1997-98 season memories

StrathbungoLoyal

Well-Known Member
The Goram v McGregor thread brought back memories of that season, and more so Goram's rapid decline during that campaign which ultimately ended with us losing out on ten. His fitness was a disgrace by this point and his form suffered badly, but he wasn't alone.

There were so many unfortunate factors that season that conspired against us.

Goram was an out of shape disgrace, likewise Gazza, Indeed was there not a pre season squad photo with them all topless and their appearance was dreadful for so called professionals. Then you factor in Negri going from goal machine to downing tools in 'strange' circumstances, Laudrup being out of sorts and his Chelsea move, Walter announcing he was leaving around November time and so on. The consistency of the team was dreadful but we really should still have won that League against what was a piss poor Mhanks side.

We were unlucky though. Considering we were due to play them on 31st August when they were in the middle of a dismal start and it was postponed due to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales then by the time that game did take place we were robbed of a win due to John Rowbotham ridiculously sending Gazza off then allowing them ample injury time to.equalise which they did thanks to Stubbs being allowed to climb all over our defender. That was one of those nights where had we won we would have got ten, but several factors.counted against us that year.
 
The same players were asked to go to the well one season too many. Negri injury didnt help, nor did Durie scoring about 4 league goals all season

Celtic were awful that year as well.
 
I was only 8 at the time but I find the whole Negri situation bizarre, he seems to retain a lot of love from the fans and has come back onto the scene at functions/legends days despite being posted missing for around 20 years.

What was the script with his injury at the time, was it a genuine bad one or did he take the huff?
 
I was only 8 at the time but I find the whole Negri situation bizarre, he seems to retain a lot of love from the fans and has come back onto the scene at functions/legends days despite being posted missing for around 20 years.

What was the script with his injury at the time, was it a genuine bad one or did he take the huff?
Stole a wage off of us for a further 3 1/2 years.

Apparently hit in the eye with a squash ball. Various rumours. Whatever happened he went from scoring 31 goals before xmas to 3 for rest of season.
 
I was only 8 at the time but I find the whole Negri situation bizarre, he seems to retain a lot of love from the fans and has come back onto the scene at functions/legends days despite being posted missing for around 20 years.

What was the script with his injury at the time, was it a genuine bad one or did he take the huff?
he has played for more the legends than the first team :D :D :D
 
Winning 9 was a lot harder than the 10 should have been. We should have walked 10 but conspired to balls it up all by ourselves.

Given everything that went on in that season we beat Celtic in the last game v them at Ibrox and that should have seen us home. The Kilmarnock game was inexplicable but perfectly summed up the season, as did the Cup Final.

It was incredibly sad end to that era and a tough summer.
 
Losing up at Pittodrie the week after beating Them 2-0 at Ibrox to go back top was a hammer blow but so typical of our inconsistent form that season. We should have been home and dry after that Easter Sunday win.

The Scottish Cup semi final win at The Piggery when Super scored that goal was a special moment though. The outpouring of joy from him afterwards and the full stand of Bears behind the goal celebrating was a brilliant time.
 
I never followed football back then so I can’t imagine how it must’ve felt at the time. But I think it might actually have been a blessing in disguise that we didn’t get 10.

I remember after we won the league in 2009, hate filled bigot Tom Boyd wrote a piece on how celtic would never have recovered had we got 10. I remember chuckling as I read it because I knew that that wouldn’t have been a good thing for Rangers.

Like it or not they are our only competition in this league. If they go, we’re done. We would slowly decline to being Aberdeen’s rival without the challenge the beasts from the east offer.

9 was perfect. If was enough for the era to be a success, but not too much too kill off our rivals completely.
 
Winning 9 was a lot harder than the 10 should have been. We should have walked 10 but conspired to balls it up all by ourselves.

Given everything that went on in that season we beat Celtic in the last game v them at Ibrox and that should have seen us home. The Kilmarnock game was inexplicable but perfectly summed up the season, as did the Cup Final.

It was incredibly sad end to that era and a tough summer.

Bottom line is that had we won that, as we really should, we'd have won TIAR.

We blew it.
 
Losing up at Pittodrie the week after beating Them 2-0 at Ibrox to go back top was a hammer blow but so typical of our inconsistent form that season. We should have been home and dry after that Easter Sunday win.

The Scottish Cup semi final win at The Piggery when Super scored that goal was a special moment though. The outpouring of joy from him afterwards and the full stand of Bears behind the goal celebrating was a brilliant time.
Watched that and most if the second part of the season in the Bramalea RSC club in Ontario, some great days in there
 
One of my best feelings as a bear when we beat them 2-0 and over turned the goal difference to go top of the league. I truly believed that we had won back 10IAR. Then to go up to Pittodrie the following week and lose was devastating!
We were at one point 7 ahead of them, and then 7 behind. It was a ridiculous season, but ultimately we should never have lost it as we were better than them, or certainly had the players and squad to have been!
 
If the season had gone on another 3 weeks then the momentum might have swung back to Rangers... both teams were dropping points in matches where you wouldn’t have expected it.

Rangers were a busted flush by that time though - the players were physically and mentally spent.
It was a perfect storm that season - players exhausted, Smith announcing he was leaving; search for the new manager; Celtic on the rise. It was an awful season to love through.
Now and again the players pulled a performance out of the bag - the Scottish Cup seminar the Piggery was outstanding.
To balance that, the European campaign was a disgrace.

Looking back, there was a bit of uncharacteristic arrogance from Rangers during the summer of 1997 about winning 10, and you can see similar from the current day Bheggars.
The blues v whites training match was utter posturing - it was very entertaining but our focus was all wrong.
Malay the same time, I know someone who was a reserve at Hibs at the time and they played Rangers during July/August time and got more or less the full side against them - he said Rangers were terrifying that day and should walk the league. Again, for me it was attitude that I did what should have been achieved on pure ability.
 
Never ever bought the idea of the rearranged Celtic game costing us.

The New Year game is the one which allowed them back into the title race. They had just lost the previous week at McDiarmid Park and we had put 5 and then 4 past Hearts and Dundee United.

We shat the bed that day.
 
In before people blame Laudrup despite him having a very good season and being our POTY.

Even when he was clearly carrying an ankle injury that started to bother him in his latter career, he was 100% not the reason that we didn't get ourselves over the line.

The line that "he chucked it" ahead of his move to Chelsea just doesn't wash with me.
 
That photo of them with their tops off was absolutely awful.

Complicancy kicked in. We should have won the league.

Negri being injured was a big blow.

Should have walked the league that season.
 
Think its all in front of us here

Multiple different individuals who could be relied on previously, could not be relied on.

Lorenzo Amoruso signed, injured.
Jonas Thern.

All of them had a few good games but too many missed games / off games.
 
The Sheep game at Pittodrie was a definite killer the week after beating the beggars to gain the upper hand.

The run from end of January to mid March was awful. The one game that sticks in my head was Dunfermline at Ibrox. Huffed and puffed all afternoon until Porrini of all players got the goal with about 20 to go from memory. We then contrived to ship a late goal out of nowhere to draw 1-1. It was symptomatic of how that period of time went, the number of dropped points was unbelievable.
 
The big thing for me was Walter Smith coming out and saying he would leave at the end of the season.If that was meant to fire the players onto the title it didn't work.
Other thing is should we have persevered with Gazza.He wasn't in good shape but he had the ability to win a game out of nothing.
 
In before people blame Laudrup despite him having a very good season and being our POTY.

Even when he was clearly carrying an ankle injury that started to bother him in his latter career, he was 100% not the reason that we didn't get ourselves over the line.

The line that "he chucked it" ahead of his move to Chelsea just doesn't wash with me.

Simply shows how much he carried us in previous seasons when he had a good season and it sadly wasn't enough.

Not enough players pulled their (considerable) weight in 1997/98, McCoist and a few others aside
 
Never too big to fail. Having spent four or five years worrying about being the team that failed to get nine, they got it and arrogantly believed were untouchable. Attitude was the only issue. Well attitude and Gordon Durie.

It was awful, there were very few easy games post Christmas and so much huffing and puffing. I remember walking out of the home game vs Hearts at the start thinking we had a superb team for the season ahead only to see it fall apart quite quickly.
 
The Sheep game at Pittodrie was a definite killer the week after beating the beggars to gain the upper hand.

The run from end of January to mid March was awful. The one game that sticks in my head was Dunfermline at Ibrox. Huffed and puffed all afternoon until Porrini of all players got the goal with about 20 to go from memory. We then contrived to ship a late goal out of nowhere to draw 1-1. It was symptomatic of how that period of time went, the number of dropped points was unbelievable.

2 January 1998CelticA0–249,396
10 January 1998AberdeenH2–049,502Laudrup, Porrini
17 January 1998MotherwellH1–049,443Cleland
31 January 1998St JohnstoneA0–210,441
7 February 1998Dunfermline AthleticH1–149,019Porrini
21 February 1998HibernianA2–113,968Negri, Albertz
24 February 1998KilmarnockA1–115,931Thern
28 February 1998Heart of MidlothianH2–250,046Albertz (2)
14 March 1998MotherwellA1–211,779McCoist


That wee run of games effectively fucked us. Allowed the filth and Hearts to overtake us.
 
2 January 1998CelticA0–249,396
10 January 1998AberdeenH2–049,502Laudrup, Porrini
17 January 1998MotherwellH1–049,443Cleland
31 January 1998St JohnstoneA0–210,441
7 February 1998Dunfermline AthleticH1–149,019Porrini
21 February 1998HibernianA2–113,968Negri, Albertz
24 February 1998KilmarnockA1–115,931Thern
28 February 1998Heart of MidlothianH2–250,046Albertz (2)
14 March 1998MotherwellA1–211,779McCoist


That wee run of games effectively fucked us. Allowed the filth and Hearts to overtake us.
There you go, dropped points against St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, Motherwell?!! Ffs, just as well there was no online FF back in those days!

Looking at that run of results has brought me out in a cold sweat! Thoroughly depressing.
 
The same players were asked to go to the well one season too many. Negri injury didnt help, nor did Durie scoring about 4 league goals all season

Celtic were awful that year as well.

Nah. Murray backed the manager to the hilt with the funds to freshen up the squad. He went to Italy and came back with an ok Porrini, a phuckin bonkers striker and a centre back in need of an ankle ligaments operation. Not a bit of homework was done on these players. Laudrup did not want to be here. Gazza and Goram were a shambles and Walter put in his notice.

Bad management cost us ten.
 
I never followed football back then so I can’t imagine how it must’ve felt at the time. But I think it might actually have been a blessing in disguise that we didn’t get 10.

I remember after we won the league in 2009, hate filled bigot Tom Boyd wrote a piece on how celtic would never have recovered had we got 10. I remember chuckling as I read it because I knew that that wouldn’t have been a good thing for Rangers.

Like it or not they are our only competition in this league. If they go, we’re done. We would slowly decline to being Aberdeen’s rival without the challenge the beasts from the east offer.

9 was perfect. If was enough for the era to be a success, but not too much too kill off our rivals completely.
I cant believe any Rangers fan would think along these lines. A blessing in disguise that we lost the league title to our biggest rivals when we were on the brink of creating history? Words fail me.
 
I cant believe any Rangers fan would think along these lines. A blessing in disguise that we lost the league title to our biggest rivals when we were on the brink of creating history? Words fail me.

Say we won it, then what? If Boyd is to be believed, it would’ve been the last significant thing we ever won. It’s possible to win too much domestically, you risk the whole thing becoming so boring that we start losing younger generations of fans. The scum were telling us that then, and it’s all being conveniently forgotten now.
 
Both us and them being very poor - to the extent that Hearts were still in with a decent shout until a fair bit into that season. The mentally challengeds were actually bottom after 2 games IIRC and lost at home to Dunfermline.

We were stop start. Negri looked like he'd carry us to the title but the successive European fùck ups really knocked our confidence and we couldn't get much consistency. That said, I still maintain that had we played (and beat) them on the original date - we could have landed a massive psychological blow to them very early on and give ourselves a massive boost to the bargain. Instead we ended up being done out of a win in the re-arranged fixture which gave them a boost.

The Gaffer was too loyal to the "old guard" - as mentioned, Goram was out of shape, Gazza wasn't fit, McCoist was struggling and Laudrup wasn't quite the player he had been the previous 3 seasons. We were unlucky with Amo, resulting in Richard Gough being hastily bought back from the States.

The boast about having "one team for the league and one for Europe" were embarrassingly unfounded. We played the mentally challenged reserves at Ibrox on the Saturday before Princess Diana's death - our reserve side that day would beat the current squad (Albertz, Gattuso and Vidmar played that day - Vidmar scored a peach) yet they could only manage a draw against a 9-man mentally challenged side full of kids.

Beating them in the cup and the league in consecutive weeks restored the belief that 10 was coming.

Silly points dropped at Killie (Bjorklund/ Goram fùck up, drew 2-2), beat by Dundee United at Tannadump (Goram fùck up, lost 1-2), bottle-job at Motherwell after being 1 up (lost 1-2) and final nail was the 0-1 loss to Killie at Ibrox. The mentally challengeds did slip up at Dunfermline the next day to give us hope but really was out of our hands by then.

Being at the beam-back on the final day but it really was in hope rather than expectation. Horrible day and a eerie atmosphere when it was confirmed that it wasn't going to happen.

The final against Hearts was just a sickening post script to a shite season. That team did not deserve to leave us without one last trophy.
 
Say we won it, then what? If Boyd is to be believed, it would’ve been the last significant thing we ever won. It’s possible to win too much domestically, you risk the whole thing becoming so boring that we start losing younger generations of fans. The scum were telling us that then, and it’s all being conveniently forgotten now.
We win ten in a row, we further cement our dominance and psychologically destroy them in the process. The next season under a new, foreign coach and a new team we build another period of dominance in which we continue to grow as a club and start making inroads in Europe. Views like yours are what annoys me about a section of our support. We are 'too nice' and believe that we somehow need Celtic and the Old Firm to survive and prosper. We dont, we never have done and never will. Do you think any of them will be thinking that it will be a bad thing if they manage to get ten in a row???
 
Celtic were actually a poor side that season but we were an ageing side and that had an affect. But, without wishing to sound like a Celtic supporter, the referee Willie Young screwed us in two vital games - early in the game at Pittodrie in April when he red-carded Amoruso for telling him to get out of the way when he was about to hit a direct free-kick inside the D. Probably for using foul language. We lost 1-0. Then in the Cup Final he awarded a penalty to Hearts when Ian Ferguson tripped Steve Fulton two yards outside the area but only gave us a free-kick an inch outside the area in the last minute when Davie Weir tripped McCoist just inside the area. That was a disgraceful way to treat Walter Smith in what, at the time, was to be his last game as manager.
 
Losing up at Pittodrie the week after beating Them 2-0 at Ibrox to go back top was a hammer blow but so typical of our inconsistent form that season. We should have been home and dry after that Easter Sunday win.

The Scottish Cup semi final win at The Piggery when Super scored that goal was a special moment though. The outpouring of joy from him afterwards and the full stand of Bears behind the goal celebrating was a brilliant time.

I'm sure that game at Aberdeen we lost to a shocking free kick decision against Amoruso at the edge of the penalty area which Jess scored from ? I genuinely believe that Glasgow would have exploded if we had reached 10 in a row. Everyone, from the media downwards, were relieved it never happened.
 
We win ten in a row, we further cement our dominance and psychologically destroy them in the process. The next season under a new, foreign coach and a new team we build another period of dominance in which we continue to grow as a club and start making inroads in Europe.

Like celtic did when we went down div 3? Their European results have nosedived since then.

Views like yours are what annoys me about a section of our support. We are 'too nice' and believe that we somehow need Celtic and the Old Firm to survive and prosper. We dont, we never have done and never will.

Disagree, we need them to prosper the same reason they need us to prosper. As for thinking I’m ‘too nice’, look pal, i want them as destitute and miserable as we’ve been these last years. I want their whole world to collapse when we win the league. I want them revolting against their board, players etc.

If not wanting them gone completely makes me too nice then fine, I’m too nice.


you think any of them will be thinking that it will be a bad thing if they manage to get ten in a row???

By the time they reach 17 in a row, become permanently making up the numbers of the EL, and have to close the upper stand every league match due to plummeting attendances, yes, they will think it was a bad thing.

It’s not happening anyway since we’re winning the league this season.
 
You can't compare Celtic when we were demoted in 2012 to us in 1998. That summer we went out and acquired a top European coach and several top quality players. The Celtic squad in summer 2012 couldn't come anywhere near that.

They wouldn't have been 'gone' had we done ten in a row, but they would have been psychologically hurt and we would have created history. All I care about in football is Rangers winning and I want total domination of every club in Scotland. I certainly would not have lost interest had we done 10, 11, 12 etc in a row and I'm certain the support wouldn't have either. The levels of support we got week in, week out in the lowest leagues of Scottish football despite us having no competition was an indicator of that.
 
The way I always remembered it was the new year defeat at Parkhead was a bit of a turning point, iirc we then had a horrendous run of something like 2 or 3 wins in 10 games through January/February.
 
The way I always remembered it was the new year defeat at Parkhead was a bit of a turning point, iirc we then had a horrendous run of something like 2 or 3 wins in 10 games through January/February.
I think that was our first league loss to them in nearly three years at that point and certainly the first in a long time that actually meant something. Our previous defeat to them in the league before that had come in a dead rubber in May 1995 at Hampden. Like many other games that season, we just didn't turn up that day and it ended up costing us.

Oddly though we actually had the better head to head record against Celtic with two league wins to their one with the other drawn, but our record against Aberdeen and Motherwell (one win against each, one loss against each and two draws against each), Kilmarnock (a draw and a loss) plus silly dropped points against the likes of St.Johnstone, Dunfermline and Dundee United ultimately undone us.

It was a perfect storm that season for us, but our professionalism was a disgrace and alot in that team let themselves and the club down badly. To end that season empty handed was criminal.
 
I never followed football back then so I can’t imagine how it must’ve felt at the time. But I think it might actually have been a blessing in disguise that we didn’t get 10.

I remember after we won the league in 2009, hate filled bigot Tom Boyd wrote a piece on how celtic would never have recovered had we got 10. I remember chuckling as I read it because I knew that that wouldn’t have been a good thing for Rangers.

Like it or not they are our only competition in this league. If they go, we’re done. We would slowly decline to being Aberdeen’s rival without the challenge the beasts from the east offer.

9 was perfect. If was enough for the era to be a success, but not too much too kill off our rivals completely.
What a lot of shite
 
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In before people blame Laudrup despite him having a very good season and being our POTY.

Even when he was clearly carrying an ankle injury that started to bother him in his latter career, he was 100% not the reason that we didn't get ourselves over the line.

The line that "he chucked it" ahead of his move to Chelsea just doesn't wash with me.
I posted similar in the recent Gazza/Laudrup thread. Clearly he didn't match his previous seasons form however so many other players just did not contribute. I can recall an away match vs St Johnston around February or March where Laudrup set up a string of chances all missed, with Durie being the main culprit.
 
Did the mentally challengeds not lose their first two league games aswell? We effectively had a 6 point head start.
Aye they lost to Hibs and Dunfermline iifc. Our first two games were at home against Hearts (3-1 win) and Dundee United (5-1 win) and I'm sure that we had an away game v Killie rescheduled early in the season for some reason on what would have been the second weekend of the League season.

We were quite ropy in the Cups despite getting to the Scottish Cup Final. We played Hamilton away at Fir Park I'm sure in both cups and struggled to win both, even had to come from behind in the Scottish Cup. Lost at 1-0 at home to Dundee Utd after extra time in the League Cup just weeks after spanking them 5-1 in the league, got away with one against Motherwell at Fir Park when their goalie had a howler to.gift Durie a last minute equaliser. We then struggled to a replay against first division Dundee and then of course there was the final debacle v. Hearts
 
A fully fit and focused Marco Negri for the second half of the season, would have seen him bag over 50 goals, and helped us on the way to 10IAR.

30 league goals up to December 97. 3 league goals for the remainder of the season.
 
The Negri episode will always be a strange one. We've all heard the rumours but what we do know for a fact is that he downed tools in the second half of the season meaning that a 35 year old Ally McCoist was being relied upon to be the main goalscorer from February until the run in. To be fair he did manage a few crucial goals but by this time age and weight had caught up with Super.
 
What a lot of shite

Yeah thanks for the input pal. Just my opinion, but I think it’s possible to win too much domestically. You risk permanent stagnation. It’s taken me being on the wrong end of a 10iar run for me to realise it. I’m happy with 9, I just hope to god we can save it.
 
Yeah thanks for the input pal. Just my opinion, but I think it’s possible to win too much domestically. You risk permanent stagnation. It’s taken me being on the wrong end of a 10iar run for me to realise it. I’m happy with 9, I just hope to god we can save it.
It’s nonsense though isn’t it? We blew 10 everyone wanted it and you’re the only person I’ve ever seen take the view you’ve given. You can never win too much, and as for Tom Boyd he’s talking pish again it would’ve damaged them but they would have recovered and won titles again.

Those Celtic fans must be bored senseless with 10 out of the last 10 trophies and going for 9IAR. Bet they’re desperate for their dominance to end as it can get to much.
 
Amoruso being injured for almost the entire season didn't help. Defence was shocking for the whole campaign.
Would love to have seen Walter play Barry Ferguson a lot more. To think we had that guy sitting in the reserves for the whole season and then less than six months later he's putting in a Man of the Match performance against a top German side in Bayer Leverkusen is incredible.
 
Say we won it, then what? If Boyd is to be believed, it would’ve been the last significant thing we ever won. It’s possible to win too much domestically, you risk the whole thing becoming so boring that we start losing younger generations of fans. The scum were telling us that then, and it’s all being conveniently forgotten now.
Eh, whit?
 
I'm sure there were reports at the time of TGFITW indulging in threatening/inTIMidating behaviour towards staff and players at St Johnstone, in the run up to the game at the piggery that saw them stopping our 10.

From the same club who brought us "Sporting Integrity" 10 years later.

A club like no other ? You betcha .....
 
For as long as us and the scum are playing in the same league there will always be a title race. Us winning 10IAR would have been devastating for them, but they would have come back and eventually won the title again.

So I don't buy into this "it was for the best we only made it 9" argument. I was absolutely gutted when we threw away 10IAR - because throw it away is exactly what we did. We had an ageing side but it was nevertheless a side which, on paper, was easily the best in Scotland. The reason we failed was complacency and not enough discipline to stay fit and work hard to win games.

The players involved that season need to take responsibility for that. Goram, for one. Gazza also. Laudrup is also to blame, as much as I love him and am grateful for his efforts in previous seasons. He could have given his all and helped us to 10IAR before continuing his career elsewhere, but it wasn't to be.

Blowing it that season was just such a sad way to end what was a great era for the club. All those players who left, Walter too, they deserved to leave on a high, but it was their own fault.

It just shows you in football that no-one stays on top forever. It simply isn't possible. Teams age, they get complacent, other sides begin to work you out, and sometimes you just have sheer bad luck.

Look at the gaffer's team, Liverpool. They have gone thirty years without a league title and only now look like they will finally end that run. Imagine telling a Liverpool supporter in the mid-80s to enjoy it while it lasts because you're soon going to go more than a generation without winning it again. They'd laugh at you.
 
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