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Another fine article by @Rick Roberts:

Johan, Johan, Johan Fyfe. I liked Graham Fyfe as a player, he was often described as versatile or carelessly deemed a super-sub'. The number ten before the concept had been articulated, was skilful, talented and knew where the goal was. Graham had fast feet but possessed no pace. He was clever but lacked patience. He played spectacular games whilst challenged by a brooding personality. His nickname, 'Johan' emanated from his performances in the Nou Camp during the Juan Gamper Tournament. The year after the ECWC victory, Rangers were invited back by Barcelona to compete in the competition and Fyfe's wonder displays and goals were compared by the Catalan press as being comparable to Johan Cruyff. The bottom of the table clash between Rangers and the men from Methil attracted 25,000 to Ibrox on the 9th October'71. The teams were : Rangers - McCloy, Jardine, Mathieson, Greig, McKinnon, Smith, Henderson, Conn, Stein, Fyfe and, MacDonald. East Fife - Gorman, Duncan, Clarke, Cairns, Martis, Thomson, Bernard, Hamilton, Hughes, Honeyman and, McQuade. It began well, the Ref' awarded a penalty in the second minute, dispatched by Sandy. The newly promoted Fifers were exponents of the 'off-side trap'. It was a most effective tactic, better exhibited by the then Aberdeen and Arsenal. Half-time was 1-0 Rangers. I had arrived late, courtesy of the aforementioned Tunnock's van and had missed the penalty. Forty minutes of watching the East Fife back four stepping up, all holding their arms aloft claiming off-side was a chore. A couple of minutes into the second half, clever Graham took the ball in on the edge of the D, intimated another ball wide, turned and passed the ball into the net from 20 yards. Doddie added a third on the hour mark and the threat of being bottom of the table dissipated. It was Tannadice next week and the hope was for a point to keep us out of the relegation zone. Scotland played Portugal midweek, newly appointed Tommy Docherty's first match as Manager. His trip to Tynecastle had confirmed Sandy Jardine as starting right back, Jim Cruikshank did not make it because the Doc' drafted in Arsenal's Bob Wilson. The Gunners Keeper was the first to be capped by Scotland on the strength of his old man being a born Scot. The Hibs pair of Stanton and Cropley made the national eleven : Wilson(Arsenal), Colquhoun(Sheffield United), Hay(Celtic), Jardine(Rangers), Bremner(Leeds United), Cropley(Hibs), Gemmill(Derby County), Johnstone(Celtic), Stanton(Hibs), Graham(Arsenal) and, O'Hare(Derby County). We won 2-1 with the Rams pairing of Archie Gemmill and John O'Hare notching the goals. It was all change, the Tams no longer occupied number one in the UK charts. Maggie May by Rod Stewart and the Faces had taken over the top spot. Now, this caused uproar in the band, the three original Small Faces took umbrage at being labeled Rod's backing band. Bassist, Ronnie Lane explained they had rid themselves of 'Lead singer syndrome' when Steve Marriott had left the Small Faces. They had invited in Rod and Ron Wood to form the Faces, now three albums in on Warner brothers. Rod explained he had another recording deal with Mercury and as such, was a 'Separate Entity'? Just for the record, Graham Fyfe was at Rangers for seven years, 1969-1976. He made 87 appearances, scoring 31 goals. He was transferred to Hibs along with Ally Scott in the deal that brought Iain Munro to the club.

Great article, but writing letters of complaint is not the most effective way to fight back. The only way to hurt them is to stop buying their rags, stop visiting their sites, clicking or sharing links and don't pay their licence fee. As the writer identifies, we have the numbers. Unfortunately still too many of us continue to fund the problem whilst simultaneously whining about the product.

Second halves only against Israel and Faroe yes. But they are playing winning football. Many times in the past Scotland have played the beautiful game and got thumped, but the present lot are getting the job done. Our boy Patterson made the goal last night.

An intriguing idea, but one which, perhaps, contains too many flaws for the Club to implement. 1. No lover of Rangers, he, or so I am told. 2. Does he have the ability to play for the Club, in the SPFL, and in Europe? 3. Does he have the temperament to handle representing a Big Club, on, and off, the park? 4. Most pertinently: do we wish to witness, should he sign, The Porteous Riots, redux, and the cobbles of Edinburgh run red with blood? I could live with that personally, perhaps, unless the player had actually signed. Note that the original Porteous met a very violent, very gory and very nasty end at the hands of the Embra mob, which displayed a savagery that Mr Irvine Welsh could only dream of. For those for whom The Porteous Riots represent a lacuna in their otherwise comprehensive grasp of Scottish history, here is a quick resume from Wkipedia: On 14 April 1736 three convicted smugglers, Andrew Wilson a "notorious smuggler", William Hall and George Robertson, were arrested, tried and condemned to death. Hall's sentence was commuted to exile, while Wilson and Robertson awaited their fate. A few days before the execution they made an escape attempt from the Tolbooth prison (next to St Giles Cathedral) . Wilson removed a bar from the window but became stuck in the window "being a very stout man" and blocked Robertson's escape. Andrew Wilson and Robertson were publicly hanged in the Grassmarket on 14 April 1736. The body of Wilson was cut down by a sailor who ran forward. Captain Porteous reacted to this by grabbing a musket and firing, killing a man in the crowd behind. He ordered his guards to fire on the justifiably angry crowd and a further five were killed. In the ensuing riot the hangman, Porteous and the guards sought refuge in the City Guardhouse on the Royal Mile As the situation worsened, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, for fear of an attempt to pull the killers out of the guardhouse, instructed Captain Porteous to call out the entire guard and to furnish them with powder and shot. Accounts of events are confused, but what is certain is that Captain Porteous instructed his men to fire above the heads of the crowd but, in so doing, they shot and wounded people in the windows of the high tenement buildings opposite. The crowd became increasingly violent and, as panic set in, Captain Porteous ordered the guard to shoot into the mob, which led to the deaths of six people in all. The trial and appeal Porteous was arrested the same afternoon and charged with murder. He was tried at the High Court of Justiciary on 5 July 1736, where a majority of witnesses testified that Porteous had personally fired into the crowd on 14 April, although sixteen others said they had not seen him do so. Feelings were running high in Edinburgh and the jury unanimously found Porteous guilty of murder. He was sentenced to death, the execution set to take place in the Grassmarket on 8 September 1736. Porteous was imprisoned in the same condemned cell in the Tolbooth as had earlier held Wilson and Robertson. Events in Scotland alarmed the government in London, and Sir Robert Walpole attempted to influence events by asking his representative in Edinburgh to become involved. But he had miscalculated, underestimating the depth of feeling in Scotland. A formal appeal was petitioned and the execution was deferred. Death of Porteous Public resentment at a reprieve granted by Queen Caroline was such that a plot to lynch Captain Porteous was hatched, and when the authorities heard of this it was decided to increase the guard at the Tolbooth prison. However, on the evening before this was due to happen, a large crowd of over four thousand gathered at Portsburgh, west of the city. Making their way across the Grassmarket to the Cowgate and up to the High Street, the mob converged on the Tolbooth, where they were eventually able to overpower the guards. Porteous was dragged from his cell up the Lawnmarket to the West Bow and down to the Grassmarket, where he was lynched from a dyer's pole, using a rope taken from a local draper's shop. After a short while he was dragged down and stripped of his nightgown and shirt, which was then wrapped around his head before he was hauled up again. However, the mob had not tied his hands and, as he struggled free, they broke his arm and shoulder, while another attempted to set light to his naked foot. He was taken down a further time and cruelly beaten before being hung up again, and died a short while later, just before midnight on 7 September 1736. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh, the following day. Note: The Porteous Riots figure in Scott's novel The Heart of Midlothian, so clearly Porteous wisnae a Hibby, and his brutal end is, thus, more easily understood.

Brilliant article. Thank you for that. I've said it before, time for Rangers to back the fans, not when they do something stupid but when the entire support are under attack. I used to admire Devine for his impartiality and was shocked and sickened to watch that interview.

Surely now that NI are no longer in contention for the 2022 World Cup, Davis can retire from international football and try to concentrate on the club that pays his wages. I thought it ridiculous that SG admitted he left Davis out our game v Hibs because he had 2 internationals and travelling coming up. Surely that is the wrong way round, and that Davis, having to be used sparingly at his age, should be giving his all for Rangers, and used sparingly for his country, even more so when they were playing effective dead rubbers with pretty much no hope of qualifying anyway? He owes NI nothing after giving fantastic service, he is still on big money with us and should be doing everything in his power to ensure he is available to play.

The question I want answered is why was Murray's offer to settle for a one off payment rejected when many clubs in England were accepted.