Happy 65th birthday to Bobby Russell

dh1963

dh1963

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I know I'm getting old when a young player I remember breaking into the team is now a pensioner!

The Rangers team of 1977/78 remains one of, if not my absolute favourite team I watched.

3 players started their Rangers careers that season. Gordon Smith from Kilmarnock, Davie Cooper from Clydebank and Bobby Russell from Shettleston Juniors. And what a difference they made, adding even more class and skill to a team already full of brilliant Rangers players.

There was a while that I thought Russell was the best of the 3, even more so than Cooper. He was composed on the ball, had a beautiful weight of pass, read the game like a veteran and got forward to create and offer a goal threat himself.

In the early 80s, him and Cooper were often on a totally different wavelength to the rest, they shone in a team who were miles away from being good enough.

Still amazes me Bobby Russell was never capped, and his 10 years at Ibrox only saw 1 league title.

But he was a player, and one I still say that Souness let leave too soon.

380 Rangers appearances, 47 goals, some of them genuine goal of the season contenders.

Happy 65th birthday to a wonderful Rangers player.

Video courtesy of @Rangers Archive Footage

 
An absolute gem of a footballer. When you could first get a players name on your shirt in Greaves or Lumleys (way before teams actually did it) I had Russell 8 on the back of my Umbro jaggy nylon replica shirt with the white collar and cuff with blue and red stripes on.

Scorer of my favourite ever Rangers goal away to Eindhoven.
 
Fantastic player. My favourite player 77-86. Gutted when he didnt get a chance under Souness.
Shame he never really had enoughgood players around him after 79.
 
Used to ballboy for Cumbernauld Utd and follow them when I was older. Bobby played right at the end of his career but you could still see the quality
 
Jaws said:
An absolute gem of a footballer. When you could first get a players name on your shirt in Greaves or Lumleys (way before teams actually did it) I had Russell 8 on the back of my Umbro jaggy nylon replica shirt with the white collar and cuff with blue and red stripes on.

Scorer of my favourite ever Rangers goal away to Eindhoven.
Click to expand...
Ha, ha, same here Jaws. My first ever Rangers strip. The Russell 8 looked magic. Randomly when he retired he opened a Burger joint in the city centre. St. Vincent Street area. Didn’t last long IIRC but we christened it “Bobby Russell Burger“. Imaginative!
 
Great post and totally agree. What a player and to think we signed Smith Cooper and Russell that season. I remember playing football in the garden and pretending to be the new signing Cooper ! Great memories
 
Hate the word soccer but silky soccer epitomised Bobby Russell, to be plucked out of junior football straight into the first team would never happen nowadays, brilliant player
 
dh1963 said:
I know I'm getting old when a young player I remember breaking into the team is now a pensioner!

The Rangers team of 1977/78 remains one of, if not my absolute favourite team I watched.

3 players started their Rangers careers that season. Gordon Smith from Kilmarnock, Davie Cooper from Clydebank and Bobby Russell from Shettleston Juniors. And what a difference they made, adding even more class and skill to a team already full of brilliant Rangers players.

There was a while that I thought Russell was the best of the 3, even more so than Cooper. He was composed on the ball, had a beautiful weight of pass, read the game like a veteran and got forward to create and offer a goal threat himself.

In the early 80s, him and Cooper were often on a totally different wavelength to the rest, they shone in a team who were miles away from being good enough.

Still amazes me Bobby Russell was never capped, and his 10 years at Ibrox only saw 1 league title.

But he was a player, and one I still say that Souness let leave too soon.

380 Rangers appearances, 47 goals, some of them genuine goal of the season contenders.

Happy 65th birthday to a wonderful Rangers player.

Video courtesy of @Rangers Archive Footage

Click to expand...
Some brilliant goals in that, cheers.
 
The first time I seen Bobby playing was when he played for Shettleston juniors against the world famous Kirkintilloch Rob Roy (my local team)in the semi final of the Scottish Junior Cup Semi-Final at Firhill. The Rabs won and went on to lose to Kilbirnie in the final 3-1. Bobby was different class in the semi and signed for the Gers the following season. In later years I met him through a mutual friend of his from school and he was a class Act. In them days this was a great way to produce players through the junior ranks. Happy birthday Bobby and we will never forget your goal v Eindhoven :))
 
dh1963 said:
I know I'm getting old when a young player I remember breaking into the team is now a pensioner!

The Rangers team of 1977/78 remains one of, if not my absolute favourite team I watched.

3 players started their Rangers careers that season. Gordon Smith from Kilmarnock, Davie Cooper from Clydebank and Bobby Russell from Shettleston Juniors. And what a difference they made, adding even more class and skill to a team already full of brilliant Rangers players.

There was a while that I thought Russell was the best of the 3, even more so than Cooper. He was composed on the ball, had a beautiful weight of pass, read the game like a veteran and got forward to create and offer a goal threat himself.

In the early 80s, him and Cooper were often on a totally different wavelength to the rest, they shone in a team who were miles away from being good enough.

Still amazes me Bobby Russell was never capped, and his 10 years at Ibrox only saw 1 league title.

But he was a player, and one I still say that Souness let leave too soon.

380 Rangers appearances, 47 goals, some of them genuine goal of the season contenders.

Happy 65th birthday to a wonderful Rangers player.

Video courtesy of @Rangers Archive Footage

Click to expand...
 
One of my all time favorites in the 70s-80s. Spoke with him at the Rangers dance in Partick just after Souness took over, I said he would be the main man because Souness wanted ball players. Thats when he said he was heading out, think it was Motherwell. I was devastated, really nice fella.
 
Bobby Russell was a fantastic player for us and probably one of the last players who went from playing Junior football and straight into our first team. I saw his first game in a pre-season friendly at Dingwall and was lucky to see all his career at Ibrox. His Eindhoven goal was something special.
 
Jaws said:
An absolute gem of a footballer. When you could first get a players name on your shirt in Greaves or Lumleys (way before teams actually did it) I had Russell 8 on the back of my Umbro jaggy nylon replica shirt with the white collar and cuff with blue and red stripes on.

Scorer of my favourite ever Rangers goal away to Eindhoven.
Click to expand...
And me. Had the red away top Russell 8 on it.
 
EasytheNoey said:
So did I, played in the Lochend school team with Rabbie.
Click to expand...
I remember when his parents lived in the ‘square’ adjacent to Bishoploch Primary and they had pre printed autographs they would hand out if asked.
As a wee boy, me and my mates knocked on the door every night asking for his autograph, hoping he was there.
 
Had a kick about with him when I was a youngster. He stayed across from my friends house in Crookston.

Proper gentleman.
 
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