Tearful tributes as Ibrox said goodbye
THE tributes to Walter Smith continued as steadily as the rain, expanding the great washes of colour attached to two corners of Ibrox Stadium.
Those arriving to attach scarves had to reach ever higher to find space on the giant iron gates that sit either side of the Bill Struth Main Stand. Below each, row upon row of flowers were laid neatly to lap against soaked-through jerseys and pinned-tight flags.
These displays of grief, gratitude and respect had started to form the day before, but their boundaries grew in the hours leading up to kick-off last night.
With hoods pulled tight, huddled under umbrellas or simply braving the seemingly ceaseless downpours, people of all ages arrived to commemorate Smith’s passing.
Husbands and wives. Kids on the shoulders of their parents. A man in overalls who had finished his shift before taking a detour to a florist and then Ibrox on his way home.
There were those dressed in smart suits, too. At lunchtime, Rangers players and management laid wreaths in Smith’s memory below the statue of John Greig that marks the 1971 Ibrox Disaster.
Steven Gerrard walked with Gary McAllister, having handwritten a message that nestled amid red, white and blue flowers.
Steven Davis and Allan McGregor, two players who won titles with Rangers during Smith’s second spell, were joined by club captain James Tavernier.
A delegation from Celtic arrived a little earlier in the day. Chairman Ian Bankier, interim chief executive Michael Nicholson and club ambassador Tom Boyd, an Old Firm rival during Smith’s first Ibrox tenure, paid their respects to Smith at the same spot.
The wreath from Parkhead sat between similar tributes from the Falkirk True Blues and the Newmains Loyal. It felt appropriate for a man whose decency and dignity transcended Glasgow’s tribal borders.
Before yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Aberdeen, Dons chairman Dave Cormack and non-executive director Stewart Milne laid a wreath.
In front lay a Rangers jersey with ‘Manchester 08’ written on it. That run to the UEFA Cup final was referenced in many places you looked.
Fans who had been too young for the 1972 Cup-Winners’ Cup triumph, perhaps even too young for Nine-in-a-Row during Smith’s initial period in charge, were given their own moments to cherish.
Years from now, they will still talk of Steven Whittaker’s extraordinary goal in Lisbon, of Nacho Novo’s winning penalty in Florence. The trophy eluded Rangers in the end, but that didn’t diminish the scale of the achievement.
‘Thank you for the best memories of our lives,’ it said on one flag. The sentiment was shared in many other dedications. They were made out to Sir Walter, to the gaffer, to the godfather and to Mr Rangers.
These who brought them stood back and watched others follow suit. Some took photographs, some exchanged thoughts, some simply stood in silent reflection and in defiance of the Glasgow skies opening above them.
Around the corner, an Aberdeen kit van appeared mid-afternoon and began unloading. No one took much notice. Remembering the past felt more important than considering the immediate future.
But a game was approaching. Craig Moore and Kevin Thomson, who worked under Smith in different spells at Ibrox, arrived at the ground to convey memories of their former manager during the build-up on the club’s television channel.
‘He was such an amazing man, a wonderful human being,’ said Australian Moore, who was given a debut aged 18 by Smith in 1994.
‘I was a young lad, coming from the other side of the world and the first year it was really hard to settle being away from my family.
‘I remember Walter used to invite me into his office downstairs at the stadium. We’d have a chat and he’d make sure I was settled and enjoying it. Himself, Archie Knox and John MacGregor would then clear the office and he’d demand I call my folks back in Australia. That shows the type of person he was.
‘He had an aura and he knew how to manage people.’
‘It didn’t matter if you were Paul Gascoigne, Brian Laudrup or Craig Moore. Everyone was treated the same way.’
Thomson, now in management with Kelty Hearts, was part of the 2008 UEFA Cup final team.
‘Everyone knows how much the manager meant to me,’ he said. ‘He was a role model, someone who gave me an opportunity to play for a wonderful club.’
The poignancy of a minute’s silence at kick-off was preceded by the unfurling of a giant banner. Beneath a white-on-black Rangers crest were the words.
‘For deeds done and glories won, thank you Walter.’ On the pitch, Gerrard’s side could not quite deliver the victory they desperately wanted on such an emotional night.
Rangers will win plenty of games in the future. That’s certain. Never again, though, will this club bid farewell to someone quite like Smith.