Gordon Smith open letter to Dave King

[Bluedell 5,408]

I don't talk about Berwick and I hardly doubt that it occupies people's minds that much, unless they do indeed talk of upsets..

With all due respect, are you qualified to make that statement? How many conversations do you listen to at Ibrox between people who are over 60.

 

It's a generational thing. I'm too young to remember Berwick and therefore it's not something that I would discuss either but for the over 60s it's mentioned relatively regularly.

 

It cost Jim Forrest and George McLean their Rangers career and as they were not replaced that season arguably cost us a European trophy. It also may have had an impact on Symon's position, although I don't believe I'm qualified to assess that.

 

We have yet to see the full impact of the Progres result but it is something that will be discussed by the current generation for many years to come.

[Scott7 5,514]

To put Berwick into perspective, it was a game Rangers dominated missing umpteen chances. Could ha e been 1-6. How many chances did Rangers create over two games against Progres? Until now Chesterfield was the worst result. I discount a freak cup final result as an utter fluke as proven by results over the subsequent several seasons

[craig 5,199]

The season is already over for me. I would feel no satisfaction at all in winning a pub league. We now have to rely on Keltic single-handedly hauling up Scotland's co-efficient. embarrassing doesn't even begin to cut it. We start and finish with what we do in Europe. Or we become a pub team.

 

No thanks. I hope they get pumped out at the first hurdle.

[der Berliner 3,426]

With all due respect, are you qualified to make that statement? How many conversations do you listen to at Ibrox between people who are over 60.

 

You can answer the first question by yourself. I'd put the latter in perspective by asking how many over-60 Bears make up the crowd these days. The bulk of your average actively involved football fan will be something between 15 and 50, be that in the stadium or on boards and social media. And Berwick won't occupy their minds unless they debate upsets. And when it comes to those, I would remember Adrian Sprott and his strike for Hamilton Accies back in the late 80s to put us out of the Cup at Ibrox first and foremost.

 

It's a generational thing. I'm too young to remember Berwick and therefore it's not something that I would discuss either but for the over 60s it's mentioned relatively regularly.

 

Which I don't expect but can't argue about. Still, IMHO the bulk of the support will probably not.

 

It cost Jim Forrest and George McLean their Rangers career and as they were not replaced that season arguably cost us a European trophy. It also may have had an impact on Symon's position, although I don't believe I'm qualified to assess that.

 

Speaking of over-reactions, are we? It is sure discussed in various Rangers books I have and in retrospect most agree that it was utter madness to chase e.g. Forrest and McLean out of the club.

 

We have yet to see the full impact of the Progres result but it is something that will be discussed by the current generation for many years to come.

 

Maybe so. What apparently is and will be beyond that debate though seems to be the context. A context that is wildly different to previous cup exits and most other upsets. As we can see in this very thread and others on this board, IMHO.

 

 

EDIT: We don't have to rely on Celtic and their European "record", since AFAIK the country's co-efficient won't be used from next year onwards, solely club achievements.

Edited July 11, 2017 by der Berliner

[Bluedell 5,408]

You can answer the first question by yourself. I'd put the latter in perspective by asking how many over-60 Bears make up the crowd these days. The bulk of your average actively involved football fan will be something between 15 and 50, be that in the stadium or on boards and social media. And Berwick won't occupy their minds unless they debate upsets. And when it comes to those, I would remember Adrian Sprott and his strike for Hamilton Accies back in the late 80s to put us out of the Cup at Ibrox first and foremost.

.

There's a lot of over 60s around me. It may not be the demographic in the Broomloan but it is elsewhere. You still have a lot of people who got their S/Ts in the late 80s who are still going along. Berwick IS discussed, and not just in respect of shocks. It gets mentioned when discussing great players from the 60s.

 

Hamilton? We got knocked out the cup by another SPL team? I've never seen that as that big a shock.

[der Berliner 3,426]

There's a lot of over 60s around me. It may not be the demographic in the Broomloan but it is elsewhere. You still have a lot of people who got their S/Ts in the late 80s who are still going along. Berwick IS discussed, and not just in respect of shocks. It gets mentioned when discussing great players from the 60s.

 

Hamilton? We got knocked out the cup by another SPL team? I've never seen that as that big a shock.

 

Newly promoted team, at home, midway through the season, Woods, Souness, Butcher and Co. all in there ... indeed. Accies went straight down again that season and suffered a 7-0 drubbing by Hearts along the way.

[Bluedell 5,408]

Newly promoted team, at home, midway through the season, Woods, Souness, Butcher and Co. all in there ... indeed. Accies went straight down again that season and suffered a 7-0 drubbing by Hearts along the way.

 

And we were all over them and missed loads of chances IIRC. You get one-off results like that most seasons. Not the same as getting knocked out by the 4th in the Luxembourg league over 2 legs.

[der Berliner 3,426]

And we were all over them and missed loads of chances IIRC. You get one-off results like that most seasons. Not the same as getting knocked out by the 4th in the Luxembourg league over 2 legs.

 

... over which we had enough chances to knock them out and hit we not wood three times but one goal, we'd be playing and discussing Limassol tonight, a month short of our first league game. Yep.

[alexscottislegend 2,168]

No thanks. I hope they get pumped out at the first hurdle.

 

So you would be happy for us never playing at Europe's top table ? Because that is what it would mean when our co-efficient sinks; we won't be seeded and will meet the big teams far sooner.

[alexscottislegend 2,168]

You can answer the first question by yourself. I'd put the latter in perspective by asking how many over-60 Bears make up the crowd these days. The bulk of your average actively involved football fan will be something between 15 and 50, be that in the stadium or on boards and social media. And Berwick won't occupy their minds unless they debate upsets. And when it comes to those, I would remember Adrian Sprott and his strike for Hamilton Accies back in the late 80s to put us out of the Cup at Ibrox first and foremost.

 

 

 

Which I don't expect but can't argue about. Still, IMHO the bulk of the support will probably not.

 

 

 

Speaking of over-reactions, are we? It is sure discussed in various Rangers books I have and in retrospect most agree that it was utter madness to chase e.g. Forrest and McLean out of the club.

 

 

 

Maybe so. What apparently is and will be beyond that debate though seems to be the context. A context that is wildly different to previous cup exits and most other upsets. As we can see in this very thread and others on this board, IMHO.

 

 

EDIT: We don't have to rely on Celtic and their European "record", since AFAIK the country's co-efficient won't be used from next year onwards, solely club achievements.

 

 

Is that really so?