compo

1 hour ago, 26th of foot said:

Perth Saints and Well Sinners.

 

I was betwixt and between. On Saturdays, I wanted to emulate Alfie Conn but on Sundays it was Al Green who took me to church. Albert Greene was pure Arkansas gospel and I had paid my local record shopkeeper in Cadzow Street, Hamilton an extra quid for an import of an album entitled, 'Green is Blues'. Hi Records was Willie Mitchell's own label and the single, 'Tired of Being Alone' was attached to the album sleeve. The record shop owner told me to keep the single because, "nobody listens to this pysh". Jethro Tull had the UK number one album and I received further advice, "this is what's happening". Ian Anderson was not my type of flautist.

 

Al and Alfie would have to wait, I played for my school in East Kilbride and took a solid flat of the boot, nylon studs showing on my right ankle. A couple of hours later, I started for Fir Park Boys' Club in Motherwell. I was subbed at half time, attended Hairmyers for an X-Ray and, was told my ankle bone had been chipped. I missed Alfie at Ibrox that afternoon against St Johnstone. Sandy Jardine and Colin Stein also missed out, returning from Turin with ankle injuries. They needed Al Green on prescription. In front of 25,000, Rangers fielded - McCloy, Denny, Mathieson, Greig, Jackson, Smith, McLean, Conn, D Johnstone, Johnston, I MacDonald. St Johnstone - Robertson, Lambie, Coburn, Rennie, Gordon, Argue, Leslie, Rooney, Pearson, Connolly and, Fraser. Big DJ notched in the 39th minute and Tommy McLean completed the scoring on the hour mark, for a comfortable 2-nil victory.

 

Monday morning arrived and my ankle had ballooned. I was back at the Accident and Emergency where a soft cast was applied. I was given a wooden crutch and took a ton of playground abuse. Jardine and Stein got it worse, both were selected for the Scottish League fixture at Ayrsome Park, Middlesbrough against the English League midweek. Sandy was named Skipper and led a team of cobalt blue jerseys, including Stein on to a most heavy Teeside pitch. Colin opened the scoring in a 3-2 defeat for the Scots. The Blades Tony Currie glided across the surface scoring a double and setting up Man City's Doyle for the winner.

 

Saturday arrived and we were due at Fir Park for the Scottish Cup quarter-final. I was swinging on a crutch,  both Jardine and, Stein faced late fitness tests. All three of us made the game. Obviously, I had not played for Motherwell's official youth club(no separate entity) that day and was thus denied my usual place in the Enclosure and denied my free pie and bovril. I paid into the terracing and in a strenuous effort to secure a view of the pitch amid a bumper 30,000 attendance, I found myself leaning on my support on top of the pie hut roof. I had climbed with the aid of the floodlight pylon. Had Al Green ever suffered tis much for his art?

 

Motherwell ran out - Fallon, Muir, Whiteford, Forsyth, McCallum, Watson, Campbell, McInally, McCabe, Lawson and, Heron. Rangers took to the sunshine - McCloy, Jardine, Mathieson, Greig, Jackson, Smith, McLean, D Johnstone, Stein, MacDonald, and, Johnston. I have stated before that Bobby Hewitt's 'Well side were well balanced and as Jock Wallace oft' said, they had a ton of character. Lawson was a poacher, McInally is Alan(Rambo)'s auld man and a real handful and, the football came from Jim McCabe and Sammy Campbell. The steel in the Steelmen was provided by Tam Forsyth, Jumbo Muir and, Whiteford. The weak point was former Sellik Keeper, John Fallon and he would prove pivotal in the tie.

 

The first half was calm, we emulated the Turin approach. We retained possession comfortably, creating a few opportunities and, when Doddie planted the ball into the net on the 33rd minute it was no surprise. There were eight of us on the pie stall flat roof and we drank in the spring sunshine one zip in the lead at half time. There existed a phenomenon in Scottish football in those days, half-time saw a migration from one end to the other, a determination to be behind the goal your team was shooting into. Another half-dozen joined us roof dwellers. First period Rangers became increasingly unrecognisable as the second period progressed. Jim McCabe found Brian Heron rushing beyond a clearly labouring Sandy Jardine and, the former Ranger calmly finished a minute before the hour. 

 

The game had changed, 'Well were all over us like a rash. We could not stop the crosses into our box and when the diminutive Northern Ireland internationalist, Sammy Campbell killed another desperate clearance and stroked it past a slow to get down McCloy, we all chorussed where was Billy Mathieson? Seventeen minutes to go and we were out the Cup. An increasingly relevant point of discussion was the stability of our defence as opposed the stability of the pie stall roof. We were twenty yards from the exit and another dozen and a half were sharing our uninterrupted vista. The Police vacated and closed the eatery, stopped any further incursions and, furiously demanded we all get down.

 

A Kirky Lawson effort was parried by the gas metre, Dave Smith cleared left and Johnston was off and running into a Bobby Watson body check. The Referee awarded the free kick, a touch off to Mathieson and he decided to turn back from a challenge but quickly turned the other way and got off a high floaty cross to the back stick. There were six minutes remaining when Colin Stein rose to head the ball back across John Fallon into the 'Well net. The equaliser was the last I saw, the ensuing mayhem caused the pie stall to collapse. The result was a dozen injuries, some serious breakages but fortunately nothing near fatal. I was hanging on to to a pylon cross support minus my crutch.

 

The replay at Ibrox was nine days away, in between we had the return leg of the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final and a league fixture at Ibrox against Morton. In those two games, another pie stall would be demolished and Colin Jackson would notch an unfortunate double. But hey, as Al Green sang, 'Let's stay Together'.

 

 

Bloody vandals 🤣

1 hour ago, ChelseaBoy said:

Bugger - i hoped nobody had noticed !!!

A shocker and a coupon buster .

This anniversary is one great marketing opportunity we should be selling everything from baby clothing to stuff for pensioners, make hay while the sun shines .

And if not then heads should roll. 

Well done he deserved it 

I see Cairney has had his trial postponed his legal team are saying he has dementia 

lets hear your thoughts on this draw good or bad or just a  lot of skullduggery to make sure the so called big nations dont fall at the first fence.

We know what we have to do, let’s have none of this sideways football the green japs will be buzzing like Zeros if we get caught out they will punish us up and at them from the first whistle.

Ninety minute’s of non stop attacking football 

Rangers 2 Celtic 0

FGS Kent .

Mon the gers  

Some common sense at last 

Buy agreeing to this needless match says to me the old firm is alive and well as long as there is money at the day's end .

All scruples have gone out the window by teaming up needlessly with a club that wanted to see us out of football. 

Sack the board🤣 🤣🤣 🙄

And right now Sydney is in a bit of a covid epidemic 

What a shambles 

We didn't need all this nonsense in our anniversary year the board don't cover themselves in glory .

5 hours ago, rbr said:

Really really enjoyed today , was sitting right behind Neil McCann and was asking him why he wasn’t out there , turns out he was asked but has no cartilage in one of his knees , however the thought must have gotten the better of him as he disappeared from the gantry 10 mins into the 2 nd half .

 

Watching some of these players was a delight , however Paul G is a poor poor soul , the reception and love shown though amazing hides the reality of a broken body and soul , god bless you and look after you Paul .

 

Lastly , to the parents of these kid , your a fucking disgrace , the club had 4 warnings about letting the kids on , yet they couldn’t help themselves , instead of the players getting warmly applauded and possibly even a lap of honour , which would have been thoroughly deserved , they had to scarper up the tunnel .

 

I saw at least 7 older fans in handcuffs getting led away , what is it with these idiots , why can they not just behave , they always need to ruin it for the rest .

The media will have a field day with seven getting carted at a charity game 🙄

We always had good and cordial relationship with Arsenal football club we should have arranged a match to celebrate our anniversary. 

11 hours ago, Bill said:

I detest international football

I think the Italian football association will be of the same mind this morning 😁 .

1 minute ago, Bill said:

Dave has it covered

Davie lad is up to something ☹️ .

If we pull out we might have to pay compensation to celtic 🤣 let's hope i'am wrong

The three points aside this was a brutal performance today somethings got to give either some new players or a new manager surely someone at Ibrox can see we need a halfback that can take a ball from his defenders and drive forward fuck it give them five days at Gullane for some well earned recreation 😃

Apart from the three points the only good thing to come out of this shambles will be to make all the tims at bbc Scotland sick as the proverbial parrot. 

Mon the gers 

Mon the gers  get into them earn your fucking wages

Playing like tits ,this is disgraceful 

By jove its  a grand day for a game of football the sun has got it's hat on this morning ⚽

If we have signed a contract then we may be liable for compensation. 

11 minutes ago, 26th of foot said:

From the Tunnel of Hate to the Grassy Knoll.

 

PQ have changed tact, from continuing as if a Scottish Club(Rangers) had not knocked out the German club(Borussia Dortmund) second in the Bundesliga in European competition to now, attempting to grab a piece of the action. BBC Scotland's preview of the Red Star Belgrade tie contained the revelation, "Red Star are privately pleased to be paired with Rangers". Their preview of last evening's game in Belgrade was Alasdair Lamont walking, "the tunnel of hate" at the Marakana stadium. Two hundred and fifty metres of graffiti is intended to be claustrophobic and intimidating, big Al' just pulled his coat and scarf closer. 

 

Game coverage was Big Dick sat in the PQ studio, with Richard Foster, Mark Hately and, Leanne Crichton. Liam McLeod commentated from the studio whilst watching the BT Sport live feed. Apparently, "Rangers have rode their luck"? we all have a view, I do not think any team can progress to the last eight of a European trophy without a bit of luck. Big Dick said it often enough to know it was his comfort blanket and he was clinging on. Anyways, Big Dick ended with, "Rangers have a maximum of fifteen games left in the season if they go all the way in each of the three competitions they are participating in". Okay, we'll keep riding the luck, Big Dick can keep riding Dolly.

 

BBC Scotland's last news bulletin carried a twenty second clip showing all three goals, heavy emphasis on Ryan Kent's, "deflected goal". Their first morning bulletin had Al Lamont post match in the Marakana with the held in Rangers support at his back. Al' told of Ryan Kent's, "deflected goal" and the quarter final draw being held after midday. The lunch time News had Kheredine Idessane standing upon the Hinshelwood Grassy Knoll, he told of the draw, "Braga are the best Rangers could have hoped for, avoiding Barcelona, Lyon and, West Ham". Then, we had a VoxPop filmed outside the Rangers Superstore. Nothing outrageous but why can't Rangers supporters just tell BBC Scotland to fcuk off?

 

Tomorrow, BBC Scotland's Sports Correspondent and Chief Sports writer, Chris and Tom visit Dublin for the Ireland versus Scotland Rugby Six Nations international. It will be scrum down for the Craic, slurping the broth of Bhoys, and, the luck of the Irish. I hope Chris and Tom do not take turns in the unedifying sight of riding Irish luck. Certainly, they'll have a deflected Try.

I have been watching horses down here at Cheltenham with more sense than the BBC lot .