Aidan Smith in the Scotsman

[Virtuoso 27,180]

Hurting are we?

Quote

 

Did Steven Gerrard research Rangers history before referee complaint?

We’ll be remembering this fabulously long, hot summer for decades to come. And we’ll also be waxing nostalgic about Russia’s World Cup, the best-ever if you were too young for 1970, packed with great games, big shocks, thrilling climaxes – and, most surprising of all, England didn’t stink the place out. So spare a thought for Steven Gerrard who can’t have got much of a suntan, who can’t have seen many of the Three Lions’ games in their charge to the semi-finals, and who couldn’t be in a TV studio this time, punditising and to-be-fairing and jumping up and down behind the glass when ruthless baby’s candy thief Harry Kane stuck out a cynical heel to re-route a team-mate’s shot and claim his hat-trick against the mighty Panama.

Why the sympathy? Because Stevie G must have been squirreled away watching footage of old Rangers games. Tall towers of tape recordings looming over his desk, blocking out what remained of the sun’s brilliant rays. Thick pads of A3 scattered around, each of them chock-full of furious scribbles logging all the times the club were done out of a decision. Half-drunk cups of coffee, chewed pencils, the crumpled bags from so many Steak Bakes, the Greggs signature dish. This must be the scene inside Gerrard’s man-cave, it simply has to be. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to utter with any kind of boldness the juddering words “FOR SEASONS”.

At Pittodrie last Sunday, Rangers had a man sent off and Aberdeen didn’t. The double whammy angered the manager who said: “It seems like the world is against us today … it looks like some more decisions will go against us as the season goes on. It’s not just today, it’s been happening for a while. That’s my opinion. I’ve watched footage, yeah. I believe it’s been happening FOR SEASONS.”

The emphasis on the words is mine. I’m not suggesting that Gerrard bawled them into the dictaphones clustered about him, blowing the cheaper models. But they need capping up. The rest of Scottish football found them astonishing. How far back did he go? Did he sit though those seasons when Ibrox, resembling a building site, seemed to influence the team’s tactics with the likes of Bobby Williamson and Colin McAdam becoming human wrecking-balls as they hurled themselves at the doughty backlines of Airdrieonians and Dunfermline Athletic, the sparse crowds eventually deciding they must be watching It’s A Knockout! and urging boss John Greig to play his joker card pronto so they could all skedaddle? If so, then respect to Stevie G.

Michty me, there are so many questions I want to ask. Was Gerrard, pictured. able to transfer the Betamax seasons on to something viewable? Surely he laughed, like I did and still do now, when Colin Stein boomed a shot out of Ibrox and right down the Copland Road, letting rip with an easily discernible expletive, which prompted a desperate attempt by Sportscene commentator George Davidson to protect the BBC’s Reithian probity: “And Stein says: ‘Oh, how near I was!” Did he stick with the Steak Bakes all the way through? I think we should be told.

I love the idea of Gerrard rooting around the TV archives, scolding staff for wiping games, then searching charity shops for home-made recordings before calling in at the club superstore to request, again, a check of the final-reduction DVDs to be absolutely certain there aren’t rare clips of the mid-1960s Gers in those regulation thick shinpads seemingly cut from drainpipes lurking in a copy of Bert Konterman: My Rangers. I love the idea of the new boss undergoing deep immersion in Big Hoose heritage, emerging as someone who would breeze through Mastermind specialist-subject questions on the length of Lorenzo Amoruso’s love-god hair, the gradient of the Gullane dunes, how much higher the pegs are in the away-dressing room compared to the home one, a cunning act designed to intimidate the opposition.

You wonder, though, what he makes of what he sees. Does he study footage of John MacDonald and go: “That’s a dive … that’s a dive … that’s a dive … and that’s his best starfish impersonation yet”? I mean, no matter that he’s begun looking at the world through light blue-tinted specs, how could he possibly reach any other conclusion?

Gerrard, pictured, may have scrutinised moving images of an old Rangers centre-forward and admitted: “That fellow’s close control is fairly erratic, I wouldn’t be surprised if he occasionally crumbled to the ground to gain some advantage – oh, it’s Alex Ferguson.” He might have thought the same of George McLean although knowing the latter was ridiculed relentlessly by the bunneted comedian Lex McLean he would have felt some sympathy. And Gerrard might have wondered about another McLean, Tommy on the wing: “By the sheer law of averages I don’t suppose this little guy with the feet stuck at ten to two can really have danced along the defensive line and stayed onside every time.” Gerrard must have done this because he’ll know, deep down, that Rangers aren’t on the wrong end of controversial calls any more than other clubs. Indeed, if he wasn’t intimately involved at Ibrox, he would probably concede that because of Rangers’ size and status, the pressure of the baying Govan mob on referees and goodness me the thickness of those flat-fronted Ibrox goalposts back in the day, they would likely have had more than their fair share going their way.

This is the heartfelt view of the rest of Scottish football, established over many years of fruitless trips to the Big Hoose. Rarely if ever have these words been uttered on the journey home: “We got lucky there today.” I recall a match in the 1970s when it seemed that all the fates were conspiring against my team’s fightback. Every time the ball bounced over to the little three-wheeled cars of the disabled fans it took ages to be returned. There’s a suspicion those around Gerrard have been filling his head with conspiracy theories but I want to believe he’s gathered up all that film and watched the lot, I really do.

 

Rancid bastard.

[graeme_4 34,350]

Not being a smart arse, but why the fuck would you give this guy a thread of his own and link to his article. 

You’re keeping them relevant and giving them the reaction they want.

Just fucking ignore no marks like this. 

[Ger_onimo 20,488]

2 minutes ago, graeme_4 said:

Not being a smart arse, but why the fuck would you give this guy a second  thread of his own and link to his article. 

You’re keeping them relevant and giving them the reaction they want.

Just fucking ignore no marks like this. 

 

[cr3_bear 14,805]

Journalists love going on about our proud history. They should try researching their beloved Celtics more often.

[theweebluenose 4,332]

I got to Aidan and gave up.

[KeyserSoze 14,520]

1 hour ago, graeme_4 said:

Not being a smart arse, but why the fuck would you give this guy a thread of his own and link to his article. 

You’re keeping them relevant and giving them the reaction they want.

Just fucking ignore no marks like this. 

It’s a regular thing of his tbf. 

[Gandalf the Blue 1,384]

Stopped reading at Aidan

[1690tamRFC 5,001]

Surely that load of hate filled shite didn’t make print ? 

[16BlueSherbert90 19,222]

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with highlighting these assholes. 

We moan if we are not in the loop,  then moan if we are.  Nobody can catch a break with some of you.  

We don't care,  we do care.  Which is it really?  

[16BlueSherbert90 19,222]

Just now, 1690tamRFC said:

Surely that load of hate filled shite didn’t make print ? 

Unfortunately it does.  That's the Scottish mhedia for you 

[1690tamRFC 5,001]

1 minute ago, Sweettartangirl said:

Unfortunately it does.  That's the Scottish mhedia for you 

Madness 

[16BlueSherbert90 19,222]

Just now, 1690tamRFC said:

Madness 

Absolutely.  They all need whipped away in straitjackets and stripped of writing privleges,  however it's sometimes amusing to see them in a twist about us 

[rangersross 6,530]

Pretty sure this ran in The Scotsman - a dud, dying paper filled with "journalists" who routinely publish changes in transfer odds as "news" - not The Guardian.

[2nd Flute 14,036]

2 hours ago, graeme_4 said:

Not being a smart arse, but why the fuck would you give this guy a thread of his own and link to his article. 

You’re keeping them relevant and giving them the reaction they want.

Just fucking ignore no marks like this. 

This 100% , cunts who write shite like that probably wait a bit, then come on to sites like this, and see what reaction they are getting, as you say mate, ignore the bastards, that'll hurt them much,much more than calling them all the papish bastards under the sun.

[beararse 6,365]

2 hours ago, Virtuoso said:

Hurting are we?

Rancid bastard.

Posted the very same article yesterday and was called a taig c@@@ numerous times.

I suspect you probably won’t as you’ve got far more likes to your name AND added Rancid Bastard at the end ?

point is, this biased shite was actually fucking printed in the first place.

[thehost 11,061]

I don't know whats worse

 

the name aiden

 

or the fucking cesspit guardian

 

either of those would demand a fucking caning so having both together …..

[2nd Flute 14,036]

1 minute ago, rangersross said:

Pretty sure this ran in The Scotsman - a dud, dying paper filled with "journalists" who routinely publish changes in transfer odds as "news" - not The Guardian.

It was in the Scotsman mate, it's clickbait for all the tarriers who post on their forum. 

[Malvern 11,329]

Firstly Aiden.

Secondly it is an opinion piece so I will give him that.

Thirdly it made my eyes bleed into the third paragraph as it was so poor.

Just kill my cats next time and not put me through trying to read that rancid piece of shit.

[Bearsden bear 2,376]

Wow. That's the kind of garbage you  expect from a celtic blog not a national newspaper. This country is going downhill rapidly.

[coopsleftboot 5,512]

I remember seeing a very similar article back in the day when John Reid was complaining and demanding to know the leanings of each and every official, also remember the follow up article when popcorn teeth told the world he was compiling a dossier, and then there was the multi-page spread when the referees were forced to take strike action because of the incessant pressure of one club...

... but then I might just have made all of that up.

Paranoid proddies 

 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,613]

Gerrard is meant to review games with no footage from a time before he was even born.

Scum logic.

[Drum 160]

Timothy doesn't seem to know what to do with itself in the wake of this weekend. This is simmering nicely. 

[Bristol loyal 6,248]

Didn’t bother reading it just skimmed through, but does he really think a manager doesn’t watch footage of previous seasons to identify strengths and weaknesses of the players in the squad? 

Still I love how they’re hurting and desperate to try to stick the boot into Gerrard, they know we’re onto a good thing and are shitting themselves! What they don’t realise is Gerrard is used to dealing with far more experienced and professional journalists than the Scottish amateurs, he’s probably just laughing at them!

[16BlueSherbert90 19,222]

4 minutes ago, Malvern said:

Firstly Aiden.

Secondly it is an opinion piece so I will give him that.

Thirdly it made my eyes bleed into the third paragraph as it was so poor.

Just kill my cats next time and not put me through trying to read that rancid piece of shit.

Then don't read it and killing cats is not cool even if they are sly little moggies. 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,613]

Just now, Drum said:

Timothy doesn't seem to know what to do with itself in the wake of this weekend. This is simmering nicely. 

Roll on tomorrow night them exiting the CL, and there being no money spent as demanded by their petulant manager....

Timplosion looming.