Rangers

Opposition | Celtic Games

NAME: Ibrox
ADDRESS: Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, G51 2XD.
CAPACITY: Approx. 50,000.
DIED: 2012 went into liquidation.

OLD CELTIC ALLOCATION: Approx 7,000. Broomloan Road Stand.
RECORD VICTORY: Celtic 7, Rangers 1, 19 October 1957
RECORD DEFEAT: Rangers 5, Celtic 0, 2 September 1893

user posted image user posted image user posted image user posted image

“This has to be said about Rangers…as a Scottish Football club they are a permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace. This country would be a better place if Rangers did not exist”. – Ian Archer (journalist 1970s)

Photos (L-R): (1) A view from the Broomloan/Govan corner, this is the regular view for the away fans who don’t get the whole Broomloan stand. (2) The stadium when full. (3) Sombrero Sunday II – Celtic fans fill the park with beachballs to celebrate their defeat of Barcelona just days before. (4) eRefugees FC (now KCFC) celebrate tthe 5-1 defeat of Queens Park. Back row (L-R): Big_Bobo_Balde, kevtic, marillot, greenjedi, daviebhoy, paulfg42, Fudgie Bhoy, stefano1888. Front row (L-R): greenback, goalieart, moorsy (fatbhoydim at the time), scottybhoy07, Psychoheart, Pedro Agathe, morpheus. (5) Several Celtic fans celebrate at Ibrox… including our own Big_Bobo_Balde!

DIRECTIONS

Multimap LinkRangers - Kerrydale Street

BY CAR: Ibrox is just off junction 23 & 24 of the M8, lying between the motorway and the River Clyde. Broomloan Road is on the West side of the stadium, so best to take junction 24. Passing Asda on your left, turn right at the roundabout and Ibrox is in front of you. However, you may want to avoid the Kingston Bridge as it tends to be very busy on the M8 westbound when Rangers are at home. Going through the Clyde Tunnel might be preferable, and if you know you’re way about you can cut through Govan immediately after the Clyde Tunnel. If not, stick to the A8 which is the next left.

BY BUS: Buses 4, 9A, 23, 23A, 52, 53, 53A, 54A, 54B, 65, 89, and 91 all pass by the stadium from the city centre.

BY TRAIN: Ibrox is served by the Ibrox station of the Glasgow underground. It is adjacent to the Copland Road end, and therefore not advised for any Celtic fan to use. “Unless you dont fancy life anymore, in which case get hooped up and swagger on.” – Daviebhoy

PARKING: Parking in the industrial estate to the west of the stadium is initially reserved for the supporters buses, but if you go far enough in and get there early enough you can park cars there too. Failing that, park on the A8. You may also be able to park in the Asda, though it may be the case that they don’t like football parking there. If you don’t mind a walk, parking in Drumoyne is okay too. (source: youngbhoy)

WHAT TO EXPECT

Huns and everything that comes with them.

Quite a crap stand for what has been granted five star grading by UEFA. The toilets are abysmal and you’d be as well pissing on the floor (people frequently do) and there is better leg room in many of the lesser stadia in Scotland. The concourse between entering the stadium and the seating areas aren’t that big either and can become very congested when people queue for the food stalls.

To be herded in and out by the police. Probably for the best that.

SAD TRIVIA

Rangers have spent almost all their existance at Ibrox, apart from brief periods at Burnbank off Great Western Road and Kinning Park. Their first game took place at Flesher’s Haugh on Glasgow Green, and was a 1-1 draw with Callander FC. Funnily enough, in a similar story to Celtic, Rangers moved from the first Ibrox to the second Ibrox in 1899 after their landlord tried to rip them off!

January 2nd 1971 was a sad day in the history of Ibrox. There are two different stories to this sad chapter. Eyewitness accounts indicate that with Celtic winning 1-0 through a Jimmy Johnstone goal and time running out, Rangers fans were heading for the exits. However, when Colin Stein scored in the dying seconds of the game to equalise, those that were on their way out turned round to celebrate the fact – meeting those that were leaving happy head on. The steel barriers on stairway 13 gave way under the stress and 66 fans were killed in the crush, with others injured. However, the inquiry into the tragedy seems to indicate that the Rangers fans hadn’t left and were all in place for full time. After the equaliser, the jubilant Rangers fans rushed out of the stadium, pushing their way out through to breaking point. This was not the first time people had died on this stairway (the 60s saw several occasions where a handful of deaths occurred), but thankfully it would be the last. Ibrox was redeveloped to resemble the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. The Rangers and Celtic ends were replaced with the Copland and Broomloan Road ends, and a Centenary stand (the terracing with benches bolted to it) lasted only a few years until being replaced by the Govan stand. When David Murray took over at Rangers he milked the stadium for all it was worth, adding a third “club deck” to the main stand (a listed building which cannot be knocked down) and the open corners on either side of the Govan stand were filled in with extra seats and large screens. (see: Ibrox disaster 1971)

Unfortunately, 1971 was not the first time Ibrox had witnessed a disaster. In 1902 during a Scotland v England game, 25 people were killed and more than 400 injured when the wooden stands gave way.

Around the stadium, you will find a statue of John Greig, Rangers Cup Winners Cup Winning Captain and former manager, at the corner of the Copland Road and Main stands. This doubles as a memorial to those that died in 1902 and 1971. Across the road from the main stand is an artifical pitch which is open to the public (including Kerrydale Celtic!). The Rangers shop can be found at the corner of the Copland Road and Govan Stands.

Within the stadium, the famous Marble Staircase can be found on entry to the main stand, and there is also “the Blue Room”, which apparently houses a piano which former manager Bill Struth is said to have played to relax on match days.

Rangers have experimented with a computerised “smart card” entry system for season ticket holders. A good idea to replace the voucher system, but they have had teething problems with it, with some fans having been locked out of certain games due to computer faults while others have a habit of losing the card.

In June 2012, they went into liquidation!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!

TIM FRIENDLY PUBS

The only option appears to be the Albion bar which can be found at the back of the Broomloan. Although it is unlikely to be open before kick off since almost all Old Firm games are Sunday lunchtime kick offs.

“Not somewhere you could go for sunday lunch. Or any day of the week really.”
– Caz

“As most busses park on Helen street there are lots of tim pubs in sunny Govan, Tall Cranes, 10 Craigton rd & The Harmony Bar or Old Govan Arms, both on Govan road (not to far from the govan subway)”
– Stefano1888

“On paisley road west there’s a good wee celtic boozer called the Howdens Bar (next to Lourdes secondary school)”
– Stefano 1888

Any more???

PUBS TO AVOID

I’d hazard a guess and say VIRTUALLY ALL OF THEM. Seriously, get in, see the game, get out, head back to your own pubs.

“The district, The grapes, The louden. Just in case anyone who has a death wish or an urge to fight huns wishes to venture undercover to any pubs on paisley rd west avoid these pubs at ALL costs!! All loyalist/paramilitary type boozers where evil people lurk in the shadows.”
– Hooped_Avenger

Quotes

History of Games

Related

Definitions