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Revolution: Rangers
Once Graeme Souness walked into the Ibrox Blue Room, nothing would be the same again. What followed wasn’t just a successful season for long-suffering fans. Nor was it something inevitable. What followed was a revolution. This is a story about change. About how Scottish football’s biggest club was transformed and how it then transformed Scottish football. About how old rules and traditions were ripped up, no matter the emotional cost. It is not simply a story about goals, saves and transfers. It is one formed by a time of great political and social modernisation which also saw a shift in how ordinary fans consumed the game and found their own voice. This was the most successful and exciting era in Rangers history. One where fans felt that anyone could be signed and everything could be won.The sky was the limit! Or rather, Sky was. Amid all the glory, there was tension. Did Rangers drive change or were they were shaped by it? Why did their modernisation stop just as it exploded elsewhere? One thing is the revolution that was born in 1986 was over by 1992. Here is how it happened.
221 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2023
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 18, 2023
This is, quite simply, the best book I’ve ever read about Glasgow Rangers (and I’ve read a few now!).
Martyn further develops his obvious talent he has of not only describing a footballing event extremely well but also setting the scene of the time culturally (mainly in the sporting world but also referencing world events & politics) - something which he began with ‘The 50 Greatest Rangers Games’ but now goes a big step further by telling a proper story.
And what a story it is - I’ve always been fascinated with this time period of the club myself (I was born right in the middle, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and during the month when Graeme Souness won league awards for both ‘Best Manager’ and ‘Best Player’!) and so was delighted when I heard about the ‘Dominant’ podcast on the Heart & Hand network which started up in early 2022. I devoured that series over the course of last year and could not wait to get my hands on this book.
If you were a fan of the podcast, this book further cements the ideas discussed and also expands on them - there is no stone left unturned.
It has taken me more than 6 weeks to get through this but that’s only because I’ve been stopping and spending so much time looking up YouTube clips, match reports, digging out old match programmes etc - I’ve really interacted with the material and this is a huge thumbs up in my mind (in truth, I didn’t want it to end).
I’m now going to start the follow-up (1992-1998) and hope I’m done by Christmas! 😅
Martyn further develops his obvious talent he has of not only describing a footballing event extremely well but also setting the scene of the time culturally (mainly in the sporting world but also referencing world events & politics) - something which he began with ‘The 50 Greatest Rangers Games’ but now goes a big step further by telling a proper story.
And what a story it is - I’ve always been fascinated with this time period of the club myself (I was born right in the middle, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and during the month when Graeme Souness won league awards for both ‘Best Manager’ and ‘Best Player’!) and so was delighted when I heard about the ‘Dominant’ podcast on the Heart & Hand network which started up in early 2022. I devoured that series over the course of last year and could not wait to get my hands on this book.
If you were a fan of the podcast, this book further cements the ideas discussed and also expands on them - there is no stone left unturned.
It has taken me more than 6 weeks to get through this but that’s only because I’ve been stopping and spending so much time looking up YouTube clips, match reports, digging out old match programmes etc - I’ve really interacted with the material and this is a huge thumbs up in my mind (in truth, I didn’t want it to end).
I’m now going to start the follow-up (1992-1998) and hope I’m done by Christmas! 😅
April 10, 2023
One for the fans, but that probably goes without saying. My earliest Rangers memories predate this era, but not by much. The convention is that Rangers came in and outspent the rest, running up the overdraft to do so. However as this book shows, only the first part of that statement is true and that is only part of the story. The ban on English clubs in Europe was a factor, and also that Rangers had a stadium that would enable them to outstrip the rest.
It's perhaps important to emphasise that this is not a game by game commentary. There are chapters on Thatcher, Hillsborough, the impact of Mo Johnstone's signings. That the bibliography references books on modern social history tells you this is a book that aims to place the era in a wider context. Editorial glitches aside, it succeeds.
It's perhaps important to emphasise that this is not a game by game commentary. There are chapters on Thatcher, Hillsborough, the impact of Mo Johnstone's signings. That the bibliography references books on modern social history tells you this is a book that aims to place the era in a wider context. Editorial glitches aside, it succeeds.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews