Rangers 1 Aberdeen 0, 31st January 1981

dh1963

dh1963

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Season 1980-81 was one full of ups and downs.

A first win at Parkhead for 6 years, 8 goals at Rugby Park, unbeaten in our first 15 league games, and it ended with an unforgettable Scottish Cup final win inspired by a Davie Cooper masterclass.

But we lost to Chesterfield, dropped points in 20 league games out of 36, finished miles behind, and saw crowds fall away quite sharply as the season went on.

There were quite a few players past their best, and many were now doubting if John Greig would be the manager we all wanted the legend to be. And a low Ibrox capacity while the Govan Stand being built.

Here's a game from January 31st 1981, when we still thought we might have a chance of mounting a title challenge. Champions Aberdeen were beaten thanks to a goal created and scored by 2 truly brilliant Rangers players, even if both were not the greats of past years.

Willie Johnston to Derek Johnstone, and DJ defied his overweight appearance to show what he was still capable of.

Typically, we then lost 5 of our next 7 league games.

Another reminder of my past thanks to @Rangers Archive Footage

 
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I remember Derek's debut against Cowdenbeath in 1970 when he scored two goals.

Season 1970-71 he scored the winner against them in the League Cup Final, and a last-minute equaliser against them in the Scottish Cup Final. If my memory is correct he also scored the winner that season in a friendly against Moscow Dynamo.

A tremendous player who, arguably, never reached the heights he was capable of (I argued with one of them in 1975 that Johnstone was better than Dalglish. His performances in midfield in 1974/75 were magnificent).
 
Mind that game well. The 3 left sided players Redford, Bud and MacDonald seemed to confuse Aberdeen, by swapping positions throughout the game.

Wonder how Bobby Russell would fare in today’s game. Slim as a rake but so much quality.
 
Carltonblue said:
Mind that game well. The 3 left sided players Redford, Bud and MacDonald seemed to confuse Aberdeen, by swapping positions throughout the game.

Wonder how Bobby Russell would fare in today’s game. Slim as a rake but so much quality.
Click to expand...

Did you say quality? I think PSV would agree with you on that.
 
William Of Orange said:
Mcloy was still in goals 2 or 3 years after that game.
Porto 83, fumbled one , might have been broomloan road end.
Oot of europe because of it.
Click to expand...

That's because he took his place back from Jim Stewart.

Stewart was our keeper the last few months of this season 80-81 and for the 18 months or so after.
 
Lairdo said:
I remember Derek's debut against Cowdenbeath in 1970 when he scored two goals.

Season 1970-71 he scored the winner against them in the League Cup Final, and a last-minute equaliser against them in the Scottish Cup Final. If my memory is correct he also scored the winner that season in a friendly against Moscow Dynamo.

A tremendous player who, arguably, never reached the heights he was capable of (I argued with one of them in 1975 that Johnstone was better than Dalglish. His performances in midfield in 1974/75 were magnificent).
Click to expand...
He played midfield? That's incredible.
 
JMCK said:
He played midfield? That's incredible.
Click to expand...

I know I've bored folks in here for years about how good Derek Johnstone was, but I honestly believe those too young to have seen his Rangers career don't appreciate what a special footballer he was.

Mainly thought of now as a big centre forward who was great at heading the ball.

Actually, he was as close to the complete footballer as you're going to get. A deadly striker who scored all kinds of goals. A leader of the line who could hold the ball and bring others into the game. A midfielder who won tackles and dictated play, with an eye for a pass. And an international class centre back who read the game brilliantly.
And all that before he was 21.

If Jock Wallace hadn't left, and if DJ had kept fit into his mid 30s like many of his 1970s teammates, God knows what club records he might have broken.
 
dh1963 said:
I know I've bored folks in here for years about how good Derek Johnstone was, but I honestly believe those too young to have seen his Rangers career don't appreciate what a special footballer he was.

Mainly thought of now as a big centre forward who was great at heading the ball.

Actually, he was as close to the complete footballer as you're going to get. A deadly striker who scored all kinds of goals. A leader of the line who could hold the ball and bring others into the game. A midfielder who won tackles and dictated play, with an eye for a pass. And an international class centre back who read the game brilliantly.
And all that before he was 21.

If Jock Wallace hadn't left, and if DJ had kept fit into his mid 30s like many of his 1970s teammates, God knows what club records he might have broken.
Click to expand...

Jock Wallace’s untimely departure in 1978 was, in my view, a defining moment in Derek Johnstone’s career.
 
dh1963 said:
That's because he took his place back from Jim Stewart.

Stewart was our keeper the last few months of this season 80-81 and for the 18 months or so after.
Click to expand...
Canny remember mate, 16 in 1983.
But i do remember that night and going home in a downer.
Nicky Walker must have arrived soon after the porto games as well
 
William Of Orange said:
Canny remember mate, 16 in 1983.
But i do remember that night and going home in a downer.
Nicky Walker must have arrived soon after the porto games as well
Click to expand...

We signed Stewart round about March 81, I remember his debut when we got humped 4-1 at home by Dundee United in a midweek game. He was our regular keeper till round about January 1983, when he let in a terrible goal from Charlie Nicholas at New Year to lose the game, then McCloy came back.

Stewart would have been in goal in the 81 and 82 Scottish Cup finals and the 81 and 82 League Cup finals.

In his early days with us, we all thought he was brilliant, but he faded badly.
 
Carltonblue said:
Mind that game well. The 3 left sided players Redford, Bud and MacDonald seemed to confuse Aberdeen, by swapping positions throughout the game.

Wonder how Bobby Russell would fare in today’s game. Slim as a rake but so much quality.
Click to expand...

If Bobby Russell at his peak was playing now, he would be the best midfield player in the country.
 
dh1963 said:
I know I've bored folks in here for years about how good Derek Johnstone was, but I honestly believe those too young to have seen his Rangers career don't appreciate what a special footballer he was.

Mainly thought of now as a big centre forward who was great at heading the ball.

Actually, he was as close to the complete footballer as you're going to get. A deadly striker who scored all kinds of goals. A leader of the line who could hold the ball and bring others into the game. A midfielder who won tackles and dictated play, with an eye for a pass. And an international class centre back who read the game brilliantly.
And all that before he was 21.

If Jock Wallace hadn't left, and if DJ had kept fit into his mid 30s like many of his 1970s teammates, God knows what club records he might have broken.
Click to expand...
Totally agree with you dh, he could operate anywhere on the pitch with ease. Never looked out of place or out of his depth anywhere. I reckon he could have even played between the sticks successfully, if Big Jock had asked him to . . . and in that last sentence lies the key, Big Jock Wallace could motivate DJ like no other!
 
Bobby Russell was a wonderful talent, recall we got him from Shettleston Juniors, wand of a left foot.
Big DJ could indeed play anywhere and great on the floor and in the air. Apparently would often go the Foreman's club after training and eat the best part of a loaf. Anyone recall a header he scored for Scotland v Wales or N.Ireland at Hamdump. Absolute bullet header from edge of penalty box. With such talent it is strange why we went downhill so quickly from 1980ish until the Magnificent one came.
WATP
 
dh1963 said:
I know I've bored folks in here for years about how good Derek Johnstone was, but I honestly believe those too young to have seen his Rangers career don't appreciate what a special footballer he was.

Mainly thought of now as a big centre forward who was great at heading the ball.

Actually, he was as close to the complete footballer as you're going to get. A deadly striker who scored all kinds of goals. A leader of the line who could hold the ball and bring others into the game. A midfielder who won tackles and dictated play, with an eye for a pass. And an international class centre back who read the game brilliantly.
And all that before he was 21.

If Jock Wallace hadn't left, and if DJ had kept fit into his mid 30s like many of his 1970s teammates, God knows what club records he might have broken.
Click to expand...
It's funny you say that because there was highlights of a cup final against Aberdeen, from 1979, on not too long ago and Johnstone took the ball deep in the park, showed excellent touch, then played a brilliant pass. I was surprised to see how well he did it, and wondered how good he actually was from watching that alone.
 
I was at this game in the east enclosure with an aberdeen supporting mate, bedlam when we scored. As another poster mentioned we made a great start to the season, IIRC it came to an end with a 1-0 home defeat v Morton who had a decent side at that time.
 
dh1963 said:
His instant one touch control was even better.
Click to expand...
We‘ve posted this a million times between us, DH, but I’ll say again, Johnstone was an outstanding, complete, footballer and this part is, pretty much, underrated by many on here.
 
JMCK said:
It's funny you say that because there was highlights of a cup final against Aberdeen, from 1979, on not too long ago and Johnstone took the ball deep in the park, showed excellent touch, then played a brilliant pass. I was surprised to see how well he did it, and wondered how good he actually was from watching that alone.
Click to expand...
His winner v dolly in the 1980 SC SF was a cracking goal as well. The game was played at the midden for some reason.
 
tazzabear said:
We‘ve posted this a million times between us, DH, but I’ll say again, Johnstone was an outstanding, complete, footballer and this part is, pretty much, underrated by many on here.
Click to expand...

See post 21.

That makes it a million and one :))
 
dh1963 said:
I know I've bored folks in here for years about how good Derek Johnstone was, but I honestly believe those too young to have seen his Rangers career don't appreciate what a special footballer he was.

Mainly thought of now as a big centre forward who was great at heading the ball.

Actually, he was as close to the complete footballer as you're going to get. A deadly striker who scored all kinds of goals. A leader of the line who could hold the ball and bring others into the game. A midfielder who won tackles and dictated play, with an eye for a pass. And an international class centre back who read the game brilliantly.
And all that before he was 21.

If Jock Wallace hadn't left, and if DJ had kept fit into his mid 30s like many of his 1970s teammates, God knows what club records he might have broken.
Click to expand...
What a great paragraph.
Should be how his wiki page reads.
What, that one^^^^?
 
Lairdo said:
Jock Wallace’s untimely departure in 1978 was, in my view, a defining moment in Derek Johnstone’s career.
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This is as factual as opinion can get in football, bud.
I don’t think you’ll find many of my generation who’d disagree.
Almost finished at 24 years old.
Should be high in the wasted career polls we sometimes have, despite his successes.
 
Willem Bear said:
Totally agree with you dh, he could operate anywhere on the pitch with ease. Never looked out of place or out of his depth anywhere. I reckon he could have even played between the sticks successfully, if Big Jock had asked him to . . . and in that last sentence lies the key, Big Jock Wallace could motivate DJ like no other!
Click to expand...
I like telling this story.
Back in the days before substitute goalkeepers became the norm, an incident happened somewhere and the goalkeeper had to be replaced.
There was a piece in a paper about who would be the replacement if the same happened here.
Our nomination was Johnstone.
Which, to digress slightly, would have been okay with me only if he as it front or in midfield that day, or that we had a credible centre back on the bench.
I‘ve never thought it a good idea for a centre back to go in goals because this weakens the most important area of the team and you, surely, would want your strongest centre back pairing protecting you’re inexperienced goalkeeper.
Yes, Roberts should never have been in goals.
 
Fingers1872 said:
His winner v dolly in the 1980 SC SF was a cracking goal as well. The game was played at the midden for some reason.
Click to expand...
Again, I think the touch in that goal is incredibly good. I had no idea he once played in midfield for a whole season, but it doesn't come as a complete surprise that he was so good there.
 
dh1963 said:
I know I've bored folks in here for years about how good Derek Johnstone was, but I honestly believe those too young to have seen his Rangers career don't appreciate what a special footballer he was.

Mainly thought of now as a big centre forward who was great at heading the ball.

Actually, he was as close to the complete footballer as you're going to get. A deadly striker who scored all kinds of goals. A leader of the line who could hold the ball and bring others into the game. A midfielder who won tackles and dictated play, with an eye for a pass. And an international class centre back who read the game brilliantly.
And all that before he was 21.

If Jock Wallace hadn't left, and if DJ had kept fit into his mid 30s like many of his 1970s teammates, God knows what club records he might have broken.
Click to expand...

One thing you missed. Before he lost the "s" he was fast. When you see clips of him from pre-78 he was surprisingly quick. If teams camped in he bettered them in the air and if they pushed up he had the pace to hurt them in behind.

A few of that 70s team are remembered nowadays for how they looked at the end of their careers rather than in their primes. Maybe to do with improving tv coverage so more clips from the 80s rather than the 70s survive.
 
Chris the Bandito said:
One thing you missed. Before he lost the "s" he was fast. When you see clips of him from pre-78 he was surprisingly quick. If teams camped in he bettered them in the air and if they pushed up he had the pace to hurt them in behind.

A few of that 70s team are remembered nowadays for how they looked at the end of their careers rather than in their primes. Maybe to do with improving tv coverage so more clips from the 80s rather than the 70s survive.
Click to expand...

You're not wrong.

A few goals online he scored, the likes of at Fir Park and Tynecastle, that show he was no slouch.
 
Bluebearjim said:
Bobby Russell was a wonderful talent, recall we got him from Shettleston Juniors, wand of a left foot.
Big DJ could indeed play anywhere and great on the floor and in the air. Apparently would often go the Foreman's club after training and eat the best part of a loaf. Anyone recall a header he scored for Scotland v Wales or N.Ireland at Hamdump. Absolute bullet header from edge of penalty box. With such talent it is strange why we went downhill so quickly from 1980ish until the Magnificent one came.
WATP
Click to expand...
Did Cooper not say that Bobby Russell was the best player he ever played with?
 
And here’s the programme from that game. My boy has it up on his bedroom wall along with some other programmes I had collected and passed down to him -


54UAzB3.jpg
 
tazzabear said:
We‘ve posted this a million times between us, DH, but I’ll say again, Johnstone was an outstanding, complete, footballer and this part is, pretty much, underrated by many on here.
Click to expand...
I agree completely i still think its scandalous that he wasnt voted into the greatest ever team along with Ally. Too many young people voting. My first hero along with my namesake and Colin Stein, was as a privilege to be able to watch them week in week out.
 
Davidsmith1 said:
I agree completely i still think its scandalous that he wasnt voted into the greatest ever team along with Ally. Too many young people voting. My first hero along with my namesake and Colin Stein, was as a privilege to be able to watch them week in week out.
Click to expand...
That was undoubtedly the issue here.
The timing as well, given that we were close to/at niar which Hateley was instru in achieving.
Nothing against Hateley, and some (not I) might think he was a better CF than Johnstone but, nobody could deny that DJ was a vastly superior footballer.
 
punk said:
Did Cooper not say that Bobby Russell was the best player he ever played with?
Click to expand...
Did he say that? Looking at Russell you see a player with incredible poise and balance; into that you add passing, scoring, and keeping the ball. Incredible that he is so little recognised. He, Johnstone, Cooper, and Smith are why I've come to lament Jock Wallace leaving when he did. I was a fan in Wallace's second period, but that first period could arguably have become our greatest era.
 
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