Manchester United v Rangers minus Battle of Britain tag - but Denis Law factor adds special edge

Old Trafford fixture reminds of past encounters

When Rangers travelled south for a now notorious so-called friendly meeting against Manchester United at Old Trafford in March 1974, the two teams were in A Very Bad Place.

That the game was even happening at all attested to the mire both clubs found themselves in at the time. It took place because both had unexpected free weekends after being dumped out of their respective national cup tournaments. Manchester United had come to grief at home at the hands of Ipswich Town in the FA Cup fourth round. Rangers, too, failed to make the most of home advantage and were thumped 3-0 by Dundee, punchily described by the sports writer Ian Archer as their “most ruinous Scottish Cup loss since that dark afternoon at Berwick…” The teams convened in Manchester on 9 March amid ugly scenes on the terraces.

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“It used to be the hope that Manchester United and Rangers would meet in the European Cup,” wrote the Sunday Post in their account of the game. “They never did. Now, with United fighting for their First Division lives and Rangers far removed from the glory days, it has happened because both have been dumped out of their national cup competitions.

Rangers players inspect the pitch before a press conference at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.Rangers players inspect the pitch before a press conference at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.
Rangers players inspect the pitch before a press conference at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025. | PA

“We settled down from the animal viciousness of the rival fans’ pre-match confrontations to a reasonable first half….”

Rangers won 3-2, for what it’s worth and that European Cup meet did not happen until 2003, when they clashed competitively for the first time. They did so again in the same tournament, now known as the Champions League of course, seven years later.

They lock horns once more on Thursday evening at Old Trafford, this time in Europe’s second-tier tournament. That’s an indication of their comparatively straitened circumstances although fans of Rangers might claim, with some justification, that meeting Manchester United in an attractive Europa League clash at Old Trafford is another milestone on their journey back from financial oblivion.

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For United supporters, it’s a measure of their club’s decline, particularly given the alarming noises emanating from Glasgow that the visitors actually quite fancy this. And why not? After all, this Manchester United side have been dismissed as “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United” by no less an authority as their own manager, Ruben Amorim.

‘Maybe’ is of course an important word in that sentence but the comment, made after Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion, has led to a slew of articles debating whether this team of Andre Onana, Matthijs de Ligt and Rasmus Hojlund really are United’s worst of all time.

The conclusion? It probably isn’t, although having suffered seven losses in 15 games under Amorim, four of them at home with an aggregate score 3-11, it’s easy to see where whatever optimism felt by Rangers is coming from.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement inspects the pitch before a press conference at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.Rangers manager Philippe Clement inspects the pitch before a press conference at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement inspects the pitch before a press conference at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025. | PA

It must be qualified by noting where Rangers are at present. Ask many supporters of the Ibrox side for views on the current team, and they might take a sharp intake of breath and grumble something about the manager living on borrowed time. When they can’t go to places like Fir Park, Easter Road and Dens Park and take all three points, what makes them think they can do so at Old Trafford?

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Of course, coming out on top isn’t such a critical issue. League points are not at stake, not Premiership ones at least. It’s not as if Rangers have to win – they don’t even have to draw, with a game against Union Saint-Gilloise still left to play. The new Europa League format means Rangers are likely already through to the knockout play-off stage after fine wins in Nice and Malmo.

It rather dampens the Battle of Britain hyperbole surrounding the fixture although there’s still plenty significance attached to the tie, not least because of the recent death of Denis Law.

Indeed, this sad news brings it all back home in a way that might not otherwise have been the case. Amorim v Philippe Clement is not exactly Alex Ferguson v Alex McLeish, the managers in charge when Rangers first met competitively in 2003, or Ferguson v Walter Smith in 2010.

These psychodramas wrote themselves before the players even stepped onto the pitch – the Govan-raised manager against a player who was a cornerstone of his success at Aberdeen and then, seven years later, against the former Dundee United assistant manager at the time of the New Firm apotheosis. I remember writing pieces framed by these obvious themes myself.

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Tributes in memory of Denis Law, at the foot of the United Trinity Statue,  outside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.Tributes in memory of Denis Law, at the foot of the United Trinity Statue,  outside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025.
Tributes in memory of Denis Law, at the foot of the United Trinity Statue, outside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. Picture date: Wednesday January 22, 2025. | PA

Law’s two statues at Old Trafford will be focal points before Thursday's game. They will be draped with Rangers scarves as well as Manchester United ones.

A few paragraphs from a piece written by Law have been circulating on social media once more in recent days following the great player’s death. Taken from The Rangers Players’ Story by Willie Allison and published in 1962, Law declares his apparent affection for the Rangers club. Although he grew up in Aberdeen and was an Aberdeen fan, as he himself emphasised in his own 2003-published autobiography, he recalls always ensuring that he paid to see “Glasgow Rangers” when they were at Pittodrie.

He contends that “a visit from the mighty men of Ibrox is something special in any town – a gala day”. It was something quite different on that afternoon in 1974. Some recall it as being the worst fan violence ever seen at Old Trafford. Law had moved on by then – back to Manchester City, following the dismaying news that he was being freed by Tommy Docherty, the Manchester United manager he had advised Sir Matt Busby to bring in.

Rangers' David Weir (right) is consoled by Uefa Cup ambassador Denis Law following the defeat to Zenit St Petersburg in the 2008 Uefa Cup final.Rangers' David Weir (right) is consoled by Uefa Cup ambassador Denis Law following the defeat to Zenit St Petersburg in the 2008 Uefa Cup final.
Rangers' David Weir (right) is consoled by Uefa Cup ambassador Denis Law following the defeat to Zenit St Petersburg in the 2008 Uefa Cup final. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602

Indeed, when Rangers visited Manchester, winning with a late Derek Parlane penalty, Law was just a few weeks away from applying the final, symbolic blow to United’s First Division survival hopes, with That backheel.

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Rangers, meanwhile, finished third and trophyless that season, something they are desperate to avoid doing in the coming months. There’s much to occupy the minds of both teams on Thursday, even if all thoughts before kick-off will be consumed by the memory of a Scottish football legend.

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