Rangers FC History - dead?

[HibeeJibee]

I've used the excellent Rangers FC History (aka Rangers History Project, IIRC) website on occasion over the last few years, mainly for the complete season-by-season fixtures lists which included local cup-ties/friendlies, but it had bountiful line-ups, programme images, narrative too. Wealth of information tbh, one of the finest Scottish club history sites.

Anyway, is it dead?
http://www.rangersfchistory.co.uk/cgi-s ... edpage.cgi

Account Suspended

This Account has been Suspended

It doesn't seem to be just a frontpage problem either: Google isn't coming-up with any hits apart from the frontpage, and using pages listed in my cache just diverts to the Account Suspended holding frontpage too.

Hopefully it's a temporary glitch.

[John Meffen]

Perhaps Mr Bruce forgot to pay for his hosting! the domain is registered for another two years yet. Then again he might have broken it. It looks like all the other sites on the same IP & servers are still up and running, so I would err towards my first suggestion

John Meffen

[HibeeJibee]

Still showing the same, so one has to assume that yes, either a subscription hasn't been paid or it's defunct.

Shame, and I suppose it highlights one of the downsides of online-based material. Hopefully it can be got back-up-and-running, as I said it was a great resource and clearly had seen a lot of time spent on it.

[BMCCOLL]

It'd be a shame if the material is all lost. In the meantime, a massive spreadsheet of all the Rangers matches is freely available on the net. A copy can be downloaded at http://scottish-football-historical-arc ... -2012.xlsx

[scottish]

It's not just Rangers. The Partick Thistle results archive and the Raith Rovers online museum both appear to have vanished too.

[BMCCOLL]

I've tried emailing Rob, but the emails bounce back as undelivered. I think the site is dead and buried... a bad omen for Rangers FC itself...?

[lbb]

This was discussed on one of our forums recently. It was suggested that Rangers themselves may have shut it down but as the official site only has a database going back 11 years it was hardly in competition.

a bad omen for Rangers FC itself...?

This is the big debate, of course. A debate that has been significantly enhanced by the sober intellectual analysis of heavyweights like James Traynor and Hugh Keevins.

It might be time to start looking around for a new team. Perhaps Partick Thistle will soon have to expand the capacity of Firhill to accommodate the arrival of thousands of exiles. Of course, as the late Bob Crampsey pointed out in respect to Third Lanark, when a club dies, people just stop going to games. I don't see a big redistribution of punters in the event of Rangers' demise. I'd probably watch Scottish football on TV but would follow West Ham more often than anything.

[scottish]

Of course, as the late Bob Crampsey pointed out in respect to Third Lanark, when a club dies, people just stop going to games. I don't see a big redistribution of punters in the event of Rangers' demise.

The big difference is that in Thirds's case most of their fans had long since turned their back on them before they went under. In the hypothetical and extremely unlikely case of Rangers going the same way we're talking about close to 50,000 at every home match and over 5,000 travelling to away games. I think the likes of Linfield, Airdrie United, Morton and Ayr United may get a boost

[BMCCOLL]

2 questions...

if Rangers reformed under a new name, would it still retain its present following?

And what would Rangers FC gain in having the site closed down?

[lbb]

The big difference is that in Thirds's case most of their fans had long since turned their back on them before they went under. In the hypothetical and extremely unlikely case of Rangers going the same way we're talking about close to 50,000 at every home match and over 5,000 travelling to away games. I think the likes of Linfield, Airdrie United, Morton and Ayr United may get a boost

Not Kilmarnock?

I think you overestimate how many would still take an active interest in the game. No doubt there would be some distribution but I just don't think it would be significant. It's like when the News of the World was closed down. I haven't seen the figures so I'm speaking from a position of ignorance - unusually - but not every NOTW reader immediately switched to another Sunday paper. Some did but the majority just didn't buy any replacement. I think the same would happen if Rangers went under. Most would just be sickened by it and lose interest or watch foreign leagues. Some hardcore sorts would try and recreate the old magic somewhere else.

2 questions...

if Rangers reformed under a new name, would it still retain its present following?

It's difficult to say. A lot of people assume everyone would just follow (follow) on but who honestly knows. There's a lot of variables.

And what would Rangers FC gain in having the site closed down?

I don't know. As I say, the existing database is very small but there was a suggestion that Rangers were looking to set up their own official database/records (a mere 15 years after they went online) so didn't want fans muscling in on their turf. My experience of Rangers, pre-Whyte mind you, was that they don't like the fans doing anything for themselves and are very protective of the 'brand'. As I say, it was just Internet chitchat.

[macjackb]

Newspapers, especially the tabloids, don't attract the same singular brand loyalty as a football club; the lack of significant upsurge in competitor sales after the NotW's demise would probably be because many of its readers were already buying others. My parents had the Mail, Mirror and People as well as Murdog's Finest for about 40 years. I agree though with the main point that, for a variety of reasons, I would foresee few Rangers fans switching to other Scottish teams. It has to be recognised there would be a diminution in standard; also, Rangers are a peculiar club, with some followers for whom the institution of Glasgow Rangers is about more than just football, and within that there's also the problematical relationship some fans have with Scotland. I wonder if there would even be an attempt to form a new club that would instantly try to take the high road south for membership and work its way up!

[scottish]

I think you overestimate how many would still take an active interest in the game.

No I don't. There wouldn't be that many who would go elsewhere. The evidence of attendances at other matches in Glasgow when there are no OF games on is proof of that. Most fans don't bother going elsewhere. But some would go back to watching their 'wee' team locally and the clubs I mentioned are the ones that would benefit the most proportionately.

[HibeeJibee]

Given recent Rangers developments, this thread's title really is looking like an eerie premonition!!

Having gone back to the old URL the site is decidely dead. It's back to those generic, garish holding pages you get on sites which are 'up for sale'. It's a shame - as it was a really good and accessible resource, and had clearly taken masses of time to create.

Some of it has been saved by "Wayback", the internet archive, the link for which I've posted below... unfortunately (in terms of my area of interest), the machine targeted almost solely Player pages. For example - it saved only 3 seasonal fixture lists (1872-73 1876-77 and 1887-88) and it appears none of the match pages (which had line-ups, crowds, scorers, etc.) nor the programme covers.

http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http:/ ... ry.co.uk/*

[BMCCOLL]

Is the site now in the process of being reborn...http://www.therangersarchive.co.uk/index.php?

[HibeeJibee]

Good if so.

But will it end at May 2012 ?