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Dominant - The Sense Of An Ending (1997/98): Part Three (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-24 06:59:59
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2026-06
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Content

John and Andy return to the fray as they try and make sense of a nine point collapse in the first ten weeks of 1998. Negri's eye, Gazza's sale, the announcement of Advocaat, Smith's testimonial and Laudrup deciding on London are all on the table as well as the implosion on the park. 

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Comments

Ross Thomson

I must be in the minority but i don't think Walter announcing he was going had that much of an impact. We did it before 2010/11 and won the league. Losing Amoruso before the start of the season and Negri's eye injury were bigger factors.

Alistair Bain

Brilliant show as always lads 👍🏻

Gary Brown

Yet another brilliant episode, thanks Martyn and thanks to John & Andy for the memories & opinions. v Hearts at 1-2, injury time, Albertz, remember thinking 'need this or its gonna be too far' and boy did he deliver, kept the dream alive. I still think selling Gascoigne was a mistake, at that precise point. With the creative genius he had it was always possible he could do something to turn a game / result. Vividly recall I wasn't alone as his final game had the stands ringing with Gazza Must Stay frequently. Shoud've stayed with the rest until the exodus. Might, just might, have made difference given how close it ran - lets be honest, all said & done, Killie at Ibrox killed it, 1 game! Delighted to see your Tweet announcing the book (Vol 1!) is 'coming soon' Martyn. Really looking forward to that. (and next week's episode obviously!)

Craig Robertson

Where was John living at this time? Down south or Scotland? Not sure he mentioned. Also note he didnt think celtic would ever win the league until the scored their 2nd on the last day of the season, but had also given up on the league in March.

Martyn Ramsay
>>100284552

Your point about 10/11 is a good one but I think it nicely explains the difference here. Walter wasn’t finishing with a huge chunk of that squad the way he was in 98. Too many involved knew the game was up, not just him. Had he managed the squad properly - he couldn’t because of the 9IAR obsession really - then you’re left with a group with a lower average age, all likely and wanting to kept on by the new manager and part of an exciting new era. It can then just be fitter players pushing on to secure history and honour their manager. For all the countless issues that season brought, none are more important than the fact that the squad was just far too old and stale and the business in the summer of 1997 too much at once. It’s always a risk.

Stephen

One of my favorite series of all-time. Like many, I was just waiting for us to turn it on and run away from them for the 10. It felt like so many stupid points dropped and unnecessary distractions at the time. When you put them all in one place like the show, you see how blinkered we all were. At the time, Gazza leaving felt like it not only hurt us, but gave them extra hope. When Martyn reminds us of just how many points they dropped, even after Gazza left, it makes it even more painful. It certainly reinforces how it felt at the time, they didn't win the league, we lost it.

James McConnachie

Remembering back then there was a pattern. Good players tended to come to us on fire and then tail off. I remember Laudrup in his first few matches. He stayed brilliant in his first season but faded slightly while still being our flair player. We were always shown up in Europe due to fitness and tactics. The fitness and training was outdated by this point.

Callum Dinnen

The Old Firm defeat might not have been decisive but I remember thinking at the time that it was a bad omen, particularly as we hadn't lost at New Year since 87/88.

Gary Shaw

It’s funny your memories of the 2-2 game with Hearts,Martyn….when Albertz scored the equaliser,my Dad and I had the exact same scenario as you and your dad.

Gary Shaw

On the topic of Gascoignes OF record,I’m pretty sure our very own Kevin Thomson had a really good record against them with the only defeat coming in a dead rubber when the League was already won

Andrew Lees

"our own self inflicted wounds"...truest words of the show. A fantastic series. Can't thank you enough for all your hard work and looking forward to buying the book 👍

john cowden
>>100295703

I had given up on it But then the old firm double header and seeing them on Celtic tv (as we will discuss next week ). They didn’t believe . Hence why I drove up for beam back last game of season All to be covered next week I was living in the home counties in 1997/98 I haven’t lived in Scotland since February 1993 It gives a very different perspective of life and especially Rangers . It doesn’t make me right or even wrong, just different perspective

David Kiltie
>>100295703

I gave up hope when we lost to Motherwell at Fi Park in March. I never thought that a month later we would be top again. I lost hope after Pittodrie, had fresh hope the following weekend but when we lost to Kilmarnock that was one of my lowest moments supporting Rangers, surpassed only by Todorov’s goal in Sofia.

Jason Allan

Interesting listening while on the train, I was 18 at the time and remember the whole season swinging for us then against us. Looking back now and listening to this latest episode does show how much 9IAR took out of an ageing team, when new players didn’t deliver as hoped in this season. It was certainly an emotional rollercoaster.

Callum Dinnen

I think the most frustrating thing about this season is that we didn't even lose the league to a good Celtic team. A couple of the podders have referenced O'Neill's Celtic, but I would argue that in the 5 seasons between 1995/96 and 1999/00, their 1997/98 side was the worst of the lot.

David Kiltie
>>100284552

To follow on from your point, Martyn, when it was announced that Walter would step down in May 2011 it was known that his no 2 would step up so there would be continuity. In the early months of 1998 it was clear that by the autumn of that year, to extend David Murray’s metaphor of “needing to change the menu”, the club would be dining in a completely new restaurant. So many of the players would be resigned to playing elsewhere the next season and that was reflected in performances. That 6 week period between McDiarmid and Fir Park was perhaps my bleakest period ever supporting Rangers. We didn’t seem capable of doing anything right. One performance that bucked the trend was the 3-0 win over Motherwell in the Scottish Cup replay. Half of me wishes we had lost the first game and had saved that performance for a league game (if my auntie had…….). When we ponder the sliding doors/fine margins/might have beens of that season - IIRC at Fir Park in March, Ally hit the post and from the ensuing passage of play Motherwell scored the winner. Let me know if I’m mistaken but if true, perhaps that confirms John’s feeling that 10IAR was simply not meant to be. You discuss the public announcement of Advocaat in February with Walter still in post. Walter witnessed the signature on Dick’s contract, no less. Whether this was the right way to manage the changeover is yet another matter to ponder. On the other hand I did get a bit of a lift from the announcement inasmuch as I felt that whilst the club was reaching the end of an era at least we were making positive moves to build a better future. The Gascoigne debate never goes away. The argument hinges on this - considering the 2 damaging, final defeats in the league - at Pittodrie and at home to Kilmarnock- had Gascoigne been playing might he have provided the inspiration to turn the game in our favour. This question can never be answered but judging by his form prior to leaving it would be rather a long shot.

Callum Dinnen

Does Goram not fuck things up at Hearts first goal in the 2-2 game? I seem to remember a game around this time where Goram had a dreadful kick out which is returned more or less over his head and into the net.

Martyn Ramsay
>>100432449

Yes, the orange ball in the snow! Bit of a sclaff under pressure and Neil McCann popped it back in.

Martyn Ramsay
>>100370616

There’s something in that but mainly in attack. No question they improved midfield, central defence and goalkeeper that season and their GA is what kept them around to capitalise on our collapse.

Martyn Ramsay
>>100309992

Yeah six wins and that defeat for Kev. In the ten OF games he missed during his time here, we only won two. But not sure even Baxter had a better record than Gascoigne.

Callum Dinnen
>>100432449

I also seem to recall McCann going over rather easily (certainly that was my perspective at the time) under a challenge from Gough which earned him a second yellow. I hated him after that 2-2 game. Were Hearts not also ahead of us at this point? I seem to remember a sense of relief at Albertz's equaliser that had as much to do with our position relative to Hearts as to Celtic.

Gary Shaw
>>100309992

The 2 games Kev missed through suspension in April 08 against them were they beat us,I don’t think we lose both if he was playing.

Paul Dunnachie

Fir Park in March was a low point for me - we had traditionally found the venue a difficulty from time to time but it really felt like the title was slipping away that weekend. The cup replays with Motherwell and Dundee really didn’t help - more games for a squad that was clearly struggling to maintain any kind of momentum or form.

Paul Dunnachie

I’m now fearing how a post-Dominant show future will look.. this show has been a fixture in my life for a year now. I have a playlist with Shout To The Top on it and it came on last night… turns out I’ve developed a Pavlovian behavior to expect Martyn Ramsay come in with the backdrop to another episode on hearing this song 🤣

Alan Bradley
>>100588909

I’m still trying to get over John calling us “Just those Tims”, suspect we’ll both need to find a psychiatrist for our counselling. 😀

Scott Christian

Finally got round to this episode. Great discussion and interesting to hear the different perspectives. I felt selling Gascoigne was the right thing to do, though I recall a lot of angst- I have some memory of a banner stating Sell Gazza Cheerio 10 in a row (or words to that effect). I don’t have any belief that if he had stayed we would have gotten over the line. The Albertz equaliser v Hearts; I had a heated exchange with the bloke in front of me earlier in that match when I accused Albertz of being lazy when he appeared to pull out of a run to keep the ball in play (yes I was a spoiled fan, but tbf the guy next to me agreed with me). When Jorge equalised the bloke turned round and said that could be the goal that wins us ten. I dismissed it as nonsense, we were just in such poor form (and I have a natural pessimistic disposition on all things Rangers). I also don’t recall thinking that the Ne’erday game was a turning point, just remember being sick as I couldn’t even remember the last defeat in that particular fixture. Great chat about the mental travails of Negri and there’s no argument from me that his goals were masking a huge issue. Can’t believe next week is the last. I might take a day off work and wear a suit!!

Angus MacDonald
>>100432449

Was 14 at the time, remember that day so clearly, heavy snow where I lived, felt gutted at the result and to top it off father ted died

Bryden Derek

Turned 18 this season and never thought we would ever lose the league, was at nearly every game on the bus this season but only after listening to this I remember how much we messed it up, sure that was one of the lowest ever points total that won a league but we only have ourselves to blame, I thought at the time selling Gazza cost us but forgot how ineffective he was that season, him and Laudrup were like God's to me as a youngster right enough. Cracking series, cheers for bringing back the memories even if it never ended the way we wanted. WATP