Tommy McLean is 73 today

I was lucky to see Tommy McLean’s Rangers career from start to finish. If some of the younger support think there are hammer throwers in today’s game, Tommy McLean faced much worse. He was not paid to be the hardest tackling Rangers player on the park, he was paid to stick a fantastic range of crosses onto big Derek’s head and he did that with amazing regularity. He was also a fantastic passer of a ball and chipped in with some vital goals.

He was no Willie Henderson but as a comparison and in my eyes, Willie Johnston was no Davie Wilson. But I appreciated them all as great players for The Rangers.

Happy Birthday Tommy
To be fair to McLean , Henderson was a tough, if not impossible ,act to follow .

He was a different type of player to Henderson but was a sublime crosser of the ball.

He could also go past a player ,maybe not with the same kind of dynamism that Henderson did ,but who could..

He was also a more than decent passer of the ball and had a really good football brain .

Taken together, he was a great wee player.
 
My old man always felt if someone hit McLean in the first few minutes then he’d disappear. Rated him very highly, that was his only negative that the tims knew how how influential he was so tried brute force to stop him.
 
Remember wee Tommy and big Tam turned up at our annual do at Geordie Youngs Tillietudlum hotel on a friday night, told us to keep it quiet as the gaffer wouldn't be to happy about being out the night before a game. Tommy gave us a rendition of beautiful sunday, big Forsyth on the other hand didn't hold back , brilliant night I'll never forget.
 
Saw Tommy McLean in nearly all his games for Rangers and don’t recall heavy criticism. Back in the days when McLean played no one was subjected to what gets dished out to some players now. Tommy McLean contributed well.
As I recall the thing that got me was the call of “shitebag” on a regular basis.
Though I was young through the seventies I could understand that his contribution was in serving those balls on a plate to DJ and Bomber Jackson.
 
And now i feel old. :(
What a right foot the wee man had.
Big Tom was his friend, sorted all the wee mans problems out on the field.



Wee Calimero and Jaws were at the Signal Box in Temple Knightswood all those years ago when playing for us (breaking a coin bottle for Charity) and what a great night. First time I saw the Big man with a ciggy in his mouth, certainly didnae prevent him from performing on the pitch.


Wee Calimero gave big DJ numerous goal assists, most notably the 42 second opener against Hertz in the Final. Quite a number of bears missed that goal.


Happy Birthday Wee Tam.
 
didn't realise he was heavily criticised, I assumed he was widely praised.

Hadn't watched the 3 nil victory before, just looked it up on youtube and thoroughly enjoyed it :)

We had to win 3 nil to go top , after that we never looked back.
The following game Tommy scored a hat trick in a 5-1 win at Dumbarton.
 
We had to win 3 nil to go top , after that we never looked back.
The following game Tommy scored a hat trick in a 5-1 win at Dumbarton.
Reed
Yes, McLean was magnificent that day at
Boghead and after leaving the ground in a good mood, it got even better when the news that Celtic had lost at Parkhead filtered through .
 
Has to be 69 or 71
[/QUOTE

But you do realise you have given the game away squire. :)

In the space of a week in May 1969, Stein scored five goals for Scotland

One, on the Friday night against England. Four v Cyprus the following weekend.

Kilmarnock fans, all two of them, singing about Tommy McLean?
 
One of the best crossers of a ball I’ve seen.
The one that sticks in my mind is the 1978 SCF v Aberdeen. When he seems to get hemmed in at the touch line by a couple of defenders, but somehow manages to dig out a sublime cross for big DJ to head home.
 
Agreed a very influential player in his time at Ibrox.
“Ya wee shitebag“ was very common when things
weren’t going well.
I remember that clearly as a youngster- my old boy being one to tell me he was a good player but a wee shirker however I remember a game at Ibrox in the 70s where in the non Rangers End a couple of Killie fans were giving the wee man it tight and my old man threatened to do them if they didn't button it. Looking back the game then was pretty brutal and he wasn't built for flying into tackles. Didn't he score a 40 yarder away to Valencia?
 
A wonderful tribute.

But as was mentioned in the OP, taking over from Willie Henderson was blasphemy for some of the support.

It's hard for some of the younger posters to maybe appreciate but that's how it was. So that says much for Tommy McLean's state of mind and attitude to battle on.

A wonderful crosser of the ball, his wee twinkle toed right foot was just made for Derek Johnstone's napper.

A wonderful tribute to a very, very clever and talented footballer.

Wullie was kind of my first hero. Thing was it was the same blasphemy for my old man as he was an Alex Scott man. Likewise Bud on the other side as my old man loved Davy Wilson.

Wee Tam played over 500 top level games. The coaches and managers thought him a player. As did I.
 
I remember that clearly as a youngster- my old boy being one to tell me he was a good player but a wee shirker however I remember a game at Ibrox in the 70s where in the non Rangers End a couple of Killie fans were giving the wee man it tight and my old man threatened to do them if they didn't button it. Looking back the game then was pretty brutal and he wasn't built for flying into tackles. Didn't he score a 40 yarder away to Valencia?

He did indeed more of a trundler with the Valencia keeper not to clever after the Big gas meter had saved a Rainer Bonnoff penalty !
 
A great player in a good Rangers team,he did get stick and many who dished it out at times incliding me can only wish we had a player like him in the side over the last few years.
 
My favourite Rangers player as a kid. Creative genius. More assists than anyone during that era. Although I do recall big Peter McCloy getting his fair share.
 
Great wee football player built up a fantastic understanding with Russell. As for not being a hard man , true but he did swap punches with Billy Reid of St Mirren at Ibrox who must have been 7 inches taller perhaps he knew if he could get a couple in big Tam would be seconds away. Fastest I ever saw the big Tam move.
I thought he was a clever footballer as well he seemed to always be pointing where he wanted others to be. And how many times did it go, “ McLean , Johnstone, goal”.
 
Maybe not the bravest but very talented and could cross equally good with either foot. I even remember him scoring a goal with his head, not bad for a wee guy.
 
A local hero for me, his old house was beside Dalserf Boolin club, loads of kids used to walk past it playing keepie up etc hoping to get noticed lol.
I think his early unpopularity was at taking Willie Henderson's place rather than his lack of courage. If wee Willie had had Tommy's professionalism he would have been the dream player.
I only ever saw him out and about in Larkhall once and that was the week after he won the Scottish Cup with Motherwell. A very dour manager who had his team playing the defensive method in the 90's that most spfl teams employ against us now.
A true Hall of Fame player who served the club fantastically well for many years.
 
Wullie was kind of my first hero. Thing was it was the same blasphemy for my old man as he was an Alex Scott man. Likewise Bud on the other side as my old man loved Davy Wilson.

Wee Tam played over 500 top level games. The coaches and managers thought him a player. As did I.

The thing with Blasphemy, Alex Scott and Willie Henderson, is a thing we should never tire of speaking about.

In 1962, Scotland beat England at Hampden 2-0. (Goals scored by Wilson and Caldow.) It was Scotland's first victory over England, and it was the most important international in the world back then, in a full quarter of a century.

The Scotland right winger that day was Alex Scott. But by then he was a Rangers reserve, so good was the 17 y/o Willie Henderson who had become the automatic right wing choice at Ibrox.

By the next year Henderson was the automatic right wing choice.
 
Born on June 2nd 1947.

In my humble opinion, just about the most unfairly criticised player I have ever watched play for us. He wasn't Willie Henderson and was bought to replace him on the right wing, and that was always going to be a hard act to follow.

McLean was the best crosser of a ball in my time watching us, and not just for Rangers but for any Scottish club. Combine him with Derek Johnstone in the air, and you had the deadliest double act. He had a brilliant football brain as well, in his later career he moved inside and couldn't just spot a pass, but he also could play it. His right sided partnership with Bobby Russell was a joy.

Not quick. Not a ball winner. Wee "Calimero" got dogs abuse for being a shirker when tackles were flying. But too many on the terracings back then chose to highlight what he didn't do rather than appreciate what he did.

A Barcelona Bear. Winner of 2 trebles. And I still think his display against Celtic in January 1975 in a mud heap was as good an individual performance against them as I've watched, he created 2 and scored 1 in a 3-0 win that was crucial in bringing the title home after 11 long years.

4 league titles, plus another with Kilmarnock
4 Scottish Cups
3 League Cups
The Cup Winners Cup
459 appearances over 12 years

Even briefly our caretaker manager before a successful managerial career elsewhere. For such a creative player, his managerial approach was unexpectedly negative and awful to watch!

But first and foremost, a terrific Rangers player, even if not up there with the very best. I still find it unbelievable he won all his Scotland caps when a Kilmarnock player.

I wish him a happy birthday.
I loved this guy. And very approachable. Him and Derek Johnsone what a partnership. One of the best crossers of a ball I've ever seen. He could pick out a 10p piece. He was that accurate. I wish we had someone with half his talent
 
Happy birthday Calimero. Dead eye accurate with the crosses into DJ , Parlane, Henderson and mibbee even Billy Urquhart.
 
Two things I remember about Tommy.
1) Big Tam Forsyth looked after him and probably still does.
2) He got a good result as manager away to Valencia after John Grieg was relieved of control.

Happy Birthday Tommy :D
 
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