Tugay Kerimoğlu – Cult hero of Blackburn Rovers.
When Graeme Sounness went back to his old stamping ground of Ibrox in June 2000 to sign the Turkish midfielder Tugay Kerimoğlu for his newly-promoted club Blackburn Rovers, many considered that even given the relatively inexpensive fee of some £1.25million it was a lot to pay for a player who would be 31 before the new season got under way. It looked like the archetypal move of a player looking for a decent payday to fuel the bank balance for retirement. That Tugay stayed at the club until he was 38, earning a cult status among the Ewood Park faithful for his unswerving dedication and passionate play, suggests that the manager may have had it right after all. Continue reading →
“You don’t want to walk in another man’s footsteps, you want to create your own.” Henrik Larsson – Celtic legend.
In July 1977, the then Celtic manager, Wim Jansen pounced when Feyenoord fell into a contract dispute with their star striker. In four years with the Rotterdam-based club, he had notched 26 league goals in 101 games, but a move now seemed inevitable. Jansen convinced his board to part with £650,000 to complete the transfer, and the Hoops welcomed Henrik Larsson to Glasgow. The rest, as they say, is history. Continue reading →
The naïve exuberance and precious, vulnerable talent of England’s Paul Gascoigne.
Millions upon millions of words have been spoken and written about the career of Paul Gascoigne; the glory and the gormless, the poetry and the prose, the joys and the tears. If one aspect of the career of Duston’s finest ever sportsman epitomises his footballing life however, it is surely the time he spent wearing his country’s national shirt. It was that most rare of occasions, when a young English footballer burst onto the world stage offering up the promise of a talent so extraordinary that it created a dream of glory, but then crashed and burnt in flames that consumed hopes and talent without mercy. There’s a phrase that’s often referred to when talk of Gascoigne and his time with England arises, so I’m going to borrow it from Gary Lineker. Let’s “have a word” about Paul Gascoigne’s time playing for England. Continue reading →
Jock and the Giantkillers.
Wallace catches a cross in the game that defined the term ‘shock result’ in Scottish football history.
This is a story that’s been flitting in and out of my consciousness for some time now, apparently just waiting for me to write it; in fact it’s been prodding me along for knocking on half a century or so. Not that I would even have contemplated such a thing as a callow youth, all those years ago. Sometimes, though fate prods you enough times and you get the message. Continue reading →
“Glasgow belongs to me!” Ashley tightens grip on Rangers.
Ashley seems intent on taking control of Rangers.
Gauging the reaction of Newcastle United fans to the news that club owner Mike Ashley has strengthened his grip on Rangers Football Club may not be as straightforward as initially suspected. One reason for this may be that no-one other than the often truculent Ashley appreciates what the implications may be for the club. Always tight-lipped about his intentions, it will take more than a laser-sharp financial insight to appreciate just where Ashley’s aspirations are targeted. Continue reading →
Gary Thacker 