JohnMc

I read this morning that Birmingham have made a bid for Nisbet from Hibs. I've been impressed with him when I've seen Hibs this season, thought he linked up play really well on Wednesday but fell away after half time. His career is interesting. Released by Thistle then working his way through the leagues at various different sides and now looking like he's going to the English Championship for a couple of million and possibly the Scotland squad for the Euros. Losing him will weaken Hibs and if Aberdeen sell Cosgrove too then I suspect Celtic won't have any problems securing second. Shame.

Interesting news indeed. He's only in his early 60s so I'm not sure I'm buying 'retirement', there's clearly been a lot of stuff going on in the background for a few months for this to be delivered. I don't know Dominic McKay but I've not been impressed with how Scottish Rugby has been run in recent years. Their inability to turn Edinburgh into a European powerhouse in club rugby has demonstrated ineptitude on a grand scale. They have been good at finding sponsors and corporate partners, very different demographic though. Be under no mistake though, this is a reaction to what we've achieved on the pitch this season.

Yeah, with the season Goldson's having it wouldn't surprise me if there's interest in him. Albeit I've no knowledge of this player (or the Aberdeen player we've signed whose career to date has slipped well below my radar) I'm delighted we're looking to strengthen and increase competition. He's played at a decent level, he should, in theory, be good enough for this league and he keeps everyone on their toes. Great management.

Great read. I think for me it was Rapid Vienna at home that really made me start to believe this wasn't simply another false dawn.

Any guesses what incident led the Radio Scotland sport news reports this morning? No, it wasn't Rangers great win away at Easter Road and our imperious march towards the title, or plucky Celtic getting their first win of the year against bottom of the table Hamilton, or indeed Motherwell getting their first win in ages in the relegation battle away at Ross County or even St Mirren's remarkable 5 goals at Tannadice. Nope, none of those things, for some reason those stories are of secondary importance.

I mean I'm inclined to give it to Alfredo for stamping on that animal Porteous, yes it was unprofessional, yes he could have been sent off and changed the match, yes he'll probably get a ban now, but that prick had it coming. Still, hard to look past Kamara, what a performance.

Good to see those all those hours in the Mitchell haven't been completely wasted!

It's quite something, isn't it? Having written the occasional match preview for here I can only guess at how long that took him write, he must have spent days on it. In many ways it encapsulates exactly how we've all arrived at this moment. A Celtic fan writing a Celtic blog spends months obsessing about us, imagining possible cheating and finally writing about Rangers while his own club is riven with acrimony, continues to sell it's better players, makes terrible decisions at a senior level and treats its support with contempt all from a previously unassailable financial and footballing position just 18 months ago. While they've spent 10 years shouting 'Sevco' at everything and focussing all their energy on us they failed to notice their own club was being driven off the side of a cliff. Hell mend them. It's funny though, I doubt we could have done it without them. It's ironic that on this thread, which charts the bias and unprofessionalism that haunts the corridors of Pacific Quay, reporting so many occasions when BBC Scotland Sport have chosen to ignore us completely rather than report, far less celebrate, a success, we can always rely on the Celtic support to spend every waking hour they have writing, talking and thinking about us.

Mmm, a desire for accuracy with numbers, spoken like a true accountant! It'll never catch on. I only have a vague interest in how many points Livingston actually have, my focus was on how many points Celtic don't. Point taken...

There are two 'Manager of the Year' awards. The first, and most prestigious, is the PFA Scotland Manager Of The Year award. This is voted on by professional players and coaches and is seen as the ultimate recognition by your peers. As I understand it you can't vote for a team mate or your own manager. The second award is the Scottish Football Writers 'Manager of the Year'. This is voted on by the sports hacks and scribes who follow the Scottish game. There is no doubt personality and overall popularity play a part in these awards, not just ability. I've heard it said that some players will vote based on who they supported as a kid (and indeed still support), but the majority tend to vote based on who they feel has been the best over the season. As for the football writers I suspect personal preference and some toadying up play a big part too. It's hard to look past Gerrard and Tav for manager and player double currently, but it's only January and a lot could still happen. I don't get the impression either are unpopular with their peers and behave like complete professionals at all times. But as has been eloquently expressed in this thread already, who really cares. There's only one prize any of us care both of them winning this season. If Martindale can steer Livingston into the top 6 and win a cup then you have to say that's been a pretty impressive season for him. With their resources and considering their position when he took over and all the background noise about his past, he's done pretty well. Taking 4 points off Celtic in the space of a few days and reach the League Cup Final should see him get the trophy for this month I'd have thought. But Gerrard's presided over continual improvement for 3 seasons now, each time getting better and better until we see where we are now, and all through the liberal use of Nescafe too apparently. Perhaps he should get a Michelin star as well as Manager of the Year.

Are Ian Maxwell and Dr John MacLean really 'Celtic-minded'? Hillhead High School in the 1970s wasn't known as a breeding ground for Yahoos it has to be said. If anything his preferences might lie in the Maryhill direction, but to be honest as a doctor I've still got faith that any personal preferences he might have are ignored when it comes to healthcare decisions. I'm fairly confident Maxwell doesn't have allegiances in the east of the city either, but he might simply be incompetent, it can be hard to tell those two apart sometimes. Doncaster and Petrie need watched at all times though. For what it's worth I'm less suspicious of this. I suspect this has been done to clear the clubs of the accusations and ensure all protocols are being followed in case someone does try to push that issue. I genuinely don't believe the SFA and SPFL want to call the season early or null and void and will do all they can to avoid that. With the reported 'R' number dropping in central Scotland and lockdown continuing for another month or so, if football can keep its house in order for a few more weeks I think we'll be okay. What Lennon and his board might try next is hard to guess but the reality is his rant didn't bring enough of their support 'onside', most saw through it and the best way for their board to get the backing of their support again is to replace their manager. His appeal to their baser instincts failed, even with some compliant media backing, in the end even the most one-eyed Celtic supporter expects his team to beat Livingston reserves and gets angry when they don't.

All this talk of 'Champions' gives me the fear. We've won nothing yet, nothing. If the heat is turned up on Desmond I think we can expect changes down London Road way, he's never struck me as someone who'll take public criticism for very long. I was hoping Lennon would get another year.

Highlanders can be a curious bunch at times; exhibit A. I met an Oban Celtic player in Brisbane of all places. He explained that a toss of a coin many years ago decided the club's name and strip, had it fallen on the other side they'd have been called Oban Rangers and worn blue. He did assure me that almost all of their players supported Rangers, and often wore Rangers attire to training to even things up. Still, 'mon the Oban Camanachd.

What odds an exclusive interview with Lawwell or Lennon on BBC Scotland in the coming days? A chosen interviewer and pre-agreed questions submitted in advance. My money's on Chris McLoughlin but Micheal Stewart might be on the shortlist too. Tom English was very critical of them recently, so I expect he's off the Christmas card list for now.

Ah, BD, my rapier like wit misses the intended target once again. The internet has told me many, many times before that a witty one liner is best left to others, but still I plod on like an Irish international centre-half sent out on loan from a jobbing EFL side to a Scottish team in need of defensive fortitude. I should know better. My plea for clemency for Duffy was meant tongue in cheek, apologies.

Why would we want Shane Duffy prevented from playing? We should be doing everything we can to ensure that man starts every match for Celtic. I'm in the 'stand back and let this play out without comment' camp. We're 21 points ahead, 12 if they win their matches in hand, they've lost half their players for 10 days and even the First Minister is publicly calling them liars. Their squad is weaker than at any point in the last decade and their best players want to leave. Add to that the fury consuming many of their own support and the clear lack of leadership and discipline inside their club. We will never have a better opportunity to win the league than what we have now. We're playing outstanding football, this is in our hands, we can only blow it from here. I urge everyone at Ibrox to ignore the circus across the city and focus entirely on ourselves. Just keep winning, nothing else matters.

Ignore me, completely misread the post. Doh!

Durrant was only 19 when he scored that goal. Totally bodying Davie Cooper is pretty funny actually, particularly after one of the best 'assists' you'll see.

I travelled up ticketless along with 3 pals. It was my first trip to Pittodrie, we were pulled over by the police on the A9 for being rangers fans as far as we could tell, accosted on Union Street before the match, weren't able to get any tickets at the ground and so listened to the match on the car radio driving back to Glasgow. We stopped in Brechin or somewhere like that for fish and chips to hear Charlie bloody Nicholas score the winner for them. A shocking day all round. Durrant was also an idol of mine and by far my favourite player too, this is my favourite of his goals though.

Do you mean Andy Robertson, rather than Tierney? Robertson was released by Celtic when he was 16 whereas Tierney was in their first team squad at 17 and a regular at 18.

It's telling that for many of us our first thought when hearing that Jack and Arfield might be out for a few months was 'we need to sign someone as cover' instead of wondering if one of the youngsters could step up. I was certainly guilty of it. If none of our younger players are capable of stepping in for a few weeks then you do have to wonder what the point of having them is. But I suspect, with a bit of patience, some of them are and it's people like me that are the problem. As for Kennedy I suspect we'll sell him to Shrewsbury or someone like that for quarter of a million in a couple of years.

Jim McLean - An Appreciation Our last match of the 1983/84 season took place on the 14th of May away at Tannadice. I remember very little about the match itself other than the facts that Rangers won and that there was a rousing rendition of ‘Rangers are back, Rangers are back’ from the away support situated under the old covered terrace along Sandeman Street. Season 83/84 was one of major change for Rangers. For only the 9th time in our history we changed managers when John Grieg, arguably our greatest ever captain, resigned following a run of poor results and vocal supporter unrest. Ironically we replaced the eighth manager in our history with the seventh, Jock Wallace. There were 14 days between Grieg resigning and Wallace being appointed, during those 2 weeks former Rangers player, supporter and Govan boy, Alex Ferguson, signed a new, improved contract with Aberdeen amid much speculation that he was top of Rangers wanted list and Dundee Utd manager, Jim McLean, travelled to Glasgow for an interview for the job, returning to Dundee and announcing he didn’t want it. It might seem strange to some that the death of a man who never played, coached or managed our club should warrant any comment in a Rangers supporter’s website, but for me Jim McLean actually had a profound and long lasting influence on Rangers, despite the lack of any formal attachment. The feeling of rejuvenation our supporter’s felt at Tannadice that May afternoon wasn’t a delusion. Following Wallace’s appointment in November Rangers only lost 2 matches for the rest of the season and won the League Cup, defeating Celtic in the final. Dundee Utd finished one place above us that season, so beating them in that final match felt significant, like laying down a marker for the following season. It wasn’t, but we didn’t know that at the time. The other aspect required to understand the context of that victory was just how good a side Dundee Utd were back then. Dundee United weren’t even the best team in their street before appointing Jim McLean as manager. People with greater insight than I will be able to explain how he transformed Tayside’s second team into Scottish Champions and a genuine force in Europe. Much will be written about his methods, his perpetual sense of injustice and his volcanic temper. What shouldn’t be overlooked though is the magnificence of some of those Utd sides. Dundee United had width and speed, they played fluid, attacking football and featured players you hated and coveted in equal measure. As surprising as it might seem now, visiting Tannadice in those days wasn’t an unpleasant experience either. I never felt the hostility that exists now. Perhaps their supporters, unaccustomed to success, were simply enjoying the ride. Perhaps back in the 1980s, during enormous social upheaval, we all realised we were more alike. Whatever the reasons it feels like a long time ago now. McLean was one of 3 brothers born and raised near Larkhall in Lanarkshire. It was a footballing family, his grandfather had played for Rangers, his father had played Junior and McLean and his two brothers, Tommy and Willie, all played and managed professionally. Tommy, the youngest brother, was the the best player, winning the league with Kilmarnock before joining Rangers and enjoying a long and distinguished career. When Jim McLean was interviewed for Rangers manager, his brother, Tommy, was the caretaker manager. Tommy McLean was assistant manager to Greig, and while not really in the running for the manager’s job at the time, his presence must have played a part in his brother’s thinking. Many theories exist as to why both McLean and Ferguson didn’t want the Rangers manager job, most of them are without substance. What can be said though is that Rangers were at a low ebb. Our scouting and player development was poor and the creativity our board showed in planning and building the Ibrox Stadium we recognise today was sadly absent when looking at football matters. It sounds arrogant, but the inability of a club like Rangers to attract the manager of Dundee Utd was a seismic blow to our standing. McLean, then in his mid-forties and at the height of his mercurial powers would have transformed Rangers, had he been allowed. At Utd he had complete control of the football side, it’s unlikely he’d have ever got that at Rangers. Ultimately his loyalty to Dundee Utd and his family, who were settled in the city, is admirable and should be recognised as such. McLean’s refusal led to the second Wallace era. It started well but ended badly. Wallace was unable to craft a side from the ingredients he inherited. Despite some success his tenure went the way of Grieg as crowds fell and mediocrity normalised. There had been a change in the Rangers boardroom too during this time and Wallace’s dismissal, whilst sad, was largely welcomed by the support. The imagination lacking in his appointment a few years before was very much present in the choosing of his successor; Graeme Souness. This is where Jim McLean’s influence on our club is most significantly felt. Souness was wise enough to know he needed someone beside him who understood Scottish domestic football intimately. He chose well, he chose Walter Smith, Jim McLean’s assistant, confidant and consigliere. It’s impossible to overstate the influence McLean had on Walter Smith. Smith was signed from Junior football for Utd by McLean’s predecessor, Jerry Kerr, but it was under McLean that he became a first team regular. Smith stayed there for 9 years, returning for a further 2 as a player following a couple of seasons at Dumbarton. On retirement from playing at the end of the 1970s McLean took Smith onto the coaching staff and he eventually became Dundee Utd’s assistant manager. Smith’s time as a coach coincided with Dundee Utd’s most successful spell. Winning the League Cup twice, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup and of course winning the league itself. McLean and Smith achieved this with a side largely made up of home grown players and cast-offs. Perhaps the greatest tribute you can pay that United side is that during a period when Scotland were rich enough player-wise to overlook European Cup winning captains for caps, Dundee Utd supplied 5 players to our World Cup final squad for the Mexico finals in 1986, more than any other team. Rangers only supplied one player, two if you include Souness. Smith’s tenure at Rangers needs little embellishment from me here. His long time assistant, Archie Knox, was also a disciple of McLean having played under him in the 70s. I mean no disrespect to McLean’s memory when I point out that Dundee United’s decline as a force in football started after Smith left. There was a time in Scottish football, and it doesn’t feel all that long ago to me, when any one of five clubs could realistically expect to win the league and when an away win at Tannadice was something to be really savoured. Jim McLean belongs to Dundee United, and it’s their supporters who will feel his loss, but we shouldn’t overlook his influence on Rangers, both directly and indirectly. The last 30 years would have been very different without him. Sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jim McLean, a genuine football legend.

I emerged from my Christmas hibernation this morning and read this on the BBC website. I suspect Rangers supporters are much more familiar with the story than others might be and of course for a significant percentage of people this story might seem like ancient history now. To people my age it's not though. On the whole I felt it was quite a fair and accurate retelling of these tragic events. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/B0cJMZS3B1/Fiveboys

You can point to improved fitness, the quality of substitutes on our bench now and even grittier, stronger team spirit than last season if you want but my cousin didn't finish his work until around 4.15, he logged onto Rangers TV at 0-1 and then witnessed 20 minutes of the match where we scored 3 goals. We've both agreed he'll now follow this routine for every match from now on. League's in the bag for sure...

You won't think that after you've read it. Posted in Rangers Chat earlier, do with it as you please.