Why did Rangers miss out on signing Kenny Dalglish?

[Slipshod]

off topic slightly We didn't need to sign McGrain as we had Sandy Jardine

Not true, as Jardine played up front as a youth.

 

[Double D]

McGrain used to be quite regular at Blawarthill Parish church when he played for them. I mind seeing him a few pews behind me during BB church services.

 

[giogaddi]

We let Burns go, allegedly because he was too dirty a player.

Was watching the Forest film on Netflix and it was talking about how dirty he was as a player. Showed him standing behind an opponent in the wall and he just nutted him on the back of of the heid. Yellow card

 

[The Ranger]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

Probably one of the worst footballing decisions the club has ever made.

 

[dennyperkins]

We let Burns go, allegedly because he was too dirty a player.

If my memory serves me the reason we released Burns was after he was sent off 3 games in a row while playing for Glasgow Amateurs.
He then signed for Birmingham and played upfront with the wonder kid Trevor Francis.
Later transferred to Notts Forest where Brian Clough changed his position from striker to centre back and his career took off.

 

[DEJA BLUE]

Was he not deemed too small ?

No that will be his boy paul.

 

[Tommy48]

Any truth to the old story that does the rounds down here at the bottom of England? That he frantically tore down all his Rangers posters in his room when he heard there was a scum scout coming to speak to him?

No he took then down after he signed for them while crying his eyes out. My late wife knew him from school and they were in a group that ran about together.

 

[mulguy1953]

I’m sure in one of Dalglish’s books he talks about when him and Danny McGrain had signed for Celtic as youths and were both Rangers fans. They had attended a OF game and Celtic had scored and McGrain cheered. Dalglish asked “why are you cheering for them”.

That line was actually in Danny Mcgrain,s book

 

[jimbear]

Probably an element of ‘pompousness ’ about us at the time tbh.

Most likely expected good players to crawl on their hands and knees and beg to play for us.

Basically this and also a very stingy board of directors. The huge success of the club during the Struth and Symon eras had bred that attitude In my opinion Rangers only really began to modernise as a club when Graeme Souness walked through the door in Edmiston Drive.

 

[smudger55]

He watched Rangers training from his window.

The story of his signing for Celtc is one of weird coincidence. They had been after him for a while and he was reluctant because of his Rangers leanings. Sean Fallon the then assistant to BJK, car broke down in the Ibrox area. In the days before mobile phones he had to traipse to a telephone box for help, and in the hours they said he would be waiting he decided to visit the Dalgleish home to have one more stab at convincing him to sign for them. Sadly it worked and the rest is history.

If he had signed for his boyhood Rangers, I believe we would be having him in the frame for one of the greatest Rangers.

Correct--His parents flat overlooked Rangers training ground the old Albion greyhound stadium.

 

[Blaew]

No he took then down after he signed for them while crying his eyes out. My late wife knew him from school and they were in a group that ran about together.

Was she from Milton / Possil area?

I know he went to High Possil Senior.

 

[ibroxbound]

We also be missed John Wark, McLeish, and Kenny Burns as well as many others....not sure we were on top of scouting then.

John White with Falkirk was also deemed "too wee"

 

[pelem]

Scouting system was abysmal, we lost out on a lot of talent in the 60's but we also had good to great players on our books, but not what we could have got hold of back then.

 

[senefelder]

Basically this and also a very stingy board of directors. The huge success of the club during the Struth and Symon eras had bred that attitude In my opinion Rangers only really began to modernise as a club when Graeme Souness walked through the door in Edmiston Drive.

Correct, remember even Davie Cooper threatened to leave Rangers on account of the club's refusal to pay a signing on fee [£10k I think]. This was common place at other clubs when players renewed contracts.

 

[sheddensbear]

We also be missed John Wark, McLeish, and Kenny Burns as well as many others....not sure we were on top of scouting then.

Kenny Burns was at Ibrox as a boy but released at 15. These things happen.

 

[Al khobar-ger]

We also be missed John Wark, McLeish, and Kenny Burns as well as many others....not sure we were on top of scouting then.

Add Willie Miller to that list
If Greig signs those two his tenure as Rangers manager would have been entirely different

 

[Murray the Bear]

Probably the best Scottish player in my lifetime.

Could show my appreciation for him once he moved to Liverpool. Was in a pub near Anfield before the Wales-Scotland game in 1977 and Dalglish was all the locals were talking about.They worshipped him.

 

[Murray the Bear]

Not true, as Jardine played up front as a youth.

I used to think we had two Jardines back then...Sandy and Willie

 

[BlueBaloo]

Ive met Danny McGrain a few times through my work and always found him amiable..never understood a word he said though

 

[AndythephotoDr]

That line was actually in Danny Mcgrain,s book

As long as it’s a real quote I’m happy LOL

 

[ChildOfGoth]

Penny pinching?

Certainly seems like the regimes were very much ultra-conservative and indeed mean in how they salaried our players in those times but Id doubt that as the reason for not signing Dalglish and McGrain mate .
Taking a more open mind it seems there was a stream of good quality players around in those days maybe it was simply judgement calls that fell on the wrong side .

 

[Tommy48]

Was she from Milton / Possil area?

I know he went to High Possil Senior.

Yeah

 

[mulguy1953]

As long as it’s a real quote I’m happy LOL

It's a real quote alright, Mcgrain,s book was lying in our tee shack a number of years ago, I started reading through it & I think that quote was in the first or second chapter.
Mcgrain also mentioned that the Rangers scouts were under the impression he was an RC because of his name.
Two guys I'd have loved to have seen in Royal blue

 

[RabSpackman]

Thankfully they went to DJ’s door.

I heard DJ talk about that recently.. in this context then losing out on Dalglish likely saw a smartening up of the youth recruitment efforts from Rangers.

 

[bullen an la]

As a side note he was a member of the JLOL in possil

 

[JayDee]

Re the tales about us allegedly not signing McGrain because of his name, he said relatively recently: "I don't know if that story's true. Over the years that followed nobody from Rangers ever told me they wanted to sign me".

 

[dennybobford]

We let Burns go, allegedly because he was too dirty a player.

Im sure Kenny Burns in the 1971-72 first tram squad photo wearing the 2nd strip alongside other 2nd string guys like Alex Miller.

 

[Otis Blue]

We can’t sign everyone. We’ve missed many talented players over the years as have Celtic. Kenny was just an example. They’ll be many more that we manage to sign and many that we miss.

 

[Euro Scooter]

Was he not deemed too small ?

Yes. It was that simple.

 

[adidasler]

Someone on here will probably know but I've always wondered why he signed for Celtic when he grew up as a Rangers fan. Did Rangers ever show an interest in him before he signed for Celtic?

I remember reading he and Danny McGrain got picked up by celtic at the same time and Dalgleish couldn't understand that McGrain didn't support Rangers anymore.

 

[DylanGer]

Yes. It was that simple.

It's total shite.

Who scouted Willie Henderson....Ray Charles?

 

[Euro Scooter]

Another thing that seems to get repeated a lot in this story is that Rangers and celtic were in a race to his door and they got there first. This isn't true. There was more than a year, maybe nearer two between us telling Dalglish that we were not interested and him signing for them.

In between times he signed for Glasgow United, as did Alex O'Hara.

 

[Euro Scooter]

It's total shite.

Who scouted Willie Henderson....Ray Charles?

Oddly enough, we had more than one scout.

 

[Clicker]

The story I heard many years ago was that a Rangers scout did go to watch him but was more impressed by the defender he was playing against and we signed him instead.
Probably nonsense, back then people didn’t need WhatsApp to spout shite rumours.

 

[Essex Ranger]

It is my understanding that Rangers sent club captain John Greig to try to persuade Kenny to sign. Celtic on the other hand sent Jock Stein to persuade the boy. I believe Dalglish's parents felt that Celtic were the more serious about signing him and pointed him in that direction, unfortunately.

 

[Geneva]

I used to think we had two Jardines back then...Sandy and Willie

There was actually another Jardine at Ibrox around 66/67 when Sandy was there. This was a J.Jardine from Stirling i think but he never played a first team game. He featured on one of the large format black and white photos with the blue trim which they used to sell outside Ibrox in the 60's. These big photos had all the players first team and reserves and were very popular with us youngsters back then.

 

[Geneva]

Oddly enough, we had more than one scout.

Yes and our scouts in the East of Scotland and Fife seemed to have done a decent job back then. We do seem to have missed out on a number of players from the Glasgow area who we should certainly have been interested in at that time. I recall Alex Ferguson making the point about the lack of Glaswegians at Ibrox in one of his books.