Latest news with #NineinaRow
Scottish Sun
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
My last five years at Rangers with Walter Smith were more satisfying than nine in a row, says Sir David Murray
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SIR DAVID MURRAY insists his final five years at Ibrox were even MORE satisfying than capturing the coveted Nine in a Row. The former Rangers owner was in charge for 23 years as the club reached a European final and came within 90 minutes of the first-ever Champions League final. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 2 Walter Smith and David Weir lift the Scottish Premiership trophy Credit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow 2 Rangers chairman David Murray on the day Walter Smith was re-appointed in 2007 Credit: Reuters They also gathered nine straight league titles for the only time in the club's history — completing a clean sweep between 1989 and 1997 under Walter Smith. But Sir David — speaking exclusively to SunSport — rates Smith's return in early 2007 and the next five years as the highlight. He said: 'Taking all factors into consideration, I think the last five years were remarkable. 'Previously, we had money to spend but it was tight when Walter came back. 'Paul Le Guen hadn't worked out. 'When Walter came back, he wanted to sign David Weir and Christian Dailly. It was unbelievable but he knew how to do it. 'Having Alistair McCoist and Kenny McDowall with him, they were a unit full of motivation. 'We won eight trophies in five years. When I left, it was on the brink of Three in a Row.' Murray appointed just four men as manager over 23 years — Smith (twice), Le Guen, Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish. And he recalls with great fondness the run to the 2008 UEFA Cup final in Manchester — despite ultimately falling to Advocaat's Zenit St Petersburg. Sir Sean Connery's secret £1 MILLION investment in Rangers revealed He added: 'If you look at the UEFA Cup run in 2008, the penalty shoot-out against Fiorentina stands out. 'Christian Vieri, who cost millions, missed and Nacho Novo — a free from Dundee — slotted it away. 'What we had at that time was a tightness and a bond. 'People on the outside thought they knew things but there was no leakage. The David Murray files Ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray APOLOGISES to fans for selling club to Craig Whyte 14 years after deal led to collapse My dad took the fall for 'disastrous' deal & was jailed for FRAUD, reveals ex-Rangers owner Sir David Murray Inside 007 legend Sean Connery's secret £1m Rangers investment as bombshell details revealed for first time Former Rangers supremo Sir David Murray admits his decision to sell to Craig Whyte 'tarnished' his Ibrox legacy 'I still have shards in my leg', says ex-Rangers supremo Sir David Murray as he breaks 50-year silence on car crash hell "I can't do this" - Sir David Murray reveals that he almost sold Rangers for £40million in 2005 Ex-Rangers owner Murray recalls chilling phone call after fatal private jet crash which Scots F1 hero walked away from 'We fought together and won games that, on paper, we probably shouldn't have won. 'We beat Werder Bremen with a great save from Allan McGregor and you remember it all. 'We ran out of steam in the final after Dick went and bought a Russian player for millions! Football's scoop of the century By Roger Hannah IT'S The Sun Wot Broke It. But Sir David Murray didn't mind that his historic swoop for Maurice Johnston was first revealed on the front page of this newspaper in 1989. He was just relieved he'd managed to help Graeme Souness pull off a transfer swoop which rocked Scottish football. Even now, 36 years on, landing the Scotland striker from Celtic's grasp — and making him the first high- profile Catholic to play for Gers — is regarded as the most audacious swoop of all time. And Murray recalls: 'All the talk was of Johnston joining Celtic. But Graeme came to me and said, 'Apparently he's not signed, the paperwork's not done, we can get him'. 'I asked for a day to think about it, phoned him and said, 'Yes, I think we should do it for numerous reasons — for football reasons and to remove an area where we can be criticised for not signing Catholic players. And why not make it the best one, who can come in and contribute?' 'Even though at that time Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist were the strikers and had an excellent partnership. 'Finally, just 24 hours before we were due to unveil the player, we took a call from a young journalist at The Sun in Scotland ahead of a story being published. 'On July 10, 1989, The Sun ran half of its front page with the simple headline MO JOINS GERS. 'It certainly didn't spoil the unveiling. If anything, it ramped up the tension!' Johnston, who had played with Celts before a spell at Nantes in France, was pictured with Hoops boss Billy McNeill in 1989 but hadn't signed his contract to return. Gers boss Souness, who had played with Johnston for Scotland, realised the move hadn't been concluded and kickstarted the monumental move. 'That was an amazing achievement considering where we'd been 18 months before.' In his new autobiography, Murray details his relationship with all four men he appointed — and close pal Graeme Souness, who he inherited as boss when he bought the club in 1988. - Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, is on sale Thursday July 3 from Amazon and all good bookshops. Preorder on Amazon here. Sir David is donating his royalties to Erskine Hospital. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rangers fans get chance to grab piece of 9 in a row memorabilia as historic silverware to go on sale at auction
The item will be sold next month and is a rare chance for supporters to get their hands on a coveted piece of club history An authentic piece of silverware that marked Rangers ' ninth consecutive title victory in the 1990s is set to go up for auction next month and could collect a whopping £12,000. The Bell's Whisky League Championship Trophy from the 1996-1997 season will go up for auction on Thursday June 19 at Glasgow-based McTear's, which is one of the oldest independent auction houses in the UK. On May 7 1997, Gers skipper Richard Gough lifted the league title at Tannadice after a lone goal from Brian Laudrup against Dundee United saw the Ibrox giants retain the league championship for a ninth year in succession. Neither Rangers or Celtic have ever managed to win the league 10 years in a row, and Walter Smith's side were denied that remarkable feet in the following season when Feyenoord legend Wim Jansen's Hoops edged out the Light Blues to claim the crown for the first time since 1988. But the trophy - which is 21 centimetres wide - that Gough held aloft just over 28 years ago will be up for auction at a special event next month. The lucky buyer of the trophy will also receive the piece of silverware in it's original box with paperwork from the Scottish Football Museum verifying it's authenticity. The trophy's estimated value is between £9,000-12,000. McTears' full listing of the auction event reads: "Rangers FC history will be showcased by the important 'Nine in a Row' Championship trophy, as well as a remarkable Hall of Fame trophy awarded posthumously to legend Davie Cooper. "Further Rangers FC medals, also Celtic FC medals, rare jerseys, early tickets, programmes and many more sporting relics will come under the hammer in this, Scotland's premier auction dedicated to sporting history." Also on sale at the Sporting History, Important Trophies, Medals & Jerseys event is a Rangers Hall of Fame Trophy that was posthumously awarded to Ibrox legend Davie Cooper following his death in 1995. It's estimated value is between £2,000-4,000. Other items in the auction include rare Rangers programme for a match against Clyde way back in 1947 that could fetch £500 and a Coronation Cup Final programme from the clash between Celtic and Newcastle United in 1953 that is valued at approximately £120. Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Daily Record
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Why Rangers play Simply the Best and the reason Celtic fans hijacked Tina Turner hit
The anthem has been a fixture at Ibrox for more than 30 years – so why have Celtic fans taken such a shine to it in recent weeks? If you've been to a Rangers home game in the last three decades, chances are you've heard it blaring over the tannoy. Tina Turner's 1989 hit 'The Best', a cover of a Bonnie Tyler song which better known by its chantable Simply the Best chorus, has been an anthem at Ibrox for the last 30 years. It was first adopted in the early days of their Nine in a Row dominance but over the years it's become synonymous with the club, and doesn't even need to be playing for Rangers fans to belt it out from their chest. It speaks to the pride the Ibrox faithful hold in their historic record that at one stage did have them standing out in front as the proven most successful team in the world, But this season has seen Celtic match them both for league titles (55) and overtake them on the overall trophy front. And that was what was on the mind of taunting Hoops fans when they gleefully sung the Ibrox terrace anthem from the away end during last month's 1-1 draw. A Priest in a Paisley parish even referenced the hilarious moment in a confirmation speech in the days after the game. But where did start in the first place, and how did Rangers come to be blaring an unlikely pop tune over the tannoy at every home game? Why do Rangers play Simply the Best? The prevailing theory for why Rangers played the tune to the point they became synonymous with it is simple. The story goes that, during the early 90s, when they were beginning to gather some steam on their way to Nine in a Row, the hit was played over a BBC TV montage of Walter Smith 's team running riot. It struck a chord with fans and the club then adopted it into their repertoire – and it's stuck there ever since. That's only one theory, however. Others more ambitiously suggest that it's down to the fact Turner herself had a fondness for the club who adopted the hit as an homage to her in her pomp. We'll never know for sure, unless any Rangers historians pipe up!
