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MrStruth
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A tribute to Rangers fc, Scotlands most successful football club.
We welcome the chase !
We welcome the chase !
About Me:
In the 19 full seasons from 1920/21 (Struth became manager at Ibrox in May
1920 following the tragic death of William Wilton) through to the end of
season 1938/39, Rangers (and therefore Struth) won the Championship of
Scotland FOURTEEN times. Celtic and Maley chipped in with just FOUR.
Motherwell breaking the Old Firm monopoly in season 31/32.
Given that the League Championship is the only game in town and always has
been in football worldwide, there basically is no contest here of which to
speak of. Struth leaves Maley for dead. It is not up for debate. In fact
it must be rather embarrassing for any Celtic fan to claim otherwise.
Although how you can embarrass the masters of self delusion is another
matter altogether.
But we're nothing if not fair-minded, so let's look at how they
faired against each other in the other domestic head to heads. In the same
period Rangers won the Scottish Cup 6 times and so did the yahoos. Three of
Celtic's Scottish Cup triumphs were won in the period between Struth taking
over at Ibrox and the Scottish Cup hoodoo-bursting year of 1928. To be fair
to Celtic and Maley here, it was scarcely their fault that Rangers could win
everything else in sight domestically, except Scotland's premier Cup
competition.
However the Scottish Cup was as near as it gets to parity for Maley in his
personal duels with Struth.
In both the Glasgow and Glasgow Charity Merchants Cups Rangers once again
clearly led the way.
Of 19 Glasgow Cups competed for over the period Rangers lifted it on ELEVEN
occasions compared to Celtic's SIX.
The Glasgow Charity Cup yielded the same amount of triumphs with another
ELEVEN wins in the period against SIX for Celtic.
So that means in 76 domestic trophies competed for in the period between
1920 - 1939 Struth won 42 against Maley's rather meagre 22. I'll repeat
again. Maley just simply wasn't in Struth's league.
Then there was their league head to heads.
Thirty-eight league tussles between the sides over the period saw Rangers
emerge with the spoils on TWENTY occasions against Celtic's SIX. This
included Maley going FOURTEEN years (1921-35) without a league victory at
Ibrox. TEN years without a Ne'erday victory (1928 - 1938) and SEVEN
straight seasons (1920/21 - 26/27) without a win in his ain midden.
That was then followed up by another SIX barren seasons. (1931/32 -
1936/37) Is that a Maley I see in your back pocket, Mr Struth?
So there you go, some people would tell you, would have you believe that
Bill Struth and Maley were great rivals. Contemporaries they may have been
but as rivals go this was strictly Ali v Richard Dunn.
The way both men finished with their respective clubs is also significant.
Maley was sacked on Ne'erday 1940 and was so full of recrimination and
bitterness that it is said that he never set foot back in Celtic Park.
Struth on the other hand stepped down as boss in 1954 (possibly should have
stepped down sooner) and stayed on as a Director of the club until his death
in 1956.
Ladies and gentlemen. I humbly suggest that Bill Struth is not just the
greatest manager that Scotland has ever had, but football worldwide. The
fact that today nearly 50 years down the line from his death, Celtic minded
journalists working to their own agenda are trying so very hard to belittle
his achievements rather proves the point.
I'll also leave you with the words of John Rafferty in his book 'One Hundred
Years of Scottish Football' - ³Rangers in those years of success were a
wonderfully functional team. As great players moved on others came in. Bob
McPhail, Dougie Gray, Tully Craig, Sandy Archibald, Jimmy Fleming - they
kept a tradition going and added to an over-powering reputation of Rangers
which was becoming fearsome to lesser clubs until it seemed that Scottish
football was being controlled from the marble halls at Ibrox.²
I put it you dear reader that never before or since has one man wielded such
power in the Scottish game. Bill Struth is the greatest manager anywhere.
And he's ours. Enjoy the significance of this man and never, ever forget
his achievements.
Country:
United Kingdom
Channel Comments
''To be a Ranger is to sense the sacred trust of upholding all that such a name means in this shrine of football. They must be true in their conception of what the Ibrox tradition seeks from them. No true Ranger has ever failed in the tradition set him''.