TheFlyingPig 0 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I was sitting on the throne in my hotel room in China. Luckily we stayed in one of the few hotels with Sat TV. My English workmate was in the room next to mine and started battering on the walls and scream something about Catholics. As quick as I could I was in to see what had happened to him and there was Mojo on the TV with Souness. I was in a state of shock for all of 10 seconds then burst out laughing as I realised the tims would be going berserk and would have a far more serious problem dealing with this than the Bears. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz52 11,837 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Ma Da ripped up his top and ma uncle ripped up his season ticket Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrheadloyal 0 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Ma Da ripped up his top and ma uncle ripped up his season ticket What do they think nowadays Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dietspam 733 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 From the Belfast Telegraph It was the story that rocked the football world to its foundations — and it was brought to you by the Belfast Telegraph. The July 10 1989 edition of the Belfast Telegraph which announced that Maurice ‘Mo’ Johnston (pictured left in a Celtic jersey) had done the unthinkable by joining Rangers These days, a Catholic player signing for Rangers is commonplace and wouldn’t raise an eyebrow, even within Glasgow’s notoriously volatile ‘fitba’ community. But it was a completely different story exactly 20 years ago today when a certain Maurice John Giblin (‘Mo’) Johnston put pen to paper at Ibrox Park — and lit the blue touchpaper virtually everywhere else. Graeme Souness, the Rangers manager at the time, had always said that if a player was good enough to wear the shirt, it wouldn’t matter what his background was. Even so, no-one expected his first Catholic capture to be a man who had forged his reputation with bitter cross-city rivals Celtic, and took great delight in expressing his Catholicism to the ‘Teddy Bears’ fans during Old Firm clashes. Add to this the timing — two days before the ‘Twelfth’ and during a period of continuing sectarian strife both here and in Glasgow — and you could imagine the searing heat generated by the French-based Scottish international’s shock move. The Belfast Telegraph sports desk had been tipped off about the story very early that morning — and even we found it hard to believe. But our informant had always been trustworthy in the past and — without any confirmation from Rangers or Johnston’s agents — we ran a story in our first edition that the Scottish champions were about to sign the player in an audacious £1.5m transfer. Within an hour of the newspaper hitting the streets of downtown Belfast, a group of angry loyalists had gathered outside our Royal Avenue offices, demanding that the story be ‘retracted’. Our switchboard was also virtually jammed with furious callers complaining that the Telegraph was deliberately stirring up sectarian tension in Northern Ireland by printing such a ‘fairy story’ so close to the Twelfth. But by mid-afternoon Rangers had confirmed what was at the time, and arguably still is, the most controversial capture in British football history — and when the Telegraph’s final, updated edition rolled off the presses that day, the ‘fairy story’ was accepted as being very real indeed. It was a development that left both Rangers and Celtic fans reeling; the Hoops had themselves been hoping to re-sign the nomadic Johnston from French club Nantes. The player had even publicly stated his desire to rejoin the Parkhead outfit, for whom he had scored 55 times in his previous three-year spell. It was clear, therefore, that the Bhoys would never forgive Mo for this ultimate act of footballing treason; the main question was, however: would Gers supporters accept him after 116 years of following an almost exclusively all-Protestant club? There were demonstrations, and some dyed-in-the-wool fans burned both their scarves and season tickets and vowed never to return to Ibrox. But most Rangers fans decided to give Johnston a chance, and he repaid their faith by helping to deliver two championships and scoring 46 goals in 100 or so games — including, almost inevitably, an Old Firm winner against his former pals. Johnston later joined Everton and now, at the age of 46, is director of football at Canadian club Toronto FC — which could not be further removed from the bitter, divided Glasgow. Speaking earlier this week, Souness recalled the day he turned Scottish football upside down in 1989. “There was an element of mischief in it,” he admitted. “I believed we were hurting Celtic by signing him.” Souness added: “Every Rangers manager had said in the past that they’d sign a Catholic, but I meant it. “I was married to a Catholic, my children were Catholics. Religion was never an issue with me.” Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dietspam 733 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterC 12,336 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Too young to really remember it although of all the signings to get it up them this was the big one, he did a job for us thats all that matters. One thing though how many former high profile protestant ex Rangers players had Celtic signed by the same point in history? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Manticore* 1,893 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 One thing though how many former high profile protestant ex Rangers players had Celtic signed by the same point in history? I'm not sure that there would be many, if any. I don't know if anybody has studied this in detail (who could be arsed?) but I've seen it estimated that sellick's players have been in the region of 80-90% rc. That in a country where rcs have made up around 10-15% of the population. Tha saying goes that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, yet they harp on and on about our supposedly sectarian signing policy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterC 12,336 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 And if they did sign a protestant it was to spite us as Jock Stein was known to have done. I think though that it was a brave thing to do, I read a biography of Souness by this guy who compared it how Thatcher changed Britain and got rid of the cosy status quo and challeneging institutions to modernise or risk being left behind or killed off. Anyway my view is that this signing was one of the best things we have done in the past 20 years, wasnt the most popular signing but sometimes unpopular actions can be the best actions to take and what is popular isnt always the right thing to do. Its the typw of thing Machiavelli would have approved of. (The prince:chapter XV) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRICKY1872 118 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I grabbed my morning paper as per usual and settled down on the bus to work. Then I read the headlines and laughed like fuck. Refused to believe it till the Clyde news came on at 10. The whole place was gathered round the radio. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayboleLoyal_atb 3,764 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I was walking the Southern Upland Way. We had a scheduled stop at the Black Bull Hotel in Straiton, Ayrshire for lunch. We sat down and the conversation at the next table was about Rangers signing MoJo. I asked if they were kidding, one of the guys flashed the front page headlining the news. My immediate thought was the Yahoos will be in absolute meltdown. I enjoyed my lunch. Fuck sake straiton, thats one dour place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOAT 30,449 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 i was only a wean but i was told what happened then. My grandad, two uncles and my old man said they where never stepping foot in Ibrox again. My dad went the next season, so he was overreacting, my uncle kept his season book but never went back until johnston left and my other uncle and grandad lived up to their promise. I always remember my grandad telling me, "it's not the fact we signed a roman catholic, it's the fact we signed THAT roman catholic". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEDIGNITY 33,684 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I had been told a week or so before it happened by somebody still at Ibrox just now and was at work when it happened, I derived much pleasure from it at the time because for the bheggars that worked beside me it was like a dagger through their hearts. Still didn't want to believe it but plus it's done fcuk all good we're still the big bad wolves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingWilBEARy 4,319 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Iwas only 6 so didn't really understand. probably why religion (for players at least) has never been an issue for my generation compared to the oldies Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermopylae 15,287 Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 I'm sure for years generations of tims looked forward to the day that they would be able to taunt us about signing a high profile RC ... but Souness and Murray gave us the last laugh BIG TIME when that day finally came Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarvelmarvel 796 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 still not fully recovered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kplfishtank 4,660 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 in my work and then made my way to ibrox to vent my anger at the signing(good player or not i wasnt ready for an earl to play for rangers) nowadays i dont mind what religion players are(although my preferance would be 11 scottish proddys)as long as theyve never pulled the athletic wing of the ira jersey over theyre head(take note mhiller) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis 1,011 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 we where on the boat for belfast, i think that is the first and only time is seen my dad cry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWoodburn 2 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Was at work in Skye and couldn't believe we'd signed him of all people ! Nothing to do with him being an RC , just the fact i hated him from playing for the scum!Part of me was smiling though ,as the scum's world fell apart! Grew to like him as a player if the truth be told . A hard working wee bastard ,who gave 100% ! Changed fuck all in terms of us and them though . They still remain the biggest shower of vhermin on the planet , while we simply are THE people ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamteuchter 1 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I remember Bobby Ewing being a bit puzzled...! in the shower is where bobby was when he found out Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leanne73 514 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I was in London travelling back from a school trip to France when the news came through, no one could believe it. I remember my old man going ballistic and saying he wouldn't go back to Ibrox, which of course he did. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermopylae 15,287 Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Now I think about it I had a bit of a spat later in the day with my then GF who was a timette. I was trying to tell her that RC schools were the biggest source is division in society and she just wasn't having it ... come to think of it we split up not long after that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenose48 952 Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Graeme Souness's comment at the time " If a player is good enough to wear the shirt I don't care what his background is" was spot on we are a football team and our sole purpose is to win games and I pesonally don't give a flying fuck if we sign auld Nick himself if he does the job and he doesn't cost too much. All these supposed fans who carried on like weans over the signing of Mo Johnston and Kenny Millar were more concerned with religion than RFC. Religion is the greatest disease known to man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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