Joe3Carroll

Feel free to email me to save public ridicule (joecarroll15@hotmail.com) I'd rather know than be ignorant I'm also not convinced we'll finish above then. Happy to take baby steps under Koeman, top 8 finish realistic

To everyone who replied may I say a massive thank you. All your contributions were extremely helpful and the insights proved invaluable to my article. Here's the article on the Football Pink website if anyone fancies a read. I hope I've done your club justice, and any feedback is most welcome. Thanks again and good luck for the season. Hopefully your next title isn't too far away. https://footballpink.net/2016/10/25/before-they-were-famous-part-6/

Thanks for your comment Boabie. It's interesting that you remember good/enjoyable football being played, even during these bad times. Would anyone agree/disagree with Boabie? Was the football good to watch despite the lack of success?

What year was that Scott, if you can remember? Thanks

Thanks John, that made for a fascinating read. I hate to dish out praise for Kopites, but I take your word for it re: Souness. I actually quite like his punditry work, the perfect antidote on Sky to the white noise that spews out of Redknapp. And all the Everton books I've read about the 80s include Blues players dishing out compliments to the man. My main focus will be about the struggles endured by the club, but also the fans so it's great to get first hand accounts. If you have any other particularly miserable occasions that stand out from this period; moments that sum up the love-hate, oxymoronic relationship between fan and club (i have many as an Evertonian), I'd love to hear them. Thanks again for your time

Big Jaws, thank you for your response. There's plenty there to get my teeth into (no pun intended). Sorry, I wasn't completely clear in my intro. My piece is not limited to the 1980s, so your recollections of events in the 70s are really useful, thanks. What I'd like to know is, in your opinion, was there a feeling of a "fall from grace" by the mid-80s? For older fans, might this feeling of a "sleeping giant" have been around leading up to that first title in 11 years in 75? Or in other words, did Rangers always have the "biggest club in Scotland" tag before demises in the 60s, 70s and 80s? Thanks again for your input.

Yes I do have some notes on the detrimental effect to Rangers that other clubs success had, namely Aberdeen and Dundee Utd. It's interesting that Scottish clubs did so well (comparatively) in European competition around this time, following on from success in the 70s. No coincidence that the national team also enjoyed some successful WC qualifying campaigns too? Thanks from the suggestion, I'll take a look.

Thanks for the reply chaps. I don't suppose anyone knows if ticket prices went up as a result of the stadium development (seeing as though they financed it themselves)? If so, perhaps this put some fans off, financially...?

Noted, thanks Frankie

I'm afraid I'm not a Rangers fan, although I'm like you all in that you support the best team in your city and they happen to wear blue (Everton, of course). I've been tasked with writing an article for The Football Pink website (https://footballpink.net/ - which also prints a quarterly edition). The article is part of a series loosely called 'Before They Were Famous', which looks at clubs known as giants to the modern day fan, but have paid their dues down in the doldrums before success. I've been asked to look at Rangers in the 1980s, however I have to admit I know little about this period and hoped someone could help shed some light on this decade. If anyone is able to answer a couple of questions I'd be really appreciative. I want to get a sense of what it was like supporting the club through this barren period, as well as just how bad things were in your opinion and what the causes of decline . I'd be extremely grateful of any replies to any of the below. If you'd prefer to email me replies instead, please message me at joecarroll15@hotmail.com. Thanks in advance. 1. For exactly how long would you say this 'barren' spell lasted? Is there a defining moment in which you could say things got bad, and similarly is there a landmark moment in history which signalled the return to the top? 2. Why did Rangers fall into a period of decline? Money? Mismanagement? Just poor players? 3. Was it all really that bad? What were the highlights for Rangers during this time? An Old Firm victory? A cup win? What did fans have to smile about? 4. Rangers had some success in the League Cups in this decade. Did this satisfy fans at the time? What are your best (and worst) cup memories? 5. If you have any particular memories or experiences (fond or forlorn) of following Rangers during this time, what were they? I'm trying to get as much of an 80s fan perspective as possible. Thanks