JohnMc

Jim McLean - An Appreciation 

Our last match of the 1983/84 season took place on the 14th of May away at Tannadice. I remember very little about the match itself other than the facts that Rangers won and that there was a rousing rendition of ‘Rangers are back, Rangers are back’ from the away support situated under the old covered terrace along Sandeman Street. Season 83/84 was one of major change for Rangers. For only the 9th time in our history we changed managers when John Grieg, arguably our greatest ever captain, resigned following a run of poor results and vocal supporter unrest. Ironically we replaced the eighth manager in our history with the seventh, Jock Wallace. There were 14 days between Grieg resigning and Wallace being appointed, during those 2 weeks former Rangers player, supporter and Govan boy, Alex Ferguson, signed a new, improved contract with Aberdeen amid much speculation that he was top of Rangers wanted list and Dundee Utd manager, Jim McLean, travelled to Glasgow for an interview for the job, returning to Dundee and announcing he didn’t want it. 

It might seem strange to some that the death of a man who never played, coached or managed our club should warrant any comment in a Rangers supporter’s website, but for me Jim McLean actually had a profound and long lasting influence on Rangers, despite the lack of any formal attachment. 

The feeling of rejuvenation our supporter’s felt at Tannadice that May afternoon wasn’t a delusion. Following Wallace’s appointment in November Rangers only lost 2 matches for the rest of the season and won the League Cup, defeating Celtic in the final. Dundee Utd finished one place above us that season, so beating them in that final match felt significant, like laying down a marker for the following season. It wasn’t, but we didn’t know that at the time. The other aspect required to understand the context of that victory was just how good a side Dundee Utd were back then. 

Dundee United weren’t even the best team in their street before appointing Jim McLean as manager. People with greater insight than I will be able to explain how he transformed Tayside’s second team into Scottish Champions and a genuine force in Europe. Much will be written about his methods, his perpetual sense of injustice and his volcanic temper. What shouldn’t be overlooked though is the magnificence of some of those Utd sides. Dundee United had width and speed, they played fluid, attacking football and featured players you hated and coveted in equal measure. As surprising as it might seem now, visiting Tannadice in those days wasn’t an unpleasant experience either. I never felt the hostility that exists now. Perhaps their supporters, unaccustomed to success, were simply enjoying the ride. Perhaps back in the 1980s, during enormous social upheaval, we all realised we were more alike. Whatever the reasons it feels like a long time ago now. 

McLean was one of 3 brothers born and raised near Larkhall in Lanarkshire. It was a footballing family, his grandfather had played for Rangers, his father had played Junior and McLean and his two brothers, Tommy and Willie, all played and managed professionally. Tommy, the youngest brother, was the the best player, winning the league with Kilmarnock before joining Rangers and enjoying a long and distinguished career. 

When Jim McLean was interviewed for Rangers manager, his brother, Tommy, was the caretaker manager. Tommy McLean was assistant manager to Greig, and while not really in the running for the manager’s job at the time, his presence must have played a part in his brother’s thinking. Many theories exist as to why both McLean and Ferguson didn’t want the Rangers manager job, most of them are without substance. What can be said though is that Rangers were at a low ebb. Our scouting and player development was poor and the creativity our board showed in planning and building the Ibrox Stadium we recognise today was sadly absent when looking at football matters. It sounds arrogant, but the inability of a club like Rangers to attract the manager of Dundee Utd was a seismic blow to our standing. McLean, then in his mid-forties and at the height of his mercurial powers would have transformed Rangers, had he been allowed. At Utd he had complete control of the football side, it’s unlikely he’d have ever got that at Rangers. Ultimately his loyalty to Dundee Utd and his family, who were settled in the city, is admirable and should be recognised as such. 

McLean’s refusal led to the second Wallace era. It started well but ended badly. Wallace was unable to craft a side from the ingredients he inherited. Despite some success his tenure went the way of Grieg as crowds fell and mediocrity normalised. 

There had been a change in the Rangers boardroom too during this time and Wallace’s dismissal, whilst sad, was largely welcomed by the support. The imagination lacking in his appointment a few years before was very much present in the choosing of his successor; Graeme Souness. This is where Jim McLean’s influence on our club is most significantly felt. Souness was wise enough to know he needed someone beside him who understood Scottish domestic football intimately. He chose well, he chose Walter Smith, Jim McLean’s assistant, confidant and consigliere. 

It’s impossible to overstate the influence McLean had on Walter Smith. Smith was signed from Junior football for Utd by McLean’s predecessor, Jerry Kerr, but it was under McLean that he became a first team regular. Smith stayed there for 9 years, returning for a further 2 as a player following a couple of seasons at Dumbarton. On retirement from playing at the end of the 1970s McLean took Smith onto the coaching staff and he eventually became Dundee Utd’s assistant manager. Smith’s time as a coach coincided with Dundee Utd’s most successful spell. Winning the League Cup twice, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup and of course winning the league itself. McLean and Smith achieved this with a side largely made up of home grown players and cast-offs. Perhaps the greatest tribute you can pay that United side is that during a period when Scotland were rich enough player-wise to overlook European Cup winning captains for caps, Dundee Utd supplied 5 players to our World Cup final squad for the Mexico finals in 1986, more than any other team. Rangers only supplied one player, two if you include Souness. 

Smith’s tenure at Rangers needs little embellishment from me here. His long time assistant, Archie Knox, was also a disciple of McLean having played under him in the 70s. I mean no disrespect to McLean’s memory when I point out that Dundee United’s decline as a force in football started after Smith left. 

There was a time in Scottish football, and it doesn’t feel all that long ago to me, when any one of five clubs could realistically expect to win the league and when an away win at Tannadice was something to be really savoured. Jim McLean belongs to Dundee United, and it’s their supporters who will feel his loss, but we shouldn’t overlook his influence on Rangers, both directly and indirectly. The last 30 years would have been very different without him. 

Sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jim McLean, a genuine football legend. 

You can point to improved fitness, the quality of substitutes on our bench now and even grittier, stronger team spirit than last season if you want but my cousin didn't finish his work until around 4.15, he logged onto Rangers TV at 0-1 and then witnessed 20 minutes of the match where we scored 3 goals. We've both agreed he'll now follow this routine for every match from now on. League's in the bag for sure...

For decades psychologists have studied why humans are reluctant to accept randomness as simply part of life, instead are inclined to believe that we can, at least to some extent, predict, influence, and control the world around us. Of course there are many, many aspects of life we can influence and control, but there are just as many we can’t, so we create mechanisms to deal with these. For millennia different societies have reacted to low or reduced personal control by strongly endorsing a belief in the existence and influence of external controlling powers. These feelings manifest themselves in many ways. The Aztecs made human sacrifices in the hope they would prevent earthquakes. The ancient Greeks built shrines to their gods in their homes, convinced that their gods would be angry and punish them if they didn’t. Today, you probably know someone who believes 9/11 was staged or who is convinced Covid is a hoax and vaccines are a scam perpetrated by ‘big pharma’. Psychologists believe that when randomness imposes itself on our lives we react by reintroducing order as we best understand it. This can manifest itself as simple superstitions, rituals or global conspiracy theories that draw us in. For some it’s easier to believe they are being threatened by evil scientists than by a naturally mutating virus they can neither control nor see. This is called compensatory control.

I’m guilty of this. My first thought on Wednesday evening as I saw the Rangers side enter the pitch at St Mirren was ‘we never play well in white socks’. I was right. Rangers should always wear black socks with red tops, everyone knows we play better in them, that’s a sacred cow in my belief system. I’ve had a few of these over the years. I own about 5 Rangers scarves, but only my white bar scarf is lucky. Like thousands of others when I leave the stadium I must touch the top of the exit with my left hand, it’s very bad luck not too. Also, I never, ever leave a match early, if I did it would create a karma cataclysm I’m not sure the club could withstand. In the past I’ve found myself wearing the exact same clothing to match after match as clearly that particular sartorial combination was contributing to our good run of form. I’m not alone in this. I once knew a Hamilton Accies season ticket holder who followed them home and away. He missed two matches in a row through illness and Hamilton won them both. They lost the next match he attended and he and his friends agreed he was bringing them bad luck and he didn’t attend another match that season. Following Hamilton was a huge part of his life, but he knew his presence was causing them their problems that season.

The major flaw with compensatory control however is that it’s not based in reality. I hope Rangers are wearing black and red socks again against Motherwell this weekend, but let’s be honest that wasn’t the reason we lost to St Mirren and it won’t have any bearing on Saturday’s result either, no matter what my addled mind might tell me nearer the time. I’ve watched Rangers lose far more matches in perfect black and red socks than I have in white ones. There’s a helplessness that comes with being a Rangers supporter currently. Actually being present at a match provides some level of tangible contribution. I might not be able to control the midfield from a seat in the enclosure, but I can shout obscenities at the opposition right back that he can actually hear, so that’s almost the same thing, right? Watching all of our matches on TV just underlines how little control I actually have. The dog has learned to go to another room so she’s not startled by my random volcanic outbursts following a misplaced pass or over hit cross. My Rangers impotence is very real this season.

Saturday’s match is a chance for our side to make amends. To show that Wednesday night was simply a slip, not a fall. Motherwell come to Ibrox in poor fettle, 3 straight losses and a draw in their last 4 matches is relegation form. Indeed, were it not for the awarding of Motherwell 6 points for two Covid postponed matches earlier in the season they’d be 3rd bottom, clearly the scientists behind the Covid conspiracy are based in post-industrial Lanarkshire. We last played them in late September when we ran out 5-1 winners. If you could pick opposition to play when you need to bounce back from a setback then this current Motherwell team is it. A struggling side, in poor form, at home; surely it’s just a question of how many we’ll score? But this is football and as we all know random, inexplicable things happen in football, things we can’t control or explain. How did last season’s Rangers side crumble in January after comprehensively beating Celtic at a full Parkhead at New Year? Why did we lose to St Mirren on Wednesday? Are Rangers mentally fragile, have sides finally figured out how to nullify our marauding style of play? Are we destined to become the Scottish version of Keegan’s Newcastle? I don’t think so. We learned on Wednesday that a 20 year old with only 4 first team starts in his entire career isn’t as effective as the first choice left back for Croatia. We also learned that Cedric Itten isn’t yet as good as Alfredo Morelos and that every Rangers starting 11 should have at least one of Jack, Davis or Kamara on the pitch. We also learned that lapses in concentration and weakly surrendering possession will see us punished. None of these things should come as a surprise to us though, we surely already knew this. Every manager in Scotland, including Motherwell’s, will be studying how St Mirren were able to frustrate us. As such I expect Barasic to return to left back and Kamara and Davis to the centre of our midfield. I’m not sure how badly injured Balogun is but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Helander make a return to the side either way. I think we’ll persevere with Itten, Kent and Roofe, but a start for Defoe wouldn’t be a big surprise either and Hagi must be due another chance soon too. Motherwell have two first choice picks for Scotland in their defence but will be without Hastie up front who is currently on loan from us. Motherwell will aim to frustrate us, close us down and try and prevent us playing our quick passing game. They’ll have taken heart from the St Mirren result, it’ll be interesting to see what we’ve taken from it. We can expect plenty of possession, we might need patience and resilience too.

Rangers fans have been damaged by the events of the last few years. We got used to mentally preparing ourselves for the worst. It was easier that way when it inevitably happened. So the last 4 months of undiluted, high octane winning football were greedily enjoyed, momentarily quenching a burning desire to see Rangers return to the pinnacle of Scottish football. But I’m an addict and while I’ve greatly enjoyed my weekly hit of out-classing every opposition we’ve met, I need it to continue every week. I can’t go cold turkey, not at Christmas. In a year that’s carried more anxiety than any for decades football is not providing an escape, I find myself approaching a home match against a below average Motherwell side like it’s a cup final.

When we last won the league, back in 2010/11, we lost 5 league matches, in 2008/09 we lost 4. Every side loses matches, it’s how they respond to them that matters. So far we’ve not lost a league match this season, yet the jitters have already set in with many in our support. One setback and we’re nervously watching through our fingers instead of sitting back and enjoying the ride. I suspect anything less than a victory on Saturday will cause psychological damage to the players and the support. While this side has a style and vim about it that Walter Smith’s sides could only dream of, it doesn’t yet have his side’s inner steel. It’s not a compensatory control to say we need that, every side that wants to win the league needs a strength and desire that’s greater than it’s opposition’s. Our manager knows better than most that one slip in the league can define a season, this weekend is not the weekend to make ours.

Saturday will tell us if this side is on the road to greatness or not. To be on the safe side make sure you wear your lucky shirt and don’t use the same mug or glass you had on Wednesday evening, just in case.

I thought Roofe, Kent and Morelos were all below par yesterday. Kent flattered to deceive but worked hard,  Morelos worked hard and got into some good positions but his finishing was very poor and Roofe was as quiet as I remember him in a game. Dundee Utd deserve some credit for stopping us playing at our most fluent but we controlled most of the match and should have won by a more comfortable margin than we did. 

For me Morelos was never as good as some thought he was this time last season and he's not as bad as some think he is this season. All strikers go through spells where it's not happening and he seems to be having one just now. He's still our 3rd highest goal scorer for the season though and we're not even half way through. Itten is now putting pressure on Roofe and Morelos for a starting spot, his performance at Poznan and his wee run yesterday gave us a glimpse of the player he is. I've not been very impressed with him until very recently and certainly didn't think he deserved a starting spot ahead of Kent, Roofe or Morelos. But, no one would be very surprised if he starts our next match, he's made the most of the chances he's had. 

When you analyse our side you can see that Gerrard doesn't like changing the defence much, Balogun and Helander swap in and out but the rest rarely do. Our midfield tends to alternate much more but our forward line, when everyone is fit, tends to be Kent, Roofe and Morelos. As the side is winning and playing well it's difficult to criticise this. Itten will get a chance again soon and if he plays well and scores then I think he'll keep his spot. Of course injuries and suspensions will come into it soon too. Morelos will get goals again, I've no doubt about that, even off form a bit he's still a handful to defend against. 

This is a great thread with some important contributions. Yes, it's been tetchy at times but people are passionate about it and that can only be a good thing. 

While I can see a lot of merit in what Club 1872 are proposing to do I can understand why some are sceptical of the organisation and who ultimately benefits. I'm not sure if that invalidates this proposal though. 

Before I started working from my bedroom a living like a hermit earlier this year I used to attend conferences and seminars. A regular topic at these events was 'exit strategy'. This basically means how will you leave the business you own. This is harder and more complicated than it sounds. Firstly, if you want to sell your business then it needs to be attractive to someone else. My first feeling when I read about this was that Dave King has struggled to find an exit strategy, and this is the best he's been able to come with. The reality of owning shares in Rangers is you are unlikely to make money from them. You might find ways of making money while you own them; they're good for profile, I imagine many people are impressed by a visit to the directors box, there are contacts to be made and possibly contracts the club needs fulfilled too. But the actual shares themselves are difficult to sell. 

Rangers are a huge club, but geography dictates that to outside investors Crystal Palace or Burnley are more attractive. They have access to riches we can only dream of. That narrows the field of potential buyers enormously. As things stand investing in shares in Rangers is more than likely going to lose you the investment. Whatever we might think about David Murray he was a shrewd operator and even he wasn't able to sell his shares. Dave King is a sharp cookie, a formidable businessman, tenacious and brave, yet he's already lost millions and I can understand why he doesn't fancy losing much more. In the end if his fellow directors don't want to buy his shares and if his children don't want to inherit them, then he needs to look outside for a buyer. Of all the potential buyers that throws up I think Club 1872 are definitely more positive than an investor with no previous connection to the club for example. Personally I'd prefer Club 1872 owned Dave King's shares than a minor Saudi prince or an American with a couple of minor league baseball clubs and an ice-hockey franchise looking to diversify his portfolio. 

For me the challenge all this needs to overcome is cultural. The reservations that some posters hold have been well articulated, but they're largely reservations about the governance of Club 1872 and and the efficacy of this particular proposal. I don't see that as at he big challenge, the big challenge is supporter apathy. Listening to the 4 Lads podcast I was alarmed to hear that Club 1872 only has 'around 7,000' members. That's fewer than sit in the Copland Road every other week (before I started working from my bedroom). With 45,000 season ticket holders and an active support of somewhere over 250,000 individuals that 7,000 number is depressingly low. But this isn't just a Rangers support problem or a Club 1872 problem. Clubs all across the UK struggle to attract fan involvement in ownership. Earlier this year Wrexham supporters agreed to sell their club to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney a couple of fairly successful Hollywood actors with no connection to Wales far less Wrexham. I found this profoundly depressing. Not so long ago poor ownership led to Wrexham FC collapsing and being placed in administration. Sound familiar? Saved by a local car dealer poor finances dogged the club for several more years before eventually their Supporters Trust bought the club. A similar thing happened to Notts County a few years ago, where the Supporters Trust agreed to sell to a middle eastern consortium, with disastrous consequences. You really don't need to look too deeply to find football clubs with unpopular owners or being very badly run. 

Yet, despite this British football supporters, undeniably passionate and emotionally involved, resist becoming actually involved. So our football clubs remain open to rapacious asset strippers and incompetent chancers. For me that's the big challenge for Dave King and Club 1872, because if the events of the last 10 years didn't stir us from our apathy, then what will? I also suspect our other major shareholders will be looking at this with interest. At some point in the future they will want to dispose of their shares too. Some might have children equally passionate and interested and keen to inherit, but others might want their money back. In the end I believe football clubs should be owned by their supporters. Whether that's a small number of supporters who own large chunks or a large number who own small chunks. What Hearts have done is interesting, and worth spending time studying, but a number of clubs worth far less than Rangers have struggled to create something similar.  It seems most supporters simply don't want involved in running a club. 

I suppose the other question relates to whether people feel grateful to Dave King and what he did for Rangers. Are significant numbers grateful enough to give him £500 each? That's the reality of what's being proposed for me. This isn't so much about buying a significant stake in the club, or who controls Club 1872, both of those things will change in time. This is about whether Dave King should get his investment back or not. If he doesn't we might find it very hard to attract another wealthy supporter should the need ever arise again. 

I suspect TV will want to show the Celtic v Aberdeen match so they'll have a lot of input into the date. I also suspect Celtic will try and hold this match back as long as possible in the hope of getting fans in. It would be ironic if by the time supporters are allowed back into matches Celtic's are boycotting theirs...

The criticism of McBurnie is ridiculous and you can't help feel his stated club allegiances play a part. It's not like he's keeping someone better out of the team, when Dykes is fit he plays and McBurnie is the sub, it's hard to think of a Scottish striker any better after that. Griffiths, if fit and in form, would probably be picked ahead of him, and it would be hard to argue with that based on footballing ability. But Griffiths is clearly not fit or in any kind of form and it underlines the lack of quality that he's even making the squad currently. The players themselves can see Griffiths isn't fit and must wonder why someone with his attitude is making the squad far less getting game time. For me that's a far bigger talking point for the media, but I won't hold my breath waiting for someone to raise it. 

In reality Scotland played 3 matches against average opposition, they drew one and lost two, scoring only one goal in the process. Our qualification, whilst very welcome, has helped mask reality. Richard Gordon in particular was highly critical of McBurnie, yet strangely uncritical of the manager who chose and played him. Surprising...