Graeme Souness (1986 to 1991)
The appointment of Graeme Souness as manager on 8th April 1986 was not only a pivotal moment for Rangers, but it would also be the catalyst for a revolution within Scottish Football.
When Rangers fell at the first hurdle of their 1985/86 Scottish Cup campaign, the season was effectively over with the month of January not yet consigned to history. The Premier Division trophy had been absent from Ibrox since 1978 and whilst there were still plenty of league fixtures to fulfil, the reality was that finishing in a top 5 placing (thus at least securing UEFA Cup football for the season 1986/87) was a far more realistic aspiration. As crowds dwindled with every passing week, the writing was on the wall for current boss Jock Wallace. Chief Executive David Holmes promptly turned to Scotland skipper Graeme Souness to gauge his appetite for returning home to Scotland and, thankfully, his approach was met with a more than positive response. To the amazement of the gathering press, Graeme Souness was unveiled in the famous Blue Room as the Club’s first ever player-manager.
The arrival of 32-year-old Souness may have represented a gamble given his lack of management or coaching experience, but this was mitigated by the almost immediate arrival of Walter Smith as his experienced Assistant. Furthermore, Graeme was still a top player and his future influence on the pitch could not be underestimated. Having recently been strutting his stuff with Sampdoria in Italy’s Serie A, he remained one of Europe’s top midfielders.
A fierce competitor, Graeme was not one to accept second best and it was clear that the board would need to back him financially if they were to match his ambitions. The arrival of Terry Butcher, Chris Woods and Graham Roberts by the end of 1986 demonstrated that the Rangers Directors were firmly on the same page. The removal of English sides from European competition for the foreseeable future (as a consequence of the Heysel Stadium disaster) had allowed Rangers to reverse the trend of Scotland’s best players moving across the border. Instead, England’s top players were now heading North and Graeme had first-hand experience of who the star performers were.
The investment within the side was quickly justified when both the League Cup and League Championship returned to Ibrox during Graeme’s first season in charge. The League Cup was clinched with a memorable win over Celtic at Hampden as his new side laid down a marker. It was not just about the new signings. Players such as Ian Durrant, Stuart Munro, Robert Fleck and Derek Ferguson flourished under the new regime whilst Davie Cooper and Ally McCoist once again found their top form. Although his own season was interrupted by injury and indiscipline, Graeme had turned in some excellent performances whilst contributing with the odd spectacular goal.
A leg break sustained by Terry Butcher in 1987 hampered the title challenge but Souness ensured that season 1987/88 was a mere blip. The title returned to Ibrox in 1989 where it would remain until 1997. He would lead Rangers to three successive League Cup successes (1986 to 1988) before winning the competition for a fourth and final time in 1990.
If the (Skol) League Cup had been particularly kind to Graeme, the opposite could be said of the Scottish Cup where Rangers suffered shock defeats to Hamilton and Dunfermline during his reign. His closest attempt came in 1989 when his side was denied what would have been the domestic Treble following a 1-0 Final reversal to Celtic at Hampden. Any hopes Celtic had of using that win as a springboard were surely quickly extinguished when Souness persuaded their former player Maurice Johnston to abandon his publicised return to Parkhead and instead head to Ibrox. It was a truly sensational signing for Rangers and absolutely typical of the single-minded approach demonstrated by Graeme during his time in Glasgow.
Having dominated Europe as a player with Liverpool, Souness was keen to do likewise with Rangers as a manager. Despite undoubted progress and a particularly memorable victory over Dynamo Kyiv, progression beyond the Quarter Final stage eluded him. In fairness, the draw was often unkind with the likes of Bayern Munich (1989/90) and the excellent Red Star Belgrade side (1990/91) being paired with his side in the very early rounds.
Graeme’s management style was not dissimilar to the reputation he had earned as a player. Often perceived as aggressive and confrontational, there were a number of high profile internal conflicts. Players such as Terry Butcher and Graham Roberts eventually left the Club under a cloud after publicly challenging his authority whilst Ted McMinn and Derek Ferguson were moved on with Souness having grown tired of their perceived off field activities. Even fans favourite Ally McCoist and had some very difficult moments under their former Scotland team-mate. Graeme’s determination to raise the standards and instil the level of professionalism he had encountered in Italy was undoubtedly an in initial shock to many and required a major change in culture.
Having played a part in influencing David Murray to purchase the Club, Rangers would go from strength to strength under the duo and by the arrival of the 1990s were unquestionably the UK’s leading Football Club. With Souness having also been made Director, all seemed well.
However, Graeme was regularly falling foul of the footballing authorities and everyone else for that matter. There was a feeling that he was becoming somewhat of a “marked man” in Scotland and was frustratingly being held to a far greater degree of scrutiny than that of his counterparts.
By April 1991, and despite publicly stating that he would not be quitting, Graeme confirmed to Chairman David Murray that he wished to take over as Liverpool's manager at the end of the season. The lure of Liverpool was always likely to pull at Graeme’s heartstrings but had it not been for the constant aggravation with the press and authorities etc, he may well have come to a different decision. Regardless, Murray acted decisively immediately removing his friend from the Club and publicly warning him he was making the biggest mistake of his life.
With the season drawing to a close and the title still far from certain, there was naturally much anger among the Rangers support at the timing of Graeme’s departure and even more so given those very recent denials. In truth, he looked like a man in turmoil when forced to face the press to announce his abrupt exit.
The subsequent success enjoyed under Walter Smith undoubtedly helped to lessen the negativity that initially existed towards Graeme. His legacy of modernising the Football Club and bringing players such as Woods, Butcher, Gough, Ferguson, Wilkins, Walters and Hateley to Rangers now ensures a hugely positive reception any time he returns to Ibrox.
by Rick Plews
Graeme Souness (1986 to 1991)
The appointment of Graeme Souness as manager on 8th April 1986 was not only a pivotal moment for Rangers, but it would also be the catalyst for a revolution within Scottish Football.
When Rangers fell at the first hurdle of their 1985/86 Scottish Cup campaign, the season was effectively over with the month of January not yet consigned to history. The Premier Division trophy had been absent from Ibrox since 1978 and whilst there were still plenty of league fixtures to fulfil, the reality was that finishing in a top 5 placing (thus at least securing UEFA Cup football for the season 1986/87) was a far more realistic aspiration. As crowds dwindled with every passing week, the writing was on the wall for current boss Jock Wallace. Chief Executive David Holmes promptly turned to Scotland skipper Graeme Souness to gauge his appetite for returning home to Scotland and, thankfully, his approach was met with a more than positive response. To the amazement of the gathering press, Graeme Souness was unveiled in the famous Blue Room as the Club’s first ever player-manager.
The arrival of 32-year-old Souness may have represented a gamble given his lack of management or coaching experience, but this was mitigated by the almost immediate arrival of Walter Smith as his experienced Assistant. Furthermore, Graeme was still a top player and his future influence on the pitch could not be underestimated. Having recently been strutting his stuff with Sampdoria in Italy’s Serie A, he remained one of Europe’s top midfielders.
A fierce competitor, Graeme was not one to accept second best and it was clear that the board would need to back him financially if they were to match his ambitions. The arrival of Terry Butcher, Chris Woods and Graham Roberts by the end of 1986 demonstrated that the Rangers Directors were firmly on the same page. The removal of English sides from European competition for the foreseeable future (as a consequence of the Heysel Stadium disaster) had allowed Rangers to reverse the trend of Scotland’s best players moving across the border. Instead, England’s top players were now heading North and Graeme had first-hand experience of who the star performers were.
The investment within the side was quickly justified when both the League Cup and League Championship returned to Ibrox during Graeme’s first season in charge. The League Cup was clinched with a memorable win over Celtic at Hampden as his new side laid down a marker. It was not just about the new signings. Players such as Ian Durrant, Stuart Munro, Robert Fleck and Derek Ferguson flourished under the new regime whilst Davie Cooper and Ally McCoist once again found their top form. Although his own season was interrupted by injury and indiscipline, Graeme had turned in some excellent performances whilst contributing with the odd spectacular goal.
A leg break sustained by Terry Butcher in 1987 hampered the title challenge but Souness ensured that season 1987/88 was a mere blip. The title returned to Ibrox in 1989 where it would remain until 1997. He would lead Rangers to three successive League Cup successes (1986 to 1988) before winning the competition for a fourth and final time in 1990.
If the (Skol) League Cup had been particularly kind to Graeme, the opposite could be said of the Scottish Cup where Rangers suffered shock defeats to Hamilton and Dunfermline during his reign. His closest attempt came in 1989 when his side was denied what would have been the domestic Treble following a 1-0 Final reversal to Celtic at Hampden. Any hopes Celtic had of using that win as a springboard were surely quickly extinguished when Souness persuaded their former player Maurice Johnston to abandon his publicised return to Parkhead and instead head to Ibrox. It was a truly sensational signing for Rangers and absolutely typical of the single-minded approach demonstrated by Graeme during his time in Glasgow.
Having dominated Europe as a player with Liverpool, Souness was keen to do likewise with Rangers as a manager. Despite undoubted progress and a particularly memorable victory over Dynamo Kyiv, progression beyond the Quarter Final stage eluded him. In fairness, the draw was often unkind with the likes of Bayern Munich (1989/90) and the excellent Red Star Belgrade side (1990/91) being paired with his side in the very early rounds.
Graeme’s management style was not dissimilar to the reputation he had earned as a player. Often perceived as aggressive and confrontational, there were a number of high profile internal conflicts. Players such as Terry Butcher and Graham Roberts eventually left the Club under a cloud after publicly challenging his authority whilst Ted McMinn and Derek Ferguson were moved on with Souness having grown tired of their perceived off field activities. Even fans favourite Ally McCoist and had some very difficult moments under their former Scotland team-mate. Graeme’s determination to raise the standards and instil the level of professionalism he had encountered in Italy was undoubtedly an in initial shock to many and required a major change in culture.
Having played a part in influencing David Murray to purchase the Club, Rangers would go from strength to strength under the duo and by the arrival of the 1990s were unquestionably the UK’s leading Football Club. With Souness having also been made Director, all seemed well.
However, Graeme was regularly falling foul of the footballing authorities and everyone else for that matter. There was a feeling that he was becoming somewhat of a “marked man” in Scotland and was frustratingly being held to a far greater degree of scrutiny than that of his counterparts.
By April 1991, and despite publicly stating that he would not be quitting, Graeme confirmed to Chairman David Murray that he wished to take over as Liverpool's manager at the end of the season. The lure of Liverpool was always likely to pull at Graeme’s heartstrings but had it not been for the constant aggravation with the press and authorities etc, he may well have come to a different decision. Regardless, Murray acted decisively immediately removing his friend from the Club and publicly warning him he was making the biggest mistake of his life.
With the season drawing to a close and the title still far from certain, there was naturally much anger among the Rangers support at the timing of Graeme’s departure and even more so given those very recent denials. In truth, he looked like a man in turmoil when forced to face the press to announce his abrupt exit.
The subsequent success enjoyed under Walter Smith undoubtedly helped to lessen the negativity that initially existed towards Graeme. His legacy of modernising the Football Club and bringing players such as Woods, Butcher, Gough, Ferguson, Wilkins, Walters and Hateley to Rangers now ensures a hugely positive reception any time he returns to Ibrox.
by Rick Plews
