Ready? Today I'm going back 10 years to 23rd July 2011 and the early season Scottish Premier League game between Rangers and Hearts or Heart of Midlothian to give them their full and correct title.
I had long yearned to visit Ibrox (and Celtic Park for that matter). For English football fans venturing North, the Auld Firm home grounds are the ones to visit first. I was not disappointed. Rangers have done a fine job in retaining the essence of the original Archibald Leitch red brick stadium whilst thoroughly modernising it's innards. Given that we had gone to Scotland specifically to attend this match, I'm ashamed to say that we nearly missed it altogether. A chance conversation at our guest house alerted us to the possibility that it might not be a 3PM kick off after all and, when we discovered it was starting at 12:30, we made a mad dash up the motorway and just about got into our seats without missing much, albeit that the players were already on the pitch! Sadly my lack of attention to the early kick-off time meant that we also missed the unfurling of the Championship flag, apparently Rangers' 54th, which was commemorated by a firework display and an organised display by the fans. I've attached a video of this in my blog for any Rangers fans out there to wallow in. Little did we know it at the time but it would be ten years before Rangers next title.
Less than one year later in June 2012, after four months in administration, Rangers entered the process of liquidation. The administrators sold the business and assets of Rangers to a new company albeit that the players chose not to allow themselves to be transferred across and, crucially, the new company did not have rights to the former club's place in Scotland's top league. Instead, Rangers were placed in the fourth tier of Scottish Professional football and it took Rangers four years to claw their way back to the top flight with three promotions. They finally won the title for the first time since 2011 earlier this year.
Hearts are one of my favourite Scottish sides (with apologies to Craig and Charlie). Their name comes from, or was certainly influenced by, Walter Scott's novel "The Heart of Midlothian". The club's badge is based on a mosaic embedded in the pavement and is to be found at the former entrance to Edinburgh's Old Tollbooth, a structure that was demolished in 1817. People passing the mosaic will often be seen to spit on the mosaic for good luck (yes really) although, historically, the spitting used to be a sign of distain for the executions that used to take place at the site of the former Jail. I wonder what the fans of Hearts' cross city rivals do when they pass the mosaic? The other wonderful thing about Hearts is their nickname: The Jam Tarts, which must be a rare example of cockney rhyming slang originating outside of the East End of London?
Back to 2011 and my match. Not long after taking our seats, Rangers had fallen behind with the Hearts goal being scored by David Obua after 16 minutes. Perhaps almost unique in the British game, Obua was a Ugandan international who made 101 appearances for the Jambos, scoring six goals. The 49,083 crowd, made up of mainly Rangers fans were restless and things didn't settle down until almost the hour mark when Steven Naismith finally grabbed an equaliser. It wasn't a good performance by Rangers and all the signs were there of their impending financial difficulties. Rangers eventually finished the season in second place in what was to be their last top flight season for four years. Clearly they weren't "Ready"!
CRB Match No. 1825
Comments
Post a Comment