Rangers 1-3 Chelsea

[irishblue 128]

I wouldn't be all that surprised by them going out of the Champions League this early to be fair. McCoist is only in charge a couple of months and hasn't had the most successful of pre-seasons either judging by most of the scores. It could be a tough enough year for him but really it's too early to tell. So far they've won three, drew two and lost four under him, this includes friendlies, the league and Champions League. Not that any of this matters to the match on Saturday.

Especially hope to see Chelsea win after losing to Rangers in 2007. Considering it's a friendly though I wouldn't rule out a draw.

[dodojojo 510]

Too bad I was hoping for a tough match to see where Chelsea really stand. Let's face it, none of the teams in Asia were very tough. And AV were a few days behind in training and travel to the east.

[We Hate Scouse 10,286]

I can't see AVB holding back on this one. I doubt he gives a fuck about the fans relationships. Rangers team will be very weak and those who played tonight will be tired. Easy 4-0 win.

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

It was a very bad night for us tonight got 2 men sent off and 2 other could have walked also we lost the plot against a very average swedish team should have beat them. I am hoping we give Chelsea a run for there money, should be a cracking day no matter what the result is.

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

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.

Fantastic read :goodpost:

[gary gordon 1,777]

What time is this Sydney time? Excuse my laziness. I couldn't be fucked looking it up..

[RFC RYAN CFC 59]

Ex-Servicemen from north and south of the border will be guests of honour at Ibrox.

Eight residents of the famous Royal Chelsea and Erskine Hospitals - four from each establishment - will lead out Rangers and Chelsea for the the friendly game on Saturday.

They will then watch the game from the Directors Box as honoured guests of both clubs.

The Rangers Supporters Trust were pleased to announce their football team would be playing a benefit match against Chelsea fans in aid of Erskine Hospital and The Chelsea Pensioners. The game at the Ibrox Complex, across from the stadium, kicks off at 10am with a £2 donation towards the causes for admission.

Once Chelsea and Rangers officials got to hear of the game they were eager to help and subsequently both Mr Abramovich and Mr Whyte adopted the visit as a personal project to get the veterans to Glasgow and to host them at the game.

The Wee Rangers Club have kindly sponsored the game and will be delighted to have the veterans visit the club before the game ahead of their official reception inside Ibrox.

Well done to the fans and the directors for working together to make this such a special event and cement the relationship between the two clubs.

[Domino- 116]

Last night out of the Champions League

[Ollie 4,400]

I would say i don't care about winning but because they beat us 2-0 in 2007, it's only fair if we get our own back

In an ideal world i'd like to see a 4-3 or something just for some excitement as long as our defenders don't get shaky for the Stoke game. I'm hoping it's easy to get a stream for this too. Should be a quality weekend of football with the Manc Derby too. Might be a bit feisty that one.

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

Somebody knows a Stream for this match on Saturday?

[Rangers & Chelsea 9]

Love Chelsea, can’t wait to have yous' back up again.

Somehow we managed to beat yous' 2-0 in 2007, doubt thatwill happen this time around, expect a right beating, but going along for asing song & a bit of friendly banter.

Atmosphere should be great, as always

My link

No Surrender!

Rangers & Chelsea, forever

[Beast 85]

Love Chelsea, can't wait to have yous' back up again.

Somehow we managed to beat yous' 2-0 in 2007, doubt thatwill happen this time around, expect a right beating, but going along for asing song & a bit of friendly banter.

Atmosphere should be great, as always

My link

No Surrender!

Rangers & Chelsea, forever

Oh Hampden in the Sun,

Celtic 7 Rangers 1,

That was the score when it came time up,

The Timalloys had won the cup.

I see Tully running down the line,

He slips the ball past Valentine,

It's nodded down by 'Teazy Weazy',

And Sammy Wilson makes it look so easy.

[ulsterchelsea 3,221]

are you sitting in the Chelsea or the Gers end out of interest ?

unfortunately i wont be heading over dave. Had hoped to be there but with moving into the new house and all im absolutely skint. Have a good time tho cause it will be electric. Blue noses all together oooooh bouncey bouncey bouncey bouncey na na na na na

[irishblue 128]

To anyone who is either missing the match or doesn't want to use a stream and has access to Chelsea TV; you can watch Rangers v Chelsea in full from 5.15pm BST.

[TomCFC 356]

To anyone who is either missing the match or doesn't want to use a stream and has access to Chelsea TV; you can watch Rangers v Chelsea in full from 5.15pm GMT.

BST, not GMT.

To anyone who is either missing the match or doesn't want to use a stream and has access to Chelsea TV; you can watch Rangers v Chelsea in full from 5.15pm GMT.

BST, not GMT.

[irishblue 128]

BST, not GMT.

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll change it now.

[Domino- 116]

Hopefully a good game before the start of the season, no matter the outcome.

[crazy1 24]

how much time is left before d kick off..................???????????