| Rangers shattered the British record transfer fee for a goalkeeper
when they splashed out £600, 000 to sign Chris Woods from Norwich City
in the summer of 1986. He was part of the influx of top drawer talent
from the English First Division at the outset of the Graeme Souness era,
and given that he was vying with Peter Shilton for the England number
one jersey at the time, his arrival was something of a coup for the
Light Blues.
Woods was an excellent goalkeeper. At 6ft 2in tall
he was a commanding presence in the penalty area and was a superb shot
stopper. During his five-season stay at Ibrox he produced numerous
first-class displays and was a vital component in a side that emerged
from the shadows to dominate Scottish Football in the latter part of the
1980s.
Chris made his debut for Rangers in a fiery 2-1 defeat at
the hands of Hibernian at Easter Road on 9th August 1986, and missed
just two games in his debut season as he helped Rangers win the Premier
Division Championship for the first time in nine years. Woods was in
sparkling form throughout the campaign, and he and his defence made a
crucial contribution to the title tilt. After Uwe Rahn scored for
Borussia Monchengladbach in a UEFA Cup-tie at Ibrox in November 1986,
Woods was not beaten again until the Hamilton Academicals player Adrian
Sprott found the net in a shock 1-0 win in the Scottish Cup on 31
January 1987. Opposing forwards were kept at bay for a total of 1, 196
minutes, and this run of clean sheets set a new British record. Eleven
of the twelve games in which the opposition failed to score came in the
Premier Division, and it is no coincidence that this marked out the
point in the season where Rangers overhauled Celtic's nine-point lead at
the top of the table.
Chris's good form continued into the
1987/88 season, although his campaign was interrupted following an
ordering off against Celtic in the season's second Old Firm clash. Woods
was given his marching orders for his part in a confrontation with the
Celtic striker Frank McAvennie and incurred a suspension that counted
him out of the League Cup Final against Aberdeen, thus denying him the
opportunity to add to the winners' medal he had picked up in the same
competition a year earlier. He also endured further misery when the Old
Firm clashed again in January, sustaining a rib injury that forced him
to be substituted.
Woods found his appearances restricted in the
1988/89 season too. He went down with labyrinthitis, a condition which
affects the inner ear and impairs balance and vision, and missed a total
of fourteen matches; although he returned to action in time to help
Rangers win the Championship and retain the League Cup. He enjoyed a
cleaner bill of health in the 1989/90 season, though, recovering from
dislocating his shoulder in the opening league match against St Mirren
to make thirty-seven appearances.
The 1990/91 season would be
Chris's last in a Rangers jersey. He was an ever-present as the Club
secured a third successive title - another Woods shut-out proved vital
in the final day title decider against Aberdeen - and won the League
Cup. Woods also made perhaps the most amusing contribution to the season
when he missed a golden opportunity to score for Rangers. The Light
Blues were cantering to victory in the second half of a European Cup
clash against the Maltese minnows Valletta when they were awarded a
penalty. Woods, a keen striker and deadly marksman in the bounce games
played on the training field, was called forward to take the kick, but
he scuffed his right foot shot and tugged it wide of the left-hand post.
After
making a total of 230 appearances for Rangers, Woods left Ibrox in the
1991 close season. Although he still had a number of good years ahead of
him, the new UEFA ruling restricting the number of foreign players
eligible to play in European club competitions meant that Walter Smith
had to add a more tartan flavour to his playing squad. Englishman Woods
was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £1.2 million, but his
assured displays during his time in Glasgow mean he is now regarded as
one of the finest goalkeepers ever to turn out for the Club. (Alistair Aird, Author of Ally McCoist - Portrait of a Hero)
|