The problem with parallel universes is that you never really know which one you're in. Shortly after New Year 2007 a successful 90s name blasted back to resurrect the fortunes of a great stallion acting the donkey in a two horse race. Nearly 18 months later, marathon efforts to massed support, a long drawn out energy sapping campaign across a great number of member states it has ended in failure, albeit so so close. At the sidelines David Murray plays Bill, Bill Murray if you like, wanting to wake again in his 90s groundhog day. It didn't quite happen, but we shouldn't Barack him too much because in the interim years Chelsea has flourished and grown beyond all recognition, reminding us all that life will never be as it was in the good old days. As some have stratosphered, others have just got more Old and inFirm.
Lets take a stab that this universe is centred around Planet Ibrox FC. I was delighted to welcome the Wattie back with his heroic sidekick, SuperAlly. Their first 6 months were stress free, the main prizes had already gone and the general mood lightened quickly. Summer passed football free and as we got our first glimpses of the aquafresh strips in action against Chelsea I found it hard to peg my expectations (hopes are different, they never change). Would we qualify for the Champions League? Could we win the league against a more settled and flushed foe who'd signed Scotland's latest Stevie Fulton, Scott Brown? We could certainly compete but winning was another matter altogether. We still had Sebo after all.
The start of the season was all about qualifying for the CL. That was duly done with 4 solid, clean sheeted but desperately dreary performances. Phew, at least we'd bank the money, and then the CL draw came through - Stuttgart, Barca and Lyon. Within minutes I was getting the texts 'ha, yer f*cked'. Hard to counter, buy hey, at least it was going to be glamorous and interesting. It was. But more than that, the excitement level pushed the expectation levels up several notches. The league looked a real prospect too, the squad were enjoying themselves, united and the fans were engaged in ways we hadn't seen for years. We continued to put points on the SPL board and emerged as actual favourites to go on win it.
Now looking back you can always pinpoint individual moments that cost us the league, Cuellar's missed last minute header at Easter Road and Cousin's missed chance at Fir Park in the 6 game run in would, if they had gone our way, won us the league. But you can look at any number of other incidents and postulate what might have been. I suppose Celtic could too. But what happens off the park is infinitely more controllable than the instantaneous and wafer thin margins on the park. January brought two such incidents. Did Celtic exploit the tragic death of Phil O'Donnell? I am certain that even though they thought through the strategic benefits of requesting a postponement, they can convince themselves that they did not cynically exploit the situation; that their grief was well intended. But given that none of the Celtic squad were team-mates with O'Donnell during his Parkhead stint their grief was certainly not distinct from any other club. One wonders if they would have struggled through if it was Rangers blighted by injuries, poor form and suspensions while Celtic were enjoying a good run? Hard to imagine them (or Rangers) requesting a postponement in those circumstances isn't it? The real scandal was that while the SPL immediately granted Celtic's request, inconveniencing many thousands of fans who had arrangements to attend, they didn't do so for the Dundee Utd players who had actually witnessed O'Donnell's death. The only possible conclusions from these glaring double standards being that Celtic have undue influence within the SPL, or the SPL are intimidated by Lawwell. Celtic's deviousness was there for all to see, yet as tribute to their Machiavellian skills, no one in the compliant media dared to talk about it.
The sale of Alan Hutton too remains a blot in the season. Not so much that he was sold, I can accept that the price was seductive but that it took three weeks of uncertainty and mixed signals (he wants to stay, Murray's desperate to sell him, oh no he doesn't, oh yes he does, he's behind you etc). The deal should have been concluded within 7 days or the door 100% closed on it. That it took until 2 or 3 days before the window closed left no time to insist, identify and secure a quality replacement while leaving some change. It made us look cheap and allowed doubts about our commitment to fielding the best - our team quality and balance was seriously weakened for the remainder of the campaign.
February and March trundled on with league points being accumulated and a classic European tie against Werder Bremen which matched a fabulous home performance against skin of the teeth heroics in the away leg. McGregor's save being the individual moment of the season for me. The League Cup final though was symptomatic of many of our domestic performances - our lack of creativity and growing weariness against ordinary opposition was cause for concern. A perhaps unexpected, though certainly deserved, victory in Lisbon unlocked a million dreams and ignited the story of the season. A European final? The SPL was closer than many people perhaps understood or dared to admit. At Rangers' height they were a net 12 points ahead of Celtic (6 points and two games in hand - we carelessly drew at Tannadice the next day). Yes on the face of it we should have won. But our recent Parkhead record was enough to suggest that Celtic could peg this back to a more nervy cushion. They did with a characteristic late strike and the type of help from officials that is un-newsworthy unless of course Rangers benefit. 10 years on from Jorge Cadete offside/handball most people can still recall the name of the harangued allegedly Rangers sympathetic linesman, Gordon McBride. Yet, a Celtic supporting linesman allowing his favourites a pivotal offside decision, well it just doesn't sell papers does it - there's no downtrodden angle to it is there? Celtic continued to benefit from a procession of official blunders yet combined together these gaffes couldn't muster the wailing and gnashing ferocity of the Mike McCurry witch-hunt. Those masonic referees, and that proddy minister - well it all makes sense doesn't it? The enduring message for officials is that if you value your private and professional life and you are ever in doubt on a big decision you damned well better make sure you think twice before giving Rangers a benefit that you could give to Celtic.
The biggest story of April was of course the predicament the SPL faced as Rangers European and domestic schedule clogged up to the point of being impossible to fulfill. Lawwell sensed his moment and fired the first salvo saying that league 'integrity' would be compromised if an extension was allowed. Despite the insane ramblings of Lawwell, the SPL had to act and announced a 4 day extension of the season should Rangers overcome Fiorentina. Incredulously, Lawwell further pushed his contemptible position in a formal statement on 22 April saying how strongly Celtic objected to the 4 day extension. The league was compromised - you said it Peter. In issuing this Lawwell demanded that to preserve integrity should Rangers make the UEFA cup final they would have to play 5 league games in 9 days prior to the UEFA cup final. Look at that statistic again. 5 games in 9 days. To preserve integrity. He really said it. His bitches at Tannadice backed him up. Such is the confidence of this shameless and devious character that he was still not called to account by the fearful core of the press corp. The adoring element of the phress were never going to question this statement - they sensed Rangers blood on the domestic front.
Mayday was maybe the day it all became relevant. The day was remarkably settled, why idle away the day on something that may never happen. I contained myself until an hour before kick off - I took a call from a mate in Italy, 'Steve, something big is going to happen tonight'. Fast forward three hours and wee Nacho steps up, I knew he'd score. Brace yourself, Manchester…I was on the floor…...screaming.
The next two weeks were magical. As a Travel Club member I was assured of a ticket. And while the press never really got under the skin of the occasion with any enthusiasm we did have a UK wide and largely positive profile. I'll never forget leaving work on the afternoon of Tuesday 13th, fully decked for a Euro final. There was an electric buzz everywhere, I sailed up to Manchester on a sea of goodwill and good wishes. I enjoyed the Company of many Bears on the Tuesday, the spirit and togetherness was tangible. This was our moment and we were doing it justice. Wednesday morning required a solid breakfast and a walkabout. As I ordered a coffee a suited fella next to me remarked that there were a lot of people on the rocket fuel so early they'd struggle later on - because he's seen the same in Seville. A Celtic fan working in Manchester - must have been hell on earth for him, but in fairness he did give good wishes for an enjoyable day. He was right, there were some industrial sized carryouts on show. At 11am the Albert Sq fanzone was happy, fun, busy yet manageable. The Russian zone was quiet so we headed up to Piccadilly. By noon it was simply too busy, so much so that we decided to leave and find a pub to break the seal. That proved difficult - the numbers pouring into the city in cars and from the station were staggering. 100,000 seemed woefully conservative - I'm sure 200,000 is the most likely assessment of Bears present that day. We had booked a meal for 20 at 1pm on Canal Street and it did offer a little sanctuary from the growing throng (no gags pls). The day was beautiful, the atmosphere friendly, the camaraderie everywhere - conversation was easy, some old friends, brought together again by a love of Rangers and some new, well we were all part of the same family. It was awesome. After a few beers in a quaint bar (I think that's how they described it!) our next port of call was by Albert Square where we stayed until it was time to head to the main event. I made it to my seat with 10 minutes to spare, a lot closer than I had wanted but the right side of regret. The stadium looked fabulous in the setting sun, a swathe of blue complemented by a splash of white. The teams came onto the park and that was my moment, I'm sure I wasn't alone. I was muted by emotion. You know what I mean.
Now in my most humble opinion we surrendered any ambition of winning the game and making a positive impression on the watching neutrals at the outset by selecting Hemdani instead of the erratic, untidy yet most likely hero in the making, Novo. It proved to be case. We were second best throughout yet dignified enough to applaud our victors. Walking out of the adrenaline insulated stadium was like walking into a deep freezer - my pals had a flat 5 minutes from the ground and we regrouped there for an hour or so before walking into town. By this time, texts were flying in suggesting trouble in town, but by the time we reached the centre all was relatively quiet. I didn't stay out long and woke at 8am to watch the ugly news on BBC Breakfast. They were using all the lines you didn't want to hear - hooligans, rioting, disgraceful - and with the compulsory grave expression to camera. Oh God, oh no.
The next few days were simply horrible. We saw the pictures and the glee club sneeringly reduced our great adventure to one line summaries 'Shame', 'Disgrace', 'Scotland's reputation destroyed' etc. It was unfair and it hurt like hell. There are 200,000 different experiences and perspectives on what happened that night but if they can be distilled and reduced I'd summarise as follows. My experience of the day was the most common of all, wonderful atmosphere, football and friends, no trouble. A memory to cherish - a credit to our club. An unfortunate series of events though got at our achilles heel, starting with the fact that the game was in the UK, the size of the human tsunami surprising all observers, most crucially GM Council's planners. Yet still for the day this was okay, the fanzones would dilute the potential pillocks throughout the good fans. And then, incredibly, the big screen failed. This gave the opportunists their moment to behave like morons. I believe many were not Rangers supporters though sadly, some of them probably were. The police reacted like a pack themselves - facing a genuine though limited threat they blurred the lines between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. I've heard stories from trustworthy people confirming that the police did contribute to the violence by being indiscriminate with their truncheons and aggressive attitude. We suffered because some loathsome people believe they have a right to act like scumbags and to hell with the consequences, no one likes us, we don't care. They had a choice. And they gave the police the excuse to act as further kindling to the situation. No one party, including the police and council, can come out of this spotless.
For years now we've faced a real disparity in how we are portrayed vis-à-vis our main rivals. This is a combination of factors. Firstly, the press, afraid of rigour and analysis, collectively succumb to stereotypes. If one side of the Old Firm are ying, then the other has to be yang. Thus Celtic good, Rangers bad. But why? Because Celtic try harder, they promote their name, their brand and their reputation. No inconvenient fact is too big to stop the message, no one off message inside or outside is tolerated, no claim too hysterical, no friendship too far, too tacky to cultivate. On the other hand, Rangers regime stand silent, directionless, embarrassed but unsure as to why and afraid to ask anyone to be a friend or a voice. The fans? That's an awkward one, best not engage with them. Manchester was a gift from above for Lawwell and unless we, both as a club and as fans, do something positive about it, there will be no respite from trashing Rangers for the next decade. Yes, decade. Less people were arrested in Rangers 08 UEFA cup run than Celtic's 03 UEFA run. But no one will ever know or care as long as Lawwell and Co have absolute control of the propaganda feeders into the public's lab rat psyche. I believe it's time to play them at their own game. For the fans to repair and promote our reputation using the same underhand tactics as our rivals - and the club. Why not invite Manchester City to Ibrox and give them 3,000 free tickets. Build bridges with the Manchester public. Use it as an event to get our side of the story across. When someone throws accusations at us we should have a stock answer - how about '200,000 fans and you focus only on the behaviour of 200, how close minded and ignorant of you'. Not exactly punchy, but guaranteed to put them back in their box.
Its time to challenge the perception that we are uniquely unruly and that our main rivals, with a list of shameless acts themselves, are uniquely angelic. The No one likes us, we don't care ethos has ran its course. We cannot create a new image, a new sense of worth or direction overnight. This doesn't mean the club sending out bland statements about 'be a true blue, have pride and passion'. These words are hollow if they are not based on something more identifiable and substantial. These things have to come from the fans, to be evident by consistent actions, behaviours, songs - build a consistent mindset over time so we know what we are, who we are and what we want. The club can help though - reach out to the fans and defend and promote them. We are in this together - if the club care enough - lets unsettle the arrogant smugness that trashes our club day in day out. Signing Kenny Miller is not a good start. Or finisher.
The league frittered out - the danger game was at Fir Park and so it proved to be. This was especially sad against a backdrop of news stories imprinting the same distasteful images into the country's mind. It was time to come to terms with the fact that our season was ending in tatters, both on and off the park. We didn't win the league, did we deserve to? Maybe, maybe not. But using Lawwell's logic we can take comfort that Celtic's victory was compromised. And beyond the parochial and judgmental Scotland there is still a well of sympathy for Rangers plight and lack of proper support from the authorities or member clubs. We should not forget this. Ever.
The Scottish Cup finale provided some eventual relief - a period of concern but ultimately victorious. And hopefully it will be remembered in years to come as the inspiration for a new and flourishing Berkshire RSC. The Rangers will live on - I'll be proud to keep fighting for them and maybe one day we'll have our next Manchester. Indeed, Manchester was viewed by many as a once in a lifetime event, but I'm hoping it was more like a number 19 bus. As Martin Luther, offering a new period of hope and enlightenment, might have said to King Carlos, 'I have a dream'.
Sgt Steve