Could we have won the European cup if we had won one title between 66-74?

Could we have won it?

  • Yes

    Votes: 42 72.4%

  • No

    Votes: 16 27.6%
  • Total voters
    58
thomsonstackle

thomsonstackle

Well-Known Member
Just a thread made out of boredom.

However, could we have won the big one had we been able to win at least one title during the darkside’s 9IAR period?

Bear in mind how good we were in the ‘Cup Winners Cup’ during that same period (two final appearances), and some of the top teams we beat en-route to the final in 1972.
 
We got thumped by Eintract Frankfurt 12-4 over 2 legs in the semi final in 1960 so far closer in the early 60’s
 
It depends. Filth had it easy in 67 but sometimes the draw was horrendous. I think we'd have gone pretty far though.
 
We could have done around 64- 69 given some luck same in 79-80.
It would have been luck though, Scottish clubs were not renowned for tactical mastery. It was only a easy draw required :D.
 
It could be tough. Inter won it in 65 and had to play us, Dinamo Bucharest, Liverpool and Benfica. In 64 they had to beat Monaco, Partizan Belgrade, Dortmund and Real Madrid.

Whereas Madrid won in 66 beating Kilmarnock, Anderlecht, Inter and Partizan Belgrade in the final. Really did depend on the draw.
 
Given that ourselves and the Dhims each made 2 European finals in that period, and that we had been in another just before then, I do think it reasonable to say that we could have.

I was too young to remember our first European final with any clarity but I remember 1967 well enough and the pain of watching them win as we went on to lose. I wasn't allowed to go to Barcelona in 1972 due to school exams (even though my 3 cousins all got to go - b*stards!) and I remember thinking another Euro final would be just around the corner. Little did I know I'd have to wait another 36 years and then one would land on my doorstep.
 
Logic would say yes, since both us and them made 4 finals between us during that time and won 2. Especially if we got a piss easy draw like they did in 67.
 
thomsonstackle said:
We put up a good fight against the eventual winners too without Baxter that year.
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Rangers should really have gone through at Ibrox in the second leg. After Forrest scored early on we missed several chances to take the tie. Also missing Baxter, especially in Milan, meant we had to change our style of play considerably.
 
If we were good enough to win the European Cup in the late 60s we would have won the Cup Winners Cup or Fairs Cup. But we didn't.
The one year we did win a trophy there's no chance we would have beaten the Ajax team who won the European Cup.

I'd love to vote yes but my head says no.
 
On a side note, looking through some stats there and I've just discovered that we knocked out the holders, Borrusia Dortmund in 1966/67 on our way to the final.

They'd beaten Liverpool at Hampden in the final the previous season and Liverpool had beaten Celtic in the Semi.

We must've been a right good side then.
 
Earl of Leven said:
It depends. Filth had it easy in 67 but sometimes the draw was horrendous. I think we'd have gone pretty far though.
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Agree, but on the Celtic the record book shows they won it and ask the vast majority who they met on the way to the final they couldn't tell you the draw was very fortuitous to them.
 
The fact that the mentally challengeds won it in 67 masked the fact that Rangers had a very very good team in that period. Stein was a good manager, like it or not, and a keen student of football. He noted the rise of Leeds under Revie and copied Revie's winner take all approach, the almost incessant qu estioning of every decision by the refs that did not go thier way. Rangers on the other hand had no such brutal or underhand approach and suffered the consequences. Clough was spot on in his assessment of Revie as a fuckin cheat.
 
No we wouldn't have.

Our defence was garbage.

Just look at the times we lost goals.

Now it could have been that we were not organised or cynical enough. But we sieved goals at all times.

We never learned from Nice in 56 or Milan in 57 so it is fanciful to think otherwise.
 
Would we have beaten
1966 Real Madrid
1968 Man U
1969 AC Milan
1970 Feyenoord
1971Ajax
1972 Ajax
1973 Ajax
1974 Bayern M

I don't think so.
 
Realistically if we would’ve been good enough to win a European Cup, we would’ve been good enough to win a league title.
 
The scum got a bye to the final in 67
Feckin Dukla Prague in the semi final avoiding two legged tie against Real Madrid or Inter Milan
 
ThorntonMM said:
The scum got a bye to the final in 67
Feckin Dukla Prague in the semi final avoiding two legged tie against Real Madrid or Inter Milan
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They had probably the easiest run ever to a European final, then played a depleted Inter side. That the Tims went out in the first round of the European Cup the following season in 1968 says it all.
 
RDFM said:
Realistically if we would’ve been good enough to win a European Cup, we would’ve been good enough to win a league title.
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I don't get that logic at all. Liverpool have been good enough to win several Champions Leagues recently. Whatever we think of them, the Dhims team of that era was damned good. So were we, for the most part, but we couldn't get the job done domestically.
 
Sadly I don't think so. We blew a chance to win the CWC in '67 due to internal politics, we'd never have done it under Scot Symon or Davie White. Possibly in the Waddell years, but alas we couldn't get that title win we needed.
 
Valley Bluenose said:
I don't get that logic at all. Liverpool have been good enough to win several Champions Leagues recently. Whatever we think of them, the Dhims team of that era was damned good. So were we, for the most part, but we couldn't get the job done domestically.
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I know we came close a couple of times in the late 60s just before my time,and again in 1973, but for most of their 9 titles they finished comfortably ahead of us. In fact there were a few seasons we weren't even second. That era I grew up was depressing as mainly we were nowhere near them, especially when it came to winning trophies.
In 9 seasons they won 9 titles, 5 Scottish Cups and 5 League Cups, reaching 17 out of 18 finals. We won 2 Scottish Cups and 1 League cup and only played in 7 finals with all 4 losing ones against them.

I wish I didn't have to live through it, but I did. And my memory of it is mostly we were clearly not as good as they were.
 
Posted before but my dad ( god rest him ) was adamant that we would have won it before them if he hadn’t broke his leg against Rapid Vienna.
 
Gazb1962 said:
Posted before but my dad ( god rest him ) was adamant that we would have won it before them if he hadn’t broke his leg against Rapid Vienna.
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Was your dad Jim Baxter?

Edit, obviously not! Thought we were in the company of Royalty there!
 
dh1963 said:
I know we came close a couple of times in the late 60s just before my time,and again in 1973, but for most of their 9 titles they finished comfortably ahead of us. In fact there were a few seasons we weren't even second. That era I grew up was depressing as mainly we were nowhere near them, especially when it came to winning trophies.
In 9 seasons they won 9 titles, 5 Scottish Cups and 5 League Cups, reaching 17 out of 18 finals. We won 2 Scottish Cups and 1 League cup and only played in 7 finals with all 4 losing ones against them.

I wish I didn't have to live through it, but I did. And my memory of it is mostly we were clearly not as good as they were.
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I lived through it as well mate, it was my introduction to attending Rangers games. It might go against the grain to say it but I remain of the view being 'not as good as they were' does not equate to being poor. If we made it to two Euro finals in 5 years now, we'd hardly be saying we were a poor team. Despite the depression of them sweeping all before them, when I missed out on going to Barcelona I was gutted - but cheered by the fact I expected another Euro final to be just around the corner.:eek:
 
Valley Bluenose said:
I lived through it as well mate, it was my introduction to attending Rangers games. It might go against the grain to say it but I remain of the view being 'not as good as they were' does not equate to being poor. If we made it to two Euro finals in 5 years now, we'd hardly be saying we were a poor team. Despite the depression of them sweeping all before them, when I missed out on going to Barcelona I was gutted - but cheered by the fact I expected another Euro final to be just around the corner.:eek:
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Never realised you were as old as me!

I think the OP would really need to have been 1966 to 1969, which I admit to not really remembering. After that we were a country mile away from being potential European champions, and apart from 1973 were also streets behind in Scotland.
But in those first 3 or 4 seasons of their run of titles, it's really hard to get myself to thinking we could win the European Cup when we never won a trophy here.
 
Some brilliant points raised from Bears far more knowledgeable than myself.

Would it be fair to say that we could’ve had an even better team than them in the early 70’s had we not passed on Rangers men such as Dalglish and McGrain (I say that begrudgingly:D).

I also know we came close in the late 70’s and early 90’s but I always think back to the period mentioned in the OP as that was Scotland’s golden period in Europe.
 
thomsonstackle said:
Just a thread made out of boredom.

However, could we have won the big one had we been able to win at least one title during the darkside’s 9IAR period?

Bear in mind how good we were in the ‘Cup Winners Cup’ during that same period (two final appearances), and some of the top teams we beat en-route to the final in 1972.
Click to expand...
1964 if James Curran Baxter did not get his leg broken by a thug.
 
MearnsUnionist said:
The fact the mentally challengeds won it 67 and made the final in 70, plus us winning the ECWC in 72 and making the final in 67 suggests us and the scum were up there with the best in Europe around that era.

I voted yea.
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This plus the two legged knockout rounds,and the open draw format could have seen us go all the way,imho; lead me to vote yes(for once :rolleyes: )
 
Scraped through in the quarters against Vojvodina last minute goal.Met Dukla and Inter at the right time both were past their best.In the final inter were without their 2 main men Suarez and Jair.They lost their next game too and the fans were chanting old Inter.Steins record in Europe after 70 was horrendous timing was everything. If only the gers team of the early 60s had lasted another’s few years I’m sure things would have been different.
 
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