Rangers in the 1980s

Alistair Aird

Description

Rangers in the 1980s chronicles the fortunes of the club during one of the most turbulent, transitional decades in their history. The story is told by the players of the era, who recount their routes to Ibrox, memories of their time with the club, and retrospective opinions on both Rangers FC and the changing game.

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing
• Date de parution: 19 août 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785315961
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2019
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Alistair Aird, 2019
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-527-5 eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-596-1
---
Ebook Conversion by www.eBookPartnership.com
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Safe Hands: The Goalkeepers
Jim Stewart (1981-1984)
Nicky Walker (1983-1989)
Case For The Defence: The Defenders
Hugh Burns (1980-1987)
Ally Dawson (1975-1987)
Jimmy Nicholl (1983-1984, 1986-1989)
Stuart Munro (1984-1991)
Dave MacKinnon (1982-1986)
Stuart Beattie (1985-1986)
Colin Miller (1985-1986)
Richard Gough (1987-1998)
Dave McPherson (1977-1987, 1992-1994)
The Engine Room: The Midfielders
Bobby Russell (1977-1987)
Derek Ferguson (1982-1990)
Ian Durrant (1982-1998)
Ian Ferguson (1988-2000)
David Kirkwood (1987-1989)
Up Front: The Forwards
John MacDonald (1978-1986)
Gordon Dalziel (1978-1984)
Derek Johnstone (1970-1983, 1985-1986)
Iain Ferguson (1984-1986)
Mark Walters (1987-1991)
Statistics
This book is dedicated to the memory of the man who took me to Ibrox for the first time and planted the first seeds of my love affair with Rangers FC Scott David Alexander or, as I knew him, Mr A.
Acknowledgements
There are a number of people I owe a debt of gratitude to when I reflect on the writing of this book. First and foremost, I have to extend my thanks to all the players who took time to speak to me and share their memories of playing for Rangers. From Stuart Beattie back in July 2018 to Ian Durrant in February 2019 I have been fortunate to spend time with gentlemen who have lived out my dream of donning a Rangers jersey. Their recollections have made me laugh and cry in equal measure but the one common thread through all the interviews was the pride these individuals had in having played for the club.
Thanks also go to Jane and Paul Camillin at Pitch Publishing for firstly having faith in my project and also for their guidance throughout. Duncan Olner from Olner Design deserves a huge amount of credit too for the outstanding jacket design.
On the home front my kids, Eva and Finlay, and my fianc e s son, Cameron, have been tolerant and supportive from day one and I love them dearly for that. And by the time you are all reading this I will have another addition to the brood, Aurla Georgina Wills Aird gracing us with her presence in April 2019.
Finally, to my fianc e and soulmate, Leona, my Lady Ranger. I simply could not have done it without you. Better, stronger, ALWAYS together.
Alistair Aird March 2019
Introduction
The genesis for this book can be traced back to the autumn of 1986. My eight-year-old self was sitting at the kitchen table doing my school homework when my dad, a secondary school teacher, came home and dropped what looked like a small magazine in front of me. Emblazoned on the front cover in yellow capital letters were the words Dundee United and Rangers alongside the crest of the Scottish Football League. There were pictures of two footballers - I d later learn they were United s Kevin Gallacher and the magnificent Davie Cooper of Rangers - and, at the top, a picture of the Skol League Cup. Further analysis told me that this was the match programme for the previous evening s Scottish League Cup semi-final tie between a resurgent Rangers and Dundee United. The programme had been gifted to me by Scott Alexander - or Mr A as I called him - a man who would become a dear friend and to whose memory this book is dedicated. Prior to that I had taken an interest in football - like my peers, I loved nothing more than having a kickabout in the streets with jumpers for goalposts - but the arrival of this gift rubber-stamped my affiliation to Rangers Football Club. The obsession began there and then.
Rangers 2-1 victory that evening had taken them through to the first domestic cup final of the Graeme Souness era. The suave, sophisticated and hirsute Souness had been appointed player-manager four months earlier in a revolutionary bid by chief executive David Holmes to rouse the sleeping giant from what had become an almost decade-long slumber. It s fair to say that the 1980s had been one of the most doleful periods for Rangers and two colossal figures in the history of the club - John Greig and Jock Wallace - had tried unsuccessfully to meet and defeat the challenges posed by Celtic, Aberdeen, Dundee United and, latterly, Hearts. In truth their hands had been tied to an extent. Greig had the unenviable task of breaking up an ageing squad at the start of the 1980s, many of whom had been team-mates of his prior to his appointment as manager in May 1978. He and Wallace also had to contend with financial constraints, with the redevelopment of Ibrox in to a state-of-the art seated football arena and a rigid wage structure making it difficult to recruit the standard of player required to compete consistently for the Premier Division title.
David Mason, club historian since 1986, recalled, Greigy took over in 1978 but by 1980 things had started to turn. He started to get rid of players he could probably have retained like Sandy Jardine and Alex MacDonald, as they weren t exactly at the end of their careers. He tried to turn over the squad but it just didn t work out. He brought in players who weren t at the same level as the ones who were leaving. We did have Davie Cooper but even he was in and out of the team. Greigy used to say he was a bit of an enigma but even under Jock he wasn t really a regular. Then there were guys like Ally McCoist, John McClelland and Bobby Russell, although Bobby was starting to suffer with a knee injury at that time.
When big Jock came in it didn t get off to the best of starts as it looked to those on the outside as if he was third choice [Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean were offered the role prior to Wallace s appointment]. But that didn t matter to Jock. I think he suffered the same problems that Greigy did. He didn t have the players he needed to sustain a title challenge and in the three years he was there, Rangers finished fourth, fourth and fifth. The expectation at Rangers is not just to challenge for the title but win it so, despite winning a couple of cups, we were just drifting along and there didn t seem to be any confidence that that was going to change. Aberdeen and Dundee United were starting to emerge so it wasn t just down to beating Celtic and there were new challenges there. We did have good players so in a one-off match, like a cup tie, we could always come through. But we didn t have players that had anywhere near enough quality to make an impact.
As David alluded to, there was success, notably in the cup competitions, but Rangers were bedevilled by inconsistency. All too often a run of victories would be terminated by a draw or a defeat that would sap confidence from the playing squad and signal a spell where precious points would be dropped at venues like Cappielow, Firhill and Broomfield, grounds where Rangers sides should have been securing maximum points.
The results and inconsistent performances resulted in an inevitable downturn in attendances. Aside from Old Firm matches, the new Copland Road, Broomloan Road and Govan stands would have swathes of empty red, brown, orange, yellow and blue seats when Rangers played at Ibrox, making for an eerie atmosphere. For futile end-of-season matches - by the time the title race entered the home straight Rangers were out of contention - crowds would dip as low as 5,000.
Tom Miller, commentator on Rangers TV, recalled journeying to Ibrox at that time.
He said, I used to go to games with friends from Drumpellier Cricket Club in Coatbridge and you could leave there about 2.20pm, park the car and be in your seat before the 3pm kick-off. The crowds, by comparison, were still decent but there was a flatness about the club. I think Jock Wallace s departure [in 1978] set us back about four or five years. John Greig, the obvious replacement, took over and his time in charge was a real conundrum. In the European arena he could put out teams that would compete with the best of them but domestically there were occasions where they just seemed to lack spark. John Greig did manage to pluck some top-notch, technically gifted footballers from abroad like Robert Prytz and Jim Bett. But he couldn t get the correct blend.
At that time, Aberdeen and Dundee United were building excellent sides from their own youth academies but you have to be an exceptional young player to come through at Rangers. It s the same now, over 30 years later. We did have some youngsters at that time that were a bit special - Ian Durrant and Derek Ferguson stood out - but the pressure and expectations at Rangers mean that you can t just flick a switch and run with a youth policy.
Tom added, I had a cousin who played for Aberdeen and there was a perception at that time that they were superior to Rangers. We played them at Ibrox in one match during the 1980s and drew 1-1. My cousin and I went out that night and met a couple of guys we knew who supported Rangers. They were drinking champagne and my cousin thought they were doing that by way of celebrating the draw that afternoon. He asked them, if they were drinking champagne after drawing a game, what were they going t