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Go on, admit it! If someone had said to you this time last year after Celtic were handed the 2019/20 league title in March, we'd be sitting in mid April 2021 having won our 55th title an impressive five weeks before, you'd think they were a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Sure, there had been signs of progress under Steven Gerrard. Our European efforts were, by and large, very good since he had taken over. We'd also started to offer Celtic difficulties in our head-to-head matches and showed we could beat them home and away. Importantly, our style of football was good and our system worked fairly well at home and abroad. We'd also reached the League Cup final and, arguably, should have won from a match we dominated. However, all these positives aside, there was still no success and, once again, when the tough got going after Christmas, the team and any silverware challenge fell apart. With that in mind, the transformation this season has been nothing short of startling. Yes, the same positives were there: good football, another strong Europa League showing and an early league victory at Parkhead. This laid solid foundations when it came to renewing supporter confidence whilst the players themselves were showing a steadfastness, a bona fide belief, that wasn't always evident before. And all this was happening with no fans in stadiums, without that 12th man Ibrox often provides. That didn't mean the season wasn't without it's challenges. Draws away to Livingston and Hibs in August and September asked questions of the management in particular and, arguably it was that first draw in West Lothian, that perhaps changed our mindset tactically. The overly negative Jack and Kamara double pivot was dispensed with, the experience and quality of Steven Davis was reintroduced and, a general sense, we didn't look back. Only the late loss away to St Mirren in the League Cup has brought any real pain in a, so far, undefeated league season and few teams have managed to lay a glove on us home or away. That meant our 55th Scottish top league title was delivered earlier than anyone thought possible. To do this in the first week of March remains, to me, still somewhat unbelievable and not always easy to comprehend as our form in the New Year was the polar opposite of previous recent campaigns. Sure, draws away at Motherwell and Hamilton through January and February weren't ideal but further wins over Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibs built us a buffer no other team were going to breach. Celtic's dubious deeds in Dubai helped but, by the time, they drew away to Dundee Utd last month, the league was already gone. After ten long years in the wilderness, 55 was finally here and it's an achievement we won on the field, fairly and squarely and all under our own steam. That was five weeks ago and, as much, as that success is something to be savoured, much work remains to be done. Trinkets such as an 'invincible' league season where we can go undefeated and/or better Arsenal's goal concession record of 15 goals would be nice and deservedly lauded but I'd suggest winning the Scottish Cup is much, much more important. Doing that, and beating Celtic on the way, would hammer home our dominance of this season. It would put to bed any (already silly) suggestion that Celtic remain the better side and have just been unlucky due to Covid circumstances. And, it would increase the winning experiences of our squad in bringing back a trophy we've not won since 2008/09. Understandably our form hasn't been quite as good since the title was secured. Players haven't exactly downed tools or gone on their summer holidays early, we've just not been quite as fluent. The sustained loss to injury of Ryan Jack and our captain James Tavernier hasn't helped whilst influential players such as Arfield and Roofe haven't looked as sharp as they did earlier in the season before injuries of their own. Our balance in midfield doesn't look as strong and the disgusting treatment of Glen Kamara by Slavia Prague has undoubtedly affected his contribution. Even so, although we did exit European competition, draws away to Slavia and Celtic through March and solid wins against Cove and Hibs mean we remain tough to beat. However, if we're to win the Scottish Cup and lay down any markers for next season, then our form must improve over the coming six weeks. This season has not yet finished. Dispatching of Celtic on Sunday won't be easy. Although they've yet to beat us this season, they did have strong periods in each of the last two games and are coming off the back of an impressive 6-0 demolition of Livingston last weekend. The Scottish Cup also remains their only chance of silverware this season so they have a lot to prove in this match. Fortunately, so do we. In that sense, our starting XI will be interesting. For example, in the 1-0 New Year derby win we struggled for much of the first half with a front three of Roofe, Kent and Morelos. Indeed, it wasn't until Ianis Hagi replaced Roofe for the second period that we started to properly come into the game. As such, it was perhaps no surprise to see Hagi start the last Old Firm fixture with the same deeper three of Aribo, Davis and Kamara; yet it can be argued that didn't work either - possibly more to due with Balogun struggling at right back - as Celtic had the better of the first hour in that match. This weekend Patterson will start at right back and there's no doubt the youngster provides a much better balance on that flank. However, it will be a key decision of the manager to see who provides the defensive cover for him: will it be Arfield or Aribo or, as has happened more often since Jack has ben injured, will Kamara be deployed in the right side of our midfield three. And how will that decision affect our front three? A fully fit and sharp Kemar Roofe would arguably start but he may be kept for later in the game. As such, I think the manager will choose between Aribo, Hagi and Wright. For example, if Arfield is played deeper, the big Nigerian may be moved up a position, pragmatically strengthening our right side which did look weak at Parkhead (and against Slavia). Or the manager may favour a more attacking outlook with Hagi or Wright - the latter of whom may be asked to do a job similar to that of Brandon Barker in the 2-0 win over Celtic in October (where Arfield also started). Indeed, it's that kind of flexibility and unpredictability that has strengthened our hand this season. Whilst most observers could pick their preferred starting XI for the majority of games, the manager now has the ability to change things to suit - whether that be down to injury or for tactical reasons. As such, it's genuinely difficult to predict our team for Sunday's match and that has to be a good thing, even if the players will know by now. All things considered I think we'll see the team below but, if we consider the chance of extra time and penalties, it will absolutely be all about the squad as a whole on Sunday and going forward. Our 55th league title wasn't won with just eleven players: everyone in the squad had to play their part over a long, hard year. Be it Jon McLaughlin earlier in the season, Leon Balogun's excellent reliability, Nathan Patterson showing his potential, and other younger guys like Hagi and Itten who, perhaps not always regular starters, were first class in terms of their attitude - all that and more will be needed, not just on Sunday but further ahead into a new season where we will have to defend our position as Scotland's champions. On that final note, there's no better place to do that, than a win over Celtic at Ibrox. Season 2020/21 has been an unqualified success but we can make it even better and lay the groundwork now for a similar campaign next season by winning on Sunday and going onto the reclaim the Scottish Cup. Just how good would that feel! After ten years in the wilderness, if you thought the journey was over, you were wrong - it's only just beginning... Possible XI (4-3-2-1)
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match thread (image) [FT] Rangers 1 (Hagi 52) - 0 St Johnstone
Frankie posted a topic in Rangers Chat
I'm told @Govan Rear Bearwill have a preview for your pleasure later today but in the meantime, you can check out the presser for tomorrow's match here: -
Easter Road provides stiff test for Gerrard and Rangers as they make final push for title. Easter Road is not a ground new to the concept of being an important venue in Rangers’ attempts to stop Celtic winning ‘ten-in-a-row’. It was there on 29 March 1975 that Rangers secured the league title for the first time in nine attempts and stopped Jock Stein’s Celtic from amassing ten consecutive titles. Rangers arrived on that day knowing that if they avoided defeat the title they so badly craved would be theirs. However Eddie Turnbull had created a formidable Hibs side, which had actually mounted a title challenge of their own – sitting ahead of Celtic in second place towards the end of the season. Rangers went behind after 19 minutes thanks to a goal from Ally MacLeod. Hibs were dominating and Rangers struggled to get any rhythm to their game. To compound matters, Sandy Jardine missed a penalty after Bobby McKean was brought down by Hibs’ keeper Jim McArthur – hitting his kick against the base of the post. But then came the moment that every Rangers supporter craved. Sandy Jardine drove past two Hibs defenders, laid the ball out wide for Bobby McKean who sent in a great cross which Colin Stein bulleted in to the top corner with a fantastic header. With the 1-1 result came the title and an end to Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football. Although Rangers won’t have the opportunity to win the title on Wednesday night there is a feeling that victory here will be another huge step for Rangers in their attempts to replicate that feat of the 1975 side. As things stand, Rangers are 28 points – or nine games – away from confirming their status as the champions of Scotland. After the depths the club has plummeted in recent years, it is hard to believe that they have reached the single figure mark in terms of the number of wins required. But the mood at Ibrox is not one of celebration. If anything, Steven Gerrard and his players seem more focussed now than ever in maintaining the levels which have put them 23 points clear and a position of considerable strength. The demolition of Ross County at Ibrox on Saturday was latest statement of intent, and one that was so impressive it even had Staggies boss John Hughes gushing in his praise. “We were up against a top class team,” he said afterwards. “I hope all my players come back and say ‘that’s how to play football.’” But Easter Road is always a tricky venue for Rangers and Gerrard’s record there – one win in four attempts – shows victory in Leith is far from a foregone conclusion. The sides fought out a 2-2 draw there in September in a game which had a nasty edge to it. Rangers, rightly, felt aggrieved with a poor decision which allowed Christian Doidge’s offside equaliser to stand, then Ryan Porteous exchanged words with Alfredo Morelos, James Tavernier and Steven Gerrard at the end of the game. Regardless of how timid Hibs were in Saturday's defeat to St Johnstone in the BetFred Cup semi-final, Gerrard knows his side will need to be at their best if they are to secure all three points. “Easter Road is always a tough challenge and probably one of the toughest away fixtures you can get in the schedule”, the Rangers manager said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “They are a good team, they've got good players and a good manager. I think our performances have been really good at Easter Road and maybe we haven't got the results we deserved. “We have had a couple of draws there where we have had double figures in terms of chances to win the game, so we have actually been a little bit frustrated and disappointed in the outcome of them.” One positive going into the game is the return of Ryan Jack to the squad. The midfielder made his comeback as a substitute against County on Saturday, managing to score within a few minutes of his introduction. Kemar Roofe has also returned to the squad and Scott Arfield’s rehabilitation continues well, which is good news for the Rangers boss as it increases his selection options at a time when he is looking to make that final push domestically, whilst preparing for the reintroduction of European football next month. For Hibs, the bright early season form has dipped somewhat. Two wins in their last six league games represents a miserly return for Jack Ross’s men. Add to that the aforementioned 3-0 defeat on Saturday to St Johnstone and you could easily describe their current run of form as poor. Not that anyone at Ibrox will view that as a reason to assume victory. On the field Gerrard continues to adopt a ‘one-game-at-a-time’ policy, but off the field plans are already afoot for the longer term with the announcements that Scott Wright has signed a pre-contract and will move to Ibrox in the summer, and that Kai Kennedy and Nathan Patterson have agreed extensions to their current deals. Gerrard appears keen to show there is a pathway to the first-team for academy players at Ibrox if they want it, with Patterson being the latest to benefit from this with a substitute appearance in the latter stages of Saturday’s win. “Ross [Wilson] and I have discussed our plan with Nathan for the incoming 18 months and have made our expectations clear”, said Gerrard. “Nathan is a strong example of our player pathway for those who are training with the first-team and in our Academy.” The expectation on any players stepping up through the ranks will be to be part of a squad and club that consistently wins titles. That has not been the case for a number of years. Victory on Wednesday will take Gerrard and Rangers a step closer to addressing that.
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We're only three weeks into 2021 and already it seems a lot longer since we beat Celtic on the 2nd January at Ibrox. It's fair to say we weren't at our best in that match and, although Celtic's supposed dominance actually petered out midway through the first half, the red card for Nir Bitton was a big help, as was the rather fortunate winning goal that came off Calum McGregor. However, after various pieces of misfortune in recent times, one doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth. That Old Firm topped off what had been an excellent December results-wise for Rangers. To win all our matches in the Premiership through that month and win our Europa League Group really was impressive with only a defeat against St Mirren in the League Cup by way of disappointment. Therefore, to start the New Year with the win over Celtic then go onto comfortably beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie the following week really helped minimise any worries about repeating recent years' poor post-winter break form. Unfortunately, these wins were followed up by a frustrating 1-1 draw last weekend at Fir Park. A slow start followed by the concession of an avoidable opener left us with work to do for the second match in succession against Motherwell and this time, despite pushing our opponents back for 70mins, we couldn't grab more than a deserved equaliser and didn't create a huge amount outwith that, even if we did have one or two good chances to win. Although we dominated, especially in the second half, our distribution and crossing was poor, we took too many touches and, Itten aside, lacked composure when chances did appear. As such, the post-match reaction to dropping points was rather harsh but not altogether unexpected. Although we remain unbeaten in the league which really is extraordinary, and results very positive for the most part, it's difficult not to point to some indifferent form of late. Of course, the loss of experienced players like Jack, Arfield and Roofe hasn't helped and whilst others have stepped up in their absence, some constructive and balanced criticism is also agreeable. To that end the inconsistent contribution of key players like Morelos and Kent is frustrating and it's fair to say Joe Aribo doesn't seem quite as effective in the unavoidably deeper role he's occupied recently. Moreover, player of the year elect James Tavernier hasn't quite offered the same threat as earlier in the campaign and other fringe players like Zungu, Barker, Jones and Stewart don't appear to be trusted as much as we'd all like. On the other hand, after such a busy December, it's hardly a surprise to see some fist choice players appear a wee bit jaded (though with no less effort) and it's simply unrealistic to expect great results and performances week after week. Let's not forget we've now played 35 games this season and we're not yet into February! With that in mind, recent weeks has seen our schedule open up somewhat with next Wednesday's trip to Hibernian our first midweek match since beating St Mirren late last month. We also have a free weekend next week and the manager has said in today's press conference that Ryan Jack will return to the squad for Ross County with Roofe also very close to joining him. He's also expecting an early February recovery for Arfield and I suspect we'll see at least one new player (one being Scott Wright) by the close of the transfer window. If we can have a fully fit squad by the resumption of our Europa League travels, then what a boost that would be for our intentions of success at home and abroad. Taking one game at a time though as the manager likes to repeat, we have another tricky match at Ibrox tomorrow against a Ross County side who have had some very positive results since John Hughes became manager last month. There's no doubt that with wins against Hibs, Aberdeen and Celtic this season, County are a very capable side and usually tough to beat with a stubborn defence. Indeed in our last fixture against them at Ibrox, it took a penalty and an 88th minute late clincher to deliver the points and although our 0-4 win in Dingwall last month looks easy now, they made it difficult for us for long spells and could easily have taken the lead themselves. As such anything less than full attention and application from the opening whistle could cause problems. Consequently, although I can't see a Jack or Roofe starting tomorrow, I believe Gerrard may well make one or two changes. Ryan Kent's obvious lack of consistent form means Cedric Itten may be given a deserved opportunity in attack with the big Swiss forward giving us a different option should we be forced wide and into crosses again. Meanwhile it wouldn't surprise me to see Ianis Hagi and Joe Aribo swap positions in the XI with both struggling to affect the game last week. It could also be more likely we move from our more usual 4-3-2-1 to more of a 4-2-3-1. The inclusion of someone like Barker or Defoe in the starting XI would be more of a surprise but the manager may also have one eye on Wednesday's match in Edinburgh. Certainy, the more players we can get involved in the coming weeks, the better in terms of maintaining a freshness through a period that is always tough on the legs. Finally, it's obviously very easy right now to look across the Clyde when examining our chances of winning our 55th title. Their "elite training camp" in Dubai (see, I can use quotation marks too) and resulting poor results means our 20 point lead at the top of the table looks even wider than that fine river. However, it would be foolhardy to become complacent and one has to hope our December defeat in the League Cup, along with last week's draw, has allowed the manager to refocus the minds of all our players when it comes to achieving success. Undoubtedly there will be more twists and turns as we move through the rest of this season but if we play it straight in terms of attitude then this title should finally be within our grasp. We must not let this opportunity go so getting back to winning ways tomorrow is the ideal chance to show our credentials. Unlike last week, let's hope we're raring to go! Possible team (4-3-3):
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match thread (image) [FT] Motherwell 1 - 1 Rangers (Itten 72)
ian1964 posted a topic in Rangers Chat
Preview from @Govan Rear Bear Preview: Motherwell v Rangers Sunday, 12:00 Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Football. With Rangers going into this weekend’s game against Motherwell 21 points clear of Celtic, unbeaten in the league to date and on a superb winning run, you’d be excused for thinking that Sunday’s game against Motherwell was a mere formality. It is fair to say that Motherwell have not had their troubles to seek in what has been a bleak season so far. The Steelmen are currently without in a win eleven games and sit tenth in the table, one point off bottom placed Ross County, albeit having played two games less than the Highland club. Celtic’s draw with Hibs on Monday night in their rearranged fixture has given Steven Gerrard and his players the benefit of a 21 point lead, although that would be reduced if Celtic secure victory over Livingston on Saturday. The lead is a substantial one, even if Celtic do claw back full points in their games-in-hand. However you sense that Steven Gerrard is very uncomfortable at any talk of this league being over, and is wary of the challenge that a potentially rejuvenated Motherwell may provide at Fir Park. Speaking at his press conference on Friday he said: “We expect a tough challenge, we will certainly respect a new manager going in and things will be slightly different. “We have to be ready to adapt to whatever is thrown at us but our focus and the majority of our preparation has been on us, where we are at and what we have to do to try and get the three points. “A manager always goes in and tries to put his own stamp on things. Normally you get a bit of a bounce and a boost and you are galvanised. “I am sure they will be trying to do all they can to derail us and try and be the first team to beat us from a league point of view this season.” Celtic’s challenge is not yet over, but there is a feeling with every passing game that there is a real lack of belief in Neil Lennon’s squad that they have what it takes to claw themselves back into contention. The recent Dubai debacle provided further evidence suggesting that Celtic are off the pace in more ways than one in this campaign. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic now at a worse level than it was in March and April, there has been renewed talk of “null and void”. Wednesday’s meeting between member clubs and the SPFL Board provided more questions than answers, and resulted in series of statements from the likes of Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Stenhousemuir seriously questioning the governance of the game in Scotland. Add to that the sudden turnaround by the SPFL on the punishments dished out to St Mirren and Kilmarnock for breaching Covid protocols, and you suspect that Rangers will need to be more than better than Celtic on the park in the coming weeks and months if they are to secure their first title in nine years. As far as the Rangers manager is concerned, however, there is no debate on this issue. “My opinion on this is exactly the same as it was in March and April”, he said. "For football's sake and the sake of competition I think everything has to try to be finished in the right way. "I am not just saying that now because we are sitting where we are in the competition this year. Because my opinion was exactly the same in March and April. "My opinion will never change as long as I am involved in the game.” Gerrard provided some positive updates with regards to the current injury situation, confirming that Ryan Jack returned to full-training on Thursday and that Kemar Roofe should do the same at some point next week. Scott Arfield, who sustained ankle ligament damage against Dundee Utd in December, is still some way off returning but stepped up his rehab this week. Given that injury situation, it is hard to see Gerrard deviating much from the starting eleven which deservedly secured three points at Pittodrie last week, which will mean a 300th appearance in a Rangers jersey for Steven Davis. The Irishman has been a splendid servant for Rangers, and he has yet again shown a tremendous level of consistency in his performance levels this season. It would be a fitting reward for his efforts to secure his fourth league medal with the club. Rangers had moments last week against Aberdeen where they started to look like they were starting to fire on all cylinders again – perhaps a result of no midweek fixture for the first time this season. None looked more rejuvenated than Alfredo Morelos, who scored a double and put in a performance level rarely seen from the Columbian this season. If he is coming back into to a rich vein of form, then it has come at the perfect time. As for Motherwell, it is hard to see a repeat of the 5-5-0 formation which they adopted at Ibrox recently under Stephen Robinson. Robinson’s teams had a reputation for being overly physical. It will be interesting to see where new boss Graham Alexander takes them in terms of playing style. Alexander went with a 4-4-3 against St Mirren in his first game in charge last week, with a front three of Jake Hastie, Tony Watt and Devante Cole. Hastie is ineligible to play against his parent club, which makes you wonder is Alexander will opt for a 4-4-2 on Sunday. But the former Scotland international has already said that he will use a system that suits the players at his disposal, rather than enforcing his own style on a group of players which are not currently his. It is not the first head-to-head with Steven Gerrard for Alexander, and his previous experiences have not been good ones. "I’d rather forget those couple of occasions, to be fair” the Motherwell gaffer joked. “When I was in the Premier League with Burnley we played Liverpool at Anfield and Turf Moor against him and I think he scored a couple of goals and sent us down, actually, so I’ll want to thank him for that on Sunday”. Steven Gerrard will be hoping he extends his winning run against Motherwell and Alexander. -
match thread (image) [FT] Aberdeen 1 - 2 Rangers (Morelos 33, 50)
ian1964 posted a topic in Rangers Chat
Thirty years ago Aberdeen beat Rangers 2-1 at Pittodrie. But that game is not remembered for any of the football played By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog Life was pretty good for Rangers fans at the start of the 1988-89 season. Seven wins out of eight in the Premier Division – including a 5-1 destruction of Celtic, who had won the title by finishing 12 points ahead of them the previous season – had catapulted Graeme Souness’s team to the top of the league. Rangers did suffer their first league defeat on 8 October, but that in itself was no disaster. Their loss at Pittodrie to an unbeaten Aberdeen side was hardly a shock. However, the events of that afternoon would have far-reaching consequences for some of the players involved and both sets of fans. With the emergence of Aberdeen as a force in Scottish football under Alex Ferguson, a rivalry developed between the two clubs – emphasised by two fiery matches in 1985 – and the antipathy showed little sign of abating when Souness arrived on the scene. The landscape of Scottish football was shifting; Ferguson had departed in 1986 and Souness, backed heavily in the transfer market, was delivering success to Rangers once more. Their great start to the 1988-89 season was the beginning of Rangers’ run to nine titles in a row. If the flames of the rivalry between Aberdeen and Rangers had been flickering before their meeting in October 1988, a huge barrel of fuel was poured on to that fire in the fifth minute at Pittodrie. Neil Simpson’s horrific tackle on Ian Durrant would cement the hatred forever. Be warned: if things like this make you feel a squeamish, it might not be best to follow the YouTube link of Simpson’s tackle on Durrant. Challenges had already been flying in beforehand, with former Aberdeen midfielder Neale Cooper laying down a few markers in a Rangers shirt. Sadly, Durrant was about to be on the receiving end of one tackle too many. With the ball loose in front of the Rangers box, Simpson and Durrant headed towards each other. The Aberdeen midfielder, went completely over the top of the ball and stamped down on Durrant’s leg, the full horror of the injury clear for all to see on the replays. Football during this decade was a tough business, but quite how Simpson remained on the pitch is a mystery. “Durrant’s exit after five minutes’ play should have been followed by the departure of his assailant, Simpson,” the Times reported. It was a sending off in any era. Durrant lay on the turf in agony, desperately in need of medical attention. Astonishingly, he had to leave the pitch on the back of physio Phil Boersma. “At the time, the medical service said the only available stretcher was outside the ground in an ambulance,” Durrant recalled later. And some people bemoan that health and safety has gone mad. The tackle did little to calm matters and the challenges continued to fly in, with both Alex McLeish and Ally McCoist suffering cuts in a match that the Times described as “blood and blunder.” Occasionally there was some football played, Aberdeen eventually running out 2-1 winners. Cooper gave Rangers the lead – no refusing to celebrate a goal against your former club on this day – but second-half goals from Jim Bett and Charlie Nicholas secured the points for Aberdeen and inflicted a first league defeat of the season on the visitors. Unsurprisingly, Rangers were furious. Skipper Terry Butcher was later fined £500 for kicking a hole into the referee’s dressing room door, with Souness unable to contain his anger. “We accept that every game we play is a cup final for the opposition,” said Souness. “But it’s very difficult to restrain my players under the provocation we experience on many occasions, such as Saturday’s match at Aberdeen. The whole of Scottish football should be concerned with the tackle that has threatened Ian Durrant’s future as a professional footballer.” With his cruciate ligaments in his knee torn by the challenge, Durrant’s faced a battle to play again at the top level. He had a four-hour operation the Monday after the match and, after another session under the surgeon’s knife, he went to the US for a second opinion and yet more surgery. “When I eventually went to America to get it fixed, they couldn’t believe what the Scottish surgeon had done to my knee in terms of how he had rebuilt it.” The midfielder, rated as one of the brightest prospects in Scottish football, continued to battle back to fitness and eventually made his Rangers return in 1991, when around 30,000 fans turned up to Ibrox to watch him play in a reserve match. It’s a testament to his character that he returned at all, but Durrant never shone as brightly again. “I was never going to be the same player,” he reflected later. “I went from being a runner breaking the lines to being more of a passing player. My whole game changed. I never had the spark that I used to have. I lost a few yards, which was a big part of my game. I had to adapt and use my left foot more than I did because of my injury. I was predominantly right footed. All I did in training was kick the ball with my left foot.” Durrant went on to win major honours after his comeback and starred in Rangers’ memorable European Cup run in the 1992-93 season. Having been robbed of almost three years of his career, he sued Simpson for £2m and later accepted an out-of-court settlement reported to be around £350,000. It is hard not to think of what might have been though. There was one certainty surrounding the whole affair: the uneasy relationship between the two clubs was now at the point of no return. Willie Johnston’s stamp on John McMaster in 1980, the rise of Aberdeen as title rivals, and Rangers’ resurgence under Souness all combined to add to the growing tension between the two clubs. The Simpson challenge on Durrant is often seen as the tipping point. With some Aberdeen fans singing about the tackle on Durrant and the two clubs continuing to contest for major honours at the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, there was no chance of the bitterness evaporating. The rivalry is still very much alive three decades on from that fateful day. https://www.theguardian.com/football/that-1980s-sports-blog/2019/feb/06/aberdeen-rangers-horrific-tackle-changed-rivalry-durrant-souness