We do remember Gazza with great affection, but the decision from Rangers’ social media team to push his Aberdeen masterclass from 1996 was a dubious one.
Today is the 30th anniversary of Paul Gascoigne’s virtuoso performance against Aberdeen to secure the Scottish league title for Rangers.
The Geordie genius recorded a magnificent hat-trick to confirm Rangers eighth consecutive league title.
One year later, that night at Tannadice secured the nine.
Aberdeen actually scored first on 28 April 1996, but Brian Irvine’s goal was cancelled out within a couple of minutes thanks to Gazza’s poise and precision.
Into the second half, a penetrating run and precise finish brought Walter Smith’s team into the lead, then his penalty secured a hat-trick and the title.
What a performance. It still reverberates to this day, bringing us on to the social media post.
Comfort blanket of the past
Obviously, the social media team had the best intentions and were marking the day honestly, but the presentation of Gazza and 8IAR with the ‘gamechangers’ tag doesn’t sit well in the context of the present day.
Plenty of fans vented their frustration and opinions after the post on the anniversary.
Danny Rohl’s Rangers required a game changer on Sunday, but none emerged, as a vital chance to maintain title momentum was squandered.
Rangers fans are a tough crowd, but we need more in the here and now and not the comfort blanket of how good things were 30 years ago.
That’s the honest truth.
