Rangers 1-3 Chelsea

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

Just a wee tip for all who are attending you're no allowed to sing GSTQ as that is classified as sectarian up here

[dave30 728]

Just a wee tip for all who are attending you're no allowed to sing GSTQ as that is classified as sectarian up here

i will be singing it all day long .

[chelsea_tel 0]

Rangers vs Chelsea FC

6 August - Friendly - 1500 BST kick-off

:cfc: MATCH CHAT HERE :cfc:

Is there anyone who has a spare seat for travel upto Glasgow next Saturday morning near Canary wharf? Would be looking for a 7am pick up in or around the wharf. Contact me on [email protected], willing to split fuel costs no probs.

[koukous89 6]

last game befor the big star

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

i will be singing it all day long .

As will I

[manpe 10,861]

If this game ends injury-free, then I will be happy, even if we lost... and pre-season will have been a major success in that matter.

[Sheva. 5,373]

David Luiz is back in training (Ramires will return tomorrow) so they should take part in this game

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Would love to see this as a score draw, not bothered about winning, this is going to be a football festival for two great clubs, can't wait!!!!!!

[J.F. 1,484]

Chelsea and Rangers

1. As far back as I can remember I was bumping into Rangers fans who were down south supporting Chelsea, definitely in the 60’s, but growing in the 70’s. There were even some out in Athens in 1971 at the Cup Winners Cup Final and I met up with some of them again at the Rangers game in Barcelona the next year. Some trace the association of the 2 clubs back to the origins of the club and it first manager, who, with his Rangers background, got some old Rangers shirts as the clubs first kit. Others trace it to the same colours and similar badges. Others to some of the Chelsea players who had strong Rangers connections, examples being Charlie Cooke, who was an out and out ‘Bear’ and, later, Jon Spencer who would “never eat greens on a match day”! Whilst there are some ‘pure football’ reasons there is no doubt that there are other ‘background’ factors

2. In the sixties it became fashionable at English games to chant Rangers or Celtic during the half time interval on the terraces. Sounds crass, but true! At Chelsea this was heavily steered towards Rangers even then. I think it was to do with the disproportionate amount of serving and ex servicemen (and their patriotic leanings) who frequented Chelsea. Remembering also that the old nickname was the 'Pensioners' referring to the proximity of the Old Serviceman’s home near the ground. They still receive a number of complimentary tickets even today and they can be seen in attendance resplendent in their red regalia.

3. The seventies saw a dramatic shift towards the Rangers allegiance. This was definitely due to the IRA bombing campaign in London and North Surrey, from where Chelsea drew the bulk of its support. The Guildford bombing and its fatalities in particular signalled an outcry against the IRA and anything associated with it. Many of us knew of someone injured or killed that night, myself included, with a friend whose only crime was to be in the TA and having a drink with some Army mates. Celtic fans were seen as sympathetic to the republican cause and the IRA. Overnight any Celtic chants disappeared.

4. There is however no doubt that the Chelsea fanbase 'bias' towards anything ‘Loyalist’ come 'Unionist' was also to do with right wing links which grew and which became more evident and visible in the later 70's with the growth of the NF, with Chelsea being a known recruiting ground. Nothing to be proud of, but a fact and factor nonetheless.

5. The late 70’s and 80’s were described as the dark days of Chelsea FC when the hooligan element dominated the headlines. At least 2 of the Chelsea 'firms' at the time had their 'leadership' drawn from ex-servicemen, whom had served in Ulster. This strengthened the anti IRA, anti Celtic feelings even further. Many of the ex-servicemen had formed personal relationships with Ulster Loyalists and also Rangers supporters serving in various parts of the world at the time. Before it became fashionable (and when it still had dangers), there were groups of Chelsea fans who visited Belfast for the 12th July march. Chubby H also arranged a protest march to Westminster (‘Chelsea Fans Say NO’) at the time of the Northern Ireland vote. Some 300 marched including some Rangers and Linfield fans.

6. Meanwhile these 'friendships' between Chelsea and Rangers ex-servicemen developed into them (and ever expanding groups of mates) attending Chelsea and Rangers games together, sometimes for 'positive' reasons (have a beer, a sing song and a laugh) and sometimes, admittedly, for 'less positive' reasons (i.e. 'assists' such as a trip to visit the Aberdeen Casuals in the late 80’s). Again, nothing to be proud of there, but a fact nonetheless and a factor in the 'bonding' that was taking place between many Chelsea fans and their Rangers counterparts at the time.

7. With the ban on English clubs playing in Europe in the 80's, many more Chelsea fans started travelling with Rangers in Europe, some admittedly for the wrong reasons but the majority for the camaraderie that was now growing between the fan groups. The fanbase at the Jolly Malster pub, just off the Fulham Road would arrange trips to Europe and sometimes to Rangers home games. The pub became a meeting place for Chelsea and Rangers fans, and until the recent pub ‘upgrade’ it still did. There were 50 or 60 Rangers fans there when Chelsea played Celtic in a pre-season "friendly" in August 2006.

8. A number of milestones stick out in my memory. Firstly the 2 friendlies in the early 1980’s. The first at Stamford Bridge in aid of the Bradford Disaster, when it was party time in the Fulham Road before and after and when the Shed end cheered every Rangers goal and the Rangers fans the Chelsea goals! The second at Ibrox in what I think was the following year, (and the floodlights failed for a period!) and when it was almost impossible to buy a drink in the pubs due to the generosity of the Rangers fans.

9. There is no doubt that the Bradford Disaster game was a major stepping stone in what became known as the Blues Brothers concept and the attendance in greater numbers at each other’s games. Chelsea/Rangers hats and scarves became commonplace at Stamford Bridge and the Blues Brothers fanzine was born. At this time the Linfield connection joined into the Blues Brothers fraternity as reflected in the fanzine. The Rangers & Linfield connection was already there but the Chelsea Linfield one definitely grew from the Chelsea servicemen out there and the attendance at the 12th July marches. The fanzine ‘completed the circle’

10. Another set of milestones in my memory were the sheer number of Rangers supporters that attended many northern based league games in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, before all ticket matches and lower away fan ticket allocations made it more difficult. A game at Liverpool in particular, (1985 I think, but may be wrong) when an estimated 2000 Rangers fans travelled to Anfield for a Saturday morning kick off. After the local police worked it out, we shared the visitors terracing together for a memorable morning of singing and chanting together. Having kept us all back in the ground for an hour afterwards, the roads were cleared and some of us shared a few beers together in the pubs on the route back to the Rangers buses. Another would be at Everton when large numbers of Rangers turned up. But for many years there were hundreds of Rangers at Chelsea games when the Gers were not playing themselves that day. And still are! Sunderland, Blackburn, Everton (league cup) etc etc in the past few years.

11. There is still a stand outside Chelsea’s ground now (near the Methodist Church!) that sells many joint Chelsea/Rangers and Chelsea/Rangers/Linfield merchandise and a whole range of Blues Brothers metal badges are on sale in several pubs. These were seen in abundance in Barcelona a few seasons back when loads of Chelsea and Rangers fans met up in Barcelona on the day before the respective Euro matches in Spain. The massive 'Blues Brothers' ‘Chelsea, Rangers and Linfield’ flag was hoisted in the centre of the main road in Barcelona! A great time was had by all before heading off to our respective matches (and defeats!)

12. The heyday of the Blues Brothers may be over and never again may we see the attendance in such large numbers at each other’s games, but the memories are something for many of us to treasure. It is easy to understand why younger supporters cannot understand the relationship (and why should they?) and why some, and particularly younger Rangers supporters, will hold animosity towards Chelsea given their ‘external’ funding and overpaid players. And times are changing at the Bridge too. The new influx of prawn sandwich supporters know nothing of our fanbase history and few of the Blues Brothers connection. They are feasting purely on match results, but are poorer for it in my opinion. For those of us who lived through those great years we are richer for it and the bond is there forever.

great article.

[chrismada9 1,948]

There are 2 things I'm thinking about over this game...

1) Rangers played us last time in a friendly at Ibrox and beat us

2) Aesthetic Relic (wherever he is) has a dilemma on his hands on which team to follow!

[dodojojo 510]

It isn't live on Chelsea TV, but a replay will be on at 5:15 PM BST.

Question. Is this true for all Chelsea games? Due to TV rights, I know once the season starts, the games will not be live on CTV. But does the site replay games on the same day? I may be tempted to pay for membership if that is true. I'm a bit of sick of stop and go streams. And I can't afford the ridiculous pay structure that my local cable company requires me to pay in order to get the soccer channels.

Not sure yet if I'll be okay with watching the games on delay though. But willing to see how it goes. I won't be able to watch Saturday's game due to a weekend trip so it would be nice to catch a replay on CTV.

Oh, are replays frequent? Or on demand? Just realized I won't be able to catch the 5:15 replay either.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Not sure yet if I'll be okay with watching the games on delay though. But willing to see how it goes. I won't be able to watch Saturday's game due to a weekend trip so it would be nice to catch a replay on CTV.

They do show the full games of Premier League & even Champions League games.

However I'm not sure if it's on the same day, or several days after.

[dodojojo 510]

They do show the full games of Premier League & even Champions League games.

However I'm not sure if it's on the same day, or several days after.

Are they on demand? Or more likely, on a fixed schedule? That's an issue too as being the US, the time difference could be a hassle.

[YuriZhirkov 106]

Malmo FF - Rangers 1-1 and Malmo won away with 1-0 last week in the CL-Q. And Malmo are on the 9.th place in the swedish leauge.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Are they on demand? Or more likely, on a fixed schedule? That's an issue too as being the US, the time difference could be a hassle.

Fixed schedule, on CTV. Just check the listings of the day

[We Hate Scouse 10,286]

I think there on the day, but not till really late. Have a feeling it's not till Match of the Day have shown the highlights, so around midnight.

[dodojojo 510]

Ok, thanks for all the info. This helps. Seriously, I wouldn't mind paying for games but in this day and age, why hasn't there be an affordable way for fans to pay for games live, replays on demand etc. I would totally pay for that. But it seems like they funnel you into cable/satellite dish deals. I don't cable and am certainly not going to pay $150 monthly especially when there's no guarantee the game I want is being broadcast.

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

Rangers Said Today Bye Bye To CL....