Leaderboard

On the 27th May 1856 the Rangers legend that was Tom Vallance was born. To quote his Rangers team-mates from the 1870’s ‘’ The whole of Rangers loved him like a brother’’ Over the years of our research one name kept popping up time and again and that’s the name of Tom Vallance who had on reflection sadly been overlooked. Tom was born at a small farmhouse known as Succoth near Renton in the parish of Cardross in 1856.When young he moved with his family to the Old Toll House at Shandon on the Gareloch.Tom came to Glasgow in the early 1870’s following the path taken by his friends from the Gareloch ,the brothers McNeil and Campbell . Tom Vallance had an astonishing 60 year association with the Club, and his is an incredible CV. He was a master oarsman, a champion athlete (he set a Scottish long jump record of over 21 feet), he studied at the Glasgow School of Art, had paintings accepted by the Royal Scottish Academy and was Rangers Club Captain and President for many years. We have recorded details of Tom Vallance being present at the ceremony held on 1st January 1929 which saw the opening of the Main Stand at Ibrox and also at a dinner which was held in the St.Enoch’s Hotel after a Rangers match in 1933 when we faced Sporting Club of Vienna. He was also a guest of the Club at the New Years Day fixture against Celtic.So, the lad who was present at Fleshers Haugh in 1872 is still attending Ibrox some 60 years later where the Club that he’d helped form and nurture were now playing in front of crowds in excess of 100,000. Tom was a successful business man. He had The Club restaurant at 22 Paisley Road West which today is the Viceroy Bar,The Metropolitan which stood on Hutchison Street in the Merchant City area of Glasgow and the Lansdowne which was at 183 Hope Street. Tom was having the Rangers results wired to his restaurants for the benefit of his patrons as early as 1890. When Rangers moved to First Ibrox in 1887 it was said that it was common for Club President Vallance to be working the turnstiles on matchday. At the opening of the Main Stand in 1929 Tom Vallance recalled the facilities being so cramped at the Rangers ground at Kinning Park that the players would have to wash in basins of cold water in the open air. It was the teenage Tom Vallance who helped lay the very foundations upon which our Club was built, hard-work, discipline, honesty, integrity and fair play .Mr. Struth said during that famous speech “No matter the days of anxiety that come our way, we shall emerge stronger because of the trials to be overcome. That has been the philosophy of the Rangers since the days of the Gallant Pioneers” Tom was paid the ultimate accolade by the Club in May 1898 when he was made a life member. As a lasting tribute to the incredible contribution he made to our Club we had Tom put on to canvas by way of a painting by artist Helen Runciman .Tom Vallance has now taken his rightful place at the top of the Marble Staircase alongside his friends and fellow Founders. Tom died on 16th February 1935 aged 78 at 189 Pitt Street Glasgow. He is buried in Hillfoot Cemetery in Bearsden and his funeral was attended by Mr. Struth, Chairman James Bowie and his old team-mate James McIntyre who both took a cord.Incredibly ,players from the Vale of Leven team whom Tom had faced 60 years earlier in 1877 were also in attendance. He was a great Ranger who loved his Club. Today we celebrate the life of Tom Vallance.

This was a useful meeting in terms of letting fans ask questions and comment on all aspects of the Club. The number was small enough to enable everyone to have their say. This was the last in a day of meetings that Greg had with supporters groups, mainly RSCs. The main topic of conversations with them was regarding away tickets and their allocation. It’s always difficult when demand far exceeds supply. There were some comments on whether we should be giving some of these clubs money and some concerns about the pricing of away games. There were also concerns raised re the Compliance Officer and her apparent Celtic bias. The lack of transparency of the process was also mentioned. The Club also shares these concerns. Greg was unable to comment on Rangers Retail due to the ongoing court case. Greg was asked about Project 2022. An internal group has been formed to help with ideas and potential fundraising. An individual is helping the Club to forge relationships with external groups that could be involved with major infrastructure projects in the future. Greg was asked if there would be a further share issue this year. It was pointed out that a motion was passed at the AGM to enable this to happen. A discussion ensued about whether Club 1872 should have a seat on the Board as the second highest shareholder. The feelings amongst the group were mixed. A survey has taken place re stadium improvements. Some of this will be funded by the Rangers Pools. someone suggested having solar panels on the roof. There was doubt about being able the do anything to the Main Stand but Greg said he would ask the question. The Elinor contract still has 3-4 years to run. The Club still makes money from it but there are thoughts that we can do better. The new Commercial Director has an excellent CV and will control all commercial activity, including PR. The Club is looking to erect a 4G mast to enable fans to use their phones during matches. The meeting lasted about one and a quarter hours. Greg did say that things wouldn’t dramatically change as a result of the meetings but it would give management and directors a flavour of fans views. As a final note, Greg is a great guy and listens to the Gersnet podcast?

Great listen as always. Thanks and well done to all for providing the content. On the goals summary, i think someone mentioned it, but the lack of 25-30 yarders has been evident for some years now. I would take winning any day of the week but hopefully its an aspect we can improve on.

Keevin’s level of seriousness on the subject can be judged by the fact that he felt it was appropriate to include a joke in his tweet. ?

If I were allowed to interact with the prominently displayed activity center beneath the face of Mrs Candeias, I would be willing to share such a burden. Selfless, I know.

Sorry folks but I haven't been able to access Gersnet on my phone all day for being congratulated by Visa, Google, EE and others. Seems to be a recurring issue.

To clarify, most thought probably yes but that it would be a poisoned chalice for an individual.

Given the collusion between Celtic and the SFA at every other level, it's hardly stretching the imagination to think it continues in other directions too.

She has a face?

You can get 16/5 for a Derby win over 90 minutes at bet365. Seems very generous. Is there some factor I'm missing eg. injuries to key players, etc ?

If we play that lot never again, it will still be too early.

I reckon any player to whom Liverpool recruit and later give a long contract extension, is bound to have a lot of ability or at least spades of potential. For such a loan to come up to Rangers and be successful requires much more than the ability and we won't know if he has what it takes until he has shown us on the park and done it reasonably consistently. To ask youngsters on loan to be up to the particular challenge of playing for Rangers at this juncture is an outside bet. For every success you'll have at least a handful of failures. Then you have to look at developing your own players (eg. Hastie, Middleton, etc) and not holding them back just to curry favour/comply with loan contracts from parent clubs. How many of our own projects do we need to produce a success, I'd say no less than the loan player hit-rate. Then consider 'the pathway' for our own youngsters (eg. McCrorie, McPake, etc.), aswell as the business side of buying low and selling high into the mix......I'd want to keep loans to a minimum.

Great listens throughout the season guys, well done and thanks.

Thank's to all involved for another good listen. Good to go over 18/19 one last time. For me, it's now time to log it in the memories banks and look forward.

Although this will be our last pod of what was an eventful campaign. I'd like to thank all our contributors, listeners and subscribers for continuing to support our wee production (and the site generally) this year. I'm delighted to say we'll be back again in mid-late June for another season!

I'd say it's unlikely. If we get a good draw, it is possible but when you get to the 3rd qualifying round, there's some quality sides in there. Mind you, I thought we had no chance last year and Gerrard seems quite good at setting up the side to be difficult to beat.

We play in Q1, as do all the other Scottish teams in the Europa League. Anyone who tells you otherwise is ill-informed. Scotland is 26 in the coefficient rankings.

We definitely play all the qualifiers, as do the other Scottish sides. That has been known for some time, so I'm not sure why it's even being discussed.

Neil Benitez Mourinho Martinez Lennon is quite a big name.?

I’m going along to this so will feed back if anyone is interested.