Mo Johnston

LJ50 said:
Back in the days of very few televised games and being too young to regularly go to games, I hadn’t really seen Johnston playing for them so didn’t really associate him with Celtic. During his time in France, I’d started going to all of our games but also to Scotland games and although I knew the background, I absolutely loved him and thought he was a fantastic player.

I was gutted to see that picture of him and Billy McNeill and that he was going back there. So when he signed for us, I was as excited as I have ever been for a transfer.

We were on holiday and I sprinted back to the poolside with the previous day’s Daily Record chucked it at my mum and dad as I jumped into the pool fully clothed and screaming “we’ve signed Mo Johnston”. My folks thought I’d lost my tiny mind until they looked at the paper and saw that iconic picture of Souness and Mo in the Blue Room.

We definitely got his best season, and a good first half to his second season before Ally and Hateley absolutely took over as first choice. But Johnston’s work-rate, intelligence, composed finishing and height-defying ability in the air made him a fantastic player for us.
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We were on holiday too, but flew back the day after he signed. I can remember getting into the taxi at Glasgow Airport and my old man asking the driver if anything had been happening....

It was a masterstroke, it utterly broke them, and they still hate the fact that it was a bigger deal to them that we signed a Catholic than it was for us.
 
Big Hepy said:
Fun fact, I worked with Mo's wife's brother in The Hoover. Tam Bell is the brother of Karen, Mo's wife. Even shitter news I also worked with Fraser Wisharts dad in there too.
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Fun fact, in my final days of school back in May ‘87 when Johnston was still playing for the Beggars (think we’d already won the title), I was surprised to find him at a bus stop just along from my house looking at a map of the local area.

He turned around as I approached, startling me as I realised who it was, and asked what road we were on.

I told him without really thinking about it then just proceeded on to the school.

“Shoulda told him ‘Copland Road, ya wank!’” was the unanimous verdict from everyone else.
 
Footage collected by 'Rangers Archives' capturing some of the the initial reaction to Mo signing. Someone that I worked with at the time actually handed their season ticket back, though he regretted it several months later!

 
I remember being in that wee corner stand at Tannadice, it wasn't quite hospitality but we were in beside a lot of the players family and Mo,s mum & dad were sitting next to us.
Now his ma was a " Bet Lynch " lookalike, leapord skin coat and the bee hive hair do.
His dad had a very old Rangers scarf on & he quite willingly told us he'd been waiting all his life for his son to play for us & the scarf was a throw back to his youth.
Side note we got beat that day, I think Terry Butcher scored an OG in what might have been his last game for us .
 
Came back from Nantes a more accomplished, technically gifted player.

I’d say we got the best 2yrs of his career.

Just came across this on his Wiki page…

“Rangers' kitman Jimmy Bell protested by making Johnston arrange his own kit and withholding from him the chocolate bars dispensed to other players until he scored against Celtic.[11] He won over a lot of Rangers fans in November 1989, when he scored a late winning goal in an Old Firm derby match.” :D
 
cloodie said:
I'm relying on memory here so I could be wrong but I'm sure that Smith said that he felt Mo had slipped back a little in terms of returning to his old ways etc. He came back from France with a whole new level of professionalism but after a couple of years in Scotland that wasn't quite the case anymore.
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First season he scored an incredible amount of important goals - winners against Aberdeen, Hearts, Mothewell and Celtic. Equalisers at Fir Park and Tannadice. That's 10 points alone he won us on his tod. He had a lot to prove and he did it in spades TBF.

Last 18 months here he scored more goals but a lot of them were against jobbers. He was no longer doing it when it mattered.

90/91 - He scored 19 but 8 of them were against East Stirling, Kilmarnock and Valletta. Only scored twice after December as well.

91/92 - Scored 11 before he left in November but they were against Queens Park, Thistle, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Airdrie and Falkirk.
 
AbronhillBear said:
Super Maurice Johnston breaks their hearts even til this day. As has been said many times before his old man was probably the proudest man alive the day he signed for us.

Was a brave thing he done coming to us and he should be remembered very fondly for not only that but what he done on the park.

Mo mo super Mo
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Never heard the thing about his old man - was he a Bear?
 
Mo Johnston was superb for that first season and a half at Ibrox.
He clearly loved playing with McCoist, Walters & Steven in particular and linked up well with all of them.
Watch that 89/90 season - McCoist, Johnston & Walters are virtually playing as a front 3 and passing the ball between themselves to cause opponents all kind of trouble.

By the end of 1990 the novelty of the move had worn off a bit and the threat of Hateley coming in and clearly being the main striker with one or other of McCoist & Johnston might have upset Johnston more than McCoist.
There was talk of Johnston was having more nights out than he should have and, as someone said earlier, it was the pattern for Johnston to be at a club for a couple of seasons and then move on. Looking back, he was probably a bit bored of it all and grew itchy feet.


The incident in Italy during the summer (I’m sure I’ve also read that Johnston had a right go at a Souness for breaking up his partnership with McCoist) was the beginning of the end.
His final goal for Rangers secured a point at home to Falkirk, which might not sound great but it was Johnston doing what he did for so much of his time at Rangers in getting important goals in tight games.

None of that should diminish what a good player he was, what a good player for Rangers he was, and what an enormous set of balls he had to make a move that Houghton & Collins had shat it from.

Mo Johnston is hated by Celtic fans who weren’t born when he signed for Rangers.
That should end any debate about who has a problem with Catholics playing for Rangers.
 
RabSpackman said:
Mo Johnston was superb for that first season and a half at Ibrox.
He clearly loved playing with McCoist, Walters & Steven in particular and linked up well with all of them.
Watch that 89/90 season - McCoist, Johnston & Walters are virtually playing as a front 3 and passing the ball between themselves to cause opponents all kind of trouble.

By the end of 1990 the novelty of the move had worn off a bit and the threat of Hateley coming in and clearly being the main striker with one or other of McCoist & Johnston might have upset Johnston more than McCoist.
There was talk of Johnston was having more nights out than he should have and, as someone said earlier, it was the pattern for Johnston to be at a club for a couple of seasons and then move on. Looking back, he was probably a bit bored of it all and grew itchy feet.


The incident in Italy during the summer (I’m sure I’ve also read that Johnston had a right go at a Souness for breaking up his partnership with McCoist) was the beginning of the end.
His final goal for Rangers secured a point at home to Falkirk, which might not sound great but it was Johnston doing what he did for so much of his time at Rangers in getting important goals in tight games.

None of that should diminish what a good player he was, what a good player for Rangers he was, and what an enormous set of balls he had to make a move that Houghton & Collins had shat it from.

Mo Johnston is hated by Celtic fans who weren’t born when he signed for Rangers.
That should end any debate about who has a problem with Catholics playing for Rangers.
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Was it not supposedly Hateley who gave him a doing since he was getting it in the neck during the argument ?
 
Optimus_Prime said:
Why did super mo only last two seasons with us?

Did the pressure from the bheasts from the East finally get to him?

He was an outstanding striker who I idolised when I was younger.
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Johnston was the type of player/person who needed to move on fairly frequently to keep him fresh.

Every 2 years or so.
 
Remember hearing a story direct from an ex-teammate of Johnston's of the wild parties he hosted at his house pre-Rangers. Won't relay the exact details but it would make Silvio Berlusconi blush.

Loved him as a player for us, was my first OF at Ibrox, stood in the EE when he scored that last minute winner and celebrated right in front of us. Indelible memories.
 
SM™ said:
Trevor Steven is one of the finest Rangers players I have ever seen.

A little better than Gio van Bronckhorst was for us. That good. Seriously.

And Mo Johnston was and is a (rhymes with dunt) who should never have been allowed anywhere near a Rangers jersey.
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Your last sentence is idiotic.
Mo Johnston was a superb player for Rangers and that's all that matters.
 
SM™ said:
Do you remember his antics before their scrimping had him get tae France? The rat.
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Yes I do. Do you remember how great a player he was for Rangers and no doubt you,like every other Rangers fan, cheered his goal v them on 4th November 1989
 
SM™ said:
Trevor Steven is one of the finest Rangers players I have ever seen.

A little better than Gio van Bronckhorst was for us. That good. Seriously.

And Mo Johnston was and is a (rhymes with dunt) who should never have been allowed anywhere near a Rangers jersey.
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Trevor Steven was ok. He was the player being talked about when the phrase "you have to beat the first man" was first coined. It didn't matter how near or far the nearest defender was to him, he'd hit him.
 
A magnificent player who was excellent for Rangers. Loved him.

Ultimately Walter saved Ally’s Rangers career when he fostered the McCoist / Hateley partnership in 91/92, it took off and and Johnston was shipped out to Everton. He was never staying to sit on the bench.
 
Optimus_Prime said:
Why did super mo only last two seasons with us?

Did the pressure from the bheasts from the East finally get to him?

He was an outstanding striker who I idolised when I was younger.
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Think it was because McCoist and Hateley had become the settled partnership by then and of course he wouldn't be content to be the new Judge like Coisty was when Mo first arrived.
 
Was on a course in London when a Johnston was at Nantes. There was an England v Scotland game in which he played and as I was down there I got a ticket and went along to game. He was best player on pitch for me(we lost 1-0 to a Beardsley goal).

He looked far more skilful and accomplished than when he was with Celtic. Came back up road, told all my mates about him and was also worried that he‘d be going to Celtic.

Was delighted when Souness got him and thought he was great for us.
 
SDF said:
Was it not supposedly Hateley who gave him a doing since he was getting it in the neck during the argument ?
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That rings a bell - think that has come out recently, at the time it was the story of Johnston jumping on to a bed that the mattress was removed from.
I’m sure I’ve read he was complaining to Souness as well.

I think that’s the difference though - McCoist knuckled down and plugged away to win his place back.. Johnston moaned loudly and when it was clear that Smith was going for McCoist & Hateley he didn’t hang around.


Between coming in and battering one of the established strikers at the pre-season, then the fraught relationship with Duncan Ferguson.. big Hateley certainly wasn’t a wallflower when challenged :oops:
 
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RabSpackman said:
That rings a bell - think that has come out recently, at the time it was the story of Johnston jumping on to a bed that the mattress was removed from.
I’m sure I’ve read he was complaining to Souness as well.
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Ah yes, the old "Scott Nisbet doesn't sleep on a mattress because of his bad back" excuse :D
 
SM™ said:
I was still a child in 1989.

Now I am an adult.

And Mo Johnston has always been a bastard.
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If you were a child when Johnston played for us then it's unlikely that you remember much about him and how good he was for us. As he left that east end mob in 1987 it's more unlikely that you remember anything about him playing for them.
He was a great player for us, that's all that matters
 
Helstead said:
The truly funny thing about the whole signing was , a few months before he was wearing their top and they were so convinced he was resigning for them , to the manks it was a done deal.

Journalists were summoned to Ibrox for a Graeme Souness press conference, in which the Rangers boss would unveil a high-profile Catholic signing, the hacks showed up in a nonchalant mood. Their contacts had given them all the same name: Sheffield Wednesday’s Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan.

In walks Mo ....absolutely amazing.
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My memory of it was , he was pictured holding their top with B McNeil a day or so before a cup final , then signed for us a few days after that, might have been longer but that's only my recollection of it . The sporting world's biggest ever GIRFUY...... marvellous
 
cloodie said:
I'm relying on memory here so I could be wrong but I'm sure that Smith said that he felt Mo had slipped back a little in terms of returning to his old ways etc. He came back from France with a whole new level of professionalism but after a couple of years in Scotland that wasn't quite the case anymore.
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Back on the rolls on square sausage mate.

Happens to us all
 
Optimus_Prime said:
Why did super mo only last two seasons with us?

Did the pressure from the bheasts from the East finally get to him?

He was an outstanding striker who I idolised when I was younger.
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Walter didn't want him , neither did David Murray , it was souness . So the first thing Walter did when he became gaffer was punt him . I know because he came to our supporters club dance and told us
 
Googsly 8 said:
My memory of it was , he was pictured holding their top with B McNeil a day or so before a cup final , then signed for us a few days after that, might have been longer but that's only my recollection of it . The sporting world's biggest ever GIRFUY...... marvellous
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No was the Friday before the last league game , we played Aberdeen ( they won 3-0) all of Ibrox singing mo mo @@@@yer mo
 
I hated him playing for them, actually as a 14 year old cub , had to go to my bed ill the day he signed , but saying that I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING FOR A MO MO SUPER
MO in our team tonight
 
Googsly 8 said:
Cheers for that mate. Wasn't quite sure about dates etc , but can see the the picture , clear as a bell
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Cup final was the next week . Now get this the day we got the league trophy at Ibrox , bill McMurdo was there partying and souness made a throw away line ," I wish you'd told us he was available ,! McMurdo said " well it's not done yet , " .. and the rest is history
 
I remember pulling into a shop on the West coast highway in Western Australia, I bought the West Australian news paper, turned to the back page expecting to see all the Aussie Rules news then holy %^*& there it was Mo Johnstone signs for Rangers.
Never had Scottish football ever made the back page headlines before.
 
On
wee bud's pit boots said:
Maybe, just maybe, the poster you were replying to, didn't like the thought of Rangers signing a player, who had previously spat on a Rangers player previously?
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One of my favourite Rangers players ever was Ian Ferguson, the fact that he spat on a Dundee Utd player and future Rangers player didn't stop me from admiring Ferguson as a Rangers player.

The point in making us that these things happen in football, it's not nice but it happens and I'm quite sure that Stuart Munro got over it just like Petric did
 
Johansen said:
On
One of my favourite Rangers players ever was Ian Ferguson, the fact that he spat on a Dundee Utd player and future Rangers player didn't stop me from admiring Ferguson as a Rangers player.

The point in making us that these things happen in football, it's not nice but it happens and I'm quite sure that Stuart Munro got over it just like Petric did
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While it's abhorent behaviour, I don't see or get your argument. Your argument only applies if Fergie signed for Dundee Utd. That's the same set of circumstances.

Couldn't tell you what Munro thought.

Petric came for the dough, end of.
 
wee bud's pit boots said:
My own thought is that when Ally became the automatic striker again with Hateley, he couldn't wait to get away. The pressure from his own would obviously taken its toll as well.

The fact he'd never come back, or be allowed to to live again in his own country because of the hate from his own community speaks for itself.
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Agree, he wasn’t up for the fight that Ally showed to get back in the team.
 
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