Mark Hateley: Remembering the day I told Rangers fans to 'get it right up ye'

[ian1964 10,831]

HATELEY recalls scoring against Aberdeen 22 years ago and winning over the Rangers faithful.

 

 

 

BELLIES and bums were dragging a group of former Rangers favourites to the floor against Manchester United last week.

 

Is it really 22 years to the day since many of us put everything on the line in one of the most thrilling title climaxes in the history of the club?

 

May 11, 1991 will live long in the memory of every Rangers fan and player who turned out that gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon as we defeated Aberdeen 2-0 to make it

three in a row.

 

On Monday, more than 23,000 fans cheered their old heroes as we saw off Manchester United 4-1 in a fun-filled charity match at Ibrox.

 

It seemed as many as had squeezed into the old east enclosure alone two decades ago to watch a must-win game, even if the record books state the official attendance was restricted to 34,000 as a result of stadium redevelopments.

 

They were constructing the club deck at the time and, I swear, so much noise was being created inside the stadium the Main Stand literally shook as we stood within its bowels moments before kick-off.

 

The fans had crammed into the ground two hours before kick-off, creating an atmosphere I had never experienced before or since.

 

A point behind the Dons at the top of the table, a draw would not have been enough for us that day.

 

It was win or bust and there was no way we could be beaten with that backing behind us.

 

The tone was set from the first whistle when Mo Johnston charged straight at Jim Bett from kick-off and caught him on the foot.

 

By the end of the game John Brown was playing with a ruptured Achilles, Terry Hurlock was at full-back and I swear Tom Cowan had earlier howled in protest rather than pain when he had been carted off with a broken leg.

 

It was all hands to the pump, a case of guts as much as glory, as players and fans came together after an unsettling spell when Graeme Souness had left for Liverpool and been replaced by assistant Walter Smith.

 

It was the day that sealed my place in the heart of Rangers fans as I rose above Alex McLeish to connect with a Mark Walters cross, knocking a header high over Dons keeper Michael Watt and into the net.

 

I was flooded with emotion as I hoisted both hands in the air and ran with glee towards the east enclosure, bedlam erupting all around me.

 

The truth of that celebration is, politely put, I was telling the Rangers fans in that section of the ground to get it right up them and screaming at how they could ever have doubted my ability.

 

The fans in the east enclosure had been the biggest doubters after I had arrived at the club the previous summer and was blamed for keeping Ally McCoist out of the team.

 

The reality is the form of Mo was keeping fan favourite Alistair on the bench and if I struggled that first season it was only because I had barely kicked a ball the previous two years at Monaco after four ops on an ankle injury.

 

Mo netted in the second half to put us on the road to victory and I clinched my first championship medal in British football in a season in which I â??onlyâ? scored 22 goals.

 

The subsequent four days disappeared in an alcoholic blur. Frankly, the following week we spent completely blootered in and around the club and the city. It was madness, carnage.

 

Those days are long gone, in more ways than one. I turned out for 10 minutes against United earlier this week and have spent the last five days dipping in and out of hot baths.

 

I really canâ??t play any more â?? from the waist up Iâ??m in brilliant nick but the hips are knackered, the ankles are fused and the knees are clinging on for dear life.

 

Still, Iâ??m not alone and itâ??s fair to say the dinner at the Radisson on Monday night was a much more sedate and leisurely affair than it would have been when we were all in our playing pomp. It was a great day and a relaxed night, not too crazy â?? time has taken its toll.

 

Those heady days when Rangers were on their way to nine in a row must seem a long way off for fans just now at this troubled stage in Gersâ?? history.

 

But I hope we see their likes again. Heroes are waiting around every corner, you just never know when theyâ??re going to arrive, and with the type of support Rangers command the future can be promising again.

 

However, the noise around the boardroom needs to be hushed. Rangers, like Man United, are a big club where firm standards have been set but too much dirty linen is being washed in public around Ibrox these days.

 

Rangers need a period of lockdown in which the business is done under the radar and Alistair is given the chance to focus on rebuilding his squad without distractions from upstairs.

 

Itâ??s upsetting to read Walter Smith has been considering his future on the back of the latest boardroom strife surrounding the position of chairman Malcolm Murray.

 

Walter knows the standards that were set at the club by managers who were around when he was a supporter and which he continued when he was in charge.

 

It must pain him to see his club deal with internal strife so publicly.

 

Itâ??s not the way of Rangers, where conducting business with an air of dignity has long been considered key.

 

Iâ??m not the only Rangers fan who longs for a return to better days â?? on and off the pitch.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mark-hateley-remembering-day-told-1881624

[ian1964 10,831]

[bluebear54 0]

I laughed at the alcoholic blur bit.

That was my enduring memory.

I was in the Copland that day - and what a day it was.

Probably the perfect football match. Super weather. Great football. Brilliant result.

I "missed" the bus home, and had a pint in almost every pub on the way home. Managed about a mile and every pub if I remember. Everywhere was bouncing. Good days.

Managed the other 70 miles the next morning.

Not having mobile phones wasn't such a bad thing.

[DUDE 0]

Imagine players going on a five day party frenzy today. You'd get yourself Balotelli- esque media coverage right away. Gotta love the 90ies when it comes to football.

[54andcounting 0]

I remember that day well...it was easy those days to drive to the game and buy a ticket from the many guys holding up spare tickets.

 

I couldn't get one that day for love nor money. I trooped glumly back to the car 15 minutes into the kick-off and found a ticket stuck on my windscreen.

 

I paid the fine, but we won the league.

[amms 0]

I was in the East Enclosure that day (and every week back then) and was far from convinced about Hateley when he arrived. I was wrong.

My Dad still brings this up when we're disagreeing about a players ability (Hateley was shite when he first arrived though!). That match feels like a lifetime ago.

[bluebear54 0]

I was in the East Enclosure that day (and every week back then) and was far from convinced about Hateley when he arrived. I was wrong.

My Dad still brings this up when we're disagreeing about a players ability (Hateley was shite when he first arrived though!). That match feels like a lifetime ago.

 

Agree Amms.

He had some stinkers. So did Ally.

But when they finally clicked and were both on fire, we were dynamite.

[pete 2,511]

Agree Amms.

He had some stinkers. So did Ally.

But when they finally clicked and were both on fire, we were dynamite.

 

I remember watching Hately play for AC Milan on the telly and he really looked like his brain had no control over his legs. He was absolutely crap. He seemed to get some form back at Monaco and obviously went on to shine for us.

[Tannochsidebear 2,481]

I didn't have a ticket for that game as I was still a match to match east enclosure boy in those days. I was walking along PRW towards Ibrox about an hour before kick off to see if I could get a ticket at the ground when I spotted a familiar looking bit of paper on the ground. Imagine my great joy on picking up a piece of gold dust, a west enclosure ticket, right there on the pavement. I obviously had some sympathy for whoever had dropped it, but it was the best bit of luck I think I have ever had!!

 

As for Hateley's comments in the OP, I still dont buy this nonsense he peddles about him getting pelters because the fans thought he was taking Super's spot in the team. He was getting dogs abuse for 6 months of completely crap performances before it clicked for him. There is no harsher jury than the Rangers support and if you come in for big money (a £1M price tag was big money then), you need to hit the ground running, especially when there were proven goalscorers on the bench to make way for his inept, lacklustre performances.

 

He came good in the end as we all know, but I wish he would accept that the Rangers fans know a bit about football and want the best from its players. He wasn't match fit and took a long time to settle in and that was why he was seen as not good enough to be a starter for a large part of that season.

[Bluedell 5,907]

As for Hateley's comments in the OP, I still dont buy this nonsense he peddles about him getting pelters because the fans thought he was taking Super's spot in the team. He was getting dogs abuse for 6 months of completely crap performances before it clicked for him.

 

It wasn't as much as 6 months, was it? My recollection was that his form improved much earlier than that, Some time Mid Oct-mid Nov.