CHAPTER 9
CHELSEA V RANGERS 1971
CHOPPER’S NO COPPERS
●Ron Harris
Testimonial Match
●Tuesday 23rd
November 1971 ● Kick-Off 7.30pm
B A
C K G
R O U
N D
█ AN
INVITATION TO BE SNAPPED UP █
• OUT OF THE BLUE
Willie Waddell had been seeking top opposition as practice for the Cup Winners’ Cup campaign when Chelsea unexpectedly contacted Rangers to invite them to provide the opposition for Ron Harris’s Testimonial game.
“The invitation came out of the blue and Rangers were only too delighted to accept. This is an honour for our club. The game should be a good test for us and it comes at a time when we have no other commitments.” (Willie Waddell in the Rangers News)
Waddell could not have handpicked better opposition for a ‘dry run’. Just six months earlier, Ron Harris better known to the footballing public as ‘Chopper’ had lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup for Chelsea. Their exciting style of football had a continental flavour and their manager Dave Sexton was regarded as one of the smartest tacticians in the game. However the cup holders had already been eliminated from the 1972 competition in the second round.
Chelsea had come to be known as the glamour club of
There was also as we shall see, some very interesting connections
between the clubs.
• SURPRISE GUESTS
“Soccer is indebted to its servants - men like Bobby Tambling, the
The charge could be linked to the fact that Rangers did not like any
distractions to their planned season and that their travelling support would
substantially boost the attendance and receipts. It’s fair to say that it was
not Rangers duty to help provide players with no connection to the club with a
nest egg.
• CRACKERS??
On this occasion they were happy to ‘waive’ any fee for an invaluable free lesson.
Rangers announced this fixture on the front page of the Rangers News on
27th October 1971. The paper began to hype the game on 17th November with a
page devoted to
~The 54 Tour
The Rangers management team in Willie Waddell and Willie Thornton had
both played in the 1954 tour matches. Rangers triumphed 1-0 in Montreal
(16.5.54), lost 4-1 in Toronto (5.6.54) and the two teams travelled together
for a fixture the following day in New York that finished 0-0. (6.6.54). The
game in
█ “CHOPPER’S GONNA GET YOU CHOPPER’S GONNA GET YOU
(THE SHED END,
• GIFTED
As an eight year old Ron Harris was selected for the Hackney under
eleven team and went on to represent his district sides often as the youngest
player. A bright youngster he passed his eleven plus and was perhaps as good a cricketer
as footballer. Aged fifteen, he had to make a choice, between £4.50 a week on
the groundstaff at Lords or £7.50 at Chelsea. (Easy one that.) Amongst other
clubs, Arsenal too had enquired, though as a sign of the times they also wanted
him to make a career choice rather than letting him professionally pursue both
sports. As a child Ron lived in North London and watched either Arsenal or
Arsenal Reserves every Saturday however his elder brother, by two years, Allan
was already at Chelsea and this swayed his decision.
• A DECADE OF ACHIEVEMENTS
1960-61
Chelsea sign 16
year old Ron as a Junior, at the start of the season.
1961-62
Makes League
Debut. Plays 3 League games.
1962-63
Plays 7 League
games.
Captains England to victory in the
International Youth Championships.
Wins a first team contract at £40 a week and a £1000 signing on fee.
1963-64
Becomes the
regular right back and misses just 1 League game.
1964-65
Plays in every
League game and in Chelsea’s League Cup winning team.
1965-66
Made captain of
Chelsea in January 1966.
1966-67
The Youngest ever
FA Cup Final captain aged 22 years and 6 months.
Wins an
1967-68
Wins 3 more
England Under 23 Caps and captains them on tour.
1969-70
Lifts the FA Cup.
1970-71
Lifts the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Defeating Real Madrid in a replay in Athens.
1971-72
Testimonial Year with
Chelsea, aged just 27.
• CHOPPER
The ‘Chopper’ moniker was bestowed by the fans and not surprisingly was for his ‘chopping’ down of opponents. Certainly his tackling could be described as crunching and if you watch footage of Ron he literally threw himself ‘torpedo’ like into tackles, and like most players of the time it would often be with his studs showing. Maybe a case of doing to others as they would do unto you and getting in your retaliation first. It is also fair to say that while he did not mind either the ball or the player getting past him, he rarely allowed both. As with many things the way to the truth is through body language, if it was naughty Ron would mop his brow with the inside of his arm.
Despite his fearsome reputation on the pitch he was not the biggest of men, 5’8 in height but fairly stocky at around twelve stone though this lower centre of gravity made his slide in challenges all the more powerful. Fashions came and went in the 1960’s but Ron’s short crop remained timeless.
However he could do quite a bit of the fancy stuff too but his job in the team was to defend and get the ball to midfield in the easiest, quickest and safest way. By tackling strongly and keeping passes short and simple.
Perhaps had he elaborated and showcased his ability (and in doing so risked exposing the Chelsea defence) he might have made the breakthrough from England Under 23 to full Cap. However for Ron it was all about playing for the team and the notion of putting himself first was completely alien.
The Chelsea fans loved his 100% effort.
THE ULTRA PROFESSIONAL
Similarly off the field he was as diligent and focussed about being a professional; respecting instructions regarding preparation and caused no problems for the club management. Even when he broke into the team, he was distinctly unimpressed with ‘playboy’ teammates unless they delivered on the pitch. There are some so called ‘hard’ footballers who think they can act the way they do on the pitch in real life (and get a rude wake up call in the real world), Ron was never involved in any brawls off the pitch nor attracted any kind of bad publicity.
Though he would enjoy a quick pint with teammates after matches and
perhaps a few more on club tours he was not interested in heavy drinking,
nightclubs or womanising. A devoted family man, he lived in the Surrey suburbs,
had an eighteen month old son and his close family lived nearby. When he was not
with his family he had a very well appointed Tobacconist/Grocers shop which he
worked at in the afternoons. His one luxury was a trip to the greyhounds,
particularly
It is a measure of Ron’s maturity and professionalism that he was given
the club captaincy when other players his age were still breaking into first
teams and had gone on to lead Chelsea into an era of sustained success.
• BULLER
He was popular with his teammates for his humour and his numerous wind
ups played on them, his nickname amongst them being ‘Buller’ the same name as a
cowboy but an abbreviation of someone who likes to play tricks. I daresay he
was known as something else beginning with ‘B’ by opposing players!
• SOME THOUGHTS FROM CHOPPER AND HIS ‘FRIENDS’
Favourite Opponent? : “The one I have to mark.”
(Evening
Standard Supplement 1970)
“The best man-marker I ever played against, bar none.”
(Jimmy
Greaves)
“I was never blessed with pace. In fact, I rarely used to cross the
halfway line, but when attackers came my way, it was my job to stop them.”
(Ron
Harris interviewed by Goal Magazine, March 1998)
“I’ve been kicked and fouled hundreds of times, but I pride myself that
I don’t moan unless it is what I consider a diabolical stroke. I would hate to
get a fellow professional sent off because I bleated to a referee.”
(Ron
Harris in Soccer The Hard Way)
“Every time I played against Chopper, I took a right hammering. But I
gave as good as I got. He whacked me really hard one time so I jumped up and
down on his chest. He was coughing up blood according to the papers.”
(Charlie
George of Arsenal in Football’s Hard Men by Phil Thompson)
“When Chopper took your legs from under you at least he’d be upfront
about it... But there was no hard feelings. It was part and parcel of the
game.”
(Stan
Bowles also in Football’s Hard Men)
• GBH : GREAVES BODILY HARM
Jimmy Greaves
Goals Scored 366 in 528 League Appearances
Goals Scored 422 in 602 Senior Match Appearances
Goals Scored 44 in
57 England Appearances
Earlier I noted that the finest goalscorer of his generation scored anywhere and everywhere. However the one place he rarely scored was against his old club Chelsea and Chopper. In the fourteen times Greaves played for Spurs against Chelsea and Chopper in the League and FA Cup he managed just three goals.
Greaves squared up against
bigger, stronger and dirtier opponents than Harris and almost always came out
on top but whenever the pair met, Chopper stuck to him like super glue and Greaves
would hardly get a touch all game. So it wasn’t just the physical dimension of
Ron’s game but also his professionalism and concentration. You had to out think
rather than simply out muscle Greaves.
• THE
MAN WHO WAS NEARLY BANNED FROM HIS OWN TESTIMONIAL
Surprisingly given his reputation Ron had only even been sent off once, in a 1967 FA Cup tie. However having amassed three cautions in twelve months, Ron had recently appeared in front of an FA Disciplinary Panel. Ron was fined £150 and given a five week ban, fortunately for him suspended.
“I thought the hearing was fair at the time and felt I’d been quite
lucky. If the ban had not been suspended I might have missed my own Testimonial.”
(Goal Magazine, March 1998)
█ CHELSEA FC. THE STORY OF THE BLUES █
Most professional football
clubs have their roots in the amateur game, a group of friends or workmates who
set up their own team for fun, exercise or recreation who later turned
professional.
• THE SPORTING MR PARKER AND THE MEARS BROTHERS
In 1877 Stamford Bridge became the new headquarters and venue of the
London Athletics Club. However athletics never really took off and in 1896 one
of the Club’s founder members a sports enthusiast named Mr Frederick Parker
thought that given the excellent public transport links it would make an ideal
site for a football ground. He contacted his affluent building contractor
friends, brothers Gus and Joe Mears. They liked the idea and thinking big they
also purchased a neighbouring market garden but then things were to move along
slowly.
• AND IT’S HENRY NORRIS AGAIN
The Mears assumed Fulham would want to take up residence in the stadium.
(Modern parlance ‘the anchor tenant’.) But they didn’t, seemingly at the behest
of the controversial Henry Norris. (See Chapter Three) Gus Mears was
disappointed but on the bright side, in 1904, the Great Western Railway made a
very generous offer for the land. On hearing of this unexpected turn, Mr Parker
frantically tried to persuade his friend not to sell. He wasn’t making much
headway until…
• SCOTCH TERRIER AND SCOTTISH INFLUENCE
Both men went for a walk together when Bluey, Gus’s dog bit him. Gus
strangely remarked, “Scotch terrier, always bites before he speaks.” Mr Parker,
ever the gentleman laughed out loud and despite bleeding found it highly
amusing. Mears was so impressed with Parker’s reaction that it convinced him
that his friend’s judgement should be trusted. Football it was. The pair went
on a brainstorming trip to
• THE
Next they set about building a team. The Ibrox influence was extended
with the recruitment of Rangers and former
• BLUE REALLY IS
THE COLOUR
Historically they say Chelsea’s blue strip was chosen as it was the
racing colours of the club’s president, Earl Cadogan but I think Bluey the
scotch terrier and Jackie Robertson might also both have had some input in this
choice! The colour of shorts chosen for the first season was white.
• HE’S FAT AND ROUND HE WEIGHS FOUR HUNDRED POUNDS
One of Robertson’s first signings was the famous six foot three, 22 stone
goalkeeper Willie Foulkes, the big man like all of the first ever Chelsea
starting XI all came from outside London. (There was just one Londoner in the
entire 1905 Chelsea squad.)
• THE CHELSEA STORY
~Early Ups And Downs
1905
Before kicking a ball, Chelsea get a great result. Having been
turned down by the lowlier Southern League, they join Division 2 of the
Football League.
1905-6
Chelsea make their home debut in September 1905 in front of a 6,000
crowd but attendances quickly increase and some 67,000 turn up to the ‘Bridge’ in
April 1906 for the visit of Manchester United. Chelsea’s first ever League goal
away to Blackpool, scored by none other than their player manager recruited
from Rangers. However they narrowly miss promotion to the top division.
1906-7
Promoted to Division 1. An
amazing achievement given that in late November 1906, Jackie Robertson resigned
after a breakdown in his relationship with Gus Mears. Then during Christmas
1906, trainer Jimmy Miller died. The former Rangers and Scotland international
had joined Chelsea after fourteen seasons with Sunderland. Chelsea’s promotion
came under their club secretary William Lewis who temporarily took the
managerial hotseat. In August 1907, Scotsman David Calderhead is appointed
manager.
1907-8 Rangers captain and centre half James Stark joins Chelsea and helps them to a mid table finish in the top flight.
1909-10 Relegated to Division 2. Attract a crowd of 70,000 v Newcastle.
1911-12 Promoted back to Division 1.
1912
Gus Mears dies.
Chelsea adopt a
darker hue of blue for their shirts and adopt matching coloured shorts.
1913 Stamford Bridge selected
to host the England v Scotland clash.
1913-14 Chelsea finish in eighth position.
1914-18:
~THE TWENTIES
1919-20 A best ever League finish in third place. Chelsea reach the FA Cup semi finals but miss out on what would have been a ‘home’ final at Stamford Bridge.
1920-21 FA Cup Final staged at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea slump to
eighteenth in the League.
1921-22 FA Cup Final staged at Stamford Bridge for the final time as Wembley Stadium is completed.
1922-23 Chelsea drop ten places from a ninth place finish the previous
season to nineteenth.
1923-24 Relegated to Division 2.
1925-29 Finishes of 5th, 3rd,
4th, 3rd and 9th in the second tier.
1929-30 Promoted back to Division 1.
~THE THIRTIES
1930
Back in the top flight, Chelsea invest a then colossal £24,500 in talent. Including Scotland forward Hughie Gallacher for £10,000 from Newcastle, Alec Cheyne from Aberdeen for £6,000 and Alex Jackson from Huddersfield for £8,500.
However the investment doesn’t really translate into success. Chelsea’s next nine league finishes are in : 12th, 12th, 18th, 19th, 12th, 8th, 13th, 10th and 20th spots.
1933 After twenty five years
as manager, David Calderhead leaves the club.
1935 Record home attendance of
82,905 against Arsenal.
1939-45
After the War Chelsea invest again. Spending £26,000 on four players
including a record £11,500 spent on Everton’s England centre forward, Tommy
Lawton. Thousands of ‘demob happy’ fans gatecrash the challenge match against
Moscow Dynamo with the attendance estimated to be over 100,000.
~A Model Of Consistency 1947-54
Division 1 football resumes in 1947 and Chelsea pick up where they left off. Very entertaining and talented teams but consistently unable to match their skills with points. Finishing: 15th, 18th, 13th, 13th and dropping down to 20th in 1952.
Ted Drake is appointed manager in 1952 but there is little immediate
improvement with consecutive nineteenth place finishes. The following season 1953-4,
there is progress as they finish the season in eighth spot.
1954-55: LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Chelsea lie in familiar mid table territory in November, but subsequently put together an outstanding winning run and win the League Championship on the final day of the season. The key to their title success was their ‘double’ over runners up Wolves. The game at Stamford Bridge watched by 75,000 with another 25,000 locked outside. Chelsea are invited into the fledgling European Cup but the Football League prevent them from competing.
That season is alas just a blip as Chelsea return to more familiar territory. Completing the next final five seasons in 16th, 13th, 11th, 14th and 18th spots.
~The Sixties
1960-61 Jimmy Greaves nets a staggering 41 League goals and is then sold for a record fee of £100,000 to AC Milan.
1961-62 Greavesless Chelsea Relegated to Division 2. Ted Drake resigns in February 1961 and is replaced by Tommy Docherty. Chelsea had a fantastic youth team but a poor first team so the ‘Doc’ prescribed giving youth its chance and bought in some experienced players to help them out.
1962-63 Promoted to the
Division 1.
1963-64 Back in the top flight
Chelsea enjoy one of their best seasons, finishing fifth.
1964-65 League Cup Winners. Third
in Division 1 and FA Cup Semi Finalists.
1965-66 FA Cup Semi Finalists
and fifth place finish.
1966-67 FA Cup Runners Up. Chelsea’s reach their first Cup Final as they come up against Spurs and one Jimmy Greaves. Ninth place in the League.
In October 1967 Tommy Docherty leaves Chelsea and is succeeded by Dave
Sexton. Chelsea conclude the final two seasons of the decade in sixth and fifth
spots.
~THE SEVENTIES REPLAYED
1970
FA CUP WINNERS.Chelsea lift the FA Cup for the first time. Not at Wembley but in the replay at Old Trafford, Manchester and watched by a record breaking television audience of twenty eight million.
1971
EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS’ CUP
WINNERS beating Real Madrid in a replay in Athens.
1971-
A club record 13-0 victory
against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the first round second leg of the Cup Winners’
Cup at Stamford Bridge. The amateurs from the third tier of Luxembourg football
and a village of 704 people were shock Luxembourg cup winners in 1971. The
story that they fielded a player who only had a single arm is true and I’m
pleased to record that rules allowed for him to take one handed throw ins. The
story that Chelsea players deliberately conceded throw-ins to find out, I
can’t!
█ CHELSEA
TRIVIA █
• THE BADGE
• THE CHELSEA PENSIONERS
A familiar site throughout
• THE BALL BOYS
• THE FIRST TO FLY
Chelsea were the first club to travel by air to a Football League
fixture and strangely it was for a home game, flying back from a match at
Newcastle on Good Friday on
• THE BEAM BACK
The first European football event televised back to
• THE PROGRAMME
█ ONE STEP
BEYOND? CHELSEA 1971 █
• THE NEXT STEP
Chelsea manager Dave Sexton wrote for the News of the World Football
Annual at the start of the 1971-2 Season, “I don’t think there can be many
doubts about the ability of this
In an age when many commentators felt that the game was becoming too
negative and dull,
• THE CHELSEA SQUAD
~Defence
Between the sticks
In front of him was a tough defence. Joining the ubiquitous right back
Chopper was left back Eddie McReadie and centre half Dave Webb. This pair were
not just tough defenders but accomplished all round footballers, capable of
playing in any position. With only one substitute allowed for League matches,
it was important to have versatile players. Amazingly for a club of
The final defender was permed from any one of the following. The young
6’4, fifteen stone left footed giant Micky Droy was not a dirty player as with
his frame he didn’t need to be. Former
~The Midfield
John Hollins was very unfortunate not to have a stack of
Arch rival Billy Bremner of Leeds paid this tribute to him in Shoot magazine. “He has everything the England Boss demands, speed, fierce tackling and the skill to burst through from deep positions to get in scoring positions.” His game had been improved working under Sexton. “Dave has taught me to think more deeply about my game and to conserve my energy. The result has been that I’m as strong at the finish as when I start.” (Football Monthly, November 1972)
Alan Hudson was the midfield creator for
Steve Kember was signed to provide extra bite and industry to the
midfield and became Chelsea’s record signing when they forked out £170,000 to
buy the Crystal Palace skipper in 1971. Kember had already generously
contributed a tooth to Chopper’s Testimonial fund, when he played against
Marvin Hinton was a fine all round midfielder who had originally played at centre half, Chelsea fans enjoyed the way he played his football with a smile. Like Hinton, John Boyle also came through the early 1960’s youth team. Motherwell born Boyle was energetic and a very good ball winner. His role was to break up opposition attacks and get the ball to the more creative midfielders. He occasionally filled in as a full back on either flank.
~The Powerful Strikeforce
Before his broken leg in October 1966, Peter Osgood was the complete
centre forward, good enough for Real
Aerially he was usually assisted by the tall, strong, Ian Hutchinson. A
brave player ruled out of this particular game with a serious long term injury
to his right knee cartilage. Also very useful on the ground and known for his
ability to ‘give and take’ stick. Chelsea’s assistant manager went to Cambridge
United in 1968 to check out a goalkeeper but told Dave Sexton instead to snap
up this twenty year old forward, who Chelsea bought for a total outlay of
£5000. Given
~The Enigma
On the wing was the enigmatic Charlie Cooke. A hugely gifted dribbler
able carve out opportunities. When he joined Chelsea he lacked ‘end product’,
taking on one player too many, Dave Sexton made him more productive but had to
drop him first. When Cooke was dropped,
Accurate crossing and passing from the left hand side was supplied by
Peter Houseman. Usually located on the wing, he could also drop back and was
even capable of filling in for the left back. Australian, Tony Potrac aged
eighteen had not yet made his League debut but had been selected for this game.
In a struggling reserve team, he was the leading scorer and had appeared in
eighteen of the twenty reserve fixtures.
~The Sponge
• CAPPED RECOGNITION?
In another country or in another time, Peter Bonetti, Alan Hudson, John
Hollins and Peter Osgood might have won a stack of international caps rather
than the handful they shared between them.
• WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH AND WHEN THE GOING GETS SOFT
In addition to skill,
The nagging criticism the media and critics had about this Chelsea team
was that they were not consistent enough to be champions. They could raise
their game when they wanted to, especially against the top teams. Yet they
would not work as hard and raise their play against lesser unfashionable sides.
Their critics mainly from ‘North of
• DOES CRAFT + GRAFT = ENTERTAINMENT + TROPHIES?
Beneath the gloss there was some real steel. Peter Osgood wrote in Goal
magazine in January 1970. “I am fully convinced that we can be even better than
• TEAM SPIRIT
Dave Webb attributed the success at
• THROWN
• THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Season 1971-72 was in some
senses to be a pivotal season for
█ THE THINKER,
DAVE SEXTON █
• BOXING CLEVER
Born in Islington, North London. His father was a middleweight boxer who
fought for the British title in 1933. Dave Sexton played as an inside forward
for Luton, West Ham, Orient, Brighton and Crystal Palace before a cartilage
injury ended his career in 1962. He became Tommy Docherty’s assistant and coach
at Chelsea before leaving to manage Leyton Orient in 1965. The following year
he resigned and became coach at Fulham. In August 1966 he took up a similar
post with Arsenal.
~The Contrast
On October 23rd 1967, he was appointed Chelsea’s manager, succeeding Tommy Docherty. The ebullient Docherty was one of the characters of the game: jovial, impulsive and never short of an opinion or witty quip or story. His successor and former assistant could not have been more different. Dave Sexton’s demeanour was ice cool, quiet and his words measured and carefully chosen. Shy and retiring, he was most comfortable in the background.
Equally so their approaches to management. Docherty was all about
footballing gut instinct and passion, Sexton’s was ice cold and scientific. He
was every bit as desperate to win as his predecessor but placed a greater
emphasis on the team functioning as a unit and less on entertaining the fans. A
student of modern coaching techniques and the latest thinking, Dave Sexton
spent his summer holidays visiting clubs abroad to swap ideas with continental
coaches and managers. Early computer technology was deployed to chart each
player’s involvement in every match and to monitor performance in fitness
tests. It is easy to understand how when the two men combined their different
talents and traits, they were able to quickly transform Chelsea in the early
1960’s.
• WEAK SPOT
According to ex-players, Sexton’s biggest drawback was his lack of
rapport with the players. (Not incidentally that all of them missed the ‘Doc’
who had been ‘one of the lads’ one minute and a ruthless disciplinarian the
next.) A great coach, who made training enjoyable and effective, but lacked the
man management skills. Though, in fairness, there were some Chelsea players
whose strong personalities would have tested anyone.
█ THE PHYSIO █
• HARRY’S BAG
Chelsea trainer Harry Medhurst was a former goalkeeper and had just began his league career with West Ham when the Second World War broke out and like many players of his generation, he effectively lost seven years of football as he served the Army as a Sergeant. In 1946 upon the resumption of league football he resumed his career at Upton Park for just three matches before joining Chelsea and keeping goal for six seasons before joining Brighton for his final season between the sticks. He also spent his summers like a number of other footballers playing a high standard of cricket too, featuring as a batsman for Cambridgeshire in the Minor Counties.
He then returned to Chelsea for a fourth career as an assistant trainer. Now the club’s trainer he carried the ubiquitous physio’s bag of the era on to the pitch to revive and repair an injured player. But what on earth was in it and what secret potions could bring such rapid recovery to the 1971 footballer? The Evening Standard Supplement of 29th August 1970 revealed that Harry Medhurst crammed twenty one items in to his ‘magic’ bag. Namely:
A sponge, bottle of drinking water, clean handkerchief (to take dirt out of players’ eyes), laces, ammonia phials (‘smelling salts’), Vaseline, bandages, olive oil, Zinc oxide, Algipan, Elastoplast Strips (large and small size), eye ointment, Nivea cream, Friar’s Balsam, antiseptic powder, aspirin, Spare socks, Spare shorts and a plastic splint.
With just one substitute allowed in domestic competition the emphasis
was all about providing immediate pain relief and the player playing on through
the pain barrier until more specialised treatment could be administered after
the full time whistle. It’s amazing to think that at this stage players worth a
fortune in transfer fees were treated with a range of medication available in
any pharmacist, let alone be expected to play on.
• PANSIES!
A certain tough tackling captain looking forward to receiving a visit from Rangers jokily suggested two decades later that, “football is now a game played by pansies.” Given the robust physical nature of the game and treatment available in his era, it’s easy to see his point.
Yet the funny thing is that in 1971 the players of more than twenty
years earlier held the generation of 1971 in a similar regard! Many of these
men had a mindset based on real battlefields experience. They were lucky if a
trainer came on with a bucket and sponge and were expected stayed on the field
with broken limbs. Moreover I’d suggest it’s the way most liked it. So strange
as it may now seem, Norman Medhurst’s magic bag was a sign of progress.
█ RANGERS FEW
ADDITIONS 1971 █
• HIGH LIFE
Peter McCloy was now the regular choice of goalkeeper. Standing at 6’4
and as one might expect extremely good at dealing with the high ball. His long
arms and legs also invaluable for the breakaway one on one situations that Rangers
could expect in domestic fixtures. He also boasted a powerful kick that could
launch attacks deep into the opponents’ half. The only other new member of the
Rangers team was Tommy McLean. A fast and skilful winger, whose speciality was delivering
pinpoint crosses and passes to the prolific Colin Stein.
P R E – M A T C H B U I L D
U P
█ ONE DAY TO
GO █
• INJURY
Rangers Peter McCloy sprained his wrist and was a doubtful start.
Teammate and regular centre half, Ronnie McKinnon was already ruled out of the
game with a broken leg sustained in the European tie at Sporting Lisbon.
• INTENT
Elsewhere, Willie Waddell left the Daily Record’s Ken Gallacher in no doubt that Rangers would take this game very seriously.
“The day is over is when any team can afford to take on a game and simply send out a team to go through the motions.”
“This is a hard, hard, game for us and we will approach it that way. We have a gap just now between our European fixtures. Now in some ways that can be a good thing. It gives a team a break over the winter months.”
“But to get an extra match of this quality is a bonus for any team in
Europe… for that is what
• INJECTION
It was reported that to avoid the flu, Rangers players had undergone a
series of preventative measures. Including treatment with ultra violet rays,
anti-flu injections and a daily dose of halibut oil tablets.
M A
T C H
D A Y
█ A
HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO MATCHDAY █
• EARLY ARRIVALS
The Rangers party travelled early by plane and were met at Heathrow by a
delegation from
• IS THERE A DOC ON BOARD?
I wonder what the reaction of the Rangers players was at the airport,
when they spotted Tommy Docherty joining them for a lift to London. The
Scotland manager had actually been given a very special honour, he was to take
charge of a European Select Side that were playing that night in Geoff Hurst’s
Testimonial game at West Ham. He had quite a team to manage. It included:
Eusebio, Uwe Seller (Germany), Jimmy Johnstone, Tommy Gemmell, Jimmy Greaves,
Rodney Marsh (no doubt the Rangers team wished to pass on their best wishes),
Israel Skipper Mordechai Spiegler (a rumoured transfer target for Arsenal and West
Ham) and Ted MacDougall.
• I’M NOT GOING TO GET PLASTERED!
Rangers travelling fans had their own unintentional fashion icon. A
Glaswegian fan travelling to work in the early morning saw his fellow
supporters making their way to the station. And wisely decided he just couldn’t
miss out. Though he did stand out somewhat given that he was a plasterer and
was dressed in his overalls! Some local based
• WHY WERE TWO GREAT TESTIMONIALS PLAYED ON THE SAME DAY?
The following night Spurs were hosting Arsenal in the League. I assume
that police resources would have been too stretched to also contain Tommy
Docherty, Rodney Marsh and another set of fans.
• THE CHELSEA CAMP
• BLUE INK
Meanwhile, the scribes mused over how this battle of the blues would go.
The general vibe was that both teams lacked consistency. Capable of brilliance
one game and mediocrity the next, the sort of form that wins cups not championships.
• BUSINESS AND MARKETING MEN
Esso sponsored this fixture and were one of the earliest multi-national
companies to use football as a vehicle to promote their brand in
█ MATCHDAY
AFTERNOON █
• THE BOMB SCARE
The Rangers Party checked into their hotel for some rest before the
game. Their relaxation did not go to plan. “There was a bomb scare directed
against the team.” (Rangers Yearbook 1970) and the players were evacuated on to
the street.
█ PMT PRE
MATCH TENSION █
• THE CHELSEA DRESSING ROOM
Despite the frivolity away from it, Chelsea’s dressing room was a tense
place on matchdays. Players arrived ninety minutes before kick off for a short
team meeting to discuss key points.
The Chelsea Dressing Room & Rituals Within
• John Hollins always pinned up the visitors’ team sheet.
• Marvin Hinton and John Boyle enjoyed a rub down with oil.
• Eddie McCreadie and Alan Hudson would only put their shorts on at the
last possible moment.
• When the referee’s buzzer sounded Dave Webb would disappear in to the lavatory so he could be the last player out when the team took to the pitch.
“I’ve never seen a more serious lot in the dressing room at ten to three
than the
(Alan Hudson, Action
Replay Magazine, November 1996)
• CHOPPER’S CHARITY BET
Chopper had a £50 charity bet that
M A T C H R E P O R T
CHELSEA :
1 Peter Bonetti (Sub John Phillips) 2
Gary Locke (Sub Peter Bonetti) 3 Ron
Harris (C) 4 John Hollins 5 David Webb
6 Marvin Hinton 7 Charlie
Cooke 8 Chris Garland (Sub Micky
Droy) 9 Peter Osgood, 10 John Boyle (Sub
Tony Potrac) 11 Peter Houseman.
Despite being at home,
RANGERS
: 1 Peter McCloy 2 Sandy Jardine 3 Billy Mathieson 4 John Greig (C) 5 Colin Jackson 6 Dave Smith
7 Willie Henderson 8 Alf Conn 9 Colin Stein
10 Alex MacDonald 11 Willie
Johnston (Sub Tommy McLean).
Long sleeved blue shirts with the initialled GRFC. White shorts. Red
socks with a white top.
Referee : Mr Ronald Challis (Tonbridge)
Linesmen : Mr B Robinson (Shepperton, Middlesex) and Mr M J Bayston
(Hitchin, Herts).
Conditions : Dry and Very Cold.
7.15 : The tannoy system belts out the ska classic ‘The Liquidator’ by
Harry J and the Allstars as it had done before every match since the record’s
release in November 1969.
7.25 : Rangers take to the pitch. Goalkeeper Peter McCloy has his wrist
bandaged to protect his injury.
7.28 : Pennants are exchanged.
Rangers are to kick towards the North Stand and
FIRST HALF
Peter Bonetti is almost immediately pressed into action and does well to keep out shots from Willie Henderson and then Alex McDonald.
•
• Chelsea for their part miss the best chance of the match when Charlie
Cook pinpoints a cross to Peter Osgood who heads wide from close range.
• Colin Stein strikes the outside of a post and the ball goes wide for a
goal kick.
• Otherwise there is little change for the
HALF
TIME SCORE :
HALF
TIME : THE SPY IN THE CROWD
Atvidaberg, the Swedish conquerors of
SECOND HALF
•
• Charlie Cooke almost scores for
• The ball bounces high on the frozen surface, across the Rangers
defence. Osgood heads wide past an empty Rangers net.
• This wake up call stirs Rangers. Firstly, Willie Johnston hits the
post. Then Peter Bonetti shows his class thwarting efforts from Willie
Henderson, Colin Stein and
• An Alex McDonald header finally beats Peter Bonetti only for Marvin Hinton to somehow dive in from nowhere to clear.
Circa 80 mins:
As befits a Testimonial for Ron Harris the tackles are full blooded and the aforementioned Chelsea physio bag is emptying fast.
Unfortunately for
Chelsea have run out of substitutes… so they bring back Peter Bonetti to play outfield in a number 2 jersey.
90 mins: GOAL 1-0 RANGERS
Sandy Jardine drives from twenty five yards out, the ball shoots through a clutch of Chelsea defenders. John Phillips, unsighted, dives too late to stop the ball landing in the corner of the net.
Our friend the Plasterer resplendent in his boilersuit and stood in the Shed with a number of other Rangers fans celebrates loudly.
FINAL
SCORE :
Official Attendance : 16,362
█ POST MATCH
ACTIVITY █
• PHYSIOS ON OVERTIME
Meanwhile the physios in both camps were kept busy. In addition to the
walking wounded, Colin Jackson needed three stitches in his knee.
• ENTERPRISE
Chopper might have briefly mused over the £50 lost in his charity bet but was probably satisfied with the estimated £6,000 receipts and the hard fought entertaining fixture played in his honour. Though he might have had good reason to be disappointed with the small amount of Chelsea fans who had turned up for his special evening.
The players of both teams signed the match ball which was raffled by the
enterprising Chopper with tickets priced at 5p each.
• OLD FRIEND
Ex Ranger Dave Provan who was now with Plymouth had watched the game and
caught up with his old teammates.
• CELEBRITY SPOTTER
Afterwards the players and directors were invited to a reception. The
eagle eyed correspondent from Rangers News spotted a sprinkling of celebrities
including: comedian Bernie Winters, songwriter Bill Martin, newscasters Alister
Burnett and George Fitch and Chelsea director Dickie Attenborough.
• MARKHAM
Not what Chopper was renowned for but rather with post match rituals
completed, the
P O S T M A T C H
R E A C T I O N
█ MEDIA
REACTION █
• BROWNY POINTS FOR RANGERS!
Bill Brown was most impressed with the Rangers performance
“The wizardry of these boys had the Chelsea fans shouting for a helping of the same from their own lads…. It was by and large a demonstration of the kind of Scottish football we are always talking about and which is all too rarely seen these days.” The Ranger to most impress him was John Greig. “A big man and he had a big game.”
He then makes an interesting point, which underlines my point about the
myth of Rangers always being just a big physical team. He attributes Rangers
lack of success in the League down to the lack of height in the Rangers forward
line. Noting that except for Colin Stein, attackers Henderson, MacDonald,
• KEN GALLACHER
Ken Gallacher of the Daily Record felt that Sandy Jardine’s late winner
gave Rangers the result they deserved. His pick of the ‘wee forward line’ were
Willie Henderson and Alex MacDonald.
~Thoughts Of The Thinking Man
Gallacher enjoyed a conversation with Dave Sexton and asked him how he
thought Rangers might fare in
“I was very impressed last night with Willie Henderson and Alex McDonald in attack and the two centre halves, Colin Jackson and Dave Smith…We wanted Ron to have the kind of Testimonial he would remember and that’s the way it turned out…We are only sorry we lost – but Rangers deserved to win.”
“They really impressed me. We knew it would be a good match but Rangers
proved to be even better than we thought.”
• THE TREATMENT
According to Chelsea programme
editor Albert Sewell the day after the match there was a queue at the Treatment
Room and two other players had been ordered to spend the day at home in bed to
allow their injuries to settle before treatment.
• WE’LL MEET AGAIN
Rangers News happily concluded. “Rangers served up a great football feast. Their play was fast, skilful and exciting. Every man in the side seemed to enjoy the ‘show game’ atmosphere, and turned on the style accordingly.”
Rangers News further reported that
• DISGUSTED OF HATFIELD
“As a
(Letter
from B K Vince of Hatfield, Chelsea v Leeds United Programme)
T A L K I N G P O I N T S
█ THE BLUES
BROTHERS █
• THE
CROWD
One thing that everyone agrees on is that though Stamford Bridge was
less than half full, the attendance was far higher than that given out in the
official version. Probably somewhere between 22-25,000 with Rangers 8,000 plus
travelling support filling the North Stand terrace as well as fans occupying
other parts of the crowd including the Shed.
• CHELSEA AGGRO
Whilst Skinheadism had emerged in the
East End of London, arguably, the biggest Skinhead support numerically emerged
at Chelsea in the late 1960’s. Many hundreds turned out on the Shed End every
Saturday from ‘crews’ based near and far. In 1969 the Chelsea skins came to
national attention when the BBC’s Man Alive team followed ‘Shed Leader’ Danny
Harkins on a trip to Newcastle which turned out to be somewhat less eventful
than Rangers that year. Though by 1971, many skinheads had progressed into
suedeheads. (longer hair, different clothes but still with an emphasis on
football and violence) it begs the obvious question of what happened when the
collective Shed End came face to face with the thousands from Rangers?
• COPPERS?
Firstly, we can categorically say there were no major incidents. The police didn’t report any significant number of arrests or incidents and given the reputations of both clubs supporters the media would have gone out of their way to find a hooligan angle to report on and possibly use to update their Hooligan League Table. The story of the boiler suited plasterer on the Shed is entirely true, he enjoyed the match alongside the Shed End regulars. There were numerous Rangers fans on the Shed who enjoyed a similar experience, the visitors weren’t intent on ‘mobbing up’ or ‘taking the end’ and generally everyone enjoyed the evening and by the end of the game, each other’s company. Rangers fans bring a unique wit and passion and it can only have been enjoyed when fans were mixed or when the thousands stood in the North Stand terracing burst into song. The police played their part too, in the few instances where they did feel there might have been tension because of an over intoxicated visitor they didn’t escalate the situation, they had a quiet word and led them around the pitch to join the thousands on the North Terrace.
Despite Chopper’s amazing contribution over the last decade, Unhappy of Hatfield was correct. The game had not captured the imagination of Chelsea fans. When a team is doing so well in many competitions over a few years, it can get very expensive and many will have to budget as to what games they can attend. Christmas too, being a month away. Just as a hot summer August afternoon can bring out aggressive tendencies an icy November night can cool them. Midweek fixtures too can be tricky to get to depending on when and where you work, particularly if it means getting there through the London rush hour.
For those Chelsea fans who did attend, The Ibrox disaster was fresh in the memory and there was like everywhere else in football a deep sympathy, empathy and solidarity with Rangers and their fans. All football supporters of that era, had been caught up in crushes on poorly maintained stadiums. People wanted to offer the hand of friendship not a fist.
There was also the fact that Rangers legions of fans were generously supporting their ‘Captain’ through attending on the night and an astonishment and a respect for the loyalty shown by another set of fans in following their team over such a long distance in what was a meaningless match. The volume of visitors was what Chelsea would expect for League derbies against the likes of Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham or a visit by Manchester United’s red army played on a Saturday afternoon.
Nor was there any history of terrace rivalry with Rangers rather than if Chelsea had played say Arsenal or Spurs. Testimonial games should be played out in a spirit of respect on the terraces, usually are and there really isn’t anything at stake on the pitch. But then again when fierce rivals meet such as West Ham and Millwall did for Harry Cripps big night in 1972…
They both wore blue and the red, white and blue of their
Union Jacks went down really with the club nicknamed after the Chelsea
pensioners. There were also a good few Scotsmen and Stamford Bridge regulars
who were in fact supporters of Rangers…
• THE LONDON SCOTTISH
As we’ve seen, since its inception there’s always been both a strong Scottish and in particular Rangers connection with Chelsea. Furthermore, as we’ve seen from the construction of Stamford Bridge, there’s always been a tradition of Scottish folk moving to London for work opportunities. The driving force behind the creation of Arsenal was Scotsmen working in a munitions factory. Equally so Millwall of South East London was almost exclusively formed by Scotsmen working in a Scottish owned Jam Factory on the Isle of Dogs in London’s Docklands.
Nevertheless, for Rangers fans relocating South, many were always going
to spend every other Saturday at Chelsea. Aside from the early club
connections, there was the obvious pleasure of supporting another team in blue,
the presence of many Scotsmen in a playing and managing capacity throughout the
history of Chelsea, the shared lion rampant themed logos and finally a stadium
that like Ibrox was located in the west of the city and frankly resembled a
Scottish stadium which having been designed by Archibald Leitch, it was. Away
from the pressure cooker atmosphere of the Glasgow and old firm allegiance,
football was something to be enjoyed at weekends and though not always the most
successful, Chelsea always entertained against England’s best teams. Many
Scottish newcomers to London, settled in the South and West of the capital and
so it was also a local club to boot. Newcomers since the mid 1960’s had the
bonus of being associated with London’s cool new glamour club and one which
played great football complete with that most cherished of Scottish footballing
traditions a first class ‘jinkyman’ (Translation: a brilliant, naturally gifted
Scottish dribbler on the wing) in Charlie Cooke.
• THE BLUES BROTHERS PART 2
Chelsea fans
long remembered the phenomenal amount who came down to support their hero
Chopper and if you’re a proper football fan, you love to see passion and
atmosphere. Rangers brought those and more to West London on a cold November
night and though the clubs went their separate ways, many who hadn’t previously
now had a Scottish team to look out for. This among a number of other factors
resulted in the birth of the ‘Blues Brothers’ when the clubs eventually met
again in 1985 to raise funds for the Valley Parade Disaster Appeal.
█ THE GLAMOUR
CLUB █
• FOOTBALL BOOTS AND KINKY BOOTS
Chelsea really became the glamour club in the 1960’s, probably around 1964. It was a combination of a successful team of ‘good looking’ young players watched by a large locally based celebrity crowd. The players mixed freely with the celebrities and became their friends. Going to parties and restaurants and appearing in photographs with them, often taken by the trendy local photographers. The players shared their ‘fans’ love of fashion and hence the whole image of a glamorous club took off.
In addition to the proximity of
Even though some of the early leaders of the ‘pack’ such as Terry
Venables and ‘Gorgeous’ George Graham (George from Bargeddie 1960) had been
moved on by Tommy Docherty their places were in turn filled by other glamorous
young players. None more so than the likes of Peter Osgood, Tommy Baldwin, Ian
Hutchinson and Alan Hudson who would often be joined by Charlie Cooke, Eddie
McCreadie, Dave Webb, John Boyle and others. During the early 1970’s,
█ FAME AND
SMALL FORTUNE █
• MAKING THE MOST OF IT
The
Peter Osgood and Alan Hudson had their own fan clubs. Some of the
As for Ron
Harris, he wrote a weekly ‘Captain’s Column’ for the Evening Standard or rather
he would speak to a journalist for a few minutes and this would make the basis
of the column. He also had his shops and invested in a couple of buy to let
properties. Though not renowned as a ‘pin up’ he was of course the only
candidate to help promote the super cool bicycle which shared the same name as
him. (The Chopper - keep up!) Not that the money to be earnt through
advertising was going to change any lifestyles. For the Chopper campaign Ron
received two free chopper bicycles.
~Shampoo And Shysters
Alan Hudson in Action Replay magazine, November 1996. “There wasn’t
enough money around to justify having your own agent... I also used to
advertise shampoo and can remember travelling on the
Peter Osgood who was the most glamorous
█ THE BRIDGE █
• NOT SO GLAMOUROUS
Despite the glamour associated with
The East Stand where the directors sat held approximately 3,500 and had hardly been improved since its construction in 1905. There was an odd little stand on the North Eastern corner called the North stand that seated 2,244. The terrace beneath it which extended across to the West stand was an exposed terrace open to the elements. At the opposite end stood the famous ‘Shed End’. It had a cover which barely covered a fifth of the Southern terracing. The only modern part of the ground was the West Stand built in 1965, containing 6300 wooden seats in the rear paddock and 3300 ‘concrete bench seats’ in the front paddock. Practical enough but plain and drab.
The only part of the ground that met Chelsea’s aspirations were four giant floodlight pylons each 170 foot high. At the time of this game the board were planning to rebuild the stadium. The general state of ‘dilapidation’ was closely intertwined to the Mears’ family history.
When Gus Mears died in 1912 aged just thirty seven, his brother Joe
bought the freehold from the trustees in 1921. The simple upshot being a split
between the club and the ownership of the stadium. Joe saw
However at this juncture, and various deals later, both the freehold and
stadium were now owned by the grandchildren of Gus Mears. As I understand it
and accounts vary, Gus’s sons were able to acquire it in the late 1960’s. With
the decrepit East Stand’s Licence due to expire, Brian Mears saw this as an
opportunity to build a stadium in keeping with the original vision of his grandfather.
█ THE CHELSEA
BOARDROOM █
• MEARLY
The board consisted of the local great and the good and descendants of the Mears family. They in turn were backed up by a modern professional business team which contrary to the traditionally chauvinist world of football also contained some women. Crucially for Chelsea, chairman Brian Mears was young and ambitious for the club.
• President: The Right Hon. Earl Cadogan, MC DL
• Chairman: Brian Mears joined the board in September 1958 and chairman
since September 1969.
• Vice Chairman: Viscount Chelsea, Son of Earl Cadogan.
The Directors:
• Leslie Juan Mears joined the board seven months after the death of his
father Leslie in September 1964.
• George Thomson was born in Alloa, Scotland. He began watching
• Richard ‘Dickie’ Attenborough CBE: Famous for his work in films and
theatre, his interest in Chelsea began as a young fan. He became vice president
in 1965 and joined the board in November 1969.
█ THE BLUES
TRY TO STAY IN THE BLACK █
•
OVERHEADS
One of the costliest items
incurred by Chelsea was matchday policing, about £12,000 per season. (the cost
of two first team players annual salaries.) Other matchday expenses included:
130 turnstile men, 24 crowd packers, 6 ball boys, catering staff, an
electrician in case of floodlight failure (not
• COUPONS
• POOLS
The Rangers pools had gone from strength to strength and now boasted a
staggering clientele of 600,000 players and 8,000 agents that generated an
annual turnover of over £1 million. (Now that
is worth calling a miracle.)
-Girl Power
A Spurs director might well have cancelled his monthly subscription when
Goal magazine wrote with great vision, “Women like Mrs Pat Abel could soon be
playing an even bigger part behind the soccer scenes. Already there’s been the
first woman secretary of a football League club. And, dare we say it, we might
soon see the first female director or manager!” (Goal Magazine 31st January
1970 No 78)
█ WHERE DID
CHELSEA FANS COME FROM IN 1971 █
• FROM NEAR AND FAR
Most League clubs were situated in densely populated, working class
parts of towns and cities.
In order to identify where their fan base was located to help with the
marketing of the new lottery, some market research was commissioned. Not only
did it uncover the obvious places such as the suburbs of south and west
Furthermore I would suggest
that satellite towns in Berkshire and Surrey were a mainstay of
• THE WELSH CONNECTION?
Bizarrely in a book entitled, ‘We Hate Humans’ the author David Robins
claimed that there was a large contingent of South Welsh descent. “The children
of South London people who migrated to
• SPECIAL FORCES
Finally due to the large Barracks on
█ HOME AND
AWAY █
• STAYING HOME
The day after the match, England’s sixteen man travelling party for
their forthcoming international was announced. It included old adversaries, Martin
Peters, Martin Chivers (Spurs), Peter Storey (Arsenal) and Rodney Marsh (QPR)
but nobody from
• IN THE EAST
The Geoff Hurst testimonial may have lacked the competitiveness of
Stamford Bridge, but it certainly provided great entertainment and is an
interesting footnote for those who followed Rangers on to their games in
London. Rodney Marsh and Jimmy Greaves found the net three times for Tommy
Docherty’s European Select XI.
West
Ham United 4 (Bryan Robson 2,
• AND THE MIDDLE
EAST
It was announced in the Evening Times that the Rangers players were to
take a working holiday in Tel Aviv. Local team Hapoel invited them over for a
game and the opportunity for a few days break. Willie Waddell was pleased to
accept. Explaining, “The trip to Tel Aviv will prove an ideal break for the
players. They have worked very hard these past few months and the change of
climate will be good for them.”
█ RANGERS PRE
SEASON PREPARATIONS █
• NO HOLIDAY CAMP
Rangers went to the Hindas Training Camp, thirty miles from Gothenburg in Sweden for their pre-season preparation. The aim was to enable Jock Wallace to coach the team to optimum fitness without distractions and for Willie Waddell to experiment with tactics and formations.
This was combined with a four Club Tournament in Gothenburg against local sides GAIS, Orgryte and English 1st Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Scotsman, Jim McCalliog of Wolves observed Rangers fitness training and was most impressed. “I haven’t seen any team look as fit as the Rangers lads look. We are supposed to be fit but they’re ahead of us. They look so fast and so strong.” (Rangers Yearbook 1970)
Following a shock defeat by part timers GAIS, Waddell wielded the axe
for the third place play off against Orgryte. Rangers won and then returned to
Hindas for a few days before travelling to the tiny port town of
Rangers then embarked on a series of tough pre-season matches at Ibrox.
Convincingly beating Harry Catterick’s international laden Everton, and at
last, Spurs. A single goal from Willie Johnston securing a long awaited win.
█ THE BEARDED
RANGER █
• STITCH UP
The ‘Struth’ tradition for being immaculately turned out was still very
much alive at Rangers, since Willie Waddell’s appointment which had prompted a
few visits to the barber. So why was John Greig, Rangers captain and model
professional sporting a ‘goatee’ style beard?
Just before Rangers home leg of the Cup Winner’s Cup tie against
Sporting Lisbon, the Rangers players were having a kick around. Greig went to
retrieve a miskicked ball and tripped over a bench, cutting his chin open.
“Because I had nine stitches, I couldn’t shave. For a joke, I said I wouldn’t
shave until we went out of the competition and the players held me to it.”
(4-4-2 magazine November 1994)
█ THE NEXT
BEST THING █
• A CHOSEN FEW
Aside from
playing and captaining Rangers, the next greatest honour a Ranger could earn
was to captain Scotland against
• Jacky Robertson captained
• Fellow Ranger turned ‘pensioner’ James Stark didn’t have far to travel
when he led
• Ranger turned wartime Sergeant in the
• Director George Brown led Scotland to a 1-0 victory at Wembley 1938.
• Sammy Cox was captain for the 1954 joust at Hampden which
• Eric Caldow had the privilege for 3 consecutive years from 1961-1963
(won 2 lost 1)
• As did John Greig, (minus a beard!) from 1966-1968. (won 1 drawn 1 lost
1)
█ JOCK
WALLACE █
• FAN
“I’ve been a Rangers since I was an eight year old. Indeed, I can recall
walking the twelve miles back home to Wallyford (near Edinburgh) from
Tynecastle after watching Rangers and Hearts in action. But I didn’t mind – as
long as Rangers had won.” This was not the phoney Public Relations nonsense of
a more cynical era, fans remembered young Jock travelling on the football buses
from Edinburgh. More recently fans spotted Jock watching Rangers whenever he
had a free weekend. Football was his business but Rangers his passion.
•
JOCK MINOR - MINER
Aged fifteen, the powerfully
built youngster started work as a pit boy. When not working or following
Rangers, he kept goal and although subsequently released by Blackpool he made
his English league debut for Workington in the 1952-53 season. However his
career in football was then interrupted by national service.
• COMMANDO
Simply going through the
motions of national service was not enough for Jock, he joined the King’s Own
Scottish Borderers and spent his time on active service as a Commando in the
jungles of Malaya, repelling attacks from communists rather than opposition
strikers. There was also time for some goalkeeping (or you might say additional
shooting practice), as he signed with his garrison town’s team, Berwick
Rangers.
• GOALKEEPING AND MANAGING
Upon completion of national
service it was back to the more mundane occupation of full time goalkeeping. Strength
and courage the trademarks of his game. Resuming his career with Berwick and
then with Airdrie before being brought back to England to join to West Bromwich
Albion. Following a dispute in his third year with the club, he subsequently
featured with Bedford Town and Hereford United before re-joining Berwick as
their part time goalkeeper manager. A keep fit enthusiast, whilst at Berwick he
made ends meet by also working as a builder. Not because of any great desire to
build things, but because he wanted a job that kept him in peak physical
condition. Under his leadership, Berwick were much improved and Hearts
appointed him their assistant manager in 1968.
• TASKMASTER
Upon joining Rangers his novel
but punishing fitness programmes most notably the annual pre-season trips to
Gullane near
• MEDIA CARICATURE
Wallace didn’t exactly try to
court the media and the man they the dealt was a big, tough, gruff and no
nonsense character and it fitted an obvious caricature. In turn the media,
criticised and mocked his work. They should have asked around, to find the true
story.
• ACKNOWLEDGED EXPERT
A serious student of fitness,
he had earnt a reputation as an expert in the field. The
• THE GENTLEMAN
Yes, the ‘Big Man’ was very
tough, forthright and demanded complete effort. Those who actually knew him and
above all, those who worked with him knew this was just one side of his
personality. They recall a man who was also kind, sensitive and scrupulously
fair. A gentleman who cared deeply for them and was always on their side. They
understood that he wanted the best for them and Rangers at all times. Like when
he was a young supporter, he wouldn’t so much as go the extra one but rather
the extra dozen for them.
█ HARD MEN
AND HATCHET MEN █
• FOOTBALL KICK
People in my mind often
mistake a dirty player for a hard player. Anyone can kick or elbow someone and
in the process hurt their own team by getting themselves sent off or conceding
a needless free kick. For me the hard player is the brave or courageous player.
The player who will play through the pain barrier for his team or the player
who will put his foot or any other body part somewhere where it is probably
going to hurt. The player who might be getting kicked all game but does not get
any protection from the referee yet still does not allow those provoking him to
put them off his game. Taking the knocks, perhaps dishing out some retribution
away from the glare of the officials and getting on with it. Anyone can inflict
pain but it’s a different matter as to how you take it which our Testimonial
man most certainly could.
P O
S T S
C R I
P T
█ CHELSEA
1971-72 █
• TWO TOP TEN
FINISHES!
Chelsea’s pivotal season ended with a disappointing finish of seventh in
the League and losing to Orient in the fifth round of the FA Cup. They reached
the League Cup Final but lost to Stoke. Famously the Chelsea squad celebrated
reaching the final by releasing, ‘Blue Is The Colour’ which did better in the
pop charts than Chelsea did in the League, reaching Number five. Apparently the
initial rendition of the song was so atrocious that Eddie McReadie suggested
bringing back four bottles of vodka and some crates of lager to reach the parts
that others couldn’t.
█ WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO CHOPPER? █
• PLAY AND PLAYER
Ron went on to make a club record 655 appearances between 1962 and 1980.
Indeed 38 came in his last season when he played in midfield. I watched an
episode of ‘The Big Match Replayed’ essentially a rerun of the 1978-79 episodes
of ITV’s Big Match and they showed the
After
• AFTER THE FINAL WHISTLE
Fed up with chairmen he then took a great risk, he sold the family home,
cashed in all his savings and borrowed heavily to buy the Bremhill Golf Club
for £400,000. Three years later, he sold it for £2 million although seemingly
he’s had his ups and downs business-wise since. Most recently he was owner of a
fishing and chalet complex for anglers in Wiltshire, an after dinner speaker
and wrote a typically no holds barred autobiography entitled ‘Chopper’
published by Bigbluetube in 2004. On the way to a speaking engagement in 2002
he survived an horrific car crash with a drunk driver, but thankfully seems to
be back to full health. If you ever hear a mobile phone ring tone playing,
‘Blue is the Colour’ it just might be his.
█ THE
EUROPEAN CUP 1972 █
• TOTAL FOOTBALL
Elsewhere
in Europe, the scope of Waddell’s task was again underlined by the
competitiveness of Jock Stein’s Celtic in the European Cup, where they lost on
penalties in the semi finals to Inter
█ RANGERS
1971-2 █
• DOMESTIC DAYS
The
win at Chelsea was followed up with seven straight wins in the League. However
after defeat in the Old Firm clash on 3rd January it became clear that Rangers
best chance of silverware would come in the cups. Rangers League Cup campaign
had ended back in August in the group qualifying stages against Celtic.
Nevertheless at the start of April, Rangers were still in two cups but the
Scottish Cup was no longer a priority after they suffered defeat in a semi
final replay to Hibernian. The League campaign also tailed off as Rangers
finished in a disappointing third spot, six points behind Aberdeen and sixteen
behind Celtic and level on points with Scottish Cup conquerors Hibernian. Dave
Smith had a fantastic season and was named
█ ONE NIGHT
IN MAY 72 █
•
EUROPEAN NIGHTS
Rangers went from strength to
strength in
• GLORY NIGHT
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