take.
The result leaves Rangers in fifth place and already eight points behind Celtic, six behind Aberdeen and moored in a place that raises more questions over Pedro Caixinha. After the woeful performances in his previous two Old Firm games the form continued on Saturday. The first-half suggested that Rangers could make a fight of it, and were it not for a baffling decision by Craig Thomson not to award a penalty for a tackle on Morelos 13 minutes into the first-half then the game may have taken a different turn.
However the second-half performance was weak and Celtic could have easily added to their tally as they made what seemed a continual progression towards Wes Foderingham’s goal.
But the fact of the matter is that this game alone has not brought questions on Caixinha’s ability to lead Rangers. Nobody really expects Rangers to match Celtic over a season in the current climate. However there must be a concern that Rangers went into this game already five points behind their city rivals after only six games. The main worry for Caixinha is that his side has struggled against the rest, particularly at home where we have won only one of our four games, and that was against a woeful Dundee side.
Take that victory against Neil McCann’s side, and the 6-0 drubbing of Dunfermline in the Betfred Cup, out of the equation and you are left with scrappy and unconvincing performances and results.
Rangers went to Firhill last Friday night with the chance to go top of the league – if only for a short period. But yet again Caixinha’s men choked, dropped points against a very average Thistle side and went into the game on Saturday against Celtic on the back-foot.
Against Celtic Caixinha was let down by more than one of his summer signings, with Graham Dorrans in particular proving to be a big disappointment in his first Old Firm game. But Carlos Pena must also come under the spotlight. The man signed for £2.7m has yet to show anything since arriving in the summer. Too easily brushed off the ball and hesitant and wasteful with possession, he looked way off representing any kind of value for the big money spent on him. I keep hearing the argument that he needs to get fit. Well he has been here for three months now with little sign of that improving.
Pedro has now entered the phase where he has to start winning consistently very soon or he will be up against it. The Betfred Cup semi-final draw provides him with a big opportunity to reach a final. If he can do that and win the next few league games he will ease some of the pressure which is building on him.
The manner of defeat was pretty emphatic but that does not mean that there were not reasons to question some of Craig Thomson’s refereeing of the game. The decision not to award a penalty was, as mentioned earlier, baffling. More so when you consider the same referee awarded Celtic a penalty in an almost identical position a few years back for a tackle by Steven Davis on Anthony Stokes. Famously McGregor saved the spot-kick, but it does point to a worrying lack of consistency in Thomson’s refereeing, other than his ability to make the wrong call. How Thomson saw Morelos’s tackle on Boyata as worthy of the games first booking was equally as puzzling.
You also have to wonder how Scott Brown and Leigh Griffiths escaped any kind of censure for their conduct on the park – especially when it came to gesturing to the home support.
Brown in particular has taken advantage of Rangers’ recent woes. A man who used to be anonymous in these games at Ibrox now roams around unchallenged as if he owns the place. If Rangers are going to start having an impact in these games, someone is going to have to meet Brown head-on and put him back in his box. That nobody done that on Saturday is hard to take.
Another issue on Saturday was the behaviour of the Celtic support housed in the Broomloan Rd stand. A support that is continually offended by chants by their oldest rivals seemed quite happy to belt out some ditty about Rangers’ kit man Jimmy Bell being an “orange bastard” etc. In indulging in such behaviour they expose their hypocrisy and that the foundations of the moral high ground they perpetually populate are built on sand.
There was also the issue of a flare being aimed at Wes Foderingham after they scored the first goal, and the continual refusal to return the ball whenever it went into their end – only for it to be thrown back on the park when the replacement ball arrived.
The flare incident is one worthy of watching in terms of any ramifications for Celtic. Rangers volunteered to pay for the damage to Falkirk’s pitch after a flare landed on their new playing surface in Scottish Cup match between the clubs in 2013. The incident caused quite a stir in the media at the time with Mark Guidi in the Daily Record describing the Rangers supporters involved in the incident as “hooligans”. Given the amount of Uefa fines the Celtic support has attracted recently, it will be interesting to see how the likes of the Record and others view this latest pyro incident. You would imagine there would be a healthy amount of criticism due. I won’t hold my breath though.
However such incidents detract from the real issue. Rangers simply weren’t good enough on Saturday and, young Ross McCrorie aside, who was excellent and arguably the only positive to come out of the game for Rangers, most of the players in that team need to take a long hard look at themselves in terms of how they performed on Saturday – and indeed since the season started.
Saturday was yet another sore one to take. And Rangers yet again have the look of a club that is drifting aimlessly towards mediocrity and uncertainty. Already out of Europe, trailing significantly in the league and facing a tricky semi-final tie in the Betfred Cup, we have the very real prospect of heading into the new year with only one trophy available to us in terms of winning. I don’t care how far behind them we are in financial terms, that is simply unacceptable.
It was far from convincing at times, but it can’t be denied that Rangers securing three points on Sunday in Dingwall against Ross County was very welcome.
Rangers, and Pedro Caixinha in particularly, had been under a bit of pressure after dropping five points in two consecutive home games against Hibs and then Hearts. So victory against the Highlanders came at the right time.
There were definitely some positives to take from Sunday. The goal-scoring form of Alfredo Morelos is a definitely something to take heart from. The Columbian’s two goals took his total to five in seven games for Rangers – a very decent foundation for better things, we hope.
It was also good to see Eduardo Herrera get off the mark. The big Mexican has looked laboured at times since arriving at Ibrox. Netting his first goal will hopefully give him some confidence and the springboard to go and get some more.
Causes for concern are still there though and we are definitely still a work in progress.
The fleeting appearances of Carlos Peña continue to raise more questions than answers. It is early days, but as things stand there is little evidence to suggest he is worth the £2.7m we forked out for the Mexican internationalist. Hopefully as the games tot up and his fitness improves he’ll become the player we all want him to be.
I also have concerns about Fabio Cardoso who has still to really convince at the heart of the defence, and I would also like to see more of the Graham Dorrans we saw on the opening game of the season at Motherwell. But these are kinks that can hopefully be ironed out.
It’s undoubtedly been a stuttering start to the campaign, but September provides a great opportunity for Rangers to gain a good few points. With Dundee at home and Thistle and Hamilton away in the league, there is an opportunity to get maximum points from these games. Win our other home game in September against our cherished neighbours from across the city and all of a sudden it’s been a real good month and Pedro has gone some way to convincing the doubters.
Pedro bites back
We all know that Chris Sutton is a buffoon. He acted like one as player – particularly when he claimed on live TV that Dunfermline had chucked in the towel deliberately against Rangers in the last game of the 2002/03 campaign to hand Alex McLeish’s men the title – and he continues to act like one in his punditry role.
His style of being deliberately and needlessly controversial is tedious and his patter with his partner in crime Terry Butcher is truly awful. BT Sports could do a lot worse than to review the pundits covering their Scottish coverage.
But regardless of how crass Sutton can be, even I was taken aback by his questioning of Pedro Caixinha on Sunday at Dingwall. At times during his aggressive and obnoxious grilling of Pedro you had to remind yourself that Rangers had indeed won the game – and not only that, closed the gap on Celtic by two points.
Compare and contrast Sutton and BT’s attack on Pedro, whose team had won, compared with Sky’s line of questioning of Arsène Wenger, whose team had been thumped again, produced a woeful performance and had lost their second game in a row. Wenger was asked some difficult questions – but they were relevant to the game and were asked respectfully.
Sutton’s line of questioning focused on Pedro’s squad compared to Celtic’s – a team that weren’t even playing on the day. That tells you all you need to know about his motivation. What made it worse was that two former Rangers players – one a so called legend – stood there and said nothing to back Pedro up.
Admittedly Pedro doesn’t help himself at times. His needless and crass comments on Michael O’Halloran are testament to that. But that is no excuse for the bankrupt pig farmer to blatantly attempt to undermine and humiliate him live on TV.
As stated earlier, BT Sports would do well to review what it is they want from their pundits, because in this world of free streams of almost any game you want to watch being plentiful, the gutter standard of Sutton and Butcher will drive many BT subscribers elsewhere.
The best there is, was and ever will be
Last week saw the draw for this season’s Champions League. Unfortunately we are still some way off participating in this tournament, however it is worth noting that this year sees the 25th anniversary of Rangers momentous and unbeaten European campaign of 92/93 when they became the first British club to compete the in the revamped Champions League.
The run would see Rangers go on a ten game unbeaten run and come within a GOAL of reaching the final where they would have taken on the mighty but ailing AC Milan.
The campaign would also see Rangers defeat the champions of England Leeds Utd – home and away – and go two games undefeated against eventual winners and European footballs biggest spenders at the time, Marseille. And remember, all this with a three foreigner rule forbidding you from buying in foreign exports. Now that’s what I call ‘invincible’.
The season will forever be my favourite as Rangers supporter, and it gave me most memorable evening at Ibrox in the game against Leeds Utd. I know Ibrox can noisy on most big European nights, but this was another level. A truly marvellous occasion that I take great pride in being part of.
Those famous European nights will not go without comment on this site over the next few months – so keep your eye out for some great Champions League memories!
Davie Cooper looking resplendent in THAT classic away kit.
Today is my birthday. I am 42. I sometimes wonder where the time has gone. My life now seems to be a repeating cycle of work, school runs and ferrying my kids to various activities. It was all so different 20 years ago when I was still young, relatively responsibility free and with my full life in front of me – not to mention having a lot more hair and a loss less girth around my waist.
But 20 years ago today any thoughts of being in a celebratory frame of mind were put firmly on the shelf by the news that Davie Cooper, my boyhood Rangers hero, had died suddenly at the age of 39. To add an extra eeriness to proceedings, Cooper had not only died on my birthday, but he had died in the hospital I was born in – Glasgow’s Southern General.
What made Cooper’s passing so symbolic for me, and thousands of other Rangers supporters of a similar age, was that for a long period through my childhood in the 80s he was all I had in the bragging rights category. He was the only thing I could bring up in the playground from a Rangers perspective that I KNEW my detractors would have no come back from. He was also the only thing I really looked forward to on a visit to Ibrox on match-day.
If truth be known, he wasn’t really my first Rangers idol. When my dad had started taking me to the games John Greig was the manager and Cooper was a peripheral figure, frequently stuck on the side-lines looking sulky and more than a tad overweight. So the honour of my first Rangers player infatuation went to Andrew Kennedy. I saw him score once against Dundee United on Football Focus and he was young and trendy enough looking to be considered – in my eyes anyway – Rangers’ version of Charlie Nicholas. So whilst Celtic fans at school played out scenarios where they were Charlie Nicholas – I countered that by pretending to be Andy Kennedy. If anyone asked who he was, I just retorted stubbornly: “He scored against Dundee Utd!”
What became of Kennedy I am not quite sure, but what became of Cooper was largely down to the disastrous start to the 1983/84 campaign that let to John Greig being relieved of his duties as Rangers manager and being replaced by Jock Wallace. Wallace reinstalled Cooper as an integral part of his side and my childhood would never be the same again. From that point in late 1983 until he left Rangers in 1989, he represented everything I felt a Ranger should be.
Wallace’s return initially reinvigorated Rangers, but unfortunately the success Big Jock enjoyed in his first-term as manager would not return. However, there were moments of joy to savour from Cooper and it became an accepted notion that he was the only player at Ibrox at the time worthy of the jersey.
In this period, Saturday nights watching Sportscene when Rangers were on was basically a 30 minute Cooper-watch for me and anytime my dad managed to get me to Ibrox it was the same. I would actually spend long periods looking at Cooper when the action was elsewhere. Every game you waited to see a wee glimpse of magic from him – and he would more often than not provide you with something.
In one game against Dundee Utd in January 1985, I was sat in the Govan front, frozen and bored out my nut as a drab 0-0 draw unfolded. The only thing that got my bum off my seat that day was Cooper’s performance. He ran riot. In one piece of outrageous skill on the touchline right in front of me, he approached Eamonn Bannon and Maurice Malpas. At one point Bannon looked to Malpas as if to say “we have him”, then out of nothing Cooper popped the ball through one of their legs with the outside of his left foot, ran between the smallest of gaps between the two of them and ran on to put a cross onto the box. It is a moment that I will remember if I live to see another 42 years and the kind of moment that childhood heroes are built upon. He made me remember the day despite it being an instantly forgettable game.
Now you see me, now you don’t: Cooper makes a mockery of Malpas and Bannon’s efforts at defending – and makes my day of sitting in a cold Govan stand watching a 0-0 draw memorable.
One of my all-time favourite moments from Cooper, despite not being at the game, was when Rangers managed to come away from Celtic Park with a more than credible 1-1 draw in December 1984. As was the custom for games we weren’t attending, my dad and I listened to it on the radio. Rangers, huge underdogs at the time, performed magnificently but trailed for most of the game through an 11th minute Brian McClair goal. A perfectly good goal by John MacDonald was disallowed, Cammy Fraser managed to miss a penalty that Cooper had won and, yet again, it seemed that Rangers were set to lose to their Old Firm rivals. Then Cooper stepped up.
With four minutes left, Ted McMinn floated in a cross. Pat Bonner came off his line when he shouldn’t have and his weak punch landed at Cooper who chested it, set himself and then struck it past Bonner and two despairing defenders on the line. My dad and I jumped about the kitchen as if we’d won the lottery. Yet again, Cooper had contributed to my Rangers supporting life. Watching the highlights on the telly that night was a joy. As Cooper ran away to celebrate, he was hoisted up by a teenage Derek Ferguson as Archie Macpherson hollered: “Davie Cooper gets the goal for Rangers, which they so thoroughly deserve at this stage!” Archie’s words resonated with me. Not only had we not been turned over, but we had outperformed them on their own midden. And it was one of our own who had saved the day.
When Jock Wallace was eventually removed as Rangers manager in the spring of 1986 and replaced by Graeme Souness, it invigorated Cooper further still, to the extent of him giving arguably his best year in a Rangers jersey. The arrival of Terry Butcher and the likes gave Cooper the breathing space he had not enjoyed in previous years, as the responsibility and burden was shared more evenly throughout the squad. He revelled in it and was a pivotal part of the first championship winning side in nine years. Whether it was setting up Ian Durrant with a sublime reverse pass in a famous Old Firm victory, scoring an outrageous goal at Tynecastle, scoring the winner in the Skol Cup Final against Celtic or running amok against Ilves Tampere – Davie Cooper demonstrated again in that 1986/87 season just how great a player he was. He rose to the occasion and accepted the challenge set down by Souness’ arrival. Souness still refers to him today as one of the most skilful players he has come across – high praise indeed.
The following season gave the first signs that age was catching up with him. Rangers signed Trevor Francis and Mark Walters, and Cooper gradually found himself sitting on the bench more and more. But even then he still produced a moment that will be in the memory forever with his free-kick in the Skol Cup Final in 1987.
That was the first final I attended. I was stood in the traditional Rangers end when he let fly with a shot of such power that it had hit the net and come back out before Jim Leighton reacted. It was another moment of pure Cooper magic, but it was his last real significant act as a Rangers player. He struggled to get in the team was moved on to Motherwell in 1989 – ending a 12 year association with the club.
The arrival of Souness and his expensive players meant that Cooper went with little fuss or publicity. If he’d left four or five years earlier there would have been wakes held in every Rangers supporting house in the land. As it was, he left quietly, almost unnoticed. I was guilty of shrugging my shoulders when he left. I was disappointed, but not gutted. When I look back, it was not how it should have been. I should have at least been more mindful to what he had offered to Rangers in the dark days of the early to mid-eighties.
Those dark days are back again and my own son, who is nine, seems to “enjoying” something similar to my childhood experience of supporting Rangers. We both sat on the couch to watch the victory against Hibs on Sunday, dancing about the living-room on going 2-0 up in a way very similar to the way my dad and I danced about the kitchen that day Cooper saved us at Celtic Park.
But I look at my boy’s experience of supporting his club and feel he is so unlucky compared to me. We were both served dismal Rangers sides as kids, but he doesn’t have a Cooper to turn to for moments of sheer joy when the rest are serving up the usual mediocrity. He doesn’t really have a hero who’ll provide him with moments he’ll remember well into adult life.
I did – and I will always be thankful to Davie Cooper for that
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON THE RANGERS STANDARD WEBSITE IN 2015
Pedro takes to the stage before his managerial debut against Hamilton.
Although a certain amount of context needs to be applied given the run that the opposition are currently enduring, it is hard to come to any other conclusion other than Pedro Caixinha had what could be considered a very productive debut at Ibrox on Saturday.
Granted, Hamilton are in wretched form at the moment, and fighting for their lives in the top tier, but there were enough signs to suggest that even in the few days that Caixinha had access to his players he has managed to get his message across.
Right from the off Rangers looked in the mood and played with a far higher tempo and purpose compared to what the team was playing like under Warburton. Caixinha’s influence was such that I would argue that Tavernier and Waghorn had their best games in a Rangers jersey for a long time, and Toral also looked something like a player who was once on the books at Barcelona – something I cannot say he has convinced me of to date.
Martyn Waghorn, who enjoyed his best game in a Rangers jersey for a long time, scores the third from the penalty spot.
There is obviously a long way to go, and far bigger tests to come, but if Saturday is an example of what have to look forward to under Caixinha then you would have to argue that the race for second place may yet still have some life in it, and the semi-final against Celtic could provide an opportunity to really derail their attempt to win the treble.
After a wretched few months, the season finale suddenly looks like it might contain a little bit of hope.
Stewart Moves to Pastures New
Jim Stewart in his playing days at Ibrox.
There is always a possibility of casualties in the coaching staff when a new manager arrives, even still I have to admit I was saddened to hear that Jim Stewart had been relieved of his duties as goalkeeping coach by the new manager Pedro Caixinha.
Stewart, who of course played for Rangers in the early 80s, has, in my opinion, been a success in the role he has occupied since returning to the club in 2007. Indeed I would argue that all the keepers that Stewart looked after in his time improved under him with the exception of Cammy Bell and Steve Simonsen, who both had indifferent times between the sticks for the club.
Stewart was the first goalkeeper of my Rangers supporting life. I was only young but my memories of Stewart are that he was a very decent goalkeeper in a struggling side at the time.
Bad day at the office: Stewart lets in that goal v Celtic in 1983.
He had a few great saves in his time at Ibrox, most notably a point-blank save against Gordon Strachan in the Scottish Cup final in 1981, but, unfortunately for Stewart, he is probably best remembered for letting a Charlie Nicholas effort somehow go through his arms and into the net, allowing Celtic a 2-1 victory in the traditional Ner’day fixture of 1983. Not long after that he was displaced from the No 1 jersey by an ageing Peter McCloy and never really made a serious stake for the jersey again, moving on in 1984 after the arrival of Nicky Walker.
Despite the Nicholas howler he remained a popular figure amongst the fans and I’m sure there aren’t many who don’t wish the big man well as he moves on to pastures new.
He Played for the Club He Loved
Incredibly this week will mark the 22nd anniversary of the sudden death of the late, great Davie Cooper. For all of us who were lucky enough to see him, Cooper represents everything that a Ranger should be and for him to be taken from us at the tragically young age of 39, and whilst still plying his trade as a professional footballer, is still hard to take today.
Like many others, on hearing the news I made the trek to Ibrox to lay a scarf down as a sign of respect. On arriving at the ground I couldn’t believe the vast amount of scarves, flowers and shirts etc that were left in his honour. Indeed, such was the vastness of the tributes left outside the stadium it actually provided the club with a headache in terms of what to do with them once the mourning period had passed. If memory serves me correct, they were passed on to charity.
I also travelled to Hamilton for Cooper’s funeral, lining the streets with thousands of others to get a glimpse of his final journey. It was an incredibly sad day. Arriving at the town you would have thought there was a game on such was throng of people roaming the streets, many wearing their Rangers colours. The feeling of sadness on the day was only surpassed by how stunned everyone was at turn of events that had just unfolded.
Cooper was a one-off who gave all who seen him memories that we will remember for the rest of their lives. But more importantly, Cooper showed that you could have great ability without the need to be arrogant or flashy. Cooper was a humble and modest character who didn’t seek the limelight or fame, and was at his happiest when he was in the company of his friends and family.
In an age where even the most mediocre of talent inflates the bank balances and egos of very average players, Cooper is a reminder of a time when that wasn’t the case. He had the opportunity to play in England but only had eyes for the “the club he loved”.
The modern game is sadder without characters like him, both in terms of ability and humility.
Oh Barry, Barry…
At the time of writing it appears that Barry Ferguson is favourite to become Pedro Caixinha’s assistant. The word appears to suggest that Ferguson performed well at the interview and that the position is “his to lose”.
This has resulted in some dismay amongst the Rangers Twitter-atti, with many being quite vociferous in their protestations at the prospect of Ferguson being fitted out for his club issued brown brogues.
Le Guen and Ferguson: One was a great servant to Rangers, the other not so much. I know whose side I’m on.
Quite why anyone wouldn’t want the winner of 15 major honours, the last captain to lead us to the treble and the last captain to lead us out in a European final to return to the club is beyond me, but apparently Ferguson’s behaviour during the Paul le Guen era is one reason being cited for Ferguson not being allowed to return.
My view on this is simple: where is the visionary genius le Guen now? The criticism would be valid if le Guen had gone on to show he was a top drawer manager elsewhere, but the fact remains that he vanished off the face of the earth. Have these people who question Ferguson’s behaviour through this period considered the possibility that Ferguson was right about le Guen? Given le Guen’s failure to make it as a top coach, it is surely a possibility that at least has to be considered?
Kris Boyd lets his feelings known during the le Guen/Ferguson spat.
Either way, if Ferguson is appointed, as seems will be the case, then I will welcome him with open arms. He remains the best player this country has produced in a generation and one that the club should be using in some capacity on the coaching front.
With a combined age of 76, the Jack and Victor of Rangers show that they are very much Still Game.
It is undeniable that there has been very little to be happy about this season, so the last gasp goal by Clint Hill on Sunday provided a glint of joy in what has been a bitterly disappointing league campaign.
I have not been shy in criticising the shortfalls of many of the players this season, so it is only fair to dish out the credit when it is due – and it is due after that performance at the home of our greatest rivals.
Without anyone having what I would consider an outstanding game, it is hard to deny that there was a purpose and togetherness about the performance against Celtic – and you would have to heap praise on Graeme Murty for that.
Unlike our last visit to Celtic Park where we looked dishevelled and unorganised to the point of a humping, on Sunday we looked solid, organised and focused, and you would have to argue that Murty’s change in formation to a 4-4-2 paid off.
Indeed, were not for us passing up some golden goal scoring opportunities then it may well be that we could have come away with all three points. There were periods in the game, specifically just before and after half-time – when Celtic looked like they were about to turn the screw and push on. But we held on and come the 65-70 minute mark, you started to feel that the players were growing in confidence and returning to the standard they had displayed in the earlier stages of the game.
The “controversy” over the penalty is as manufactured as it gets. It was certainly no “stonewaller”, and Hill definitely made contact with the ball. The claim by Michael Stewart on Sportscene that Hill had “gone through the man” to get the ball was nonsense. He made contact with Griffiths – but was it enough for a penalty? I’m not convinced.
But the reaction from Rodgers, Griffiths and the rest is typical of Celtic Football Club. Their mentality on these issues is disturbing and slightly sinister at times. Thirty odd points clear, on for a sixth successive title, Rangers in their first season back in the top tier for four years after being flushed to the lower leagues and yet despite this outrageously dominant position they still harbour a “victim” mentality. Not only is this double stance a walking contradiction, it is an insult to every team that takes points off them. Because these protests of “institutional bias” are guaranteed every time Celtic drop points or get put out of a cup competition. As I said earlier, it is slightly sinister and more tedious than Uncle Albert’s “during the war” yarns.
But enough about them. We deserved at least a point on Sunday and the way it was achieved made it all the more sweeter. Hopefully the team can build on it and still put a challenge in for second spot.
A Feeling of Déjà vu
I have to say that a few weeks ago I was fearful of the fixture coming up against Celtic on Sunday. The defeat and shambolic performance at Dens Park was a particularly bad day that made me shiver at the prospect of facing Brendan Rodgers’ side. However, as the days and weeks went past the mood started to change.
The 3-2 victory against St Johnstone provided me with a little bit of hope. Yes there were issues in our game management that night after squandering a two goal lead, but overall the performance was very impressive. By the time the sixth goal had gone against Hamilton a week before we travelled to Celtic Park then the majority of the fear had abated. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think we were going to go over the other side of the city and romp to victory. But I definitely saw signs of hope that made me think a good performance and coming away undefeated was not beyond the realms of impossibility.
This got me thinking back to previous occasions we travelled to their midden expecting to take a hiding and coming away with a decent result, and one game stood out from the 1984-85 campaign.
Derek Johnstone (right), Alan McInally and Stuart Munro battle for the ball as Rangers defy the odds and earn a draw with nine men at Celtic Park. (Picture courtesy of Old Rangers Pics)
Rangers travelled to Celtic Park on 1 May, 1985 with their season lying in tatters and, much like the scenario on Sunday, playing mostly for pride. Celtic on the other hand were in a title battle with Aberdeen and need to win to keep the heat on the leaders.
The game would be one of the most bad tempered matches between he two clubs in years with Rangers finishing the game with nine men after Davie Cooper and Ally Dawson were sent off.
The game started with a bang, with Celtic being awarded a penalty inside of two minutes for a foul on Maurice Johnston by Dave McPherson. As Roy Aitken ran up to take the spot kick the ball blew off the spot and he had to replace it. On his second attempt he blasted the ball past Peter McCloy – however referee Bob Valentine ruled that the ball had moved again and ordered a re-take. Aitken drilled his second kick off the legs of McCloy and Rangers escaped going a goal down very early in the match.
The teams went in at half-time goalless, but it would be the second-half when things would really kick off. Firstly, Peter Grant was booked for a foul on Davie Cooper five minutes after the restart. A minute later Cooper retaliated with a tackle that saw him receive his second booking of the night and sent off – it was his first red card for three years, when he was sent off in a reserve game against St Mirren.
In the 60th minute Celtic took the lead through Alan “Rambo” McInally after Peter McCloy had failed to hold a Johnston shot.
One down and up against it, Rangers problems escalated even further when Ally Dawson joined Cooper in the dressing room after clashing with Maurice Johnston. Johnston was booked for his part in the clash – but Dawson saw red and Rangers were down to nine.
Against all odds, McCoist gets Rangers equaliser from the spot and all but kills off Celtic’s title hopes.
But like the game Sunday, Rangers dug deep and with 13 minutes to go were handed route back into the game after Roy Aitken handled in the box. Ally McCoist stepped up to take the resultant penalty and Rangers, incredibly, were staring at the possibility of taking something from the game with nine men.
Davie Provan hit the post in the closing stages, but despite facing a two man disadvantage Rangers held on and all but killed off Celtic’s hopes of winning the title that season.
Unfortunately Clint Hill’s goal on Sunday will have nowhere near as big an impact on Celtic’s title challenge this year as McCoist’s did that night – but it still felt good and validated my feelings that we might just get something against our nearest and dearest.
Welcome to Ibrox, Pedro.
After what seemed like an age the club finally unveiled Pedro Caixinha as the new manager last week. I can’t claim to know too much about his career outside of the mandatory Google search once he was raised as a possible appointment, and I also can’t claim he was anywhere near my wish-list of potential applicants for the vacant post.
But he is here now and he deserves our full support as he tries to take club on the next stage of its footballing recovery from the hell that as been the last four years or so.
Caixinha seems to represent this board’s determination to move away from the traditional route of selecting managers. This is their second “leftfield” appointment, with the first Warburton having what can only be described as mixed success.
Pedro Caixinha takes his first look at Ibrox stadium as manager.
Appointments such as Caixinha’s have the potential to an outrageous success, where you are hailed for having unearthed a gem – or disastrously wrong, where you will be vilified for making such a risky appointment. Only time will tell what category Caixinha falls in to.
The other outstanding issue is, of course, the Director of Football role which was turned down by Ross Wilson, who decided to stay in his current role at Southampton. Paul Mitchell has also been suggested as a possible candidate and the clubs managing director, Stewart Robinson, went on record on Monday to say that the club was in no rush to fill the position now that Caixinha is in place.
Without trying to be too critical of the club, the current situation is not what I would call ideal. The board suffer very public knockback from Wilson and then suddenly there is no rush to fill the post? I can’t say that I’m convinced by that narrative.
However, the main issue is not the process – but that the appointment they do make is the right one.
Robertson was keen to suggest that the appointment doesn’t necessarily have to be a former player. I have to say that at the start of this process I was quite keen to see someone who had the club in their heart take one of the two posts. Now one is filled, I would like to see someone who knows and understands the club take the other one. Some would point to Davie Weir as an argument to suggest that having a “club man” in there can be largely irrelevant to performances and results. But I would point to countless other examples where a Rangers man guided someone who didn’t know Rangers or Scottish football so well, and most pointedly to Walter Smith when he was Graeme Souness’s assistant.
Walter Smith proved a vital source of information for Graeme Souness – should Pedro Caixinha be provided with a similar figure at the club?
Souness, by his own admission, knew little about Scottish football having exclusively played all of his professional football outside the country of his birth. Smith proved invaluable to Souness during his time at the club, particularly in the early days when Souness, who was not only new to Scottish football but new to management, needed an experienced hand to guide him through the many challenges he faced.
I think Caixinha would benefit hugely if he had someone there who knew Rangers inside out. I hope the club come to the same conclusion.
Showing His True Colours
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As most Rangers fans will know, Graham Spiers is not a person that we would consider a friend of the club. But even by his own, gutter-like standards, the above tweet defies reason.
Quite why Spiers, who is prone to serious bouts of being overly offended if a Rangers fan so much as breaks wind at Ibrox, felt it was appropriate to publically engage with a man who sees no issue with mocking the disabled is anyone’s guess. But if that wasn’t bad enough, when Stewart Franklin from Gersnet called him out on his twitter buds tasteless moniker, Spiers suggested that it was merely ‘dark humour’ and that anyone taking an issue with it should calm down.
Now if a Rangers supporter with a twitter handle that mocked, say, Billy McNeill’s condition, does anyone think for a minute that Spiers would put such a tasteless act down to “dark humour”? No, me neither. And nor should he. That’s what makes his defence of this reptile and his sense of humour a disgrace.
But then should we expect anything else? Spiers is the worst kind of journalist – one who seeks to appeal to the populist agenda. It has been obvious for some time now that he himself feels he got too close to David Murray when he as chairman of Rangers, and in trying to redress the balance he is obviously prepared to go some distance.
The Herald was right to sack him for his nonsense last year when he ran a story about a Rangers director he couldn’t substantiate. And the current ban on his press privileges at Ibrox should be increased to a life ban with immediate effect.
Separated at Birth?
I can’t have been the only one to notice the extremely bitter ball-girl and her reaction to Clint Hill’s equaliser on Sunday. The look of pure hatred on her face as Kenny Miller and Hill celebrated in the goal was truly something to behold. I honestly don’t think I’ve laughed so much since Paul Lambert lost several teeth whilst conceding a penalty against us a few years back.
Ball-girl: Celtic fan prone to public outbursts and displays of hatred towards Rangers.
I also can’t have been the only one who noticed the likeness between the said ball-girl and well-known Rangers hater Angela Haggerty. Can anyone corroborate the whereabouts of Ms Hagerty at the time of Hill sticking the ball in the onion bag? Are the Sunday Herald aware that their star columnist is potentially moonlighting with another employer? Do we even care? Probably not.
Haggerty: “Respected” journalist and broadcaster.
Either way, take a look and decide for yourselves.
Greig and McNeill: Scottish Football’s Ali and Frazier.
John Greig and Billy McNeill lead Rangers and Celtic out to do battle once again.
The weekend brought about the sad news that former Celtic captain and manager Billy McNeill was seriously ill with dementia. Rumours have been circulating for a good while now about the McNeil’s health, so although the news was not totally unexpected it was no less sad to hear.
McNeill is of course a legend within the Celtic support. The first captain from a British club side to lift the European Cup, captain through all of Stein’s nine successive championships – he is probably the very embodiment of Celtic to many of their supporters.
McNeill, however, is also part of a double act that was arguably a symbol of the greatest peak in the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic. As whilst McNeill was doing his thing with Celtic, we had John Greig doing his thing for us.
Both would compete many times against each other, and despite being on the opposite sides of the Old Firm rivalry they have so much in common. Their impact on each of their clubs is so huge that it is hard to imagine both clubs ever having figures of such stature leading them in to battle against one another again. Time will undoubtedly look back on the Greig and McNeill eras at Rangers and Celtic as the peak of both clubs statures and arguably peaks they will never again scale.
Greig was part of what is largely considered to be the greatest Rangers side of all time; Scot Symon’s all-conquering side of the early 60s. The treble winning side of 1963-64 is particularly revered and it is not unreasonable to argue that the famous team of Ritchie; Shearer, Caldow; Greig, McKinnon, Baxter; Henderson, McMillan, Millar, Brand & Wilson could have been the first British team to win the European Cup were it not for fate intervening during a eventful game in Vienna against Rapid.
A goal up from the first-leg, Rangers were in inspired form in the return leg leading 2-0 and on their way to the quarter-finals when Rapid’s full-back Walter Skocik’s frustrations at Jim Baxter’s masterful performance on the night led to him breaking Slim Jim’s leg with a shocking tackle. Rangers were through – but at a heavy cost. Stripped of their influential midfielder for the quarter-final ties against Inter Milan, Rangers would narrowly lose out and the chance to conquer Europe was gone. Baxter would never be the same player again and with the arrival of Stein at Celtic the balance in power was about to shift towards the east end of Glasgow.
Stein would create what was considered the greatest Celtic side of all time – and Billy McNeill was its captain and leader. From 1966 to 1975 the club and McNeill would enjoy huge success domestically. There would also be the small matter of Lisbon in 1967, and a narrow miss in a second European Cup final against Feyenoord in 1970.
Greig and McNeill get ready to do battle for yet another trophy.
A week after McNeill was winning in Lisbon, Greig would feel the pain of defeat in a European final against Bayern Munich in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Nuremburg. But five years later he would match McNeill’s feat of leading his club to European success against Moscow Dynamo on that famous night in Barcelona.
McNeill played for Celtic between 1957 and 1975, amassing 486 appearances and scoring 22 goals. Greig arrived at Rangers at Rangers four years later in 1961 and hung about three years later until 1978, totalling 498 appearances and scoring 87 goals for the club.
McNeill won nine league titles, seven Scottish Cups, six League Cups and a European Cup. Greig’s haul included five league titles, six Scottish Cups, five league cups and that European Cup Winners’ Cup success.
Greig would represent Rangers in two European Cup Winners’ Cup finals and the first ever European Super Cup final, McNeill would take Celtic to two European Cup finals. Both men would also go on to manage their respective clubs.
The two men became icons for the supporters of each club, and statues for both men can be found at their respective clubs stadiums. They are, and maybe always will be, the Ali–Frazier heavyweights of Scottish football. Shining beacons of when both clubs were so big and successful that over 200,000 people attended European semi-finals at Ibrox and Celtic Park on the same night back in 1972.
Greig’s Rangers would progress on that night to the European Cup Winners’ Cup final with victory against Bayern Munich – arguably the clubs greatest result, and one achieved without Greig who missed the game through injury. McNeill’s Celtic exited the European Cup that night on penalties against Inter Milan and it is arguably the night that Celtic’s claim to being a “European power” started to wane. One thing, however, is certain about that night – Glasgow will probably never see another night like it.
40 years after the Ibrox disaster – McNeill and Greig walk onto the pitch at Ibrox to remember the 66 victims.
Despite the obvious rivalry between Greig and McNeill, there always appears to have been a healthy respect, if not an outright friendship, between the pair. The most recent public appearance from the two was at the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster where both men, who captained their respective clubs that day in 1971, came out side-by-side holding a wreath in memory of the 66 fans who lost their lives.
Greig and McNeill are a reminder of all that was positive about the Old Firm rivalry. I use the past tense deliberately as, despite the religious nature of the rivalry being diluted in recent years, it seems to me that it is currently in a period when it has never been so bitter.
Greig and McNeill loved their clubs and were totally committed to winning as many honours as possible for them. Yet they have an image of two guys who would shake hands at the end of the heavy battle and get on with life again. They led their clubs to many domestic successes and also enjoyed many great adventures and successes in Europe. As I said earlier, I can’t imagine either club getting back to the level of consistency in Europe that both these players led their clubs through.
They truly are legends of the Scottish game and arguably the most symbolic icons of their respective clubs.
So to hear that one of them isn’t keeping too well is very sad. And I’m sure everyone connected to Rangers wishes Billy and his family well in his fight.
Another low in the Highlands
It was yet more pain on Friday night as Rangers reached a new low in the Highlands by contriving to lose to bottom club Inverness Caley Thistle.
He may now have left the building, but the issues that dogged us for long periods during Mark Warburton’s reign appear to have decided to hang around for a bit longer.
Long periods of possession and ball retention (at one stage we had an 80% possession rate) coupled with an inability to get behind teams and break them down is bad enough. But when you add our inability to defend then you have serious problems. And so it turned out to be.
Billy McKay takes advantage of some more atrocious Rangers defending to give Inverness Caley Thistle a late goal and all three points on Friday.
Despite Martyn Waghorn scoring his fourth league goal of the season, and the first against a club that wasn’t Hamilton Accies, we contrived lose two goals that would be an embarrassment for my lads U12s side and yet another three points were squandered, making second place look highly unlikely.
It seems at the moment that the club is willing to take short-term pain in order to achieve long-term gain. The search for our new manager has not yet proved fruitful, although at the time of writing it appears that Ross Wilson is close to being announced as the new Director of Football.
That would be a positive announcement but regardless It kinda feels that we want the season over with already. The Scottish Cup is still there to play for but the season already feels like it’s now about consolidating and focussing on next year.
The Board have a duty now to make sure that the next appointment and the direction they decide to take on the footballing side is it the right one. We simply can’t afford another season that sees us 30 plus points off the top of the table and scrapping for third place.
The next few weeks should be very interesting.
Fergie #1
The weekend saw former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson depart from his role as manager of Clyde. The timing of it was enough to set the rumour mill off on turbo speed max. Ex-Ranger vacates his post, Rangers job currently vacant – there was only going to be one outcome and that was huge amounts of speculation.
Now I have to admit that I am unconvinced that Ferguson is the man that Rangers need right now, but I have to say that the level of vitriol aimed at our former captain when this possibility was aired left me shocked an disappointed. But then for some reason Ferguson has always been able to drag the worst out of a lot of Rangers supporters.
Wee Barry provides evidence that he offered more to Rangers than a sideways pass.
Ever since he was 20/21 I seem to have met far too many Rangers fans eager to dump over Ferguson and what he offered. With the usual complaint being “all he does is pass it sideways”.
My own view is this. If you didn’t get what Barry Ferguson offered to Rangers as a player then I doubt you really understand football. In my opinion, he is by far the best player this country has produced in the last twenty years or so. Granted, he wasn’t the brightest at times with his conduct – particularly the V sign nonsense with Scotland – but I have seen some players commit far worse sins and yet retain the support of the fans.
As it stands, Ferguson was the last captain to lift the treble for the club and the last to lead us out in a European final. He is, in my mind anyway, a Rangers legend. And although I don’t think he is the man to manage Rangers out of their current crisis – I would have back at the club in a coaching capacity in a heartbeat.
In fact, when watching Kenny Miller and what he can still do at 38 – I sometimes think that bringing him back in a playing capacity wouldn’t be the worst thing we could do!
Fergie #2
This weekend sees Rangers take on Hamilton Accies in the Scottish Cup, a fixture that sends shivers down the spines of those Rangers supporters who are old enough to remember when Hamilton provided a shock of Berwick Rangers proportions back in January 1987.
That day saw Adrian Sprott score the winner moments after Chris Woods had broken the record for the amount of minutes without conceding a goal. The game set the tone for the clubs record in the tournament under Souness – it was a trophy that he would never win with the club. Hopefully we can avoid a repeat of the scoreline this weekend and get back to winning ways.
But Hamilton at Ibrox is a fixture that provides different kind of memories for me. I wasn’t at Ibrox that fateful day when we crashed out of the Scottish Cup, but I was at a game v Hamilton a few years later – around the 88/89 era.
Adrian Sprott celebrates his winning goal that produced a Scottish Cup shock in 1987 – infamous Hamilton fan “Fergie” is on the far right.
After the game I stood outside the front door waiting for the players to come out and get their autographs. It was whist I was stood there on Edmiston Drive that I came across the infamous Hamilton supporter “Fergie”.
For those of you who are too young to remember him, Fergie was so infamous that he was actually banned by his own club for a small period of time. The main issue was the sheer abuse – most of it littered with profanities – that he aimed at anyone who he felt deserved it. He was basically an 80s version of that daft Kilmarnock fan who goes onto to YouTube now to curse and swear at anyone at the club who he feels is deserving of a rollicking.
On this day, Fergie was in a particularly foul mood as Rangers had won convincingly and Fergie was letting anyone who came out of the main stand know he was not in the best of moods.
For ten minutes of so the scenario was one akin to:
Ian Durrant walks out of the main door.
Fergie: “See you Durrant ya prick ye!”
Stuart Munro walks out of the main door.
Fergie: “See you Munro ya prick ye!”
And so it continued, every time a Rangers player walked out the front door the abuse from Fergie followed. It actually got to the point that nobody was paying any attention to him anymore.
Bampot Kilmarnock realises that his act old hat!
Then the man that every non-Rangers fan hated more than any other, Graeme Souness, swaggered out the front door. Tanned, moustachioed, oozing class and arrogance in equal measure and reeking of expensive aftershave. This was a combination that was too much for Fergie to cope with and he went off the scale in abuse terms, so much so that a nearby policeman had to intervene and restrain him with the words “Furfuxsakes Fergie, calm doon!”.
A stern talking to later, and Fergie was on his way. Still muttering abuse as he walked away down Edmiston Drive.
Fergie’s real name was Ian Russell – I am unsure as to where the Fergie nickname came from – and he passed away in 2009, so the modern breed of expensive aftershave wearing players can rest easy for Saturday.
But the next time you see that Killie fan going tonto on YouTube – just remember that Fergie was doing it 30 years ago!
The Lower Third 