TODAY in April 1986 – 40 years ago - the arrival of Graeme Souness as Rangers player/manager stunned Scottish football.
Today marks 40 years since Graeme Souness strutted through the door to the Blue Room at Ibrox - dressed immaculately and radiating an unmistakable aura - and revolutionised Rangers as an institution.
8 April 1986 was a seismic day in Scottish football. Souness had long been a familiar figure in the Scotland national team yet many had only admired from afar as the gifted midfielder amassed a glittering haul with Liverpool - three European Cups, five league titles and four League Cups in the famous red.
His arrival coincided with a sharp upturn in fortunes both on and off the pitch at Ibrox, laying the foundations for a period of unforgettable success through an ambitious recruitment strategy and an elevating of standards.
It was a move carefully constructed by chief executive David Holmes, who showed the bravery and conviction to chart a bold vision for a club previously on the slide and appoint just the man to help bring it back to life.
Gary Ralston, a former journalist, reflected on that Tuesday afternoon when Souness was unveiled, telling RangersTV: “I first started watching Rangers when there was just 18,000 at Ibrox so I hadn’t really known success.
“But when we got Souness it was a reminder for my generation that we supported a club with some substance.
“We need to remember that Souness was only 33 and to think he would consider coming here as a player/manager.
“He saw the challenge of it and what he could do here. It was the lift that the place needed. They said it was the reawakening of a sleeping giant and that was the best way to describe it.
In the current climate of the 24/7 news cycle, a development akin to Souness’ unveiling would have lost much of its lustre.
The media would be well ahead in its reporting and every minute of a new manager’s movement would be documented.
This, however, wasn’t the case in 1986 which meant that when Souness was introduced as Rangers player/manager by Holmes the shock and awe factor was palpable.
Journalist Stephen Halliday, a reporter for Rangers News at the time, said: “It was the most remarkable press conference I’ve ever been at in my career.
“They had to announce the previous day that they were in negotiations with Graeme. I think David had hoped he could pull a rabbit out of a hat at the press conference but the stories were leaking out.
“David had to take command of that and announce him the day before after dismissing Jock Wallace. But even though people knew Graeme Souness was coming, the sense of anticipation in the Blue Room that day was remarkable.
“There were a lot of journalists who had seen it all before but the magnitude of the moment was amazing when Graeme walked through the door.
“Everyone at the time knew David Holmes had done it. It was solely his idea and he had come up with the name of Graeme Souness. He kept it tightly knit and he deserves all the credit for Graeme coming to the football club.”
Campbell Ogilvie, a trusted lieutenant of Holmes and the club’s general secretary at the time, continued: “I remember the day that David announced Graeme was coming, the journalists in the Blue Room couldn’t believe it. It was a very bold move.
“In those days you could make decisions and keep them under your hat. With social media nowadays, it would have been publicised.
“David worked with the board and we could keep things totally confidential. It was all below the radar.”
For Holmes himself, the only disappointment was that word of Souness’ arrival seeped out.
The chief executive had devised a plan to get Souness to Ibrox, finalise details of his release cause with Sampdoria and announce him to the media without a trace.
And yet he was still taken aback by the levels of astonishment on the faces of the press pack when Souness emerged into the Blue Room.
Speaking to RangersTV as part of RTV Studios’ feature-length documentary Rangers Revolution – The David Holmes Story, he reflected on the sequence of events: “It got to the Monday and everything was set up. Tuesday morning, Graeme was coming.
“I thought we could keep it hidden on the Tuesday and announce it on the Wednesday but at around 10am in the morning I got a phone call to say that Jim White had the story.
“We had signed him but hadn’t gotten his release clause from Sampdoria. It was all rushed and we got the final papers sent over to their president.
“He got them signed and faxed them back to us so we were all set. At 5pm we scheduled the press conference because I didn’t want Jim to get the final say on the 6pm news.
“We had the press conference and Campbell didn’t know much about it at the time. I got him to write a script that Graeme was coming in.
“The press all turned up in the Blue Room and Campbell read out the announcement that I had met Jock Wallace in Strathclyde Park that morning and told him it was all over.
“Alec Cameron was standing not too far away from us and shouted, ‘tell us something we don’t know,’ and I responded, ‘sorry, wait until Campbell finishes.’
“He then read out that we had negotiated the release of Graeme Souness from Sampdoria and he was becoming our player/manager. There was a deathly hush. No one could quite believe it.”
Although Souness would assume his role as player/manager at Ibrox only following the conclusion of the World Cup in Mexico, there was the sense that Rangers had closed the page on a barren chapter in the club’s history.
Suddenly, Ibrox became the destination for the cream of English football. The wage structure began to reflect the enormity of the club and Rangers were able to pinch signings from under the nose of their city rivals in the form of Mo Johnston.
Ralston added: “I remember queuing from 4am to get tickets for a UEFA Cup game against Borussia Monchengladbach.
“I also remember going to places like Brockville and you were hanging off the fences to try and get into the match.
“There was a palpable sense of relief when Rangers clinched European football by finishing fifth with a 2-0 win over Motherwell.
“It was a joyous time to be a Rangers fan because suddenly there was investment coming into the club and we were being linked with these amazing international players.”
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