Earlier articles 

1998 - Review of the year

The Treble

First up, I'm the one who said that the domestic cups are largely an irrelevance, compared to where we want to be . The League Cup ? I'd rather beat the German league leaders in their own back yard. The Scottish Cup ? give me a crack against one of Italy's best. But, when the trophies are counted at the end of the season, the Treble has a special ring to it, and puts this year's Rangers team in an elite group.

If I did remember the 1949 and the 1964 teams, I'm not sure that I'd admit to it, so with due respect to Jock Shaw and Bobby Shearer, fast forward to Jock Wallace's team of 1975/76.

The previous season, we had won the Championship by a street, to end Celtic's run of titles. Jock Wallace didn't make many changes over the close season, but he did make one telling move. Johnny Hamilton had been given a free transfer by Hibs at the end of the season, not a post-Bosman contract not renewed, but an old-fashioned 'we don't want you' free transfer. It looked at the time that we were signing him as a cover, but it turned out to be a lot more. A great passer of the ball, for one great season he turned out to be the perfect partner to Alex McDonald in the middle of the park.

Things weren't looking too good come November, though. Home and away defeat to St Ettienne, and the month brought only one victory - a superb Alex MacDonald diving header giving us a 1-0 victory over Celtic in the League Cup Final. The response to the St Ettienne defeat was immediate, four changes - remember boy wonder Gordon Boyd ? - It was also painful - a 2-1 home defeat to Hearts. That was the last defeat of the season. With the papers running a regular about half a million pounds' worth of talent turning out for the reserves, Martin Henderson and Alex Millar kept Derek Parlane and Sandy Jardine out of the team for the rest of the season. Parlane did make a telling contribution before the end of the season, coming on for the second half of the Scottish Cup semi-final against Motherwell when we were losing 2-0, and setting us on the road to a 3-2 victory with a last minute goal by Derek Johnstone.

The League was won unexpectedly at Tannadice. While we were winning 1-0 with a goal by Derek Johnstone after 30 seconds, Celtic were losing at home to Ayr United. John Greig's reaction was mixed;

 "It happened all wrong, of course. the championship was supposed to have been decided two days later when we were set to meet Celtic at Celtic park. Everyone was looking forward to that being the big showdown..."

Oh well, we got there in the end, eh ?

 The Scottish Cup Final was against Hearts, Derek Johnstone scored after 40 seconds, goals by Alex MacDonald and Martin Henderson turned it into a stroll, and although Hearts scored a late goal and hit the post in the last minute, there was only going to be one winner.

Jock Wallace. Jungle fighter. Clenched fist. Best half time talks ever. Have a look at the forward line that won the 1977/78 treble - McLean, Russell, Johnstone, Smith and Cooper. Davie Cooper was signed close-season from Clydebank, but Bobby Russell was playing with Shettleston Juniors as a 21-year-old, after a stint at Sunderland. After the pre-season matches, he was pitched straight into the first team for the opening game, a 3-1 defeat at Pittodrie. We actually played pretty well that day, but that result was followed by a defeat to Hibs and a goalless draw with Partick Thistle, making the first Old Firm game crucial.  The season was in the balance when we went in 2-0 at half-time, but the good guys came out on top, with goals from Gordon Smith and Derek Johnstone finishing them off, and the season was up and running.

Aberdeen were the runners-up that year, and they took the league to the second last game of the year - a 2-0 victory over Motherwell. They beat us four times that season, three times in the league and once in the two-legged League Cup. The cup game counted for nothing, though, as we won the first leg 6-1 with one of the best performances I've seen by a Rangers team. The League Cup final against Celtic was won with a Gordon Smith winner in the 117^th minute, and by the time the Scottish Cup Final came round, Aberdeen (managed by Billy McNeil) were full of themselves about how they'd been the best team over the season and they were going to prove it. Proof indeed came with goals by Alex McDonald  and Derek Johnstone being no more than we deserved, although a late looping deflected goal that left Peter McCloy swinging from the crossbar made the game look closer than it was. Man of the match - Bobby Russell, of course. I think he won the award in every major game he played in (except the 1981 replay, of course).

John Greig took over as manager the next season, and the team was getting older, with a number of players who were winners in Barcelona reaching the end of their careers at the same time. Despite that, Greig's first season as manager was almost one of the most successful in our history, victories over Juventus and PSV Eindhoven followed by an injury-hit team losing to Cologne, two cups won and that horrible half hour at Parkhead denying us the treble.