JohnMc

The late Jock Wallace is often characterised as the archetypal old school manager; gruff, authoritarian, intimidating, bellowing orders and ruling through fear. Some of that might be true, but it’s also true of many football managers of that era. What’s so often overlooked about Wallace was his subtle use of psychology. Wallace was faced with a daunting task when he assumed the mantel of Rangers manager. Not only was he in direct competition with Jock Stein, a manager of incredible ability, but also a Celtic side containing hugely talented and experienced players who knew how to win the league. Wallace’s first season in charge saw Rangers finish 5 points behind the champions and one point behind second place Hibs. Wallace knew that Rangers had good players, we’d won the Cup Winners Cup only a couple of years before, and any squad that contained Greig, Jardine, McLean, MacDonald and Johnstone was as good as any in the league. Wallace understood that what was missing was belief and a mental toughness. Wallace needed something that made his players believe they were unbeatable, something that gave them a psychological edge over their opposition. Wallace found the answer on a beach overlooking the Firth of Forth close to where he was raised. 

Murder Hill, as it came to be known, is simply a long, steep sand dune. Wallace knew about it from his childhood, local sports clubs, including Hearts, had trained on the Gullane sands for years before Wallace took his Rangers side there. But most of the Rangers players didn’t know about it. The squad were made to run up and down it, sometimes carrying medicine balls, sometimes teammates. The mix of the coastal wind and the sand made the players thirsty, the sand would get everywhere making them uncomfortable and the gruelling nature of the training exhausted this band of fit young men, as all pre-season training does. Wallace was able to convince his players that this pre-season work had made them fitter than they had ever been before. He convinced them they were now the fittest team in the league, that no other side could live with their strength. His final masterstroke was telling the press about it. Not only did the Rangers players believe it but so did the support and, importantly, the opposition too. 

We welcome, if that’s the right word, Aberdeen to Ibrox this Saturday. Unusually for a match between the clubs it takes place at 3pm on a Saturday. Aberdeen arrive in poor form with only one win in their last four, a scrappy 1-0 over Dumbarton in the cup. Their support are restless, the turgid, pragmatic football Derek McInnes sets his side up to play can be tolerated when it brings victories but finds you friendless when it doesn’t. It’s almost surreal to think 24 months ago we were still smarting from being unable to prise him from Aberdeen’s grasp. As Ross Bennett on the Gersnet Podcast quipped it’s the greatest bullet dodge since The Matrix. I expect Aberdeen to bring a defensive mindset, giving us the ball until the final third, then filling it with bodies and closing the space. They’ll aim to frustrate our players and perhaps our support. Prepare for a physical match, lots of niggles, off the ball stuff and gamesmanship. 

We enter the match still missing our captain and first choice right back and our most influential midfielder in Jack along with Helander and Defoe. At the time of writing we look to be signing Hagi and possibly one or two others. I wouldn’t expect any of them to start though our bench might contain some new faces. Polster should retain his place, personally I think anyone looks good when compared to Flanagan, but in the case of Polster he does seem to bring something to the team. Aberdeen will be a test of his attacking ability, he’ll spend most of the match in their half, so his passing and crossing will be vital. I expect Arfield will also retain his place in midfield, along with Davis and Kamara. Whether Ojo has done enough to keep a starting spot is harder to guess, I suspect not and think Aribo with start along with Kent. Defoe’s absence is lessened by the return of Morelos. Morelos will be targeted by the Aberdeen players and probably their support. A support who think nothing of singing about the 66 football supporters who tragically died whilst at the site of that disaster are almost beyond redemption. I suspect Ian Durrant will get a mention too. Morelos has more reason than most to be fearful of opposition supporters. Already this week police are investigating an incident with his car and intruder close to his home and a man called Sean Baillie appeared in court charged in relation with throwing a cup of scalding liquid at Morelos during a recent Motherwell match. Morelos has to face this whilst living thousands of miles from home and with his wife expecting their first child. Gerrard has played down the incidents and their affect on Morelos, as is Gerrard’s style, but I’m not sure if I believe him. The hatred Morelos faces has long ago crossed the line from supporter rivalry and into something altogether more sinister. The man in court this week is 30 years old, he’s not some daft teenager. 

For me this is the culmination of years of public demonisation of Rangers. The neanderthal narrative some love to peddle stops being banter and turns into something much darker when it fuels the kind of incidents we’re seeing now. That we face Aberdeen this weekend, one of the more enthusiastic participants in the denigration of our club and our support, is fitting. That they went to the bother of creating a banner, in Spanish, aimed squarely at Morelos tells you all you need to know about the mindset of some of their support. This act by their support was ignored by the SPFL and the police, but hey, it’s only the funny wee foreign lad after all. It’s been open season on the league’s top scorer for a while now, players, managers, referees, supporters and the media have all been complicit in this. 

As for the match itself we should win comfortably. But then we should have won our last encounter with Aberdeen comfortably too. Throwing away a 2 goal league was very disappointing, particularly after having dominated the match. We were mentally weak that night, unable to match Aberdeen’s rise in tempo and direct style. That weakness was evident again last weekend at Tynecastle. This will be our third league match in 7 days, surely we’re now over any rustiness that set in after the winter break. 

The clever thing about Murder Hill of course is that you don’t actually get any fitter running up and down sand dunes than you would running on a treadmill or round a track; you just think you do. Wallace understood this, he knew the dunes helped the side’s mental strength far more than its collective stamina. Gerrard needs to find his Murder Hill, the thing that galvanises the squad and makes them fully believe they are unbeatable. Saturday would be the perfect day discover it. 

This is my favourite thread in all of Rangers messageboard-dom, I look forward to 26th’s posts, they are invariably witty, prescient and well written. I don’t know 26th, I’ve never spoken to him far less met him, so like so many people you see online you create your own impression of them based on what they post. These assumptions could be well wide of reality of course, I suspect most of us are a lot more nuanced in real life than online. 

Anyway, for what it’s worth I don’t think 26th of Foot is anti-Irish, but I can understand how a new poster only reading posts 2149 and 2150 might think he is. I’d recommend a wider reading of 26th’s posts PoohBear, they’re usually pretty good. 

I too have an Irish wife, (and will soon have children sporting Irish passports, thanks for that Brexit…) and spent a few years living on that side of the Irish Sea. It certainly gave me a different perspective on things, particularly on the nuances we all have. I don’t know what ‘anti-British’ actually means. Do we mean the Irish government is ‘anti-British’? Is it the Irish people? All of them? Most of them? Just a minority perhaps? And are they anti everyone and everything in Britain, just the government perhaps, or maybe certain politicians and policies? It’s a difficult thing to define, isn’t it. 

So here’s my experience, others will have had different ones. Ireland has a complicated relationship with the UK. The war of independence and its precursors and aftermath still play a big part in the culture of the country. This year has already seen controversy as we approach important centenaries in Irish history. But in the 25 years I’ve been visiting Ireland it has changed enormously. Ireland was a very conservative country, wary of change and slow to adopt many of the things other European countries took for granted. There is no way an openly gay man of half Asian parentage could have become Irish Prime Minister 25 years ago for example. The influence of the Catholic Church is diminished to be almost irrelevant now, certainly in terms of governmental policy and wider cultural norms. From the top down it’s a very different country to the one I first visited. 

In terms of their relationship with the UK it’s fair to say it’s complicated. Almost everyone in the Republic of Ireland has family in the UK, they’ve all visited, they’ve all consumed ‘British’ culture from the day they were born, be that music, television or, to try and get relevant again, sport. The best supported football team in the whole of Ireland is Manchester United. Second best supported is Liverpool. Very few people take much interest in ‘local’ football, both north and South of the border. It’s not a great standard and English football has been available to watch live for decades now, long before the advent of Sky. Most Irish I speak to treat Scottish football with a mix of curiosity and disdain. Most will ‘have a Scottish team’, this normally takes the form of a side they’d rather see win but wouldn’t actually cross the road to watch. In the North this is usually Rangers, elsewhere Celtic are more popular. I’ve pointed out the error of this many times, but it can be hard to argue when one side is flying Irish flags and, well, the other side isn’t. But in actual fact most of them couldn’t care less who wins in Scotland, they’d rather talk about Rashford or Mane. 

I’ve met bigots in Ireland. Small minded, scared people incapable of seeing the other persons point of view. Some of them were inconsequential and easily ignored, some of them, unfortunately, were harder to ignore. But Ireland is complicated, its history has created things that are hard. I’m not Arlene Foster’s biggest fan, but I can see why seeing your father shot outside your house and having your school bus bombed might colour how you see life and the compromises you’re willing to make. Likewise I can now understand why someone from the Creggan might not see the Poppy symbol in the same way I do. We don’t all have to see the world the same way. 

For what it’s worth my Irish wife has been largely made very welcome in Scotland. She considers Glasgow her home, we chose to raise our children here, almost everyone is friendly to her. But, on rare occasions there have been snide remarks, the occasional insult, sometimes not intended, but felt all the same. Someone recently was incredulous that she got to vote in the General Election (she’s lived in Scotland for 17 years and the UK for 25) and told her she had no right to a say in what happened ‘here’. There are morons everywhere, Ireland has some, Scotland does too. Don’t judge an entire country on them is my one piece of advice. 

Put me in the 'we really missed Morelos' camp. I don't think Defoe is physically capable of playing 3 full matches in 8 days and his lack of pace was really shown today, twice caught when put through by a defender a good 3 or 4 feet behind him initially. As an option coming off the bench he's perfect, his touch and speed of thought in the final 20 minutes of a match when defenders are tiring remain an asset. You have to wonder about the wisdom of releasing Hardie and Rudden. Neither seem like they had long term futures at the club, but holding onto Rudden in particular until the summer at least offers us some cover up front. 

While the midfield was poor yesterday Morelos ability to hold the ball up, make runs that create space for others and come deep to link was sorely missed yesterday, that kind of ability helps midfielders, it allows them to play it early if needed knowing Morelos can chase it down, hold it up or draw a foul. 

Morelos missing doesn't excuse us throwing away a lead or some of the puzzling decisions (Ojo coming on??) made, but for me it further underlines his huge importance to our side. 

This thread has taken an unexpected turn. Anyway, here's some fuel for the fire... 

Personally, without any inside knowledge, I expect every member of the Hamilton board, playing staff and supporter would love to win the Scottish Cup. The Scottish Cup final has been contested by Ross County, Falkirk, Motherwell, Inverness, Dundee Utd, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs the Tims and ourselves over the last decade. The decade before saw Queen Of The South, Gretna and Dunfermline reach the final. So it's not inconceivable that Hamilton, or any other side in the top 2 leagues in Scotland, could make the final. 

However, undoubtedly every side in Scotland sees the Cup as a potential cash windfall, and for many, many sides the prospect of a trip to Ibrox or Parkhead is a huge bonus for them. There is still romance in a small side drawing a big side and travelling to their ground for the match. I suspect some of the people involved at Stranraer on Friday will never forget the experience, one they may never be involved in again. It's different for Hamilton, they play us 3 or 4 times a season just now, they are already guaranteed at least one trip to Ibrox, so drawing us is less 'romantic' in that respect. But it would be naive, I think, to dismiss the financial windfall a trip to Ibrox would provide a club like Hamilton. Getting half the gate, probable TV revenue, catering and so on would make a massive difference to them, it wasn't so long ago they somehow 'lost' half a million to a Nigerian prince or some other internet scam. I think it's entirely possible for people involved with a club to hope for an away tie whilst still harbouring thoughts of winning and progressing, you can be pragmatic and romantic. 

The term 'Old Firm' comes from the belief that both club's directors were more interested in money than 'romance'. There was a widely held belief that the clubs played out pre-agreed draws, requiring replays, so both could cash in on another full house. Back in 1909 after a Cup replay also ended in a draw there was a full scale riot, involving both sets of supporters, aimed at the Glasgow police, both club's directors and the SFA. We literally tried to burn down Hampden that day. Romantic. 

Anyone with any connection to professional football knows that the game functions on money, and it always has. My great grandfather signed for an English side from Clyde many years ago. There was a wage cap in place in those days, so he was given the maximum wage available, however he was also given a 'job' in the Chairman's factory, and a wage with it. So was my great grandmother, neither of them ever set foot in the place though. This was commonplace in football, he only signed for them for money, there was no romance in playing part time and going down the pit the rest of the week. Things are a little different now, but I'm fairly sure most of the Hamilton side aren't born and bred Accies supporters, they'll leave and play for Motherwell or Ross County or any of Hamilton's rivals for a couple of grand more without losing a moments sleep. There is no romance there. 

However, on the day, I suspect every Hamilton player will be doing all they can to win and I suspect some of their supporter's will have a day dream of a trip to Hampden for the Cup Final. Their directors will also dream, however they'll be happier knowing they'll have some extra money coming in, and I suspect they'd be even happier if an away tie had made the windfall ten times as much. 

As a rule I'm generally against banning the media.

If you don't like something don't read it. Don't buy it, don't click it, don't share it. I've not read the article in question and don't think I've ever bought the Sun so this doesn't really affect me much. Bill Leckie was never a writer I thought had much to say and from what I hear that's not changed. 

I've felt for a while Morelos is treated differently from other players by the media. I think race does play a part in this. The fact his English isn't great and he's South American has certainly led to some very lazy stereotyping, and there's an almost Fawltyesque default with a depressingly high number of people in this country when it comes to 'foreigners', our local media aren't immune to this. When that's added to him playing for Rangers then you've got the perfect storm for some. 

Morelos clearly irks opposition supporters. You get players like that, beloved by their own and hated by everyone else, Morelos is one of those. The Aberdeen supporter's bringing in a banner was crass and an embarrassment to their club who should have removed it and banned those involved. But was it worse than the song we (I) sang to Frank McGarvey many moons ago? I've never met the said Mrs McGarvey but I apologise to her now, I wonder if she reads Gersnet... Likewise I cheered along with almost everyone else in the old Rangers end at Parkhead when a particularly distasteful banner was unfurled in the rafters under the roof about the recently deceased Celtic director Demond White. The Celtic support, most of who could read it clearly, were very unhappy, whilst we cheered and laughed and Strathclyde's finest sought a sharpshooter as there was no other way to get the lads who climbed up with it down. Again, not my finest moment.

In my defence I was only a teenager, I'm not the brightest now but I was particularly stupid then. Everyone else was doing it so I joined in, I gave no thought whatsoever to the actual people involved. In part I think that's because I didn't see them as 'real' people. They were people I only read about in the papers or saw on TV, they were basically celebrities, and so treated differently from everyone else. A couple of years ago I walked from Sloans in Argyle Arcade to the taxi rank at Central late on a Saturday night in the company of a minor local celebrity and his wife. It must have taken us 30 minutes to cover the distance, a normal walk of around 5 minutes. Every drunk wanted a selfie, or to shake his hand or to tell him he was great. But some wanted to tell him he was a dick, almost all completely ignored his wife and the rest of our party, we were invisible, our desire to get a taxi home was inconsequential to their right for a new profile pic and a dull anecdote over lunch the next day, 'you'll never guess who I seen last night in Buchanan Street...'.  He smiled, obliged, did the voice and played his part. I'd have hooked the first guy that pushed past my wife for a better angle on their Samsung, I'd have ignored every friendly 'hello big man' and would have almost certainly reacted very badly to anyone who called me a dick in front of friends and family (even if they might have been correct!). My realisation that local celebrities have to live very different lives from you and me was stark. I wouldn't have swapped his life for mine for any amount of money.

Morelos is a celebrity in our wee corner of the globe. He operates to different rules from the rest of us, that's why warmers like Leckie write about him. I suspect there's more than a hint of politics to this too. I imagine the Scottish Sun is finding Rangers something of a cold house currently. Gerrard won't be doing exclusives or feeding them tit-bits, I'm certain of that. Gerrard is Scouse, he knows how much the paper is hated in his home town and he knows the consequences for anyone who doesn't follow that code. There's a reason why Souness, one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, doesn't get many invites back to Anfield and that reason is the Sun. I suspect all of our backroom team follow a similar code too, they're all ex-Liverpool and might harbour ambitions to return there one day. It's also obvious that Morelos isn't a fan of the limelight off the pitch. He seems to be a quiet living guy, he's not a regular at the dancing, he's yet to be photographed barely conscious outside a kebab shop and he's not really playing the media game. There are a noticeable lack of interviews with him, no daft photos of him with a sombrero on, or beside some Tennent's girls or whatever their modern equivalent is. Morelos doesn't seem to be much interested in that side of celebrity, he just likes playing football and scoring goals. 

Add to that the rise of the club's internal channels, places like this, wall-to-wall Sky/BT Sport and the rest and there's a fair degree of choice now for me to get my Rangers fix. Anything the Sun has as an exclusive will be all over social media within minutes of breaking. The media has changed immeasurably in recent years, I don't think Bill Leckie has. 

Gersnet is independent, Frankie and the people behind it have always struck me as reasonable and fair. As such they can ban whoever they want, it's their site. What I'd say is you need to go some to get a ban from here. Simply having a contrary opinion isn't enough, I can testify to that. I wonder if anyone at the Sun cares. They should, sport, and football in particular, is what's kept them going for years in this part of the world, footballers are our celebrities. If we're no longer interested in what they've got to say on that then the Sun has a problem that it's running out of time to fix.