@Bandage @Rocko who will take the rangers penalty tomorrow with tavernier out?
There was definitely an uptick in interest around the 1995 Cup final and the 95/96 season but you have to remember Celtic had been shit for years - they didn’t win a trophy for six years and were nowhere in the league. 95/96 was the first time they even contended for the league since 1988. The new Celtic Park opened too that season which was a bit of a novelty, Tommy Burns was in charge and the somewhat increased coverage from 1995 on, Van Hooijdonk being a transformative signing, the looming nine in a row and ten in a row, all these were factors.
2 Likes
He was poor for o neils winner too
They have had recent success against us with that “mid block” alright but we’ve helped by being a bit predictable in our play. I think that’s where Trusty was faulted in the first half of the final - he wasn’t looking for the rotations in and out of the middle which is how we’ve tried to disrupt their midfield marking since Ange days.
I think we can still attack them more in wide areas where we’ve had great success in recent seasons. And I also expect them to tire in the middle too. Raskin got a lot of praise for his performance the last day but he was finished by 50 minutes I thought.
1 Like
I watched that one with @Juhniallio and @nemesis
The RTÉ deal was specifically for Celtic matches and not Scottish football in general. But the coverage was indeed sporadic.
2 Likes
@thedancingbaby used to hang at the swimming pool back then, looking for tims
2 Likes
I listened to last half an hour or so of this on the radio with me oul’ fella. It was a classic of the “holding up the radio in the kitchen to get a crackly reception” genre of 1990s football match. I definitely was wearing a Celtic jersey at the Halloween bonfire the following evening. The sponsorless 1992/93 version. I didn’t get the new version until that Christmas.
The “you could have driven a bus through the (Team X) defence” line I love so much comes from Jock Brown’s commentary on a Rangers goal in the 2-4 demolition at Parkhead on January 1st, 1994.
1993/94 also saw Rangers ban Celtic supporters for the second derby game in April though I think it only happened the once that time.
The League of Scotland got a real shot in the arm in the late 80’s after the murdering Dippers got English clubs banned from Europe. With continental clubs limited to just two Johnny Foreigners, Scotland provided a route to playing in Europe for English players.
Glasgow Rangers with 4 players had the highest representation in the England squad that got to the 1990 World Cup semi final. Paul Elliott was one of the best Centre halves in England went to Glasgow Celtic around that time too.
1 Like
There was a great relationship between Everton and Rangers Glasgow around this time which resulted in Everton being accepted into the Blues Brothers Alliance. Everton were driven by Rangers men like Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp and would sell off their top players contining the word Steven in their name to Rangers on the cheap and they even let them win the Battle Of Britain in Dubai in December 1987, which I learned of from Shoot or Match, or possibly both.
Rangers later gave Everton Duncan Ferguson and Walter Smith as reciprocation.
Celtic jerseys were a very common sight at Liverpool games circa 1989 - there was a big connection with Kenny Dalglish and Celtic fans like Ray Houghton, Ronnie Whelan and Stephen Staunton in the Liverpool team and the Celtic-Liverpool relationship was cemented by the post-Hillsborough game at Celtic Park, which was the second time the teams played each other in April 1989 after the all-Celtic battle in Dubai which Liverpool kindly let Celtic win in a penalty competition.
TG4 had a League Cup semi-final live around this time. January or February 2002. Celtic lost it in extra-time.
Graham Roberts left Spurs for Glasgow Rangers in 1986 when he was in his prime at 26/27 largely because he wanted European football. Robbo ended up playing in goal in consecutive Glasgow derbies during the 1987/88 season.
Spurs signed Richard Gough as Robbo’s replacement from Dundee United and he was a colossus for us during that 1986/87 season. Spurs had a terrible start to the 1987/88 season and just before David Pleat was sacked for Terry Venables, Gough went to Glasgow Rangers. Seemingly he had wanted to go there previous season, but Jim McLean the Dundee United manager wouldn’t sell players to either of the Glasgow clubs and he ended up at Spurs.
Good question. I’m not sure some of their other players who successfully converted penalties in the shoot out last month will start (Danilo, Hagi). Tavernier & Butland scored too & Yilmaz missed. Their great hope now seems to be Igamane so possibly him/he.
Wednesday nights listening to Scottish clubs in European action was a staple in the late 1980s. BBC Radio 2 would cover it. Dundee United reached the UEFA Cup final in 1987. They might have won it with Gough alongside David Narey. Heart of Midlothian’s UEFA Cup run in 1988/89 was also a radio staple.
There was a lovely pronunciation competition between English and Scottish radio commentators about the word “UEFA” at this time. Here in Ireland we pronounced it “You-ay-fah”. But most of the English pronounced it “You-eee-fah”. Then the Scotch would come in with “You-fah”.
We were big fans of Dynamo Kiev, Gornik Zabrze, Steaua Bucharest and other crack Eastern European teams Rangers Glasgow would play around this time. If you want to see a goalkeeping rush of blood to the head at the same end Ally Maxwell made his see the Dynamo Kiev goalkeeper fresh air throw the ball stright to Ally McCoist for a killer goal in the 1987/88 European Cup first round. This was proof that God was a Protestant and we Catholics were destined to be forever oppressed.
Celtic European games on radio around this time were a trial. Me oul’ fella nearly flung the radio out into the back garden when Celtic blew it against Partizan Belgrade in a Cup Winners’ Cup tie in September 1989. He did his nut over it. Then there was the Neuchatel game in September or October 1991. It got worse and worse and worse.
Their sense of entitlement is so strong that they don’t have the patience for a proper rebuild. They want to reclaim top spot & they want it now. It’s quick fix after quick fix - directors’ loans, share issues, money cobbled together for mini transfer splurges & constant upheaval at manager & board room level.
It’s absolutely mad the extent how Celtic fucked up that 10IAR season under Lennon & Lawwell - a modest huns side had the league wrapped up by November & it was the only trophy Gerrard won out of nine available over his 3 seasons but it was a complete false dawn for them.
2 Likes
Very reminscent of another Protestant club, Manchester United.
Think gornik zabre were the team that destroyed rovers
So much talk of the 90s and I don’t see any mention of Dubliner Paul Byrnes two goals against Rangers .
His volley at Ibrox was mentioned above. 
1 Like
Was thinking I missed it !