30 years ago today

[Marvin]

Celtic supporting colleague has just told me it was 30 years ago today that the team formerly known as rangers signed Maurice Johnston. Don't remember too much when he played for us due to work commitments. However at the time it was quite a topical signing.

[martoon]

21 minutes ago, Marvin said:

Celtic supporting colleague has just told me it was 30 years ago today that the team formerly known as rangers signed Maurice Johnston. Don't remember too much when he played for us due to work commitments. However at the time it was quite a topical signing.

 

I was in Antwerp when Rangers signed him. Headline news there, albeit in Flemish.

 

I was chuffed when we signed him. Thought he did well for us and gave 100%. Also recall we signed him in the days leading up to the Hibs/Rangers League Cup final and the Hibby squealing about us stealing their thunder. Idiots.

[iantjambo]

11 minutes ago, martoon said:

 

I was in Antwerp when Rangers signed him. Headline news there, albeit in Flemish.

 

I was chuffed when we signed him. Thought he did well for us and gave 100%. Also recall we signed him in the days leading up to the Hibs/Rangers League Cup final and the Hibby squealing about us stealing their thunder. Idiots.

 

Wasn’t he one of the players that Tommy McLean ripped into and said wasn’t pulling their weight.

I thought he did well for us.

[martoon]

4 minutes ago, iantjambo said:

 

Wasn’t he one of the players that Tommy McLean ripped into and said wasn’t pulling their weight.

I thought he did well for us.

 

McLean did appear to force him out. Got the impression, rightly or wrongly, that it was a personal thing against Johnston. 

[Rocky jamboa]

I met mojo in town when he played for us and he wasnt a fan of Tommy mclean. Said one of the players would knock him out before the end of the season! Despite us having a relatively good season, tommy mclean was released/sacked a few weeks later! 

 

He was a nice guy. Quite flash, ordering champagne, loads of girls round him etc but happy to chat away about Hearts and football. 

 

 

[Thomaso]

1 hour ago, Marvin said:

Celtic supporting colleague has just told me it was 30 years ago today that the team formerly known as rangers signed Maurice Johnston. Don't remember too much when he played for us due to work commitments. However at the time it was quite a topical signing.

 

He was a big let down at Hearts.

[Салатные палочки]

19 minutes ago, Paulp74 said:

I met mojo in town when he played for us and he wasnt a fan of Tommy mclean. Said one of the players would knock him out before the end of the season! Despite us having a relatively good season, tommy mclean was released/sacked a few weeks later! 

 

He was a nice guy. Quite flash, ordering champagne, loads of girls round him etc but happy to chat away about Hearts and football. 

 

 

 

We avoided a relegation play-off by two points. 

[martoon]

Seems like McLean was our Clough/Leeds moment.

[Heartsofgold]

8 minutes ago, martoon said:

Seems like McLean was our Clough/Leeds moment.

 

Tommy McLean was a ****ing disaster for us.

[been here before]

1 hour ago, Paulp74 said:

I met mojo in town when he played for us and he wasnt a fan of Tommy mclean. Said one of the players would knock him out before the end of the season! Despite us having a relatively good season, tommy mclean was released/sacked a few weeks later! 

 

He was a nice guy. Quite flash, ordering champagne, loads of girls round him etc but happy to chat away about Hearts and football. 

 

 

 

Wasnt it Johnston who was the subject of the the story about setting light to £20 notes (still a decent sum when he played for us) in some club in the town?

[Sherbet]

Using notes to light cigars,when asked why,replied cos I can afford it

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, Heartsofgold said:

 

Tommy McLean was a ****ing disaster for us.

 

Never liked him. Hamster faced arsehole.

[4marsbars]

He was a great player who did well for us. I can't think about him without remembering probably the best (non-Hearts) game I ever attended.

 

 

[been here before]

23 minutes ago, Sherbet said:

Using notes to light cigars,when asked why,replied cos I can afford it

 

Nah not that one.

 

Supposedlly getting roasted all night off some punter giving it the 'you're not up to much Johnston' routine. He was apparantly quite tolerant of said piss head but the boy wouldnt leave it. He kept giving it 'Im better looking than you, I could have any woman, Ive got more talent...' to which Johnston was agreeing to for the sake of a quiet night without bother.

 

The end seems to have came when the boy gave it one last go with 'youre nothing special, I can do whatever you can do'. 

 

Johnston then pulled out a wad of 20s, put them in an ashtray, got a lighter and torched them before turning round and saying 'go on then, can you do that?'.

 

Probably not true but I like it anyway.

Edited July 9, 2019 by been here before

[Morgan]

During his brief spell with us, he became a bit of a regular in our local.

 

He loved a white tracksuit/shellsuit type thing and the heavy gold chain round his neck. 

 

He also appeared to love himself.

[Locky]

37 minutes ago, been here before said:

 

Nah not that one.

 

Supposedlly getting roasted all night off some punter giving it the 'you're not up to much Johnston' routine. He was apparantly quite tolerant of said piss head but the boy wouldnt leave it. He kept giving it 'Im better looking than you, I could have any woman, Ive got more talent...' to which Johnston was agreeing to for the sake of a quiet night without bother.

 

The end seems to have came when the boy gave it one last go with 'youre nothing special, I can do whatever you can do'. 

 

Johnston then pulled out a wad of 20s, put them in an ashtray, got a lighter and torched them before turning round and saying 'go on then, can you do that?'.

 

Probably not true but I like it anyway.

When worded like that, it sounds pretty ****ing funny actually.

[Paolo]

42 minutes ago, been here before said:

 

Nah not that one.

 

Supposedlly getting roasted all night off some punter giving it the 'you're not up to much Johnston' routine. He was apparantly quite tolerant of said piss head but the boy wouldnt leave it. He kept giving it 'Im better looking than you, I could have any woman, Ive got more talent...' to which Johnston was agreeing to for the sake of a quiet night without bother.

 

The end seems to have came when the boy gave it one last go with 'youre nothing special, I can do whatever you can do'. 

 

Johnston then pulled out a wad of 20s, put them in an ashtray, got a lighter and torched them before turning round and saying 'go on then, can you do that?'.

 

Probably not true but I like it anyway.

Wasn’t a fan of him.  Felt he was disappointing for us. 

 

I do hope that story is true, though. 

[Morgan]

48 minutes ago, been here before said:

 

Nah not that one.

 

Supposedlly getting roasted all night off some punter giving it the 'you're not up to much Johnston' routine. He was apparantly quite tolerant of said piss head but the boy wouldnt leave it. He kept giving it 'Im better looking than you, I could have any woman, Ive got more talent...' to which Johnston was agreeing to for the sake of a quiet night without bother.

 

The end seems to have came when the boy gave it one last go with 'youre nothing special, I can do whatever you can do'. 

 

Johnston then pulled out a wad of 20s, put them in an ashtray, got a lighter and torched them before turning round and saying 'go on then, can you do that?'.

 

Probably not true but I like it anyway.

It’s a cracking wee story  

 

Fair play to him if it’s true.

[Debut 4]

4 hours ago, Marvin said:

Celtic supporting colleague has just told me it was 30 years ago today that the team formerly known as rangers signed Maurice Johnston. Don't remember too much when he played for us due to work commitments. However at the time it was quite a topical signing.

Don’t know what the fuss wiz? He was half and half.

 

His Dad was Protestant. 

 

 

 

[been here before]

4 hours ago, Marvin said:

Celtic supporting colleague has just told me it was 30 years ago today that the team formerly known as rangers signed Maurice Johnston. Don't remember too much when he played for us due to work commitments. However at the time it was quite a topical signing.

 

Incidently your Sellick supporting pal is wrong. Its 30 years tomorrow since he signed for Der Hun. Might have been 30 years ago today he said he was signing for Sellick mind.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

3 hours ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

We avoided a relegation play-off by two points. 

Aye - Alan McLaren header kept us up, 1-0 away to Thistle.

[Hibs Nil]

2 hours ago, 4marsbars said:

He was a great player who did well for us. I can't think about him without remembering probably the best (non-Hearts) game I ever attended.

 

 

From the Ryan McGowan school of diving headers!

 

[Shanks said no]

I was in northern Greece at the time in a small village away from everything. I knew nothing about Maurice signing until I noticed a posh English Bursd reading a broadsheet in a local bar. I asked her if I could have a look at her paper and couldn't believe Rangers had done it.

She saw my reaction and said "terrible isn't it?" I looked at her a bit puzzled and she said "Laurence Olivier dying?", she was a bit shocked by my response "what are you talking about, Rangers just signed a ****ing catholic". Well I was a little surprised.

 

Just checked the dates and it must have been about 3 days later as LO died on the 11th.

[alwaysthereinspirit]

2 hours ago, 4marsbars said:

He was a great player who did well for us. I can't think about him without remembering probably the best (non-Hearts) game I ever attended.

 

 

Great game. Leighton going down in shifts for their goal. Classic Dalglish.

[martoon]

4 hours ago, Heartsofgold said:

 

Tommy McLean was a ****ing disaster for us.

 

Aye. I remember. 

 

4-2 v. Rangers was a great night, a Monday iirc, but not much else. 

 

0-1 Airdrie is still the most depressing afternoon I've experienced at Hampden. There had been a few before that but McLean's semi final exceeded them. 

 

Quite an achievement. 

[martoon]

1 hour ago, been here before said:

 

Incidently your Sellick supporting pal is wrong. Its 30 years tomorrow since he signed for Der Hun. Might have been 30 years ago today he said he was signing for Sellick mind.

 

[Салатные палочки]

1 hour ago, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

Aye - Alan McLaren header kept us up, 1-0 away to Thistle.

 

Was that not the previous season. McLean season I remember beating Motherwell last game and the place was rocking. 

[martoon]

6 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

Was that not the previous season. McLean season I remember beating Motherwell last game and the place was rocking. 

 

Aye. 

 

We were all but safe in 1994 after beating Dundee Utd in the penultimate game the week before. Only a very heavy defeat at Firhill and other teams winning could relegate us. 

 

Still remember the Thistle fans panicking when we scored the late winner. It could have relegated them, but didn't. 

 

Good times. 

Edited July 9, 2019 by martoon

[Rocky jamboa]

4 hours ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

We avoided a relegation play-off by two points. 

Ah did we?! I thought we had done ok under him! Did we maybe get off to a good start when he first came in, then rapidly went down hill? 

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11 minutes ago, Paulp74 said:

Ah did we?! I thought we had done ok under him! Did we maybe get off to a good start when he first came in, then rapidly went down hill? 

 

We had some good results tbf. Beat Rangers twice in the space of weeks and were unbeaten against Celtic, including two wins. Unfortunately he overseen Hibs breaking our unbeaten record against them, bloody Airdrie beating us in the Semi final and that absolute shitshow of a second half v. St Johnstone in the League Cup amongst other results. 

 

He did sign Jim Bett though. 

[SectionDJambo]

My recollection is that McLean was rumoured to be annoyed that Johnston was on £1,000 a week, or game. A big wage back then, he had been signed by Sandy Clark, I think.

McLean came with a big reputation, brought in by the Pieman, but didn't seem to take long to piss off the players. Not a good season for us.

[Rocky jamboa]

10 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

We had some good results tbf. Beat Rangers twice in the space of weeks and were unbeaten against Celtic, including two wins. Unfortunately he overseen Hibs breaking our unbeaten record against them, bloody Airdrie beating us in the Semi final and that absolute shitshow of a second half v. St Johnstone in the League Cup amongst other results. 

 

He did sign Jim Bett though. 

Was it him in charge v Airdrie?! 😡 

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

33 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

Was that not the previous season. McLean season I remember beating Motherwell last game and the place was rocking. 

I think you're right. Began t doubt myself after I posted. Two really crap seasons on the bounce (barring the odd result).

[i wish jj was my dad]

6 hours ago, martoon said:

 

McLean did appear to force him out. Got the impression, rightly or wrongly, that it was a personal thing against Johnston. 

I have no doubt it was personal. Whatever other faults MJ had he performed on the park.

[Салатные палочки]

22 minutes ago, Paulp74 said:

Was it him in charge v Airdrie?! 😡 

 

There was also something about him keeping Kevin Thomas on v. Dundee United in the previous round after he was injured which basically left him a crock. I could be wrong there though. 

[i wish jj was my dad]

2 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

There was also something about him keeping Kevin Thomas on v. Dundee United in the previous round after he was injured which basically left him a crock. I could be wrong there though. 

Yip. Thomas knee was completely goosed and the wee prick wouldn't take him off. 

[Hectormasson]

6 hours ago, Heartsofgold said:

 

Tommy McLean was a ****ing disaster for us.

Wee feckin naff at hearts he was, airdrie 1 hearts 0 at hampden    he was the mastermind behind that too !!!

[martoon]

1 hour ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

I have no doubt it was personal. Whatever other faults MJ had he performed on the park.

 

Agreed.

 

Word I heard, at the time, was that MJ's Celtic background and subsequent "sullying" of the Rangers shirt was a big issue. 

 

Allegedly. 

 

But not by me. 

[Mr Benn]

Remember Johnston saying somewhere that his time at us was the only time in his career he felt he never gave 100% in terms of fitness. Miserable season all round. Signing Brian Hamilton. 

[i wish jj was my dad]

6 hours ago, martoon said:

 

Agreed.

 

Word I heard, at the time, was that MJ's Celtic background and subsequent "sullying" of the Rangers shirt was a big issue. 

 

Allegedly. 

 

But not by me. 

I've no idea if that is true but I'm happy to believe that warped wee reptile carried that sort of grudge.

[Paolo]

Is he responsible for Craig Nelson, too? 

[Harry Potter]

15 hours ago, Heartsofgold said:

 

Tommy McLean was a ****ing disaster for us.

He looked like a hamster or was that someone else.

[Joey J J Jr Shabadoo]

1 hour ago, Paolo said:

Is he responsible for Craig Nelson, too? 

Yes. Didn't he almost let all the youngsters go, too. Jefferies came in and played them and the rest is history. 

[Say What Again]

Bit about MoJo signing for Rangers 30 years ago, on the BBC today.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/48928045

 

 

[Heartsofgold]

1 hour ago, Harry Potter said:

He looked like a hamster or was that someone else.

 

No, that was him.  Gerbil/hamster faced fukwit.  He nearly ran us into the ground, had no man management skils and was in charge when we lost in the semi to Airdrie.

[Harry Potter]

35 minutes ago, Heartsofgold said:

 

No, that was him.  Gerbil/hamster faced fukwit.  He nearly ran us into the ground, had no man management skils and was in charge when we lost in the semi to Airdrie.

Aye mind that semi well, sure robbo had the ball over the line in the 1st game.

[Carl Fredrickson]

MoJo did ok for us but my memory was that Robinson didnt want him to play as his appearance fee was too costly to us. MJ had a great spell at Falkirk )think JJ might have been manager at the time) and I was pleased when we signed him. 

 

Got a stadium tour when JJ was boss and Peter Houston showed us round. In the players lounge there was squad photos of every year apart from McLeans season. Peter Houston said that Gary Locke was singing and dancing when TC got sacked and he put the team photo in the bin. 

 

Sandy Clark had played a few youngsters (think he was promoted to manager from youth or reserve coach) and TC wouldnt play them. IIRC we played a game at Killie and rather than play a youngester he played Walter Kidd at centre half. Kidd was about 38 and was only registered as a player to assist the kids in the reserves.  JJ  did and we saw Johnston, Lock and Ritchie perform well. Would also say McManus started well until a howler of a game versus Aberdeen. 

 

I have never detested anyone at Hearts like I did McLean.

[Norm]

Tommy McLean is the worst manager in my time supporting Hearts. Malofeev, Csaba, Korobochka, all better than that Hamster faced *****. 

[Forever Hearts]

1 hour ago, Harry Potter said:

Aye mind that semi well, sure robbo had the ball over the line in the 1st game.

Dave McPherson header. 

[Салатные палочки]

I've said it before but had we beaten Airdrie I think we would have won the cup. We hadn't lost to Celtic that season and had already beaten them at Hampden. 

 

Now imagine that. Hamster Chops going down as a legend at the club.