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Arguably the finest goalkeeper to play for Rangers in the post war
era, Andy Goram arrived at Ibrox in the summer of 1991. He was one of
Walter Smith's first signings and was part of an influx of Scottish
players as Smith sought to reshape his squad to deal with the newly
introduced 'three-foreigner rule', which prohibited clubs from fielding
more than three overseas players in a European tie.
Goram took over the gloves from Chris Woods, who left the Club to
join Sheffield Wednesday, but he found the going tough at Ibrox
initially. He made his debut in a 6-0 thrashing of St Johnstone on the
opening day of the 1991/92 season, but conceded a couple of soft goals,
notably against Hearts and Sparta Prague, before eventually settling and
establishing himself as a first-class shot-stopper. At 5ft 11in tall he
was not the tallest of goalkeepers, but what he lacked in height he
more than made up for in other aspects of his game. For example, he had
terrific reflexes and was a master of the 'one-on-one' situation - he
was seldom beaten when a striker bore down on him.
Andy was an ever-present in his first season with Rangers, keeping
twenty-six clean sheets in his fifty-five appearances and winning a
Premier Division Championship medal and a Scottish Cup winners' medal.
He was a mainstay in the 1992/93 season too, making fifty-two
appearances and playing a pivotal role as Rangers won the domestic
Treble and embarked on a ten-match unbeaten run in the European
Champions Cup. And it was in one of those European fixtures that Goram
produced his finest display of the season. Rangers travelled to Elland
Road to face Leeds United clinging to a slender 2-1 first-leg lead and
faced an onslaught as the English champions sought to overturn the
one-goal deficit. The fact that they failed to do so was largely down to
the superlative form of Goram, who defied their numerous attempts to
beat him with an array of terrific reflex saves. Rangers won the tie 4-2
on aggregate and progressed to the group stages where Andy once again
excelled against Marseille, Club Brugge and CSKA Moscow.
At the end of the 1992/93 campaign, Andy's performances were
recognised by both the Scottish Football writers and his fellow pros
when he was voted Player of the Year by both parties, but his third
season at Ibrox was blighted by injury. After having surgery to repair
damage to his knee in the 1993 close season, he made just ten
appearances for the first team, and his fitness levels and physical
condition dwindled to the extent that he was transfer listed by Walter
Smith in the summer of 1994. However, Goram was reinstated as the Club's
number one when he proved his fitness during pre-season training, and
he remained the first choice as Rangers racked up three more titles to
make it nine-in-a-row.
Although he derived great satisfaction from keeping a clean sheet
against anyone, Andy particularly enjoyed defying Celtic, with many of
his most memorable moments coming in Old Firm fixtures. In his first
taste of the New Year derby in 1992 he produced a stunning save to deny
Paul McStay a late equaliser, and in a 1-0 win at Parkhead in November
1992 an assortment of excellent saves stemmed an almost relentless wave
of Celtic attacks as the home side sought to restore parity after
falling behind to an Ian Durrant goal. His finest moment in Old Firm
conflict, though, was undoubtedly his astonishing save from Pierre van
Hooijdonk in a thrilling 3-3 draw in the 1995/96 season. Standing just
six yards out, the Celtic striker unleashed a venomous, goal-bound
volley, but Goram threw himself across goal to turn the ball away from a
corner. Van Hooijdonk was cursing the man known simply as 'The Goalie'
again a few months later when he denied Celtic a late equaliser, diving
to his right to parry the Dutchman's penalty to safety at Parkhead.
One of the cult heroes of the nine-in-a-row era, Goram was named in
the Greatest Ever Rangers XI in 1999 and has been inducted into the
Club's Hall of Fame. After making 260 appearances, he was given a free
transfer in the summer of 1998 and played for Sheffield United, Oldham,
Manchester United, Coventry City, Motherwell and Queen of the South
before hanging up his gloves. (Alistair Aird, Author of Ally McCoist - Portrait of a Hero)
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