The Bear's Den

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The Glasgow Express had an early start. 0521 Hours! As usual, I am influenced by the price. The price is dictated by the route. Why else would be heading to Warrington? East Midlands Trains had it all under control and l was relieved that the train meandered on it's way bang on time. The pressure of the being the organiser. The other early morning punters were scarce. They clearly had less exciting destinations and were not planning to be the people! The journey was generally uneventful. The East Leake Loyal complemented the catering arrangements. The Manchester commuters boarded at Stockport. The traffic snarling on the M60 below suggested they had made a good decision. I had a flashback to the unhappy days being based at Regent House. It was too dark to get a sighting of the salvation that was Pineapple. The student food institution that was Asda in Longsight was next on the horizon, followed by the Etihad Stadium became the 1st ground spot, as we approached Manchester Picadilly. A surprising number stayed on the train after the Manchester stations - perhaps there are more jobs on Merseyside these days. They have the misfortune to pass the Theatre of Dreams - ground spot Number 2 - the fortress that is the new home of David Moyes.

We alighted at Warrington Central and needed to get across to Bank Quay to connect with the Virgin train north. It was 8 am. but Warrington was still asleep. The town centre was thoughtfully full of direction signposts, although bizarrely not right outside the station entrance. After the initial hiccup, we completed the brisk 15 minute walk and arrived at Bank Quay with plenty to spare. It was wisely not tackled with heavy luggage, although the East Leake Loyal's collection of Stone Island did appear to weigh heavy! There were clearly more Stones than Island in the bag. The 0827 Hours was also bang on time. The first impressions were poor. I know it was cheap ticket, but staring at a plastic pillar instead of a window for nearly 3 hours is pushing the description of a "window seat" to it's limit. The leg room also left a lot to be desired as well. We moved. The Lake District would at least be visible from our new perch. The carriage displayed the proud boast that their was free wifi and enhanced mobile coverage on no less than 4 networks. I proceeded to text the wife with this great facility. Virgin train, Virgin mobile - this would be piece of cake! Alas, no signal.....even the Samsung Galaxy next door drew a blank in tapping into the enhancement. Normal mobile signal resumed somewhere after Wigan. Ground spot Number 3 loomed into view - Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium - it arguably counted as 2 spots given that egg chasing also has a home here. I recounted my first trip to Wigan's Springfield Park on 17 May 1982 for 0-0 draw in a testimonial match for the not so famous Noel Ward - rated by a certain website as 44 in the list of the top 50 players to represent Wigan Athletic.

The weather through the scenety in the Lake District was as predicted. Bleak! I didn't bother to check how we were doing on the enhanced mobile signal. The Pendelino trains tilt into bends to mazimise the speed. The buffet advertised tilting beer. A few England rugby fans experimented whether the adverts were genuine and carefully studied their increasing pile of bottles on their central table. The sun returned as we crossed the border. Passports not required for the time being. East Leake Loyal's 3rd crossing, but the other 2 don't reall count because they were for golf. There were no more scheduled stops after Carlisle. Ground spot Number 4 - Motherwell's Fir Park. This was becoming ground hopping from a train. I recounted my only trip versus Aberdeen in 1990, which was another 0-0 draw. The East Leake Loyal was probably dreading the score at Ibrox later that night, but if there had been a Ladbrokes (other bookmakers could be available) on the train he'd have been tempted by the odds for a goalless draw. The final stations passed thick and fast - Bothwell........former home of Celtic's dreadlocked one, Uddingston, Cambuslang....once the area for the vision of the New Paradise and finally Rutherglen.

We crossed the River Clyde again and Glasgow Central loomed. The good people at the Park Inn had rooms available for an early check-in and withing 20 minutes we were back at Central en route for Mount Florida. Florida it isn't, but it was quite pleasant for an early February afternoon. The Hampden Experience awaited. My last match experience - you've guessed it - 0-0 Scotland v Serbia. We had initially been booked on a tour of the Archibald Leitch architecture at Ibrox, but the well oiled administration machine that used to be Rangers had left the tours on the net by mistake. "We can't operate the tours on a matchday for security reasons", which was a shame as people had made their plans. A junior member of the staff is now probably part of the latest cost cutting exercise as a token effort to compensate for the 15% the players didn't want to part with. It surely wouldn't have happened in the old days, but as the Dunfirmline fans helpfully point out later in the evening .......... you're not Rangers anymore.

Little Hampden has disappeared. The area has been flattened to make way for a warm up track. It currently remains very flat. The SFA Museum and Hampden Experience was running regardless of the Commonwealth Games preparations, except that you can't walk out through the tunnels, sit in the dug outs or take photographs in the outside of the Stadium itself. The tour comprised of 4 people, East Leake Loyal, myself, a 6 year old and his Dad. I was confident the hardest shot in the group trophy was mine. We would see later. Mr Tour Leader was a Beano, who took great delight in describing Queens Park as a "wee" club at regular intervals. Queens Park are of course the host club at Hampden, who normally grace the turf in pursuit glory in the Scottish Lower Leagues. The Commonwealth Games have evicted them this season and sent them to Airdrie.The lack of a pitch was a clue. At least the Queens Park ball boys will be happy - the lack of a crowd to throw the balls back in a vast space like Hampden didn't make their life easy.

The tour begins with the changing rooms. East and West. Home and Away. Celtic and Rangers. They are all unlucky apparently, if you are a Hibee. The wooden lockers lined the walls, the hairdyers were on the wall for the vain footballer (or the Fergie treatment), but the fridges were empty of Irn Bru. The treatment rooms were surprisingly small. The baths were individual on the orders of UEFA. The referee's room were an excessive size. We headed into the warm up area. When music legends play the Stadium in the summer, this is converted into an "entertainment area" for them. The minds simultaneously thought about black leather couches and a bit of company, but apparently Eminem settled for arcade games and basketball hoops. Robbie Williams left it as it was and played football. A chance to have your shot electronically measured by the Hampden Hotshot machine. As predicted earlier, I romped to victory even with the left foot. The victory celebrations were somewhat tempered to find I was 10 points down on the lowest ranking member of the Scotland Ladies team! The Commonwealth Games construction had buried the dug outs beneath a platform and the first few rows of seats had also disappeared. The platform was being covered, but the track was not yet evident. The no photos security was clearly leftover paranoia from London 2012! Good job I have others on the Road to Rio.

After a quick food stop in Wetherspoons in the City Centre, we took the Subway to Ibrox. New York comes to Glasgow. The underground system - one loop of 6.5 miles - is actually the 3rd oldest such system in the world after London and Budapest and was opened in 1896. It's existence would probably come as a surprise to most visitors from south of the border. The train deposited us in Ibrox in less than 15 minutes. East Leake Loyal's firts steps near the hallowed turf. The pre-match pint at the Tavern across from the subway station was firmly closed for now, so we headed on to the ground for a photo shoot. Whatever anybody's views on this half of the Old Firm, the Ibrox Stadium was a masterpiece ahead of it's time. Whilst the rest of us scrambled around on decaying terracing or sat behind a post in cramped seat, Ibrox was a model of modernism that still retained the traditional Leitch Main Stand with the signature crosss pattern facade. It is difficult to comprehend that it is 33 years old. The Main Stand is worth a visit just to look at the outside! We took the obligatory photos of the gates and the Ibrox Disaster Memorial. East Leake Loyal took the opportunity to purchase from the mega store - the home of Bears merchandise. The Sports Direct roots were given away by the till receipt, which proudly states it's heritage in Shirebrook no less! The alternative Rangers gear was on sale at the outdoor pitches nearby. An interesting selection of pin badges and alternative scarves were "available on request".

The pre-match pint was interesting. The walls are decorated with legends past and present. The bar resembled the facade of Leitch's stand and flyers advertised audiences with the past greats at regular intervals. We moved next door into the lounge area,w hich bizarrely involved walking on to the street and back into next door. The landlord appeared on the tannoy to outline the rules of the pre-match party, which expressly forbid the indulgence in dubious songs. The VIPs were announced for the evening - Lee McCulloch's dad featured at the forefront. The PA played "Rangers" songs and the TVs showed all conquering moments from the Rangers team. The pint of Guinness was spot on, so there was no obvious total bias against all things emanating from Dublin. Free (and excellent) sandwiches were brought round to soak up the alcohol. The atmosphere was fairly good natured and friendly and the only sign of aggression came from a big lass who threatened a word with next person leaving the back door open en route for a fag. The atmosphere was encapsulated by the touching moment when a young man whispered sweet nothings in his girl's ear - she carried on quietly singing Carsons Army!

The match was a 4 - 0 massacre. The crowd size of only 19,000 was influenced by the decision to show the match live on BBC 1 Scotland, although most clubs would have been highly delighted to get anything close. The pre-match talking point centred around getting Celtic in the next round, although that would turn out to be a futile wish within 24 hours. Dunfirmline offered very little and the points gap in the League looked like it flattered them. Rangers romped to a 3-0 half time lead and dominated through the midfield probing of Law and the goals of Shiels. The prospect of a comeback was wiped out straight after half time with the 4th goal. It was difficult to tell whether Rangers were that good or Dunfirmline were that bad. The missing season ticket crew perhaps suggested the jury was still out, although the usual displays of loyalty from such as the Ballymena Loyal RSC still travelling on a Friday night suggested grounds for optimism. The much heralded and recent transfer target Lee Wallace did nothing to convince he could play in the higher English Leagues, although within 24 hours we had him described as the "best player in Scotland" in one random conversation. The proximity of the Govan Lower to the subway paid dividends and we were back in Wetherspoons within 20 minutes.

A successful mission all round. East Leake Loyal was staisfied with his inaugural Ibrox trip, but would he survive a day in Paradise across the Great Divide??

Appendix 1

Scottish FA Cup Round 5

Glasgow Rangers 4 Dunfirmline Athletic 0

Glasgow Rangers: Bell; Faure, McCulloch, Mohsni, Wallace; Aird (Peralta 71), Black, Law (Crawford 81), Templeton; Shiels (Little 75), Daly

Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Smith, Cribari, Foster.

Goals: Shiels 7, 23, 47 Templeton 36

Bookings: Mohsni, Templeton

Dunfirmline Athletic: Scully; Williamson, Whittle, Martin, Morris, Millen (Thomson 46), Byrne (El Bakhtaoui 46), Geggan, Wallace, Falkingham, Shankland (Moore 75).

Subs Not Used: Goodfellow, Young, Husband, Drummond

Bookings: Wallace, Morris

Referee: Bobby Madden

Attendance: 19,396

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Photos

Ibrox
John Grieg

Ibrox
Govan Stand - Dunfrimline fans make the back drop

Ibrox
The boisterous section of the Broomloan Stand

Hampden Park
Home of the wee club

Hampden Park
Hampden Hotshots - the warm up area