Tag Archives: rangers

My, how we laughed

by on 6 August, 2008 in Scotland, Sports

Oh yes, the emails are buzzing around today.

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The clear-up begins

by on 15 May, 2008 in Scotland, Sports

Celebration Bunting Tension mounts Ready Fans' message to the Rangers players
Pictures, top, by yours truly, from inside the City of Manchester stadium last night. More here.
Main picture taken by terry6082 Books, showing the clearup in Piccadilly Square, Manchester, this morning.
My dad and I had a memorable time last night at the Uefa Cup final in Manchester, despite Rangers losing 2-0 to a Zenit St Petersburg side that richly deserved its win. Our own Kevin McCarra, sat a few rows behind me, filed this excellent report if you want to find out more about the game.
Suffice to say that, at least until the final whistle, it was a fine night to be a Rangers fan; we bluenoses packed the stadium, apart from a noisy corner of Russians, and created an atmosphere the likes of which I’ve never encountered before. The team worked hard – with some flair in the second half – but to no avail. Nearly all the Rangers fans, however, stayed both to applaud the winners, and salute the Rangers team still several games from the end of an epic season.
It was well worth the extortionate ticket price and journey – Rangers last made a European final two years before I was born, so it may well be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Unfortunately, what happened well away from the stadium may live in the wider public’s memory for far longer than the match. As readers in the UK will be aware, hundreds of Rangers fans rioted after a big TV screen – one of several erected in Manchester city centre squares for fans who arrived without a ticket – broke down. There were shocking scenes in the city centre as fans battled police, including one incident where an officer was tripped up and set upon by a mob as he lay on the ground (he escaped, with a broken arm reasonably minor injuries).
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