Newcastle

[maineflyer 0]

I was at the last game in 1993, McCoist's testimonial. Their fans filled the Broomloan and made their presence felt. We had just finished a hugely successful season and everyone was geared up for more of the same. Instead we were completely flat and never got off first base. I remember the general disappointment that evening and it was well founded as we headed for a 1st round Euro exit and realised the previous season had been a one-off after all. Nuts.

[Guest Flying Hippo]

The 93/94 season was nothing short of a total and utter disaster, despite us being 1 game away from our second treble in a row

 

The least impressive campaign of 9 in a row

Edited June 5, 2010 by Flying Hippo

[maineflyer 0]

The 93/94 season was nothing short of a total and utter disaster, despite us being 1 game away from our second treble in a row

 

The least impressive campaign of 9 in a row by an absolute mile

 

I still don't know how we managed to lose that cup final? You're right though, it was a poor season.

[Guest Flying Hippo]

Non stop injuries didn't help. Goram, McCoist, and Duncan Ferguson missed most of the season. Durrant's form was poor (from which he never actually recovered) and we were basically totally reliant on Hateley

 

The next season wasn't much better either. We went from being totally reliant on Hateley to being totally reliant on Hateley and Laudrup

 

Looking back objectively actually, the final 4 seasons of 9 in a row were all seasons of real underachievement and nowhere near as impressive to watch as the first 2 seasons of the Lil General's reign

[maineflyer 0]

Non stop injuries didn't help. Goram, McCoist, and Duncan Ferguson missed most of the season. Durrant's form was poor (from which he never actually recovered) and we were basically totally reliant on Hateley

 

The next season wasn't much better either. We went from being totally reliant on Hateley to being totally reliant on Hateley and Laudrup

 

Looking back objectively actually, the final 4 seasons of 9 in a row were all seasons of real underachievement and nowhere near as impressive to watch as the first 2 seasons of the Lil General's reign

..... or the Souness years, which were mad, crazy and saw some of the most exciting football of the last thirty years.

[Guest Flying Hippo]

I can imagine a lot of people will read these posts and be thinking 'wtf? underachievement and disaster in a period where we won 9 titles in a row?' but it's only really now that you can look back and think about how much more we could've and should've achieved.

 

Out of the Champions League in qualifying to Levski Sofia and AEK Athens. Bottom of a group containing Steaua Bucharest. Bottom of a group containing Grasshoppers. And domestically, going 3 seasons without beating Celtic in a league match at Ibrox (results being 1-2, 1-1, 0-2, 1-1, 3-3, 1-1)

[maineflyer 0]

Makes you think right enough. NIAR achieved mythical status but a lot of the period was a complete failure to progress and in the end we'd actually gone backwards.

[gisabeer 409]

Makes you think right enough. NIAR achieved mythical status but a lot of the period was a complete failure to progress and in the end we'd actually gone backwards.

 

Failing in Europe during the nine in a row years has been pivotal in our decline. For all the big names that came through our door we failed miserably on the one stage were you could recoup your money. A huge financial gamble by murray that never paid off and will haunt us for years to come.

 

Walter Smith has been seriously out of his depth but murray should have been smart enough to recognise that instead of giving him a blank cheque book. Gross misgudgement on his part.

[rbr 1,270]

I can always remember european campaigns towards the end being abject failures and usually totally embarressing , however we always managed to beat a poor septic team and everyone used to go away happy,NIAR for all the plaudits was I believe a massive burden on Walter and the players . Advocatt's first two years were fantastic and I remember the orange cup final as probably my highest point as a supporter , I honestly believed we were going to kick on and really achieve something , oh how that bubble was burst.

 

The other magical thing that day was walking from the Jeannie in Shawlands with the " Brothers in Blue" flag stretched right across the whole road all the way from Shawlands cross to Hampden absolutely magic , ahhhh happy days ,before annual reports and profit and loss became more imortant than the football

[maineflyer 0]

I've always believed that Walter recognised his shortcomings more than anyone and considered standing down well before he did in 1998. he's no fool and must have suffered from the lack of progress more than most. Many look back on Murrays decision to replace Souness with Smith and laud it as a stroke of genius that could have come from no one else. In fact it was a cop out. At the very time we should have brought more managerial experience to a well-funded club, Murray decided to bring less. THAT was the pivotal moment in the Murray legacy and, much as I dearly love Walter Smith and admire him deeply for his undoubted achievements, it was absolutely the wrong decision for Rangers. However, with Murray in charge, it was also, sadly, an inevitable one.