Book Review: Tangled Up In Blue – The Rise and Fall of Rangers FC by Stephen O’Donnell

Growing up in the 1970s as a football mad kid in England I absorbed all I could about the nations favourite game and even though my team, Fulham, were rooted very much in the Second Division, BBC’s Match of the Day, allowed me to see the great teams of the First Division, as Arsenal, Derby County, Leeds United, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest won the top-flight title during that decade. During that same period in Scotland, only Celtic and Rangers won the First Division title, giving rise to the limited view of myself and so many others south of the border, at that time, that they were all there was to Scottish Football. And to some extent that view still pervades, when you consider that the last time a side other that the Glasgow giants won the top-flight Championship was Aberdeen back in the 1984/85 campaign.

But what do I really know about the Old Firm and indeed their relationship within the Scottish football scene? In reality – pretty generic things. Celtic, based in the East of Glasgow, the first British Club to win the European Cup, playing at Celtic Park, where its Irish Catholic connections are evident in the shamrock that adorns the club badge. Rangers, based in the West of Glasgow, playing at Ibrox, where the flags of Northern Ireland and the Union Jack are just as likely to be flown as the cross of St Andrew, highlighting the clubs Protestant leanings.

Of course, being a football fan, the big stories associated with these clubs since the seventies have also made it on my radar, such as the Ibrox disaster in 1971, Kenny Dalglish’s move from Celtic to Liverpool in 1977, Graeme Souness taking charge of Rangers in 1986, the 1991 signing of Maurice Johnston by Rangers as their first openly Catholic player and more recently in 2012 when Rangers went into liquidation, and a new side had to start life in the fourth-tier of Scottish football.

The reality is that I’ve never delved any deeper into many of those stories until now. Tangled Up In Blue – The Rise and Fall of Rangers FC by Stephen O’Donnell, is an incredibly well researched book split into two parts. The first, Rise: Religious Bigotry, looks at the formation of Rangers and provides an insight into the Protestant ‘influences’ on the club that despite great strides are still in evidence through sectarian chanting at the club. Insights are also provided on the Ibrox disaster in 1971 when 66 spectators lost their lives, with O’Donnell offering a different prospective on the possible cause of the tragedy and indeed the way the authorities dealt with the aftermath.

Part two, Fall: Financial Malpractice, looks at the period from the arrival of Graeme Souness to Rangers eventual return to the Scottish top-flight in the 2016/17 season. This is at times a quite extraordinary read as the eye-watering amounts of spending on players increases year-by-year, which whilst bought the incredible nine in a row titles between 1988 and 1997, creates the spiral of financial disaster that saw the club crash and burn. O’Donnell lays out the illegal financial transactions that contributed to their demise with the detailing of the ‘top-ups’ made through the Club’s Employment Benefit Trust, which came to be investigated by the Scottish Football Association and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, as well as issues such as the mortgaging of four years’ worth of season-tickets to Ticketus.

There is no doubt that this will be an uncomfortable read for Rangers fans, as O’Donnell does not pull his punches in examining both their club’s history and ultimate demise. However, it is hoped that the book is not merely seen as anti-Rangers or a hatchet-job and is therefore judged instead as a salutary lesson to club, owners and fans alike.

(Pitch Publishing Ltd, 2019. Hardcover 320pp)

 

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Book Review: AK-86 Two shots in the heart of Scottish Football by Grant Hill

The title of a book can sometimes be an intriguing little puzzle as to what is to come for the reader. One such that falls into the category is AK-86 Two shots in the heart of Scottish Football by Grant Hill. It is only after reading the book that you can fully deconstruct the title and come to find all sorts of meaning and games at play.

Let’s start with AK-86. Well, most people will have heard of an AK-47, or Kalashnikov rifle, one of the most widely used weapons in the world, so by using ‘AK’, Hill has created the link to the weapon and therefore the use of the terms ‘shots’, as in firing a gun, in the sub-title of the book. However, in the context of the book, AK refers to the initials of the player at the centre of this tale, Dundee striker Albert Kidd, with 86 referring to the pivotal year of 1986 when the end of the Scottish League Premier Division season reached a dramatic conclusion.

So if we take that AK-86 as having a football reference, then the ‘shots’ referred to in the sub-title have a second representation, that being the two goals that Kidd scored in the final game of the 1985/86 campaign. However, they have a third meaning, as within the book, Hill talks about 1986 as being pivotal for two major changes which changed or got at the heart of the Scottish game. These events saw the end of an era for the Scotland national team, as the likes of World class players such as Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Alan Hanson exited the international scene, never to be replaced.  Indeed 1986 saw Souness arrive at Ibrox as Rangers splashed the cash in the following years to attract players North of the Border, and as Hill outlines, start the process of financial problems that the Glasgow club has endured to this day and indeed afflicted other clubs.

In telling the story, Hill interviews many of the protagonists, including Albert Kidd, and includes contributions from managers, players and fans of the clubs involved at Celtic, Dundee, Hearts, Hibernian, Rangers and St. Mirren. By using a chronological timeline in terms of the build-up to that weekend and events some years later, the story is given a full examination including an investigation of the rumours and conspiracy theories that were banded around as the games were completed on that Saturday in early May.

Being based in England, I have to hold my hand up and say that before reading and reviewing this book I wasn’t aware of the story of the 03 May 1986. However, even if you know the outcome, Hill brilliantly maintains the suspense of the events building up to that crucial Saturday and it a book that is well worth a read, for this tale and the implications for Scottish Football following those events in 1986.

 

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Book Review: The Lone Rangers (An English club’s century in Scottish football) by Tom Maxwell

Anyone expecting a season by season analysis, replete with league tables, appearances and goal scorers of Berwick Rangers “…century in Scottish football…” will be disappointed. What The Lone Rangers does provide is a book which tells of the highs and lows, the characters over the years and what it means to be a Berwick player, manager and fan in a witty and insightful manner. The 163 pages give the reader so much more than any set of statistics ever could.

Quite simply this is a book I couldn’t put down. From the Prologue where the reader is introduced to the author Maxwell at University, through to the Epilogue where Maxwell the journalist and fan is attending the Berwick Rangers v Celtic Scottish Cup game – the passion and understanding of what it is to be a supporter is evident. Throughout this publication, Tom Maxwell captures and uses the language of the terraces, because he has experienced the ups and downs of following his team. Set against that, the author uses his journalistic skills to good effect and so enables the pages to come alive with both humour and perception, through his research, interviews and anecdotes gleaned for the book.

In the opening chapters, there is an exploration of the identity of Berwick-upon-Tweed and its inhabitants (a town that has changed hands 13 times between England and Scotland) and discussion about the exact location of the border. If there is a conclusion, it is that some see themselves as English, some as Scottish, but all as Berwickers. Indeed it seems nothing is quite straightforward with the club, as Maxwell relates how the club celebrated its centenary in 1991, only to discover that in fact the club was not founded until 1894.

As you travel through the book, Maxwell introduces characters (whether players, managers, club officials and fans) that tell the story of the significant moments in The Borderers history. Included are Tom McQueen (father of Gordon [ex Leeds and Manchester United and Scotland International]), who came to Shielfield Park in 1957. Tom McQueen played in goal and also worked as groundsman, but was known for his kicking power. When asked if he could kick a ball to the opposition penalty area, McQueen responded, “…oh aye…no problem…I don’t know what I’d do with these balls they have know – I’d lose them…”

Another with a tremendous kicking power was Ken Bowron who scored 109 goals in 138 appearances in two spells with Berwick. Bowron returned to Berwick after the clubs most famous result and a period under the management of Jock Wallace who Maxwell details as “…strict disciplinarian, control freak, semi-masochistic…”  That famous result was of course the 1-0 over Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish Cup in January 1967 and Maxwell dedicates a Chapter to the event. Maxwell brings to life the character of Wallace and his time in charge of Berwick and the impression he made on players later in his management career such as Gary Lineker.

However, that team from 1967 was quickly disbanded and as the seventies dawned a new Berwick legend was starting out. Eric Tait played as a trialist in January 1970 and holds the records of most League appearances and goals for the club. He played in every position and was player-manager from 1983-1987. Tait was a player during the 1978-79 League Division Two title winning season, under the stewardship of Dave Smith (later voted the clubs Player of the Millenium). The interview with Smith by the author (in a Dundee branch of Burger King), typifies Maxwell’s ability to still be a fan, but still get the information he needs. One little gem from Smith is his laconic response to being asked about his playing days with George Best in L.A. “…well…he played with me…”

As the book gets to the late 1980’s, figures such as Jim Jefferies and John ‘Yogi’ Hughes get woven into the fabric of Berwick with the club going 21 games unbeaten in the 1988-89 season. You would have expected that a run of this magnitude would have meant promotion. However, given the number of draws and the horrendous start to the season, all that it meant was that Berwick finished 4 points clear of bottom placed Stenhousemuir! Hughes goals not only helped Berwick on the pitch, but his sale in November 1989 to Swansea City brought much needed funds to Shielfield Park.

Like many other clubs, Berwick has had it financial problems and Maxwell does not shy aware from detailing the problems that occurred and which in 1992 nearly saw the club close and go out of business. The nineties were indeed a see-saw period for Berwick as they bounced between Scottish League Division Two and Three. Their last honour was back in 2006-07 as Third Division Champions and Maxwell focuses on ex-player Gary Wood, a policeman now, in the books final chapter. As with the opening of the book and throughout it, Maxwell probes as to what makes Berwick a unique club. Wood like others acknowledges the influence of its geographical location and the divide this causes, but points to it as something positive rather than negative.

Berwick Rangers FC has a unique place in football and Tom Maxwell’s telling of it is a story worth reading.

 

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