The Bad Early 80's

[legalbeagle 3,734]

Jim McLean and to a much lesser degree Alex Ferguson were always being suggested as our next manager in those days.

Would have liked to see McLean at Ibrox as he'd built such a good football playing team at Dundee United and also had great success in Europe.

Maybe, but what a horrible, nasty, vicious man

[Buggleskelly 3,772]

In the early -mid 80's scottish football was really competitive. We were up against the best ever aberdeen & dundee utd teams , the mhanky mob , both edinburgh clubs were strong ( hearts almost won the league in '86) & I remember st mirren were no pushovers.

I hardly missed a Rangers game then , home ,away & countless European trips.

We obviously struggled to win titles then , but as I said , there wasn't just sellick to contend with.

[OlegKuznetsov 10,816]

Jim McLean and to a much lesser degree Alex Ferguson were always being suggested as our next manager in those days.

Would have liked to see McLean at Ibrox as he'd built such a good football playing team at Dundee United and also had great success in Europe.

Wee Jim was Scotland's Dick Advocaat.

[tannerall 25,935]

John Robertson at Hearts was a striker, a wee fat one. John Robertson of Nottingham Forest was the winger-also fat.

Robertson at Hearts was tricky too though for a small guy, quick feet, maybe not so much a winger as inside forward but not your traditional centre, and scored better than 1 in 2.

Agree there was a tradition of fat strikers in Scottish football in the 70s and 80s.

[OlegKuznetsov 10,816]

Robertson at Hearts was tricky too though for a small guy, quick feet, maybe not so much a winger as inside forward but not your traditional centre, and scored better than 1 in 2.

Agree there was a tradition of fat strikers in Scottish football in the 70s and 80s.

Joe Harper, Frank McDougal, DJ, John McGinley and I think Kenny McDowall also played up front for a spell. Oh, "barrel-chested" John Clark was another who tried up front, but reverted to CB quickly, before, if I recall rightly, reverting to the family fishing business for a spell.

[minstral 5,375]

I remember going to a game against Dundee at home with a similar crowd, about 84-5

Oleg 1981-82 we had 11,000 at home against them and second last game of season 8,500.

Also 82-83 season we had 8,500 at home against them. We also had other small crowds against them through the 80s

[OlegKuznetsov 10,816]

Oleg 1981-82 we had 11,000 at home against them and second last game of season 8,500.

Also 82-83 season we had 8,500 at home against them. We also had other small crowds against them through the 80s

Cheers dude. You're as reliable as my old Rangers Football Companion book which covers from the end of WWII to 86.

I wonder if there are newer versions.

I'm just looking through a few of those attendances. Almost baffling.

[Fed Up 211]

Not at all - we had some great players in that era - I used to travel a long way for home games as I was working in England and I gladly travelled to watch Cooper (one of the best ever), Russell (massively underrated), John McClelland (good captain - great game v Inter at Ibrox), Jim Bett (linked superbly with Davie Cooper), Redford (better than lots gave him credit for) Jim Stewart (a solid keeper) and Derek Johnstone (great scoring record and a top centre half when played there). All of these guys would walk into our current side.

That said - any Rangers team deserves respect and support. I've seen pretty much everything over the years (50 years this year) but I'll never slate a Rangers team or player!

[.Williamson. 81,855]

I don't see how the actual standard of football on show could get much worse than it is right now.

[topgoalie 637]

In the early -mid 80's scottish football was really competitive. We were up against the best ever aberdeen & dundee utd teams , the mhanky mob , both edinburgh clubs were strong ( hearts almost won the league in '86) & I remember st mirren were no pushovers.

I hardly missed a Rangers game then , home ,away & countless European trips.

We obviously struggled to win titles then , but as I said , there wasn't just sellick to contend with.

St.Mirren were no pushovers until the last day romp for Sellik to allow them to snatch the title on goal difference from Hearts.Something suspect that day.Hearts were cruelly robbed of the title when self confessed Sellik fan scored against them up in Dundee,you would have thought he had won the Workd Cup the way he celebtated;to allow his beloved Sellik to snatch the title

My mate played in that Hearts team and that day half of them were suffering from a flu bug......

[topgoalie 637]

Edit...Self confessed Sellik fan Albert Kidd.

[TheMotor 2,208]

I remember it was nearly all walk-ups that made up the crowds then, which could make for a great atmosphere as whole groups of pals would be in together. We always knew if there was a decent crowd in based on whether there was any space in the Copland rear. Changed days. Copland rear and the east enclosure were the noise factories back then.

We always wanted to be in the Copland as it was always rumoured that we scored most of our goals in that end. Don't know if there was ever any truth in that.

[StewGer 605]

In the 1986/87 season we regularly beat Wee Jum's Dundee United at a time when they were tearing up Europe. Beating Barca home and away.

I had a soft spot for that United team as they also knocked out those cheating arschlochs from Moenchengladbach.

21,000 at Tannadice, those were the days indeed.

[OlegKuznetsov 10,816]

21,000 at Tannadice, those were the days indeed.

I wonder if it was the game where Butcher went in with a solid challenge and the Dundonians gave it, "Dirty English bastard! ..."

Moments later, John Clark went in with a hefty challenge and we responded with, "Dirty Scottish bastard! ..."

Ah, the days when you could enjoy banter. Nowadays you'd have up to 21,000 arrests for racially aggravated Breach of the Peace.

[StewGer 605]

I wonder if it was the game where Butcher went in with a solid challenge and the Dundonians gave it, "Dirty English bastard! ..."

Moments later, John Clark went in with a hefty challenge and we responded with, "Dirty Scottish bastard! ..."

Ah, the days when you could enjoy banter. Nowadays you'd have up to 21,000 arrests for racially aggravated Breach of the Peace.

I mind "Die, die, die ya bastard." Being a common chant when somebody was down injured, a bit of fun that these days would cause outrage. I miss the game I grew up with.

[gmcf 34,085]

This was the era , from 1979 , where old enough , I started following Rangers home and away.

As much as we'd hope , and rise to some occasions , the football was pretty poor , particularly in the league. Not only were up against c....c , but a strong aberdeen and dundee utd and despite two Rangers legends in John Greig and Jock Wallace , it just wasn't happening. If I'm correct we won an average of 4 away games a season in about 8 years !

Souness came and changed it all. He signed Butcher and Woods as well as bringing back Jimmy Nicholl. But the biggest difference was that he gave players that were there under JW a belief and purpose that wasn't there before. Look at his midfield and front men - McMinn , Durrant , D.Ferguson , Cooper , Fleck , McCoist even Fraser and McPherson - all JW players that all of a sudden became winners.

This is no disrespect ( please note TWB and BP9 ) to John Greig or Jock Wallace but sometimes you sense things just won't improve. These guys are still legends to me , and I'm sure to anyone else from that era , and the fact they weren't successful doesn't diminish that position , but I doubt there isn't anyone that was thankful when Souness came in.

[*Manticore* 1,893]

I know you were there mate, but it is just my opinion that we were better back then than the team we have at the moment. Plus in the first Greig season we played well and should have won the league, and we won the 2 cups.

The night we blew the league at the piggery still haunts me.

[worcesterloyal 114]

Question for some of you "older" bears...

Even though I had been to Ibrox in the late 80's with my old man I can't remember it (born '87) so I can only really judge what I've seen and can remember from about 91/92

My dad sometimes tells me how it was harder to watch us in the early 80's than it is now? even when its watching third teir football.

Maybe because we know we are on the way up whereas back then the numbers attending were low and the outlook was pretty bleak at times?

Which was the worst period for the fans and why was it so bad?

I joined up in the the John Greig era,.....Low attendances,not the best of football and Ally getting stick........But knew this was my club

[TheMotor 2,208]

I joined up in the the John Greig era,.....Low attendances,not the best of football and Ally getting stick........But knew this was my club

Ally wasn't too good starting out. He actually deserved stick just for his haircut to be honest. Mullet with peroxide highlights is just poor in any era.

[Reformation Bear 6,453]

I'd find it hard to make comparisons of the sides over the decades (went to Ibrox as a young lad from mid 60's onwards but was working out of Scotland for much of the 80's and 90s so only got to go when I was home). It's not comparing the sides over the decades that I worry about, its the risk of a return to very low attendances - memories of those days are not good and I'd hate to see a return to that.

It's the concern (fear even) that somehow between a Board of whatever composition. and the squad, or those former SPL clubs who had (still have) an active harm agenda against Rangers somehow contrive to create a situation where we are either delayed in getting back to the top flight and /or that we not competitive for a long time when we do get there. Effectively handing title after title to the other lot because we'd be taking points of the other sides and end up making it even easier for them to win that league than now.

The concern is that experiencing mediocrity or uncompetitive Rangers team might see a dreaded return to low crowds. In football in general it seems to me that rich clubs are getting very much richer year after year and as a result it becomes harder to match or better that in this money-fuelled era. In a way that's why I liked Green's approach of talking up the prospects for Rangers and talking up (and frequently) the desire, hunger, need to get back to the top. We seem to have lost a bit of that with recent Boardroom antics but its that hunger for success and to see a great Rangers team delivering that success that I look to and hope to see again in my time. To get that quality of team and the success we want to see restored, iIt may largely come down to money in the end - very serious money.

[Redmond7 915]

I know you were there mate, but it is just my opinion that we were better back then than the team we have at the moment. Plus in the first Greig season we played well and should have won the league, and we won the 2 cups.

And the Champions Cup, that first season under Grieg we really were that good. Then it all went tits up, but players like cooper russell wee diving John MacDonald et al.. sure we had some bad players but basically Grieg was just a rubbish manager although tbf he was up against one of the strongest era's in Scottish football. With a decent manager, that 80's team would wipe the floor with anyone in the spl right now.

[Sparkle 53,487]

I started going in 83, first game was a friendly against West Brom. I was quite young but I remember players like Gregor Stevens along side likes of Bobby Russell and Robert Prytz. We used to go in and choose where we wanted to sit it was so empty. It all changed a few years later when Souness arrived and season tickets became a must have. The football may not have been the best then either but it was entertaining and exciting.

[pcbear 10,913]

I had "a rover" season ticket early 80's it cost me 40 quid and you could sit anywhere you wanted except the main stand

[sandyinroyalblue 16,478]

for anybody who doesn't know already the google newspaper archive has editions of the glasgow evening times from 1950 to 1990 so if you want to find out more about rangers in the 80s they're well worth a read

[eosmhdo 1,879]

I could put up with the shit games back then as to a man the squad were all bears at heart.

Too much money in the game now and playing for the jersey has become a distant memory apart from a select few IMO